Evidenced-based and research-informed
The Mead Community Primary School began developing the use of research informed practice more than seven years ago. The original aim was twofold:
- to support staff to understand the nature and potential impact of engaging in research, and see themselves as practitioner researchers
- to ensure that all professional development activity was evidence based and research informed, developing a culture of research engagement
This article outlines how this approach was introduced and how, as the Academy Trust grew, it was developed and extended from one school to three schools across the whole Trust. Critically this includes a focus on the conditions needed to establish a professional research culture and how this has become the foundation to a Trust-wide approach to professional learning and a core strategy for school improvement.
Research informed practice is now fundamental to Trust development activity with all teachers and leaders actively research engaged. During the past few years our approach has evolved from initial tentative steps to Learning Sets, research book clubs, Teacher Research Groups, Lesson Study, research projects with the Local Authority and the leadership of an Education Endowment Foundation randomised controlled project. What we do is by no means a finished product. It is work in progress, aiming to fully embed a research engaged approach throughout the Trust.
Introducing the concept of research engagement