What makes an inspiring teacher?

Being an inspiring teacher is not something reserved for a few elite teachers. New research from CfBT Education Trust explored the notion of inspiring teaching by looking at what a group of teachers who had been identified by their headteachers as “inspirational” did in the classroom. 

The teachers were those whom their headteachers thought most likely to be considered “outstanding” in their practice according to Ofsted. Their characteristics were identified using different methods: a study of their behaviours (through observations), what they thought (through interviews), and how their students thought about them and their lessons (through questionnaires). 

The research was commissioned by CfBT Education Trust as part of a collaborative professional development initiative involving the academies within the CfBT Schools Trust.