Leading a spiral of enquiry in a primary or special school

Event details

Senior and middle leaders and teachers in nursery, primary and special schools can choose either a remote or face to face half day session.

The events will be run by Clare Rees, ELP principal quality and partnership lead 3-11.

Remote training

Book your place on the online session Wednesday 28 February 2024 3:45 - 5pm

Face to face training

Book your place on the face to face session Friday 1 March 8:30 - 11:30am

Venue: Ealing Education Centre, Mansell Road, Greenford UB6 9EH

Aim

The aim of the session is to build a culture of continuous improvement across Ealing Learning Partnership schools using the Spirals of Enquiry framework.

In 2022 Peer Enquiry Review (PER) replaced the Peer Review process for primary schools in ELP, to move from a summative, prove model to a formative, improve model. Alongside this triadic model, led by headteachers (often including the wider leadership team), two things became clear; first the need to continue the support and collaboration after the PER day, and secondly, linked to this, to create a process that engaged teachers and middle leaders in continuous improvement.

Spirals approach

The Spirals approach offered the flexibility and structure that would work well alongside PER, that could not only support schools looking for a professional learning and development structure, but also be used within networks, such as the SENCo and EY leads networks. Our model is based on the work of Judy Halbert and Linda Kaser, who devised the ‘Spiral of Inquiry’ approach in Canada.

Our previous work with Chris Moyse, to create a professional growth model, with the focus on an improve rather than prove culture, is gaining momentum and popularity in ELP schools. The Spirals model will complement this work by ensuring that teacher agency and collective efficacy are at the heart of professional learning.

Spirals handbook

You will receive a Spirals handbook (log in to view) that sets out the 6 stage approach, alongside the templates, timelines and proformas to support the process. We will share exemplars to help you to build a mental model of how it can trasnform teacher and pupil agency.