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.

Dear Steplab... I know I'm now a much stronger, more confident teacher

By Josh Goodrich

We received a letter from Darren Farman, a teacher of 29 years, who tells us about his coaching journey with Steplab.

Case Study: Embedding Coherence and Impact Across Acorn Education Trust

By David Locke & Nick Bloxham

Check out how Acorn Education Trust have built on their experiences of the ECF to develop an impactful professional development (PD) programme for all their staff through Steplab.

Case Study: Longdendale High School - Collaborative and Impactful PD

By Nicola Cole & Rachel Ball

Longdendale have created a coherent PD model that’s practical, collaborative and truly embedded in every day practice.

Inclusive Teaching - A Discussion Paper

By Peps Mccrea, Josh Goodrich and 1 other

A new discussion paper from Dr Jennifer Barker, Peps Mccrea and Josh Goodrich explores how we might reframe our approach to classroom teaching in response to the current SEND challenges in England.

Making coaching work in small schools

Making coaching work in small schools

By Alex Gingell

Alex Gingell, former primary Headteacher and Steplab Coaching Development Lead, explores how to make coaching work in smaller schools.

Case Study: Farnborough Spencer Academy - creating capacity with group coaching

By Rachel Ball & Steve Allen

Assistant Principal Steve Allen shares Farnborough Spencer's experience of working with Steplab to improve teaching and learning across the school through a whole-school coaching model.

Case Study: Lees Brook Academy - Instructional Coaching at the heart of school improvement

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

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

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 1

By Rachel Ball & Josh Goodrich

What is responsive coaching and why is it so important?

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.

Case Study: Ted Wragg MAT: Stellar success with Steplab

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.