Resources
A collection of articles, papers and case studies all focused on professional development, coaching and how schools are achieving impact using the Steplab approach.
Case Study: Lees Brook Academy - Instructional Coaching at the heart of school improvement
By Rachel Ball & Chris Routledge
Chris Routledge, Assistant Principal for Quality of Education explains how instructional coaching became central to their school improvement model
Dr Sam Sims: Making the most of your PD budget
By Dr Sam Sims
Dr Sam Sims (UCL IoE) explores how school leaders should spend their limited PD budget to maximise the positive impact on teaching and learning
Case Study: The Ribbon Academy
By Rachel Ball & Stuart Houghton
The Ribbon Academy is a large primary school in the North-East of England. Stuart Houghton, Deputy Headteacher, explains how they successfully implemented instructional coaching and the impact this has had on staff engagement and pupils' outcomes.
Case Study: Whole-school Coaching - 3 Years On
By Rachel Ball & Alex Evans
Three years since partnering with Steplab, Coaching Lead and Assistant Headteacher Alex Evans explores what they've learned and updates us on St Luke's incredible progress, including recognition for being in the top 3% of schools of a similar context and improving pupil progress by +0.9.
A Beginner's Guide to Instructional Coaching
By Peps Mccrea, Dr Sam Sims and 1 other
Instructional coaching is one of the best ways for schools to improve teaching. We’ve pulled together this Beginner’s Guide to help share what we’ve learned about successful instructional coaching and how to make it work.
Responsive Coaching Interview with Josh Goodrich and Kat Howard Part 2
By Rachel Ball & Josh Goodrich
Josh and Kat delve into the structure of Josh's book and some common questions about implementing a coaching programme across a school or trust.
Responsive Coaching Interview with Josh Goodrich and Kat Howard Part 1
By Rachel Ball & Josh Goodrich
What is responsive coaching and why is it so important?
Case Study: Ted Wragg Trust - consistency, purpose and personalisation - how coaching has transformed our trust
By Siobhan Meredith
We really do believe the quality of teaching in our schools has got better because of responsive coaching. It locks in consistent systems and strong habits, creating a predictable, positive learning environment for all students.
What's the difference between instructional coaching and responsive coaching?
By Josh Goodrich
There are various conceptions of instructional coaching. The different terms used to describe instructional coaching models are often unhelpful, at times divisive, and can be a cause of confusion.
The science behind Steplab: how it includes all 14 mechanisms of effective PD
By Rachel Ball & Ollie Lovell
What does it take to build truly effective teacher professional development?
How to create expert teachers, according to Peps Mccrea
By Peps Mccrea & Rachel Ball
There are multiple ways to define expert teaching – the question is what to do with the analysis.
Case Study: Pilton Community College: how coaching with Steplab transformed our culture
By Caroline Sherwood
Caroline Sherwood is Deputy Headteacher at Pilton Community College. In this case study, Caroline shares her school's experience working with Steplab and the impact this has had on her school community.
Case Study: Developing TA Practice with Instructional Coaching: Part 2
By Elliot Hahn & Rachel Sewell
This is part 2 of a blog post series in which Elliot, a coaching lead at Manchester Communication Primary Academy, shares the five lessons he learnt when building a TA coaching programme, and the positive impact Instructional Coaching has had on TA practice.
Case Study: Developing TA Practice with Instructional Coaching: Part 1
By Elliot Hahn & Rachel Sewell
Teaching Assistants (TAs) do not always have access to the same high quality professional development (PD) as teachers. TAs support learners with the most complex needs, and therefore ongoing training is key to their effectiveness.
Case Study: Structuring Ridgeway's coaching programme so it delivers results
By Kate Hytner & Rachel Sewell
If we want instructional coaching to make a real difference to teachers and pupils, we need to focus on getting the implementation right.