Transforming how pupils learn in schools

I have been a member of the Churchill Fellowship’s Advisory Council since 2014. I am a former head teacher, and I still work with schools as a governor and as a consultant developing leadership in education.

What has impressed me about meeting applicants for the Fellowship in previous years, and from having worked with former Fellows, is the energy and passion that they bring. I am inspired when reading their research proposals and when meeting them at their interviews. Applicants have, in the past, been teachers in training, newly qualified practitioners or senior colleagues. Some applicants have also come from other professions that support education or career development in other ways. What is important is that applicants have a project about which they would like to research and then share conclusions as widely as possible. Where we can, through our wide networks, we may help you with your research and with the dissemination of your findings.

This autumn, we will reopen for Fellowship applications in our Education in schools programme and would welcome ideas for projects related to improving or transforming how children and young people learn in schools. The Fellowship encourages applicants to learn from research and initiatives overseas, to contribute to projects that may help children enjoy good mental health or address the widening of the attainment gap affecting disadvantaged pupils. This has been more acute, perhaps, in STEM subjects. Of particular interest may be to see how other countries are emerging from the Covid-19 pandemic and are investing in their provision for education.

I encourage you to read the reports from Fellows online, to see the range of projects in the Education and Skills theme and to discover how Fellows have learned from practitioners abroad. They have shared their own experience when on their travels and reflected on their findings on their return home. What has particularly encouraged me since joining the charity has been to see how the Fellows themselves have developed professionally from their research and from the professional relationships that they have built. I feel strongly that the Fellowship programme has made a positive contribution to educational provision in this country and will continue to do so.

Our Education in schools Fellowship programme opened again for applications on 12 September 2023.

Andrew Trotman is a member of our Advisory Council. He is a former headteacher of four schools and a specialist in leadership development in the education sector. He is an educational adviser for The Clergy Support Trust and an accredited associate of the Association of Education Advisers.