Background and context (1 of 4): the role of planning
     “Planning is critical and underpins effective teaching and learning, 
     playing an important role in shaping students’ understanding and 
     progression.”
     “High quality resources, including textbooks, can support teaching, 
     reduce workload by teachers not having to ‘reinvent the wheel’, and 
     ensure high expectations of the content of lessons and conceptual 
     knowledge.”
     “There is a key distinction between the daily lesson plan and lesson 
     planning.  Too often, ‘planning’ refers to the production of daily written 
     lesson plans which function as proxy evidence for an accountability 
     ‘paper trail’ rather than the process of effective planning for pupil 
     progress and attainment.”
     “School leaders should place great value on collaborative curriculum 
     planning which is where teacher professionalism and creativity can be 
     exercised.” 
           Report from Independent Workload Review Group for Planning and Resources, March 2016
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      Background and context (2 of 4): principles
       The principles from the independent 
       report on planning and resources are:
       •  Planning a sequence of lessons is more important than writing 
          individual lesson plans 
       •  Fully resourced schemes of work should be in place for all 
          teachers to use each term 
       •  Planning should not be done simply to please outside 
          organisations 
       •  Planning should take place in purposeful and well defined 
          blocks of time 
       •  Effective planning makes use of high quality resources 
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     Background and context (3 of 4): Ofsted
     Ofsted Inspections: myths states:
     •  Ofsted does not require schools to provide individual 
        lesson plans to inspectors. Equally, Ofsted does not 
        require schools to provide previous lesson plans. 
     •  Ofsted does not specify how planning should be set out, 
        the length of time it should take or the amount of detail it 
        should contain. Inspectors are interested in the 
        effectiveness of planning rather than the form it takes. 
     •  Ofsted does not expect tutor groups/form time to include 
        literacy, numeracy or other learning sessions. Schools 
        can use form time as they wish. 
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      Background and context (4 of 4): discussion
      •  Discuss your immediate responses with a partner:
         •  What resonates positively with you from these 
            statements?
         •  Would you question any of these statements? If 
            so, why?
         •  What are your own biggest issues with planning?
          
         (Write each on a separate post-it)
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       How effectively does our planning 
       move pupils on?
       •  Which elements of our scheme of work/curriculum plan are most 
          helpful?
       •  Are these plans put together in the most efficient way?
       •  How easily can we adapt it for individual lessons with particular 
          classes?
             What can we improve to reduce workload?
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