1. A Quick Guide to the Characteristics of Highly Performing Schools Centre for the Use of Research and Evidence in Education (2014) produced for Teach First

2. Learning Environment Investment in mentoring and coaching Focus on pedagogical strategies linked to student progress Sustained CPD Collaborative teacher learning and peer support ‘Open Door’ culture for observing lessons Focus on subject knowledge Use of internal and external expertise Teachers taking leadership of their CPD

3. Leadership Strong sense of moral purpose Focus on leadership development Leaders engaged in learning themselves Whole-school CPD on curriculum development Extensively involved in ITE Extensive use of data to focus hard on teaching quality Strong leadership of behaviour management Collaborative working High retention rates for new teachers

4. Teaching and Learning Clear learning intentions Focus on overcoming learning barriers Cross curricular strategies in place for high quality teaching Sharing of pedagogy and resources Thinking skills developed Group and peer learning

5. Relationships Learning aligned explicitly with students’ home and community Parental engagement Strong relationships with outside organisations