Nene and Ramnoth Schools: whole-school NPQ in Leading Teaching case study

“Two years ago we started an internal CPD coaching-style support programme for staff. We were considering what to do next in our third year, and we asked CPTSH whether they could be flexible and run an NPQ as a whole-school approach to CPD. They said ‘yes’ straight away, and it has been very easy to work with the Hub from the off.”

Sam Miller, Executive Principal at Nene Infants and Ramnoth Junior Schools, has overseen a turnaround in teaching standards and a cultural shift in teacher development during her time at the Wisbech-based settings. Both Nene Infant and Nursery School and Ramnoth Junior School, part of the Elliot Foundation Academies Trust, moved to ‘Good’ following separate Ofsted inspections in 2022, paving the way for a reinvigorated approach to CPD.

The latest CPD initiative is a whole-school NPQ in Leading Teaching (NPQLT), provided by Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Teaching School Hub (CPTSH), which is designed for teachers and school leaders who have, or aspire to have, responsibilities for leading teaching in a subject or year group. Twelve members of staff from Nene and Ramnoth Schools successfully completed the programme in October 2024.

NPQLT: an extension of our in-house development

“Over time we have developed our own CPD programme for staff,” Sam recalled. “Initially senior leaders would explore the most useful pieces of research to look at from a whole-school perspective, for example around the best use of teaching assistants in school, and run that in followed by implementation including coaching and reflection internally. It was all about how we improve our teaching. For staff to develop themselves as teachers.

“We then had progress leaders each responsible for six classes so, with a variety of teachers at different points in their careers including some Early Career Teachers (ECTs), we picked Rosenshine's principles of instruction which supports professional development for all staff, moving through different aspects of these over the course of the year. We invested time in creating a forward-thinking culture – that is what we do to improve ourselves as rounded teaching professionals as a team – taking a research-based approach.

“Then it was a case of what comes next. Lynne Birch (CPTSH Hub Lead) did a pitch to Wisbech headteachers and we ended up commissioning a whole-school NPQLT. We also have five SLT and middle leaders on the Hub’s NPQ in Leading Behaviour and Culture (NPQLBC), two members of staff on the NPQ in Leading Literacy (NPQLL), and one member of staff on the NPQ in Senior Leadership (NPQSL).”

“A step up from what we were doing”

The whole-school NPQLT, which was completed in 12 months, was according to Sam “a step up from what we were doing before without doubt.”

“From a staff workload perspective having a ready-made programme was ideal,” she said. We set aside nine staff meetings for each of the modules, and all were held in-person apart from one virtual meeting. CPTSH listened well from the beginning. The start of the conversation was around fitting those modules in over a year, and we took up two training days as well as attending face-to-face conferences on the NPQLT, so it was certainly a big commitment.

“Whilst it has been a demanding experience, the impact of the NPQs has been clear. The conversations we have had, the quality of teaching and learning as a result, and the development as teachers, as well as subject leaders. What I see happening all the time is ‘Have you read this?’, ‘Have you tried this in class?’ Everyone is having professional informal chats, right across the staff team, and we have really ambitious teachers.

“Externally, when staff go out to events, they are confident in their knowledge. The CPD has impacted on staff’s ability to adapt to all pupils' needs including those with SEND, improve staff skills for scaffolding across the subjects, create engaging high-quality lessons, further develop the use of ICT understanding, and consider equity over equality. We are in a really strong place as a school.

“Practically the online learning platform systems through the NPQLT have been really easy to use as well – we have had some that haven’t been – and if they were not easy, that would have added another layer of complexity at a time when teachers are already very busy.”

Insight and perspectives from teachers

Three members of the NPQLT cohort shared their own experiences of the programme.

Samar Ahmad, a Year 5 teacher, said: “It has been a really useful recap of the teachers’ standards, revisiting but going deeper into it. We have had the opportunity to discuss in seminars what is working in our teaching, linking back to the resources we read, bringing lots of debate, and different perspectives through the case studies we looked at. It was an effective course that brought us all together; having diverse mindsets however thinking of the same goal as we were all completing the course.”

Another Year 5 teacher, Ellen Roberts, commented: “Empowering is the word I would use to describe the programme. It provided assurance that we are doing what we are supposed to be doing, helping to justify what we should be doing, but also looked at how to do things in a different way. The whole-school approach was definitely more effective as we were able to learn together. Working as a collective meant we could discuss aspects with each other, rather than trying to do it all on our own. A lot of things we have taken and implemented in our teaching, and these have worked successfully.”

Louise Nederpal, a Year 6 teacher, added: “As a staffing team we have worked together for a long time, repeating and embedding things, and it is the reflection time and discussion that I found most valuable. It was especially interesting to better understand children’s working memory and long-term memory, how they continue to know something without remembering it, and the neurological reason why that is happening.”

Following three years’ “massive focus” on teaching and learning development, Nene and Ramnoth Schools will now focus on the next phase of CPD related to subject impact, Sam said.