Case study: Strengthening trust-wide professional development with Steplab’s Group PD builder

South Pennine Academies is a multi-academy trust in the north of England comprising 11 academies - three secondary and eight primary - across Oldham, Kirklees and Calderdale.

In September 2025, the trust launched Steplab across all schools during its first Teaching and Learning Leadership Conference. This brought leaders together around a shared rationale for teacher professional development, grounded in the Education Endowment Foundation’s (EEF) mechanisms for effective professional development. It also introduced four trust-wide Steplab strategic priorities, aligned with Steplab’s implementation journey.

Before adopting Steplab’s Group PD builder, planning high-quality, consistent professional development across 11 diverse schools presented a significant challenge.

Leaders regularly designed CPD for teachers from scratch. While sessions were often evidence-informed, they varied in structure, coherence and alignment with the EEF’s mechanisms and principles of andragogy. This led to inconsistency in both design and delivery across the trust.

Amanda Underhill explains:

“We needed a more coherent and purposeful approach to professional development in schools - one that aligned practice across the trust while reducing workload for leaders.”

The trust was looking for an approach that would:

• 1.
  align professional development across all schools
• 2.
  reduce workload for leaders
• 3.
  create structured opportunities for collaboration
• 4.
  strengthen the quality and consistency of PD design and delivery

The introduction of the Group PD builder has helped address these challenges.

Leaders across the trust report that it has streamlined the planning, sequencing and delivery of professional development, allowing them to focus on adapting pedagogy to their specific context rather than creating materials from scratch.

Amanda reflects:

“Leaders frequently describe the Group PD builder as intuitive and a huge time-saver.”

The ready-made slides and presenter notes have been particularly impactful. They support clarity of language, ensure focused facilitation and reduce unnecessary noise during sessions. Editable notes allow leaders to tailor content to their setting, while embedded Steplab video models enable teaching techniques to be deconstructed without leaving the session.

At Woodlands Primary Academy, staff have already begun filming and uploading their own in-class models - an approach the trust is looking to scale as confidence with the platform grows.

A key outcome has been improved consistency in how professional development is delivered across the trust.

Leaders have been deliberate in reinforcing how familiar routines reduce cognitive load for adults, aligning with both andragogy and the EEF’s effective professional development mechanisms. The Group PD builder supports this through features such as QR code sign-ins, structured rehearsal pairings and the ability for staff to access sessions and study modules on their own devices.

Amanda explains:

“Consistency in delivery has improved engagement and created a more predictable and purposeful professional development culture.”

Leaders report that sessions now feel more coherent and easier to facilitate, with smoother transitions between modelling, rehearsal and feedback.

A trust-wide webinar, led by Rachel Ball (Steplab), further supported leaders in refining their facilitation and instructional coaching approaches. By deconstructing examples of effective delivery directly within the platform, leaders were able to reflect on and strengthen their own practice.

The impact on classroom practice is already becoming evident across the trust.

At Park Lane Academy, teachers described Steplab group PD as: “Hands-on, practical and feedback-driven.”

Another colleague noted: “PD feels joined up - there’s a core understanding around what we’re doing and why.”

And a further reflection highlights how embedded the approach is becoming: “Now I feel like Steplab is part of my routine.”

Many schools began by focusing on steps linked to Creating Culture and Secure Attention. These areas provided quick wins and visible improvements, helping to build early momentum and confidence in the approach.

Both internal and external quality assurance have identified stronger classroom routines - particularly around active listening - with teachers applying strategies more consistently. As a result, pupils respond more quickly and learning time is maximised.

South Pennine Academies is continuing to embed mechanism-rich professional development across its schools using the Group PD builder.

Amanda summarises the ongoing impact:

“The Group PD builder is supporting leaders to facilitate with clarity and purpose, reducing workload and helping staff build strong, sustainable habits around professional learning.”

These habits are already having a positive impact on teaching practice and, over time, are expected to contribute to improved pupil outcomes across the trust.

Explore how Steplab’s Group PD builder can help you create consistent, high-quality professional development across your schools.

Book a demo to learn more.