Lesson Study development in England: from school networks to national policy

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to describe the development of Lesson Study (LS) in England through a Teaching and Learning Research Programme (TLRP) project – from early ideas, to a national pilot and national support from the National Strategies, a new labour government agency supporting improvement in educational standards. Design/methodology/approach The paper describes the early development of LS in England as a process to improve teaching and learning and pupil progress in networks of schools and local authorities, between 2003 and 2006, going on to describe the entrance of LS onto the English national educational policy landscape in 2008. Findings The paper finds that LS has a place in the repertoire of teacher learning approaches and there is evidence that its use can improve teaching, learning and pupil learning outcomes in a range of school contexts. LS works successfully in a system that expects teachers and school leaders to improve professional knowledge and practice through systematic use of collaborative, enquiry based teacher learning approaches. Originality/value The paper provides some examples of the evidence of impact that Lesson Study has had on pupil learning outcomes.