Prove Your Education Leadership Chops

Lesson Planning & Design

Required. Lesson planning is the foundational teaching artifact — learning objectives, differentiation strategies, and assessment criteria must be specified and reviewed by a mentor teacher before delivery. The pre-delivery review is the adversarial component; the mentor's written feedback and the student's documented revisions are both submitted as proof. Genuine prerequisite for observed teaching practice — you cannot submit to formal observation without a reviewed and approved lesson plan.

3 milestones

1. 1Write a detailed lesson plan with differentiation
2. 2Deliver the lesson and collect evidence of learning
3. 3Conduct debrief, iterate the plan, and write evaluation

Observed Teaching Practice

Required. Observed teaching follows lesson planning — the reviewed plan is delivered and formally assessed by a mentor teacher or university supervisor. A written observation report using a structured framework is required; a recording without observer presence and written feedback is not accepted. Genuine dependency on lesson planning (seq 10) — the observation report references the submitted lesson plan.

3 milestones

1. 1Conduct a pre-observation planning meeting with mentor
2. 2Deliver observed lesson and receive structured feedback
3. 3Write post-observation developmental action plan

Assessment Design & Marking

Elective. Designing a real assessment and marking student work with a documented scheme. Requires anonymised sample of 3 marked responses and reflection on what the assessment revealed. Mentor teacher review required. DBS clearance required.

3 milestones

1. 1Design a summative assessment instrument with mark scheme
2. 2Apply assessment in practice and produce a marked sample
3. 3Analyse assessment outcomes and produce feedback plan

Behaviour Management & Classroom Environment

Elective. Documenting real behaviour management strategies across at least 3 supervised sessions — strategies applied, effects observed, and mentor teacher written attestation. DBS clearance required. No pupil identifying information.

3 milestones

1. 1Document and analyse classroom behaviour patterns over three observed lessons
2. 2Apply a structured behaviour strategy and document outcomes across two lessons
3. 3Produce behaviour management reflection and strategy review

Teaching Portfolio & Critical Reflection

Elective. Structured reflective portfolio covering at least 5 supervised teaching sessions using a recognised reflective framework (Gibbs, Kolb, or equivalent). Each entry: teaching theory applied, observed effect, change made as a result. Mentor teacher or university tutor sign-off required. DBS clearance required. Integrating capstone proof for the path.

3 milestones

1. 1Curate evidence from placement observations across two Teachers' Standards
2. 2Write critical annotations for each evidence item
3. 3Write integrated reflective commentary and obtain mentor endorsement