Research Group Projects at NKS

During the academic year of 2024/25, colleagues at NKS were offered the opportunity to lead a research group for a year as part of whole school CPD. This was a new venture for us on our school CPD programme, and we are pleased to have 11 colleagues who had interesting project ideas to present to staff. Research group leaders pitched their ideas for projects, and then all staff were invited to collaborate on a project which interested them. 

Once the groups were allocated, the first meetings took place in July 2024. In total, 5 more meetings took place over the rest of the academic year. The agenda and focus for these meetings was directed by the group leader. During this time, existing research was identified and examined; control groups were established and research models designed. Staff were then able to develop their own resources and trial these within our school setting, providing feedback to their group lead.

The outcomes, as you will see, have had an impact on teaching and learning, and build on our work with memory and metacognition, but not all projects are classroom based. Some have challenged expectations and behaviours within our school community and have directly linked into the EDI work we already carry out in school. Other projects have developed student and parental engagement, and develop a greater sense of community and belonging within the school environment.

I would invite you to read the following reports from our Research Group Leaders and see for yourself what has been developed this year across the projects. It is exciting to see what has been achieved across a wide range of research titles, and how this might inform future work here at NKS.