This Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) work offers five evidence-based recommendations to support pupils with SEND, providing a starting point for schools to review their current approach and practical ideas they can implement.

Organised into numerous sections (for example, cognition and learning, organisation, concentration, time management, etc.), the toolkit provides teachers with a wide range practical QFT strategies

UDL originated in America and is in many ways a synonym for QFP. UDL is fully embedded in the Irish early years context and also often used in the UK.

The Evaluator's Cookbook is a tool for gathering pupil voice. In relation to QFP, the activities can be a great way to find out what children are finding more difficult and then respond appropriately. For example, use the Lock and Key activity to support a child to identify the challenge (the lock) and think about what strategy they think might help them (the key)

This observation schedule is used to conduct a SEND Climate Walk (the principle could be extended to inclusion more broadly). As part of the school's focus on inclusion, QFP is an area staff are looking for when on the 'Climate Walk'.

This tool could be used as a method for assessing existing practice or monitoring progress

Quality First Practice Survey (MS Forms).

We used this survey with all teachers (including SLT) and Teaching Assistants to gain a baseline understanding of staff understanding of QFT. 

This survey is freely available for any educational setting to copy and use. 

The curriculum walk was conducted by various school leaders. Members of the team focussed on a range of curriculum related elements, including some who made a note of QFP practice. Consider whether it should be the SENCO or the curriculum leader that focusses on QFP; perhaps the SENCO and a curriculum leader might do some preliminary work together and then the role is handed over to curriculum leaders entirely. 

This tool can be used as a baseline for assessing staff confidence in removing barriers and making reasonable adjustments for children with SEND.

Once staff had completed the QFP Survey, this PowerPoint was designed to meet staff CPD needs. The PowerPoint was presented as part of an INSET day.

Using the structure of the EEF 5 a day resources, staff used post-its to note down all the QFT strategies they were aware off. The post-it's were then typed up and put together to form this school QFP poster.

Staff completed this activity as part of an INSET day (see the Inset day PowerPoint above for more information).

This CPD activity is designed to get staff thinking about QFP at multiple levels, from: child, to group, to class, to Key Stage, to whole school.

The purpose of the activity is to reflect on the distinctions between 'quality first teaching' and 'quality first practice'.

This PowerPoint slide contains questions for curriculum leaders that focus on their role in relation to QFP and SEND.

As curriculum leaders focus on their responses to the questions, the process of facilitating distributive inclusive leadership in your setting is strengthened.

This PowerPoint slide contains reflective questions that teachers might consider when observing one another's practice. 

The questions could be used as part of peer-to-peer reflective CPD.

There is no one set way to define QFP. Neil Almond has this definition:

Quality First Teaching is a style of teaching that emphasises high quality, inclusive teaching for all pupils in a class. Quality first teaching includes differentiated learning, strategies to support SEN pupils’ learning in class, on-going formative assessment and many others.

It can be a good idea to create your setting’s definition (the INSET day PowerPoint is designed to help with this). We recommend that however you choose to define QFP you ensure the word ‘inclusion/inclusive’ is embedded

Forming the co-operative created opportunities to learn from one another. Sharing resources, creating opportunities to visit one another’s settings, or just having regular Microsoft Teams catch-ups are critical to the success of the co-operative.