Collaboration has a positive impact on the whole school community. Not only can it lead to improved self-efficacy, effectiveness and instructional quality in teachers, but it also contributes to student achievement. Collaboration amongst the teaching community can positively impact feelings of job satisfaction by fostering a sense of community and reducing feelings of stress. Creating an environment where teachers feel satisfied and supported is hugely important; it aids staff retention during a time when recruitment and retention continue to be challenging for schools. One way that MATs and schools can encourage collaboration is through a structured, systematic peer review process.
The power of peer review
At its best, peer reviews enable teachers to engage in constructive conversations with their colleagues and receive support that will enhance their practice. This is particularly beneficial for those who are newer to the profession as it enables them to learn from those who are more experienced. Equally, newer teachers offer a fresh perspective on classroom practice, so everybody benefits.
It is partly for this reason that we, at Chelmsford Learning Partnership, introduced our peer review process using the Schools Partnership Programme model three years ago, which serves as an impactful development tool. Staff can train as either peer reviewers — who evaluate areas of other schools in the Trust — or improvement champions — who work with staff to create action plans based on the review findings. Initially, it was launched for our headteachers and senior leaders but, based on its success, we have expanded it to staff at all levels. Now, we have teachers leading school improvement workshops or staff meetings in other schools.
By making opportunities available to all staff, not just those who want to pursue headship, we are helping everybody build their confidence and skills, which can lead to promotion. This has been particularly beneficial when schools are being externally evaluated, as it doesn’t fall exclusively on the Headteacher of the school to demonstrate its effectiveness; there is a team of staff who feel confident and knowledgeable to support and provide evidence because of their experience of the peer review programme. Their knowledge of their school is also deeper and more comprehensive as a result of the process.
Community and cross-exposure
One of the exciting things we have seen through the introduction of the school partnership programme is that it helps to build a community across the Trust, which fosters collaboration and school-level support across multiple phases. Our unique cross-phase structure provides inimitable learning opportunities and we have seen the positive impact of exposure to different contexts in our teachers and leaders.
Cross-phase exposure is so effective that we have implemented annual Trust-wide training days. Importantly, these sessions are inclusive and we aim to have as many of our staff attend as possible, including Learning Support Assistants, office and admin teams and site staff. Sessions are led by staff across the schools and the Central Team and are tailored to meet the needs of different groups of staff. Think Tanks are another initiative we have implemented. Staff are encouraged to lead on topics of their interest and expertise, using an evidence-informed approach, to promote cross-phase collaboration and knowledge acquisition. One of our previous Think Tank leads led on a theme that was a priority for the whole Trust and is linked to our teaching and learning framework. She ran whole Trust staff meetings on the topic and created a toolkit for our staff. Through these experiences, as a primary practitioner, she was able to develop skills and expertise beyond her own school and across both phases. She built her confidence and has now progressed to a senior leadership role.
Redefining leadership across the Trust
Importantly, we don’t see leadership as just a role, but as a skill to be nurtured throughout all levels of the Trust. However, we realised that something was missing from our approach in terms of defining expectations of what this looked like. As a result, we are developing a leadership framework to outline the elements of effective leadership including the attitudes, behaviours and skills that we believe will grow the best leaders for our system.
As part of this project, we will develop a leadership passport, which enables staff to demonstrate and be recognised for their professional development progress, especially where they have completed activities beyond their own school e.g. leading a staff meeting at another school, delivering whole trust training or coaching a colleague. To ensure we are accommodating a variety of progress pathways, we are creating this in conjunction with our staff through consultations on the opportunities we have made available so far as a Trust and what they want to see moving forward.
Incorporating staff feedback to shape professional development
Staff input is crucial in the development of all of our CPD offerings. We continuously gather feedback from our staff through surveys and ongoing conversations and, by continuously seeking and incorporating staff feedback, we ensure that our development opportunities are tailored to remain relevant and impactful.
Peer review has proved to be a powerful tool for professional development at all levels within our Trust. Not only have we been able to cultivate a community of educators who are supporting each other across different phases and subjects, but we are also developing a pipeline of talent that will continue to grow in line with our goals as a Trust.
