Case study: Creating a bespoke PD curriculum at Kingsbridge Primary School

Kingsbridge Primary School is a rural coastal school in Devon with around 340 pupils. The school serves a mixed community, with 21.5% pupil premium, 17% SEND and very low levels of diversity.

As school leaders, Miranda Martyn and her team knew that improving teaching and learning needed to start with consistency.

Previously, shared strategies existed across the school, but they were being interpreted differently in different classrooms. Techniques such as I do, we do, you do or Team Stop were in place, but looked different depending on where they were being used.

Miranda explains:

“Some of the issues for our school were around consistency. There was almost a lethal mutation of what we thought good teaching and learning was.”

Leaders wanted to create a clearer, more consistent picture of effective classroom practice - and give teachers the tools to bring that shared vision to life.

Rather than adopting a generic professional development (PD) programme, Kingsbridge used Steplab to build a bespoke PD curriculum tailored to its context.

Initially, leaders thought modelling would be the right place to start. But through monitoring, staff voice and careful reflection, they realised behaviour and routines needed to come first.

They created the Core 10 - a carefully sequenced set of teaching habits designed to build consistency across the school. They built this bespoke curriculum on Steplab using Steplab's library of steps. The aim was not to reinvent the wheel, but to refine and codify the best of what was already happening.

The school began with routines that would make an immediate difference, starting with thresholding and entry routines.

“Literally the next day, the whole feel of the school had changed.”

Teachers began rethinking how pupils entered classrooms, where they stood, what pupils saw first, and how routines could create a calm, purposeful start to learning.

Because the impact was so visible, staff buy-in grew quickly.

A key shift at Kingsbridge was moving away from traditional CPD sessions towards group rehearsal.

At first, some staff found rehearsal uncomfortable. Leaders were careful to explain the evidence behind the approach and why practising teaching techniques mattered.

Rather than presenting rehearsal as the awkward part of PD, they reframed it as the most important part.

“This is the important bit. It’s not the awkward bit - this is the important bit.”

This helped staff understand that the approach was not a passing initiative. It was a deliberate, evidence-informed way to interrupt habits, rebuild practice and support meaningful change.

Over time, rehearsal became embedded across the school. Kingsbridge now uses group rehearsal in staff meetings, coaching breakfasts, middle leadership meetings and staff induction.

As the Core 10 has embedded, one of the biggest changes has been cultural.

Teachers now have a shared language for discussing pedagogy. They can talk more precisely about what great teaching looks like, what pupils should experience, and how specific routines or techniques should be enacted.

“There’s a shared language around pedagogy that we didn’t have before.”

This shared language has helped make professional development feel coherent. Teachers know what they are working on, why it matters, and how it connects to the wider school improvement journey.

The Core 10 is also carefully sequenced. Staff do not see or work on every step at once. Instead, leaders unlock each focus gradually, ensuring that teachers and coaches concentrate only on the habits that have already been introduced.

This reduces cognitive load and keeps the whole school focused on the same priorities.

Steplab’s data tools have helped Kingsbridge leaders understand whether their PD curriculum is translating into classroom practice.

Through drop-ins, coaching summaries, quality assurance tools and step progression data, leaders can see what teachers are working on, how coaching is supporting them, and whether current priorities are being embedded.

The coaching team plays a crucial role in this, creating windows into classrooms that senior leaders cannot always see directly.

Steplab helps leaders track:

• 1.
  which steps teachers are working on
• 2.
  whether teachers are progressing through steps
• 3.
  whether coaching is aligned to the PD focus
• 4.
  where teachers may need more support
• 5.
  how coaching quality is developing over time

This means decisions are not based on hunches. Leaders can use live information from coaching and drop-ins to keep professional development responsive and precise.

“It really helps everyone know that we’re focusing on the same thing and there’s a purpose.”

The data has also strengthened the quality of instructional coaching.

Kingsbridge leaders regularly review coaching data and use it to shape coaching CPD. For example, when data showed that some diagnostic questions were too leading, leaders adjusted the next coaching training session to focus more deeply on that area.

This responsiveness matters because, as the school has found, coaching only works when it is done well.

“Coaching in and of itself isn’t the silver bullet. It has to be high-quality coaching.”

The school is now using recorded coaching conversations to further improve the quality of feedback and support coaches with more precise development.

The combination of a codified curriculum and Steplab’s data tools has also made monitoring more precise.

When leaders visit classrooms, they are no longer relying on broad impressions such as “that felt strong” or “that did not feel right”. Instead, they have a clear set of success criteria linked to the PD curriculum.

For example, when leaders recently revisited entry routines in Year 6, they could identify exactly what was missing, such as the absence of a silent starter or the teacher not being positioned at the threshold.

This allows feedback to be specific, actionable and aligned to the same language teachers already know.

One of the most powerful shifts has been the growth of peer learning.

During a recent rehearsal session on modelled writing, staff were asked to practise with colleagues in classrooms. Leaders walked around the school and saw teachers independently modelling, rehearsing and giving each other feedback using the agreed criteria.

Teachers were learning from one another without leaders needing to direct every interaction.

“People were learning from each other in every room, without even having to nudge.”

This reflects a wider cultural shift at Kingsbridge. Professional development is no longer something that happens to teachers. It is something teachers actively participate in, refine and sustain together.

Kingsbridge is already seeing clear impact across the school. Leaders report:

• 1.
  greater consistency in teaching and learning
• 2.
  stronger classroom routines
• 3.
  a clearer shared language for pedagogy
• 4.
  more precise data and analysis
• 5.
  improved coaching quality
• 6.
  stronger alignment between PD, coaching and classroom practice

The school is also seeing positive signs in outcomes and teaching quality.

For Kingsbridge leaders, the biggest shift is that they now have a clear mechanism for improving teaching. When they want to change practice, they know how to do it: define the step, rehearse it, coach it, monitor it and use the data to refine the next move.

“If we want change in teaching, then we use group rehearsal and align it with coaching.”

Kingsbridge Primary School’s approach shows what is possible when teacher professional development is carefully sequenced, evidence-informed and supported by the right data.

By combining a bespoke PD curriculum with instructional coaching and Steplab’s data tools, leaders have created a model that is both precise and practical.

Most importantly, they have built a culture where teachers know what great practice looks like, leaders can see where support is needed, and improvement is shared across the whole school.

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