Our Journey To Outstanding T&L
Enhancing our CPD with Teaching WalkThrus
Redden Court School
SITUATION
Despite receiving a "Good" rating from Ofsted in 2016, the school’s leadership aspired to achieve "Outstanding." With a fresh Senior Leadership Team (SLT) and restructured middle leadership in place, the school laid strong foundations but recognised that its teaching and learning (T&L) approach needed updating to match its ambitions.
THEORY
In 2019, Redden Court’s leadership anticipated that to reach their goal of becoming an "Outstanding" school, they needed to transform their approach to professional development (CPD). They identified that staff should take ownership of their CPD, ensuring it was both personalised and aligned with the school’s ASPIRE values. By embedding evidence-based research into teaching practices and focusing on maximising student learning and outcomes, they expected to create a more dynamic and effective learning environment. The leadership also foresaw that balancing workload and staff wellbeing would be critical in maintaining momentum and achieving long-term success.
ACTION
In 2020, Redden Court pressed reset on its T&L strategy. A team of five Lead Practitioners was established to drive this new approach, shifting from formal, graded lesson observations to supportive learning walks. The school updated its policies, mapped ASPIRE values to T&L, and personalised CPD to align with these values. Discovering Walkthrus on Twitter, they integrated these strategies into their teaching framework from September 2020. By 2021, Redden Court introduced the Core 10 Walkthrus, focusing on coaching, identifying needs, adapting strategies, and reviewing progress. In 2022, the school concentrated on enhancing questioning techniques, creating a cluster of staff around this priority and continuously refining their approach based on feedback and learning walks.
RESULTS
The impact of these changes was profound. Redden Court achieved an "Outstanding" rating from Ofsted, marking a significant cultural shift within the school. The language around T&L evolved, leading to better awareness and understanding among staff. Good practices were shared more effectively, and a common language was established across the school. Although challenges such as unnecessary auditing arose, the school found success by focusing on five key Walkthrus each year, utilising a faculty problem-solution tool, and embedding a culture of coaching, deliberate practice, and peer visits.
TAKE-AWAYS
Personalise CPD while balancing staff autonomy with whole-school priorities.
Develop a strong Teaching and Learning (T&L) team and embed coaching practices.
Identify key school priorities and map them to structured strategies like Walkthrus.
Consider CPD programmes and cycles to align with school needs.
Share good practices and create a common language for consistency across the school.
PROFILE
Redden Court School is a mixed comprehensive secondary located in the London Borough of Havering. The school has a student body of over 1,000 and more than 100 staff members. The leadership team, including a new Headteacher and Deputy Headteacher, has been instrumental in driving the school’s transformation. As the founding and lead school of the Success for All Educational Trust (SFAET), Redden Court has a history of consistent outcomes, and it continues to strive for excellence in all aspects of teaching and learning.
Written by
Scott Carrington & Chrissie Jacques