How can schools make lasting improvements that benefit every pupil, especially those facing disadvantage? Our three-year partnership with Liverpool City Council and School Improvement Liverpool offers valuable answers.
Liverpool’s Education Improvement Plan set out a bold ambition: to break down barriers to learning and improve outcomes for all pupils by supporting teachers to keep getting better.
One of the plan’s key priorities was recruiting, developing, supporting and retaining the best teachers and school leaders. To help them achieve this, we partnered with Liverpool City Council in 2022, combining our national expertise with deep local knowledge.
This article explores five lessons on what works when it comes to designing targeted, evidence-informed professional development that's adapted to local needs.
1. Partnership is powerful
The city-wide approach to professional development has been far-reaching. It involved over 300 teachers and leaders from more than 80 schools, directly benefitting over 41,000 pupils across the city. But it wouldn’t have been possible without close collaboration with Liverpool City Council and School Improvement Liverpool to understand local priorities and context.
From the start, we designed the programme to be place-based and responsive to the specific challenges schools in the city were facing.
Jane Holmes, Director of Education Services at School Improvement Liverpool, said:
"Ambition listened, found out about the good work already happening and valued Liverpool’s context. They adapted existing programmes, introduced bespoke special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) content and expanded the offer with their new Instructional Coaching programme. This flexible approach maximised public funds."
Raksha Pattni, National Partnerships Director at Ambition Institute, explains our tailored approach:
"It wasn't about us just parachuting in. It was about working very closely with Liverpool City Council to understand the region’s overall position and education landscape, what it was aiming to achieve and what else was happening. Based on this we then considered how we could support Liverpool to achieve its Education Improvement Plan."
2. Evidence-informed professional development delivers lasting change
The programme delivered a package of high-quality, research-based professional development across five strands, each carefully tailored for the city's schools. This covered everything from developing aspiring headteachers to exploring innovative teacher development practices.
At every stage, the programme was rooted in evidence. We drew on the latest research into effective teaching, leadership and professional learning. Teachers and leaders taking part particularly valued the practical strategies, research summaries and opportunities to reflect on their own context.
89% of those surveyed said they would recommend the training, and 83% said they had made lasting changes to their practice, with a positive impact on their classroom and school.
Andrew Hart, Assistant Principal at Alsop High School, described the difference:
"Ambition training is the best CPD I have received. Informed by a solid evidence base of credible sources and transformative to mindset and practice, we were able to see measurable positive change as a result of what was learned on the programme."
3. Building networks strengthens professional culture
One of the most powerful outcomes of professional development delivered across a whole city was how it created a shared experience and culture around professional learning. Teachers and leaders described feeling more confident, better equipped, and more able to support colleagues. They valued the opportunity to build connections with peers across the city too.
Barry Williams, Personal Development Advocate at Alsop High School, highlighted the ripple effect:
"It’s almost like a shared language across Liverpool now, when you meet others who’ve done the training, you can spot it straight away."
This sense of community has helped schools embed consistent approaches to teaching and professional development, making it easier for staff to collaborate and support each other.
4. Listening and adapting is key to offering the right support
Responding flexibly to changing needs throughout the partnership was key to the partnership’s success. A key aim was to improve the quality of curriculum, leadership, and teaching. When the council and education team felt that support for the city’s curriculum needs had been met through the Transforming Teaching programme, we realised that our new Instructional Coaching programme could make a strong impact on achieving the plan’s goals, even though it hadn’t been part of the initial scope.
Through the Instructional Coaching offer we helped to build real expertise in teaching and coaching, developing confident, skilled coaches who know how to support colleagues, drive improvement and help every pupil thrive. It was a successful adaption, with 94% of respondents saying the Instructional Coaching programme motivated them to improve their practice.
We also included tailored content for SEND settings and adapted delivery formats to suit busy school calendars.
Teachers and leaders appreciated the practical, context-sensitive approach. Joe Stevenson, Subject Leader at St Christopher’s Catholic Primary School, said:
"The main thing I took away from the course really was to try and reduce the workload for staff… it reaffirmed the importance of doing what’s right for your school and your context."
By listening and adapting, we made sure the programme remained relevant and accessible for schools’ needs so that it could have the biggest impact.
5. Leadership development supports career progression
A key aim for Liverpool was supporting headteacher retention. We supported leadership development through a Future Heads programme. It was designed to support aspiring leaders and fill gaps in knowledge around topics such as finance and cognitive science.
Three teachers have already stepped in headteacher roles. Others have been promoted to deputy head or head of school positions, and one has become an Ofsted inspector.
Emily Tobin, Deputy Headteacher at Abbot’s Lea School, said:
"This course has really taught me what a time saver research is. If you go to the right sources, you can avoid doing something that’s not going to have an impact, so that’s the bigger thinking."
By developing leaders, the partnership not only helped individual careers but strengthened schools and improved outcomes for pupils through high-quality teaching and learning practices.
The impact of place-based professional development
Targeted professional development has created the conditions for Liverpool’s schools to better recruit, develop and retain excellent teachers and leaders while helping to give every child the best start in life.
Yalinie Vigneswaran, Executive Director of Programmes at Ambition Institute, said:
"The impact we have seen is a testament to what can be achieved when evidence, partnership and a shared commitment to children come together. The dedication and commitment of everyone involved has been inspiring. Educators have deepened their expertise, strengthened their leadership, and created changes that will endure in their schools and communities."
