This conference will be online:-

• Presenters are presenting via webcam, accompanied by slides and activities
• Opportunities for delegate questions and comments
• A short task between the two sessions
• A copy of the slides will be made available after the course, along with further materials

This is a one day course split over two dates, sessions will be 4pm to 6:30pm on both days.

With Ofsted’s 2025 framework now evaluating sixth form provision across multiple dimensions—curriculum intent, implementation, impact, inclusion, and personal development—this CPD equips post-16 educators with the tools to deliver exceptional teaching that meets the highest standards.

Designed for Heads of Sixth Form, A Level subject leads, and post-16 teachers, this course explores how to create a learning environment where students thrive academically and personally, and where teaching is both rigorous and responsive.

A Level Students or Pupils?

Most post-16 teachers believe that A level students should be treated more as adults than as traditional students. And adults, research such as Illeris’ Three Dimensions of Learning Model claims, are different from children when it comes to their motivations for learning.

““(Post-16 students) learn what they want to learn and what is meaningful for them to learn. (They) are not very inclined to learn something they are not interested in, or in which they cannot see the meaning or importance.” Prof K. Illeris, University of Education, Copenhagen.”

Course outline

Curriculum Intent : Designing Purposeful A Level Learning

• Define a clear rationale for post-16 curriculum choices, ensuring progression from KS4 and readiness for higher education or employment.
• Align subject intent with students’ motivations and adult learning principles (e.g. Illeris’ model).
• Ensure curriculum ambition for all learners, including those from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Curriculum Implementation : Teaching that Engages and Stretches

• Explore effective strategies for adapting your teaching in mixed-ability A Level classes.
• Move beyond didactic delivery to foster independent thinking, discussion, and metacognitive skills.
• Use research-informed pedagogy to support deep learning (e.g. retrieval practice, spaced learning, modelling).
• Integrate assessment for learning and feedback loops that drive progress.

Curriculum Impact : Evidencing High-Quality Outcomes

• Ensure students produce work of consistently high standard across subjects.
• Use data and tracking to inform teaching and support intervention.
• Develop strategies to improve exam technique, revision habits, and long-term retention.
• Evaluate impact through student voice, outcomes, and progression routes.

Developing the Independent A Level Learner

• Support students in developing key skills: critical thinking, academic writing, time management, and resilience.
• Create a learning community that values autonomy, collaboration, and intellectual curiosity.
• Embed personal development and well-being into the sixth form experience.

Professional Reflection and Research Engagement

• Review what students say makes an exceptional A Level lesson.
• Analyse Ofsted’s expectations for sixth form provision under the new framework.
• Reflect on how curriculum design, pedagogy, and assessment interact to raise attainment.

Presenter Profile

Ed is Curriculum & Literacy Associate for JMC Education and Education Manager at the University of Bath, leading a major curriculum transformation and evaluation project in the Humanities and Social Sciences.

Eds leadership expertise in schools includes leading teaching and learning, curriculum change, and on staff development as Deputy Head (Academic) in an HMC boarding school. He has 15 years experience leading digital learning, including as Head of Education for an English and Maths edtech platform, and he is a Microsoft Certified Educator. He is a governor of an SEMH primary, secondary and AP multi-academy trust with responsibility for safeguarding. He has also previously been a director of a mainstream MAT and has board experience in HE and third sector care and heritage organisations.

After graduating from Oxford University, he qualified as an English teacher with Teach First in a London Challenge school. He has subsequently led literacy in state and independent schools and is adept at developing whole-school and department-specific literacy within a classroom and digital context.

Ed has been a highly engaged Ambassador for Teach First supporting the Initial Teacher Training of English and MFL teachers in a variety of contexts and as an Associate Tutor at the annual Summer Institute.

Broader education experience includes A-Level examining, running summer intervention programs to improve transition from primary school, and education trials including the use of Virtual Reality in English and the humanities, a Microsoft Reading Progress pilot, and NFER-led studies on assessment in English.

Cost: £250 per delegate; £299 for 2 teachers from the same school booking on this course

Booking Form

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