John Fairhurst, headteacher at Shenfield High School in Essex, wants today's teachers to be more professional, and better paid, than was the case when he was starting out. He has encouraged his staff to take on a new Masters in Teaching qualification, run at Shenfield by Jon Pickering from the Institute of Education in London. School-based and school-focused, the M Teach project has been both popular and successful. Teachers have devised research projects taken from their own practice and classrooms, and based on the school's teaching and learning needs as identified by Ofsted. Head of 6th Form Jo Wood is looking at differentiation in the 6th form, while business studies teacher Zoe Moss and an ICT teacher are working on vocational education. English teacher Lynsey Paddock is looking at how effective her teaching style is, while science teacher Carrie Hill is looking at ways of stretching Gifted and Talented students in the school.

Video Series: Innovation
Release Date 2008