Small-scale research projects lead to wide-ranging change and better promotion prospects for staff at Ivybridge Community College. Each project contributes to school improvement and individual teachers’ professional development.
General development priorities highlighted in the whole college development plan are refined within departments according to their more local needs. Teachers then negotiate individual research projects based on their own interests, leading to a dissertation and a presentation to the curriculum group.
Improvements in one department lead to cross-curricular developments. A literacy project which involved two classes in history led to developments in the use of writing frames, which then kicked in to policy changes in Year 7 Maths. The whole school behaviour policy developed from a study on inclusion.
Staff are mentored through their research by a manager and can use their project as part of an education management MA. When the project started in 1995, most of the participants were middle managers, but now they are drawn from a wider cross-section of staff. And 26 of the 34 teachers who have undertaken research have since been promoted.
“We wanted something that would improve on one-day events,” says the deputy principal, Tamryn Savage, who leads the scheme.
“It’s the best form of professional development because it leads people to reflect on their own practice.”
