The Education Endowment Foundation in their guidance report: A school’s guide to implementation makes three recommendations:

• Adapt the behaviours that drive implementation by: 

• Engaging people so they can shape what happens while also providing overall direction.

• Uniting people around what is being implemented, how it will be implemented, and why it matters.

• Reflecting, monitoring, and adapting to improve implementation.

• Attend to the contextual factors that influence implementation

• Consider whether what is being implemented is evidence-informed, right for the setting, and feasible to implement.

• Develop systems and structures that support implementation, for example, time allocation or data systems.

• Ensure people who enable change can support, lead, and positively influence implementation.

• Use a structured but flexible implementation process

• Use a structured process to apply the behaviours and contextual factors to your day to day work.

• Adopt a practical and tailored set of implementation strategies organised into manageable phases: Explore, Prepare, Deliver, and Sustain.

• Treat implementation as a process of ongoing learning and improvement.

Effective implementation takes time and is an ongoing process that must adapt to context over time. It should start by accurately diagnosing the issue followed by making evidenced-informed decisions about what is to be implemented. 

‘There are no fixed timelines for a good implementation process: its duration will depend on the intervention itself and the setting in which it will be used. Nevertheless, it can take at least two years to implement complex, whole-school initiatives.’ (EEF: A School’s guide to implementation guidance report)

Schools and leaders can feel pressured to implement change and deliver results rapidly. Of course, rapid change in some circumstances is necessary, however, if we have a culture of short-termism we may face projects not becoming embedded in practice or moving significantly from the intention we started. Sustainability for implementation needs to be woven through the process through regularly revisiting and adapting our implementation plans. 

The EEF recommends adopting a rigorous approach to identifying needs through building a rich picture by gathering and reflecting on a wide range of data and generating credible interpretations of that data through recognising the strengths and weaknesses of the data used and triangulating the evidence from a variety of sources.

By engaging with research and evidence we are more likely to ensure implementation is effective, however, it is important we reflect and analyse the evidence to examine how it relates to the school context and the issue defined. 

‘A culture shift is occurring in English schools towards widespread engagement with research, with evidence-based resources becoming go-to sources of guidance. Yet awareness of evidence does not necessarily result in improved outcomes: implementation is critical for turning engagement with research into tangible changes in school practices and pupil outcomes, including, crucially, for pupils experiencing socio-economic disadvantage.’ (EEF: A School’s guide to implementation guidance report)

This blog was written by Bretta Townend-Jowitt, Education Consultant and Trainer.