I often return to the subject of collaboration, the advantages of learning from each other, encouraging creativity and sharing good practice cannot be under estimated. There is plenty of evidence to show that, when used effectively, it is an important tool for developing successful learners and raising achievement. As teachers, it is important that we use this model within our classrooms and that we also foster collaborative opportunities amongst our teaching community.

Effective collaborative strategies have been at the centre of our professional development programme this term at BGS. We have encouraged teachers to work in teams to plan, deliver and evaluate the impact of collaborative classroom practices. This week, we widened access and have thrown open our classrooms and encouraged our colleagues to visit and learn from each other.

Open Door Week has seen 46 lessons available across the Senior and Junior Schools for staff to observe, and it has been fantastic to see so many staff taking part, popping in and out of classes and providing feedback on the strategies they have seen.

The opportunity, in a busy working week, to spend time in another classroom has many benefits. Not only does it stimulate ideas that can be transposed from a different subject area into your own planning, but it also allows teachers to observe how their students respond to different teaching practices and stimuli, helping to provide strategies which can then be employed to get the absolute best out each and every student.

Our educational ethos is pinned to the individual, as we seek for each girl to achieve her utmost, so the more insights we can have into how each girl responds and engages to different methods, the better we can fine tune our interactions to help develop individual learning skills and attributes.

At the end of the session, colleagues feedback on what they have observed. This peer evaluation is important, it helps us reflect on what we have seen and how it could be adapted to a different subject area, but it also provides feedback to the teachers about how they can further refine and adapt their practice to suit the specific needs of individual students.

The benefits of the week have not been restricted to the teachers. It has been fascinating to see how the girls have been responding to a stream of visitors; how, a point in the year which can be often be seen as a post-exams lull, is suddenly revitalised and the girls reinvigorated. They too are benefiting from the sense that we are all learning as a community as they are keen to demonstrate the skills they are developing to different teachers.

Open Door Week is just the start of collaboration. It is the beginning of conversations between colleagues, which will continue in the staff room or more formal settings, all focused on how we can ensure that we are always raising the aspirations of our students, inspiring them to demonstrate their intellect, to enquire just that bit deeper and to grow as open-minded, life-long learners.