Quality First Teaching: Best Practice Approaches

About course

Quality First Teaching: Best Practice Approaches

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Quality First Teaching (QFT): Embedding Excellence in Every Lesson

A bespoke, in-school course tailored to your exact needs

Many schools are adopting a Quality First Teaching (QFT) approach to raise overall teaching standards, reduce variance in teacher performance, and ensure that every pupil has access to high-quality learning.

But how do we ensure all staff truly understand what QFT looks like—and how it can be applied in day-to-day teaching?

This course clarifies the core principles of QFT, while offering practical, ‘lesson-ready’ strategies to support consistent, impactful practice across the school.

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Course Outcomes

• Clarify what the key features of QFT look like in real classrooms
  
  

• Develop a QFT checklist of 10 high-impact practices to support staff focus
  
  

• Shape an approach to embedding QFT that is realistic, sustainable and accessible
  
  

• Curate a toolkit of strategies to implement QFT with minimal preparation, but maximum effect

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Course Outline

Session 1: QFT Planning Foundations

• Planning with a QFT focus using DfE guidance and cognitive science
  
  

• Teaching vocabulary explicitly as a foundation of ‘Teaching to the Top’
  
  

• Anticipating common misconceptions to ensure more pupils reach a high standard
  
  

Session 2: Differentiation through Waves of Intervention

• Applying the 3 Waves of Intervention to meet the needs of all learners, including those with SEND
  
  

• Using VIPs and checklists for effective Wave 2 support
  
  

• Designing both ‘soft’ and ‘hard’ scaffolding for Wave 3 personalised intervention
  
  

Session 3: Developing Active, Independent Learners

• Teaching through dialogue, not monologue
  
  

• Promoting independent learning and ownership
  
  

• Using authentic praise to build intrinsic motivation and classroom resilience

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Course curriculum

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