Impact Teams – 5 reasons to be excited!

A blog from Osiris Educational

Impact teams launch day

Impact Teams – 5 reasons to be excited!

After two years we have finally brought the Impact Teams approach to the UK. This high impact approach to school improvement is a unique combination of collaboration, coaching, inquiry and protocols.

Developed by Paul Bloomberg and Barb Pritchard, it has revolutionised professional learning in the USA. Learning gains of 5% year on year have been sustained in some of the most challenging school environments.

The gains

Research has proven a causal link between the use of Impact Teams and improved outcomes for participating schools. No other programme has generated so much improvement, so quickly and in such a range of schools.

The process

Impact Teams leverages what teachers already know and do. Unlike other initiatives it starts where the teachers are at, with what works in their school. It leverages and iterates existing approaches upskilling teachers along the way. The result is rapid adoption and quicker outcomes.

The protocols

Central to the Impact Teams approach is the way rigorous protocols re-engineer existing meeting structures. This means no extra workload but much more effective use of existing time. Once the approach is adopted it can be used to evolve all manner of foci, from reading standards through to EAL progress. As the old saying goes, ‘it ain’t what you do it’s the way that you do it, that’s what gets results.’

The Progressions

Under the protocols and through expert coaching, progressions are unpacked and become highly sequenced in manners that all learners can access. This makes next steps highly visible to everyone involved in the learning process. By training staff and learners in these progressions and formative process to accessing learning everyone becomes thoroughly involved.

Learner Agency

At the heart of the best interventions, learner agency is leveraged to raise expectations and increase drive and motivation. With high visibility, no child is left floundering. All know what the task in hand is, how to apply due process, where they need to head next and have a real eagerness to make the move.

We travelled to Staten Island NYC to meet Paul and see the Impact Teams in action across a several schools. District leaders couldn’t believe that they finally had an approach that achieved scalable, sustained outcomes. School leaders loved the fact that they only had to sign up, for one year at a time. Most had been using the programme for four and five years, confident in the process and response of their staff… and the results spoke for themselves.

Most of all they were made up that instead of shooting for the ‘new new’ they were leveraging existing expertise and managing it better.

In August 2019, we launched Impact Teams in the UK with the help of Paul and a group of schools in Leicester. To find out more or join us on this journey call 01790 755 783 or follow it on #impactteams

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