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The Teaching and Learning Programme explained

What does the Teaching and Learning Programme (TLP) aim to do?

The Government established TLP in 2003 as part of a long-term investment in reforming the further education system to enhance economic growth and to increase social mobility. Working with colleagues in adult learning, colleges, prisons, schools with sixth forms, sixth-form colleges and work-based learning, TLP aims to:

  • transform the quality of teaching, training and learning by embedding excellence in practice
  • support the professional development of the sector’s workforce.

The Teaching and Learning Programme is funded and managed by the Quality Improvement Agency for Lifelong Learning (QIA) and delivered by Nord Anglia Education. The programme was originally launched and managed by the DfES Standards Unit.

Three enablers support the drive for improvement:

The role of the Subject Learning Coach is pivotal in providing the essential ‘glue’ between these three elements. With your support and by attending the subject coaching networks, your Subject Learning Coach will develop and practise the coaching skills they have gained by completing the Professional Training Programme. They will then use these skills in conjunction with the innovative teaching and learning resources to transform behaviours and changes to practice in your organisation.

A Subject Learning Coach may be one of your best investments for the future of your staff, your learners and your organisation.

Clive Weston, Accrington and Rossendale College. Winner of 2005 STAR Award for Outstanding Leadership

How does coaching support success?

In the 1980s and 1990s Joyce and Showers conducted research showing that traditional forms of staff development such as attendance at training sessions resulted in fewer than 10% of participants implementing what they had learned. Joyce and Showers began to analyse how teachers acquire and develop new teaching strategies and how organisations can successfully support individuals to embed these skills in their classroom practice in order to improve the quality of the learning environment.

The Professional Training Programme model adopted by TLP

Professional Training Programme model diagram

They found that ‘peer coaching’ — where teachers come together as equals to share aspects of teaching, to plan new approaches together and to review their experiences of implementing these plans — resulted in ‘greater long-term retention of new strategies and more appropriate use of new teaching models over time’.

Coaching, which includes regular follow-up with the coachee about the progress that they are making, is therefore an important approach to supporting longitudinal changes in classroom practice that enhance the learning experience.

Introducing one-to-one coaching, encouraging teachers to reflect on their own practice and enabling teachers to find their own solutions to problems are the keys to improvement.

Richard Spencer, Teaching and Learning Manager, Bede Sixth-Form College, Billingham

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Who should I appoint as Subject Learning Coach?

In order to answer this question, you will find it helpful to consider the following questions, too.

As a manager, what can I do to support Subject Learning Coaches in my organisation?

Several surveys of the programme, plus feedback from coaches, have highlighted the pivotal role that managers play in supporting Subject Learning Coaches to integrate and embed their work in the curriculum.

You, as a manager, are an essential factor in raising awareness of the programme, convincing teachers and trainers of the benefits of using and developing the teaching and learning resources and of accessing the expertise and support provided by the Subject Learning Coach.

To help you explore ways in which you can support the work of a Subject Learning Coach, try asking yourself the following questions

  • Have I a clear understanding of what a Subject Learning Coach is trained to do? For more on this, see Who should I appoint as a Subject Learning Coach?
  • What mechanisms do I have — or could I put in place — to ensure that the Subject Learning Coach has a job role that all staff fully understand?
  • How can I support the Subject Learning Coach to work effectively and to get their work recognised and valued?
  • How can I see that the Subject Learning Coach is given enough time to carry out their role?
  • How can I embed the work of the Subject Learning Coach in our organisation’s quality improvement strategy and three-year development plan?

Your answers to these questions will help you to frame a way forward. But, in addition, you may like to consider ways in which you can support your Subject Learning Coach:

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