Curriculum, Teaching and Learning Connection

South Kilvington's Professional Learning Model

At South Kilvington C of E Academy, our professional learning model is intentionally designed to create a high‑trust, evidence‑informed and collaborative culture, ensuring every teacher improves every week so every pupil can flourish. Our three connected strategies are Instructional Coaching, Professional Learning Communities (PLCs), and Lesson Study, supported by weekly Professional Development Meetings; these align closely with the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) mechanisms for effective professional development: diagnosis, modelling, rehearsal, feedback, monitoring and sustained collaboration.

1. Instructional Coaching

High‑impact, individualised improvement
Instructional coaching provides weekly, classroom‑embedded feedback, enabling teachers to rehearse small, high‑leverage changes and build strong habits of practice. Research shows coaching improves teaching more effectively than most CPD models.

• Focuses on specific, actionable steps, linked to school priorities.
• Includes live modelling, prompts and rapid feedback during teaching.
• Sustained weekly cycle supports the EEF’s call for ongoing, iterative PD.

Impact on culture: Builds confidence, shared language of practice and a norm of continual improvement.

2. Professional Learning Communities (PLCs)

Collaborative inquiry rooted in pupil work
Our PLCs begin with diagnosing precise learning barriers for vulnerable pupils fully aligned with the EEF’s guidance that implementation must start with need.

• Uses pupil evidence to identify one focused learning problem.
• Staff select one codified strategy with clear “active ingredients” (e.g., modelling, guided practice, rereading strategies, retrieval).
• Co‑planning short 10‑minute learning episodes enables practical, workload‑sensitive improvement.

Impact on culture: Reinforces shared responsibility for learning and builds staff ownership of improvement.

3. Lesson Study

Rapid, evidence‑driven collaborative research
Our lesson study model meets the EEF’s expectations for highly effective professional development: focused, collaborative, practice‑based and evidence‑informed.

• Begins with one sharply defined pupil learning need.
• Uses short, purposeful micro‑visits that observe what pupils do—not judgement of teaching.
• Concludes with review, refinement and reteaching, ensuring change is monitored and sustained.

Impact on culture: Develops deep pedagogical understanding and strengthens team reflection.

Weekly Professional Development Meetings (PDMs)

The rhythm that holds everything together
PDMs provide coherence, another essential EEF principle by aligning coaching, PLCs and lesson study within one unified professional learning system.

• Rehearses strategies, reviews impact and maintains shared expectations.
• Ensures regular, protected time for professional thinking, collaboration and evidence use.

Why This Professional Learning Model Works

Together, these strategies form a coherent ecosystem that reflects the EEF’s most powerful PD mechanisms:

How Our Collaborative Learning Culture Enhances and Connects to Our Curriculum

Our collaborative professional learning culture strengthens the curriculum by ensuring that teaching is continuously refined, aligned and responsive to pupil need. Through instructional coaching, PLCs and lesson study, held together by weekly PDMs, we create the conditions for high‑quality curriculum enactment.

1. Ensures Consistent, High‑Quality Implementation of Curriculum Intent
Regular coaching and rehearsal build shared pedagogical habits, ensuring staff teach the curriculum with fidelity and precision. This supports consistent modelling, explanations, practice and routines across subjects, strengthening the lived curriculum in every classroom.

2. Aligns Curriculum Adaptation With Real Pupil Learning Needs
PLCs and lesson study begin with careful diagnosis of barriers in pupil work. This means curriculum adjustments are not based on preference but on evidence, allowing teachers to refine sequencing, scaffolds and models in ways that directly improve pupil access and understanding.

3. Strengthens Teacher Subject and Pedagogical Knowledge
Collaborative inquiry into small, focused learning episodes deepens staff understanding of curriculum content and how pupils learn it. Teachers become more confident in anticipating misconceptions, selecting examples and using well‑designed practice, improving the quality of curriculum delivery.

4. Builds Coherence Across the Curriculum
Weekly PDMs act as a unifying structure where staff connect whole‑school priorities to curriculum implementation. This creates a shared language of practice, common approaches to modelling and rehearsal and clarity about what great teaching of the curriculum looks like.

5. Creates Collective Ownership of Pupil Progress
Collaboration centred on real pupil work fosters shared responsibility for the success of all learners. Teachers work together to refine explanations, resources and routines, ensuring the curriculum is accessible, ambitious and continuously improved.

The result: a collaborative culture relentlessly focused on high‑quality teaching and improved outcomes for every pupil.