IP Newsletter March 2026
As we move further into the spring term, March is often a time when schools begin to reflect on progress made since the start of the academic year. It’s a valuable opportunity to review priorities, evaluate the impact of professional development, and ensure improvement plans remain focused and effective.
Many schools are also preparing for the final stretch of the year by refining monitoring processes, supporting staff development, and gathering evidence demonstrating impact across teaching, learning, and leadership.
For experienced school leaders, learning walks are already embedded in the monitoring cycle. The challenge is often not whether they happen, but how they can generate sharper insight, clearer patterns, and stronger links to strategic improvement priorities.
1. Moving from observation to pattern recognition
Experienced leaders know that individual classroom snapshots rarely tell the full story. The real value of learning walks lies in identifying patterns across phases, subjects, or cohorts.
By reviewing findings collectively, leadership teams can ask deeper questions such as:
Are agreed teaching strategies being applied consistently across departments?
Is pupil engagement similar across different subjects and key stages?
Do pupils demonstrate a clear understanding of their learning in most classrooms?
Where are the strongest examples of practice emerging?
This broader perspective allows learning walks to inform strategic conversations rather than isolated feedback
2. Testing the implications of school priorities
Learning walks are particularly powerful when used to check the implementation of agreed approaches rather than general classroom activity.
For example, you might want to focus on:
How effectively is retrieval practice embedded across subjects
Whether adaptive teaching strategies are visible in mixed-attainment classrooms
How consistently do behaviour routines support learning
The extent to which questioning promotes deeper thinking
3. Using learning walks to inform professional dialogue
Monitoring increasingly feeds into professional discussion rather than evaluation. Learning walks can provide valuable prompts for wider staff dialogue about teaching and learning. .
Themes emerging from monitoring might be explored through:
Department meetings
Instructional coaching conversations
Targeted CPD sessions
Cross-department sharing of effective practice
This approach helps ensure that monitoring activity contributes directly to professional learning.
4. Building a cumulative picture over time
Rather than viewing learning walks as standalone events, many schools now treat them as part of an ongoing evidence base that develops throughout the year.
Tracking monitoring activity over time enables leaders to:
Revisit priorities and assess progress
Identify where strategies are embedded successfully
Highlight areas where additional support or development may be needed
Demonstrate the impact of improvement work across the school
As we move towards the final months of the academic year, it’s important for leadership teams to start planning strategically for the summer term. This period offers a chance to consolidate improvements, embed effective practices, and ensure that the school is well-prepared for both internal review and external inspection.
Key priorities to focus on include:
Reviewing progress against improvement plans - Revisit objectives set at the start of the year and check how actions have translated into measurable impact across teaching, learning, and leadership.
Embedding effective practice - Use insights from learning walks, monitoring, and CPD to reinforce what is working well and address areas that still need attention.
Targeted support and intervention - Identify staff or pupil groups who may benefit from additional support, and plan focused strategies to close gaps before the end of term.
Evidence collection - Ensure that monitoring, assessment data, and professional dialogue are documented systematically to provide a clear picture of progress and impact.
Planning for the year ahead - Begin considering priorities for the next academic year, including CPD needs, curriculum sequencing, and school improvement initiatives.
By approaching the summer term strategically, schools can ensure that improvements are embedded, successes are celebrated, and next year’s planning is informed by clear evidence and insight. This is also an ideal time to reflect on what is working well and share best practices across teams, ensuring momentum carries forward into the new academic year.
We’re excited to introduce School AI, a new feature within SchooliP designed to help schools and trusts evaluate their digital and AI readiness. The tool provides a guided self-assessment, reviewing areas such as leadership, teaching and learning, CPD, operations, and innovation. It’s a practical way to identify strengths, highlight areas for growth, and plan next steps in your AI journey.
If you’re interested in having School AI turned on for your school, our team would be happy to help you get started. Simply get in touch with us at customercare@derventioeducation.com to explore how it can support your strategic improvement and digital development priorities.
As we move towards the final stretch of the spring term, it’s a great time to reflect on the progress you’ve made and plan strategically for the months ahead. Whether it’s refining learning walks, linking CPD to your school priorities, or ensuring improvement plans remain active, the work you’re doing now will shape the impact you see later in the year.
Our focus continues to be on supporting you to make monitoring, professional development, and improvement planning as efficient and effective as possible. Over the coming months, we’ll be sharing practical insights, new system updates, and tools to help you capture meaningful evidence, identify trends, and celebrate successes across your school.
We’re always here to help you get the most out of your system, answer questions, and explore new ways to make your improvement processes even more impactful. Here’s to a productive, focused, and positive spring term ahead!
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