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Chris Quigley

chris_cutout
Role: Director

Chris is a respected figure in primary education, with a versatile career that spans roles as a Teacher, Head Teacher, Lead Inspector and trainer of inspectors. As the creative force behind Chris Quigley Education, he oversees a team of specialists who deliver inspiring courses, resources and consultancy in the UK and internationally.

More than just an engaging speaker, Chris is highly regarded for making complex educational concepts accessible through his well-crafted support materials. An established publisher, his works have found audiences in over 16 countries, attesting to his broad impact.

At the heart of Chris's work is a core belief: that all children should feel clever and that the right educational environment allows every child to discover their talents and succeed.

Chris delivered a two hour, online session giving advice on schemes of work, road maps and medium term plans.

It was really useful, especially Chris' insight on how to include assessment in our units of work and improve them so they're more useful documents. Being able to discuss what was relevant and what wasn't was extremely helpful.  Chris was able to answer all our questions and give us some great tips to adapt our plans to include an in depth look at assessment. Excellent! Just what we needed.

Phil Clarke, Head of Education
Prudentia Education, Liverpool

Chris delivered a day's training on Understanding and Promoting Metacognition and Making Learning Successful

The session provided opportunities for students to apply or reflect on key learning in the context of their subject or other subjects. Links to prior learning and the topics were addressed as per discussions and planning emails. The way in which Chris structured the day to focus on key topics/elements of how pupils learn was useful. Very efficient, helpful, detailed and extremely useful that it is online. Thank you.

Sarah Ramsden, SCITT Director
North East Partnership SCITT

The course Chris delivered, Curriculum Design & Implementation, was very informative. Staff were inspired to go away and make the adjustments needed to improve our practice. It was really useful to get a clear definition of the types of knowledge and how that works with implementation. I would highly recommend to others and would rate our booking as 10/10.

Steph Burgoyne, Head Teacher
St Andrew's CE Primary School, Shropshire

This event was part of a really important piece of work in our 3 trust schools beginning to collaborate on curricular development and staff felt Chris delivered a really useful session in cementing their understanding of the fundamentals. It gave opportunity for staff to link back to the design of the Essentials Curriculum and how to effectively use the Curriculum Companion products that each school has access to. I would rate my booking as excellent. Good communication throughout the process from booking to delivery. Many thanks for your support.

Sasha Furze
Enrich Learning Trust, Norwich

It was great to have Chris listening to our bespoke needs of being a very small school and supporting us with mapping out the curriculum for some of our subjects that require a 4-year rolling programme.

Joanne Linnett, Headteacher
Willoughby Primary School, Nottingham

Chris worked with this school online to deliver a bespoke session on Assessment.

Being able to create a bespoke programme that built upon where we are as a school helped us to clarify - and simplify - our assessment approach. It enabled teachers to strengthen their own schema around curriculum and assessment as we keep coming back to the same messages. This places us in a strong position going forward. Overall, taking into account all the sessions to date, Chris has helped us to clarify education in way we didn't realise was possible.

Tim Woodford, Headteacher
Rownhams St John's CE Primary School, Hampshire

Chris gives so many practical ideas that can be used in school to drive improvement. Chris has the expertise to deal with questions effectively. I would rate my booking as outstanding.

Ian Beardmore
Educational Associates Ltd, Staffordshire

Chris delivered a bespoke session on breaking down lessons to promote retention, not just imparting knowledge for foundation subjects. The school are using Rosenshine's principles of instruction but need to break these down for pupils with visual examples for subjects.

All content was very useful but particularly practical strategies and modelled examples of how to implement different principles. Excellent, informative and inspiring.

Diane George, Deputy Head and SENDco
All Saints C of E Primary School, Croyden

The golden sentences and understanding the use of scaffolding for all children to access the learning was very useful. As always, Chris was clear and informative, we will definitely use you again.

Briony Blow, Assistant Headteacher
Betty Layward Primary School, London

The training was a great introduction to cognitive science for our ITT students. It introduced our trainees to the evidence bases and challenged their thinking around how children learn. Chris demonstrated and reinforced the principles in his delivery which provided a model for their own teaching.

Joanne Fairley
North East Partnership SCITT

We’ve had a fantastic day today with Chris - just what I was looking for, the theory and support with where we are at and how to move forward. Thank you.

Janis Williams
Myton Park Primary School, Stockton-on-Tees

Superb. Thank you for your excellent pre course support and for Chris' time and care yesterday. Sharing different aspects of learning, mixing theory and practical from the Infusing Rich Vocabulary course was very useful.

Claire McKeown, Headteacher
St Thomas Cantilupe CofE Academy, Hereford

The Making it Stick course we had booked was very good and it met the objective for the planned INSET day. It was useful to reflect on our practice and to identify areas for improvements. Our next steps are to revisit the theory research with a thirst to read more. 

Anitha Venugopal, Deputy Headteacher
Arundel Court Infant School

It was an absolute pleasure welcoming Chris again for 2 days of leadership CPD sessions. Chris's advice and guidance is always based on the most up-to date educational research and practice. His sessions are always completely bespoke to our context and personalised to our specific needs at any moment in time. He always listens intently and guides us with his empathetic approach and extensive knowledge of curriculum design and assessment. We found the sessions for assessment for learning, formative and summative assessment extremely useful especially in terms of purpose, definition, frequency and audience. Chris always finds time to help us QA our curriculum and this time was really helpful in guiding our approach to long and medium term planning.

Julie Barnett, Vice Principal
Melland High School

Very helpful to sharpen focus on rationale for implementing the curriculum companion and enhancing the curriculum. Really enjoyed looking at the concept thresholds and how this could be developed to personalise our curriculum. I would rate the quality of my booking as excellent. Thank you.

Liz Carter
Seabrook CofE Primary School

Each session was very well presented. Chris was able to use pertinent examples to show how the theory and research can be put into practice. He structured the sessions effectively to allow time for discussions. His use of visual aides on his presentation was very effective. Chris was very personable, engaging and knowledgeable. The day went by very quickly and provided 'food for thought' as well as reassurances that as a school we are broadly on the right track.

Joel Routledge
Beaconhill Primary School

I would wholeheartedly recommend Chris Quigley Education to other schools.

Joel Routledge
Beaconhill Primary School

The work with Chris has changed our curriculum in a short period of time, we simply would not have been able to do this without him.

Emma Milburn, Headteacher, Seascape Primary School, Durham

Chris delivered ‘Making it Stick: The Science of Successful Learning’ to the Methodist Academies Schools Trust, Birmingham:

Chris has a of wealth of valuable knowledge and it was a pleasure to take part in his training.

Valuable take away opportunities and ideas to enhance learning.

I would highly recommend this training and other training by Chris to others.

The knowledge shared was and is very beneficial and purposeful.

I now understand the importance of embedding the learning rather than focusing on the task type. Memory is the residue of thought.

Methodist Academies Schools Trust, Birmingham

Our day with Chris was amazing and has left us all with lots to think about it and excited about how we can implement writing to learn in the academies. It has been a seamless process from start to finish with great communication throughout and a genuinely inspirational day – thank you!

Gemma Curtis, Headteacher, Cherry Willingham Primary Academy/Priory Federation

The whole of the CPD provided by Chris was invaluable and insightful as it was underpinned by key research with clear explanations and examples which can impact ‘Quality First Teaching’ across all career expectations (Early Teachers to SLT). It created a real professional buzz which was brilliant. All our staff were engaged and enthusiastic throughout the interaction.

Simrat Mavi, Deputy Headteacher, St Giles Primary, Willenhall

Totally brilliant, thank you! Have booked Chris for this time next year already.

Claire McKeown, Headteacher, St Thomas Cantilupe C of E Primary School

Chris was very engaging and clearly passionate, knowledgeable and well researched. This was well pitched for STARS in that we are already reviewing our curriculum intent, implementation and impact. This course affirmed what we are doing and gave us new knowledge and understanding to have a clear focus for further development.

Beverley Williamson, Headteacher, Sutton Tuition and Reintegration Service (STARS)

Chris’ training was so engaging and relevant to our next steps in curriculum development.  All members of staff who I have spoken to found it incredibly interesting and useful.  His manner and extensive knowledge of the subject made the day highly motivating and enjoyable.

Kate Yates, Headteacher, Mount Primary, Wirral
Professional discussion around curriculum organisation and delivery that best fits present thinking. Golden sentences- very excited about developing these across all subjects.
Jeanette Little, Headteacher, Feckenham CE Primary School, Worcs
Chris’ work is grounded in sound research and pedagogy – staff really respected that and also the content is inspirational in its ambition for equity. This really helped me shift staff understanding as to why I want us to work on vocabulary.
Maria Stegenwalner, Headteacher, St Mary's School, Jersey
The session was well paced and structured and the training materials were clear and easy to use/follow. The session was extremely well presented and Chris gave lots of great practical tips and strategies to take away and use in the classroom. The whole school approach to teaching vocabulary outlined was clear and easy to adopt. We really liked the links across the curriculum and the progression across subjects. Also great to have time to stop and reflect throughout and talk to other colleagues through chats in rooms.
Roade English Hub, Northampton
All of Chris’ ideas are evidence based which impacts on whole school improvement. I would rate my booking as outstanding - Chris is so current.
Ian Beardmore, Educational Associates Ltd, Staffordshire
Very bespoke implementation session with lots of real-life examples from schools. Plenty of opportunity for discussion and reflection despite being virtual. It was a brilliant session and gave us plenty of food for thought going forward with the development of our curriculum.
Greenside Primary School, Leeds
Thank you to Chris for inspiring us to embed retrieval across the curriculum and supporting our CPD programme so well. The sessions were well-structured with good links to school development areas, had clear explanations and a lively and engaging presentation. I would rate my booking as excellent.
Anne-Marie McElhinney, Headteacher, St Thomas More Catholic Primary School, Peterborough
The most useful parts of the day were the definition of key phrases Chris gave, such as Cultural Capital - we had not given this as much thought as perhaps we should have done previously. It was useful to understand the theory behind many of the points discussed. Self-Evaluation was also useful - we will now use this as part of our subject on a page and use the questions to help identify areas that staff can work on to gain extra insight into their subjects. I would rate my booking as very high. As a group of schools it makes sense for us to come together so that we can get a speaker of a high calibre. Thank you for being so flexible with the booking too - it is appreciated!
Dan Bowden, Headteacher, Greenvale Primary School, Surrey
Thanks for a great session. Chris was able to combine the DT with the role of subject leader as requested. I would rate my booking as excellent, the team couldn’t have been more helpful.
Catherine Hollis, Headteacher, Linton Primary School, Derbyshire
The session was outstanding and provided further ideas on how we design and implement a curriculum that leads to students' long-term retention and deeper understanding. It was also very helpful to have the points made supported by research so that staff can easily access these if needed. Chris also gave a great description of how to assess the impact of a curriculum and how hard it is to see learning happening within the classroom.
Ann Corry/Carmen Leung, Trinity Catholic High School, Essex
The day was a great success. Chris was fantastic and the delegates got so much out of the day. We have had lots of positive feedback, with lots of delegates hoping to implement this in their own school. The handouts and articles given to read were useful. Delegates particularly enjoyed the breakout rooms. This was a great opportunity to share ideas with others. 10 out of 10, thank you!
Molly Wortley, Literacy Specialist/Hub Lead, Lacey Green English Hub, Cheshire
The inset was amazing – thank you Chris. Our staff were motivated and inspired and thought that everything made perfect sense. Hearing about starting every lesson with a reminder of what has gone before, as well as the information about how children learn and embed knowledge into their long-term memory was particularly useful.
Natalie Hill, St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, West Midlands
A great day of quality CPD, lots of things to take away and discuss as SLT and for subject leaders too. Thank you, Chris.
Ceri O'Sullivan, EYFS Lead, Loxdale Primary School, West Midlands
The day was highly engaging and delivered key messages about cognitive science and learning theories based on evidence-based research, supported with real life examples. Our trainees gained new knowledge and were challenged in their thinking. The course was personalised really well to reach our primary and secondary trainees and also touching on their specialism of PE. We were really well supported by the team and the booking process was seamless. Thank you!
Joanne Fairley, North East Partnership SCITT
Writing has been our biggest area of focus for children across school over the last couple of years post-lockdowns. We really needed some practical advice and ideas for how to incorporate meaningful writing opportunities across our whole curriculum which this course (Writing to Learn) did perfectly. Chris’ delivery was excellent and really engaging (he managed to keep us all interested and involved until 6.00pm).
Rob Adams, Headteacher, South Gosforth First School, Newcastle upon Tyne
The session Chris delivered focused on the research and rationale of designing our own curriculum. It was clear and informative and gave staff a good understanding of the changes we are making at school. It was just what we wanted and the staff passed back positive feedback. I would rate my booking as fantastic, easy and straight forward. Always there for support. Thank you.
Toby Boulter, Assistant Headteacher, Fairmeadows Foundation Primary School, Derbyshire
The whole day was inspiring for myself and the rest of staff in my school. The subject knowledge and delivery of the session was outstanding and made every member of staff think how they can apply this into their own practice. Everyday someone has been to me to discuss aspects of the training that Chris provided and it is making a huge impact on the pupils in our academy. First class training!!
Lee Drake, Acting Assistant Headteacher, Yarborough Academy, Lincolnshire
Thank you so much for the training today (Retrieval Practice). I have had such positive feedback from everyone. It worked really well on Zoom. Having the break out rooms was actually really efficient – probably more so than in person. Chris’ delivery style works well over Zoom and it remained as engaging as ever.
Sarah Binns, Headteacher, Stannington Infant School (Peak Edge MAT), Sheffield
Our training with Chris was perfect, thank you. We found the understanding of the importance of learning and the link to long-term memory useful, as well as the 5 principles which helped break everything down. The ‘take away’ ideas were really useful too.
Mrs W J Pang, Headteacher, Great Chart Primary School, Kent
Feedback from participants was that all parts of the day with Chris were beneficial and thought provoking. The quality of our booking was excellent with great support in the lead up to the delivery.
Jackie Woodhead, Strategic Hub Lead, Westgarth English Hub, Cleveland
Your training has transformed the way that we think about teaching and learning! The sessions are incredibly useful and it all makes complete sense.
Carley Preston, Assistant Headteacher, Devonshire Primary School, Lancs
Staff reported that they had really enjoyed the course; they found it informative, made clearer our reasons behind how we were redesigning the curriculum and also offered really good helpful teaching and learning tips. Staff also commented that they recognised Chris had taught us in the way he was advocating, which the TAs recognised and appreciated ‘seeing it in action’. I would rate my booking as excellent.
Catherine Clayton-Young, Headteacher, Griffin Park Primary School, Lancs
Excellent ideas linked to evidence-based research. Lots of practical ideas to support school improvement. Chris is at the forefront of school improvement.
Ian Beardmore, Educational Associates Ltd, Staffordshire
Our day with Chris was excellent. We will definitely be booking up again and looking at your resources.
Barbara Middleton, Headteacher, Shiremoor Primary School, Tyne and Wear
Just what we needed to move our curriculum forward and exactly what we had hoped for. It was our first whole staff virtual training day and it went well. There were many useful conversations in the breakout rooms and both myself and the deputy are very pleased with the progress our staff have made following today. Thanks again to Chris.
Emma Rowntree, Headteacher, Seascape Primary School Durham
Chris is such a knowledgeable and engaging speaker. We were clear about the quality of input that he would bring to our organisation. It was an enjoyable day during which we learned lots. Thank you.
Nick Southgate, Academies Group Executive Principal (AGEP), Diocese of Norwich Education and Academies Trust (DNEAT)
All aspects of the day were useful and we were most impressed with how the fact the event was virtual did not detract from the focus. Best facilitator we use!
Ian Beardmore, Educational Associates Ltd, Staffordshire
The content was delivered in an engaging, meaningful way which modelled the strategies that were drawn out from the science. It was a great introduction for our trainees but also challenged our thinking as experienced practitioners. It was brilliant that Chris could personalise the content to the needs of our cohort and make clear links with their PE specialism. Chris’ delivery was brilliant and Nicola really looked after us well during the booking side of things. We really appreciate that you gave us so much flexibility in terms of the challenges we found because of Covid-19 restrictions. We felt really well supported, thank you!
Joanne Fairley, Primary Placement Lead, North East Partnership SCITT
The most useful parts of the day were the clarity of presentation on Curriculum Design that digested the evidence-based criteria and modelled delivery to staff, and a sense of humour from Chris who has wide experience and can connect difficult ideas to staff.
John Mcdonald, Headteacher, St Albans, Wirral
Very helpful advice on how to proceed in lessons, with sequencing and what to look for as a Subject Leader. Chris supported all of his ideas with evidence from scientific studies, which really adds weight to them. We had a superb day. My staff loved it.
Luke Welsh, Headteacher, St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Wakefield
Thank you to Chris for a brilliant day on Friday - it was really useful for our team. The Online Training Session, via Zoom, provided great content which was research-informed, opportunities to discuss in our team, aligned well with our school’s curriculum vision so there were many natural links to be made and challenged our thinking in a really productive way.
Emma Mann, Deputy Headteacher, Penn Wood Primary School, Slough
Chris delivered high quality content which was evidence and research based. Any questions we had were answered well and he was flexible to adapt as needed. We had an excellent day today and have got lots of suggestions and ways to move forward.
Neil Harris, Headteacher, St Mary's Catholic Primary School
Complicated research made accessible to staff and made succinct. The session on space retrieval was excellent. I would rate my booking with Chris Quigley Education as excellent, the whole event and arrangements. Thank you 10/10.
Phil Palmer, CEO, Equals Trust, Nottingham
An excellent course! Chris is an excellent speaker and is clearly extremely knowledgeable, and has researched the issue of effective curriculum design in great detail. Very thought provoking for all of our team.
Anna Bewsher, Headteacher, Broughton Primary School, Cumbria
Please thank Chris for a wonderful training session on ​Friday. The session was thought provoking and linked to so many things we are working on. As always, Chris delivered the key messages with humour and passion.
Vera Jajechnyk, Head of School, St John's Catholic School, London
Would you pass on our thanks to Chris for his contribution to the EPHA Deputy Heads’ Conference. The event went really well and his presentation was very well received. 100 delegates graded Chris’ presentation as excellent.
Pam Langmead, EPHA Professional Officer, Essex
I attended the Last Drop 2 Day Designing Your Curriculum: Intent, Implementation & Impact conference last month and was completely blown away by the ideas that Chris presented - so much so that I have signed up for a Master’s at MMU to explore some of the research you outlined and think through the implications for our practice. Thank you so much for an enlightening and thought provoking two days.
Deborah Cox, Big Life Schools, Manchester
All of it was useful! Feedback is stunning, once again. Delegates loved being able to take practical tips away and start implementing them straight away.
Fiona Radford, Rotherham School Improvement Service
We really enjoyed our CPD provided by Chris and I would rate the quality of my booking as excellent. Chris’ delivery supported our school's intentions/planned actions very well. It really helped to inspire everyone to improve teaching and learning while providing support and direction on how to improve.
Nerys Thornton, Deputy Headteacher, Thorntree Primary School, Middlesbrough
Feedback from the other heads has been excellent and staff have been really inspired by the messages. Everything ran very smoothly and your team have been very helpful and professional from the very point of booking. It was a fun and interactive session which gave staff lots to think about and they thoroughly enjoyed. It was good to find out more about the pedagogy behind learning and to understand how children process learning over time. It was beneficial to be able to consider when children learn best and to explore the concept of ‘botheredness’. There have been lots of conversations about identifying clear concept thresholds and ensuring that the curriculum doesn’t cover lots of different ideas in minimal detail. The session was delivered fantastically and collectively schools came away feeling inspired and motivated.
Nicola Wallace, Headteacher, CCIG Cluster of Gateshead Schools
I particularly like the way Chris uses, introduces and refers to research carried out by others that can be explored later if we want too. I would rate the quality of my booking as brilliant, booking was very easy, communication beforehand was straight forward and the day itself was thought provoking.
Liz Harris, Deputy Headteacher, Stannington Infant School, Sheffield
Chris set the scene beautifully for all staff in his keynote at the start of the year (including our CEO and Senior colleagues) in terms of the latest research on learning and what that means for designing our curriculum as we move forwards. He also asked just the right amount of challenging questions, disrupting our curricular and pedagogical ideas, whilst simultaneously being supportive of our aims and values as a school. Generously sharing his resources and experience, he also inspired our middle leaders in smaller groups, instigating discussions in cross-school teams and motivating them to review the way children learn in our school and how our current curriculum helps or hinders this.
Jo Osman, Deputy Headteacher, Tanglin Trust School, Singapore

Clear, enlightening, thorough journey through the latest research on learning. Outstanding level of content - so relevant to the situation our schools find themselves in on their own journeys of curriculum review. The ’76 take aways’ - exceptionally useful way of holding on to the training - also enabling delegates to share with others who did not attend. Outstanding from start to finish! Many, many thanks!

Viv Ainsworth-Brown, Headteacher, Melling Primary School, Melling
It was an excellent day that will help to shape the curriculum at our network schools.
The Redbridge Education Partnership Curriculum Network
Absolutely excellent – insightful, relevant and exactly what we needed! Chris' delivery was engaging and the balance between information sharing and discussion was just right. My Lancot colleagues and I thoroughly enjoyed it, and it was a pleasure to host. Thank you.
Claire Probert, Headteacher, Lancot Challenger Academy, Bedfordshire
I just wanted to say a huge thank you to Chris for the conference for the Colne Valley cluster. We have used your curriculum as our starting point for 8 years in our school and we love it! It was so inspiring to have time to reflect today and to absorb your passion and expertise. What a rare treat. Look forward to next time.
Julie Sarti, Headteacher, Colne Engaine C of E Primary School, Essex
It was a great session and Chris was very well received! The step by step approach to considering the development of the curriculum, as well as the built in talk time that Chris gave us to consider ideas in our settings was very useful. Chris’ research was well received and he provided a reading list which was helpful in considering new and different approaches to curriculum design, for example, spacing. Many delegates discussed inviting Chris back to look further at the application of designing the curriculum.
Chris Upton, Headteacher, Tarleton Community Primary School, Lancashire
Booking Chris to deliver his Infusing Rich Vocabulary Course has been so easy and everyone has been extremely helpful. Thank you so much it made our first ‘River Wye Teaching Alliance’ course extremely easy to manage.
River Wye Teaching Alliance
The whole day was inspirational and was extremely well planned to ensure that staff developed their understanding of the intent of the curriculum before moving on to considering the implementation. The opportunities to process and discuss ideas during the session meant that all staff were able to explore ideas, make links and develop concepts throughout the day. As always, Chris challenges staff in a non-threatening way and the humour is well placed to make people reflect on their own stance and the possible limitations of this. Having completed three courses with Chris over the last 2 years, it is impressive to see how his thinking evolves and keeps pace with current research linking closely to the national educational agenda. This was just what we needed to reboot our curriculum!
Amanda Arnold, Executive Headteacher, Delves Federation, Walsall
Considering this inset was the last day of a busy term, it was fantastic and inspiring to all. Alex was great and adapted for our needs. We found the depth of knowledge and resources to use particularly helpful.
Shelley Jones, Head Teacher, Orsett Primary School, Essex
To put the training into context, this took place on the last day of the Autumn Term when all anyone could think about was breaking up for Christmas. Alex managed to enthuse and motivate all the staff, his knowledge of the curriculum and his passion for sharing great practice was brilliant. To be honest, trying to pick out the most useful parts is difficult as it was all very useful. Thank you so much for such a great and inspiring day. The day was outstanding from start to finish.
Tracy Grieh, Vice Principal, Wednesbury Oak Academy, West Midlands
Staff received the training Chris delivered very well and were very positive about the elements of the day. Excellent – once again a really useful and inspiring day – Many thanks.
Mark Gilbert, Head Teacher, Abbey Primary School, Walsall
We found the session Chris delivered very helpful in enabling us to think about the quality of the curriculum that we deliver to our children. We are aware that we spend so much time worrying about coverage that we neglect the importance of ensuring that the fundamentals are fully embedded in the children’s long-term memory before moving on. The session has allowed us to start some useful discussions amongst staff about how we can better organise our curriculum and we are looking to work together on this so that a new curriculum plan is in place for the next academic year. We would definitely recommend Chris Quigley Education to others.
Jane Wright, Deputy Headteacher, Deadwood Primary School, Kent
I should like to express my appreciation for the day Chris led at Staverton Primary School in Trowbridge recently. My staff attended as part of a four school initiative and the messages conveyed were timely and well received. I usually enjoy courses when points are made with which I agree! In this case, there were several points where my current and past thinking was challenged and ideas re-framed. I was so pleased that all my teachers heard the same message. I always enjoy listening to people who know their onions and Chris is obviously one such.
Roger Whitewick, Headteacher, Holbrook Primary School, Wilts
Dear Chris, I wanted to thank you for a truly inspirational day. I absolutely loved every moment and can’t wait to infuse the curriculum I’m offering to the children in my class, with a rich and challenging bank of vocabulary. Using your booklet, I even managed to deliver the key elements from the day to my family around the tea table!
Joanna Gurr, Teacher, Staverton School, Wilts
Chris just ignites that spark again of why we work with children, and helps push through the swathes of unnecessary paperwork. Chris visited my previous school where we used the Creative Themes for Learning, Depth of Learning Tracker and the Essentials Curriculum. My new role is within a large Trust and so I needed Chris to sprinkle his magic to all of the other schools and start that conversation Trust wide. Chris and his products helped my previous school move mountains and I would love to see that having a wider effect to all pupils within the Trust.
Rebecca Clayton, Director of Improvement and Performance, Enquire Learning Trust, Wakefield
The clear explanation of the need to revisit learning and deepen it over time really struck a chord with my staff, it was music to their ears! The idea that progression through objectives should be identified with “not a tick, but a tally” really was a ‘golden nugget’. I have to say that I went home delighted on Friday. I could see a perceptible change in my staff as they realised that Chris’ message was one they have been waiting for, for years: learning is not achieved in one lesson or event. Feedback from staff has been very positive, with one teacher professing to have “found God” in a real nirvana moment of what we ought to be doing for our children, and another described the morning as, “The best CPD I’ve had for years!” There was a real buzz around school. I am confident that Chris’ excellent training has put us in a good place to move our schools forward, so thank you!
Rebecca Jordan, Head Teacher, Thorns Primary School, West Midlands
Having all classroom-based staff attend the INSET day provided a whole school opportunity to evaluate our current practice. The day proved to be very useful and informative so that all staff were able to take something away that they were able to implement in the classroom and collectively make a difference. A very inspiring and thought provoking day.
Terry Jones, Headteacher, Perryfields Primary School, West Midlands
A big thank you to Chris. Yet again it was a truly inspirational day and had a huge impact on the team. Staff are motivated to try out the quick routines and some of these have already been introduced this week. Chris was realistic about what actually happens in the classroom and feedback from all staff was totally positive and they had a brilliant day.
Lindsay Smith, Deputy Headteacher, Cliffedale Primary School, Lincs
The whole day was very useful in many different ways. It offered practical ideas for improving teachers’ skills, many of which related to what they currently do but with more precision. This meant that teachers felt it was achievable and of use. Everyone loved the wonderful selection of books that Alex shared during the training. My booking with Chris Quigley Education was excellent.
Nicola Stanley, Headteacher, Rowley Hall Primary School, Midlands
We all thoroughly enjoyed the day thinking about continuous provision and how we can incorporate it into our way of teaching and learning. Alex’s knowledge and passion for the curriculum was inspiring and all teachers are now using ideas in the classrooms.
Tara Davies, Principal, Our Ladies Catholic Primary School, Oxford
The service from Chris Quigley Education has been excellent from start to finish. I have been on many Chris Quigley courses and always find them inspiring. To be able to host training at school has been fantastic and has provided the opportunity for all of the staff to listen and become inspired as I have in the past few years. Thank you!
Tara Davies, Principal, Our Ladies Catholic Primary School, Oxford
Chris was able to personalise the day to suit the needs of our school. Chris had really good ideas about how we can assess deeper understanding and really back up our judgements about the progress and attainment of pupils. Chris has a calm and measured way of delivering and all staff took a lot from the training.
Charlotte Foden, Deputy Head Teacher, Northcote Primary School, Liverpool
The whole day was very useful and was well received by the schools attending. There were some very pertinent messages in the current climate around making best use of teacher time as well as the children’s overall level of productivity. Chris provided lots of thoughts for us to feed into our current redesign of the curriculum and into the ways we think about progress. Please pass on my thanks to Chris for a very valuable day.
Jonathan Moody, Principal, Edenthorpe Hall Primary Academy, Doncaster
"Thanks again for an inspirational talk. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed the morning and were really buzzing as they left. As the host school we had lots of positive comments about what Chris said. One quote, 'so inspiring yet simple to achieve'." Chris delivered a morning session on Teaching & Learning with a particular focus on Continuous Provision to 40 delegates.
Carol May, Deputy Principal, Hazel Leys Academy, Corby
Chris delivered his Greater Depth in English course and all participants from 20 schools were inspired by the whole day.
Anita Cliff, Executive Head Teacher, Manor Multi Academy Trust, Wolverhampton
Discussing the three elements of curriculum design and understanding what depth is was really useful as was having time to discuss our drivers and looking at continuous provision examples. We have had a very good two days – we just wish it could’ve been longer!
Vicky Evans, Principal, St Johns CE Primary Academy, Staffs
It was another fantastic day. Our school leaders found the content relevant and thought-provoking. Chris tailored the day to our needs, using his knowledge of our school to make the day highly engaging and useful. We have really enjoyed our consultancy days with Chris. We value his opinions and insight into the work we are doing, and have gained a great deal from his input.
Mandy Lawrence, Deputy Head Teacher, Keys Meadow Primary School, Middlesex
Working with Chris over the two days has surpassed our expectations. We have had an opportunity to focus on curriculum design and finding a balance between meeting the statutory requirements and building a curriculum that is carefully designed for our children and community. It enabled us to question the content and delivery of our curriculum and with Chris’ guidance push the expectation of curriculum design beyond the normal thought processes. We were able to analyse our values and priorities and ensure these are encapsulated within our new curriculum. Throughout the sessions Chris was able to expertly identify the areas that our schools needed to develop and plan professional development for staff accordingly. The staff thoroughly enjoyed the session on continuous provision and are keen to explore the concept further. I am keen to continue the professional development into the next academic year for the development of the curriculum. One area I am keen to develop further, as I think it is vital to the success of our new curriculum, is around vocabulary.
Stephanie Peters, Executive Head, Haughmond Federation, Harlescott Junior School and Sundown Infant School and Nursery
We are so delighted that we have managed to book Chris, many of our schools do use his materials and both myself and my senior English lead are huge fans of the Greater Depth Reading document.
Shoshannah Thompson, School Improvement Officer, London Borough of Tower Hamlets
We had a fabulous day with Chris on Continuous Provision, thank you! We especially liked the 10 daily routines, the dashboards, how to combine subjects without adding to workload, as well as models of how to fit things into the timetables.
Fiona Radford, Children & Young People's Services, Metropolitan Borough Council
Please thank Chris for our Head Teacher cluster training on Leadership of Learning. He was fantastic! I could listen to him all day! He gave me more confidence to continue to develop my school based on our principles rather than external criteria and I would love to work with him again.
Lynn Smolinski, Head Teacher, Penny Bridge CE Academy, Cumbria
The day provided us with a framework to refine our school curriculum design. Your office provided prompt, efficient and courteously helpful communications at all times.
Gareth Davies, Head Teacher, Holy Apostles' School, Cheltenham
Chris was knowledgeable and his ideas were useful and practicable. We all enjoyed his delivery – just the right balance of humour and professionalism. Thank you Chris!
Kate McKenna, Deputy Head Teacher, Sacred Heart Primary School, Newcastle upon Tyne
We had an excellent day. Chris doesn’t try to sell his products but instead uses his work as an example of one possible way. He listens to what is being said and our views, but works in a way to suggest ‘have you thought of this?’ or ‘what about this?’ to get you to think beyond what you currently do to see if a different way could be better or not. He ensures you stay true to the needs of your children.
Cath Lloyd, Head Teacher, Oasis Henderson Avenue, North Lincs
It was another fantastic day. We really value the work Chris is doing with us. Observing and then evaluating the teaching and learning with Chris was extremely helpful. It was great to get his insight, he asked provocative questions and offered lots of ideas for development.
Mandy Lawrence, Deputy Head Teacher, Keys Meadow Primary School, Enfield
Staff found all aspects of the day exceptional. There was a suitable balance between the theory and the practical ideas, the resources which were used to exemplify the teaching and learning were fabulous and Alex’s delivery was just inspiring. We have undertaken follow up sessions ourselves and all staff have implemented many of the approaches discussed. The quality of work produced by the children reflects how well they are enjoying their topics.
Nin Matharu, Head Teacher, Kings Hill Primary School, West Midlands
Thank you, Alex, for leading our In-Set day on Tuesday. It was just right. Plenty of food for thought, reminders of things we already do that we can refine to make them even better & lots of practical ideas that are easy to put into practice. During PPA on Wednesday afternoon my Y1 teachers were already using some of your ideas & I walked into a great discussion in a Y2 class yesterday where the children were being really challenged with their thinking. It’s always a sign of great CPD when you see the impact in classroom practice straight away.
Rachel Edwards, Head Teacher, Park Infant School, Gloucester
We want to thank Chris and the company for being a beacon of hope in a somewhat dreary era for education! The whole day was inspiring for everyone who attended. The introduction on what Mastery is and why it exists gave the whole day a solid foundation on which to build upon. It put everyone on a level footing. The staff at our school found Chris' pedagogy inspiring and it reflected the views and ethos that we have as a school. The 10 top tips for reading were particularly fantastic and we loved how easy they were to implement into daily routines straight away with minimal preparation. It was useful to have pockets of time to discuss the content without the pressure of always feeding back and Chris was always very open to questions during this time. Chris really has inspired the staff at our school and our staff meeting on Wednesday is a discussion based around this training with the aim to roll out some of the fundamentals that Chris mentioned across the school and embed it into our daily teaching practice. This training helped us to re-think and re-establish our core ideals as a school in a non-judgmental and completely relaxed environment. Absolutely brilliant.
Leah Eagleton, Teacher, St John's Primary School, Kenilworth
We had a great day with Chris on Securing Greater Depth. The staff are still buzzing. Based on our own evaluation sheets 100% of staff indicated increased knowledge.
Mrs Ann Gunn, Head Teacher, St Polycarp's Catholic Primary School, Surrey
I have heard very positive feedback from the staff of the schools attending the day. Chris’ delivery was fantastic – his explanations were very clear and the anecdotes added great entertainment. Opportunities for discussion were invaluable in sharing ideas, good practice and helping staff to develop their thinking and explore the ideas.
Helen Owen, Head Teacher, Layfield Primary, Yarm
Sophie was brilliant at individual questions.
My staff have spoken very positively about the day. They all felt that the content and delivery was inspiring. The printed handouts and Chris' presentation were excellent. Chris has such a wealth of knowledge and he has given my staff a great deal of 'food for thought'. Excellent service, from the initial enquiry right through to the training. Thank you very much.
Janine St. Pierre, Head Teacher, Plaistow Primary School & Children's Centre, London
Chris delivered Learning without Lessons to 6 Trust Schools - It was a fantastic day and the staff are really ‘buzzing’ about it all today! Please pass on my thanks to Chris!
Steve Meakin, Holly Lodge Primary School, Surrey
Chris structured the day to engage us in how we approach the delivery of the curriculum and in the process of reviewing the effectiveness for our current cohort and their individual needs. He shared his ideas and findings in a very accessible way that really facilitated our own learning through group discussion and individual reflection. The whole process was very smooth and supportive.
John Palmer, Whitehall Infant School, Walsall
Every member of staff who attended (including Pastoral, Business Manager and even a local Educational Psychologist) found it to be an excellent course. No one has suggested anything to improve it and they couldn't wait to apply some of the concepts discussed. The day Chris delivered was excellent. It was more than we could have hoped and the training will be revisited strategically within our improvement plan for the year. Thank you.
Emma Harkins, Head Teacher, Huntingtower CP Academy, Lincs
A really thought provoking and productive day. We currently use the Essentials Curriculum but it was excellent for me personally to hear the depth element of it myself as head. I think we were becoming a little contradictory in school as to what ‘depth’ looks like. I have a clear vision of it now.
It was such a good day! The opportunity to talk things through with Chris was great. He tailored the day to our needs and provided us with a lot of useful information and resources. The content and discussion around Basic, Advancing and Deep styles of teaching and learning in different year groups was particularly helpful as was the work around core principles for all lessons. We really enjoyed the day and are looking forward to the next one. The whole process as usual from beginning to end was highly efficient. Thank you.
Mandy Lawrence, Keys Meadow Primary, Enfield
I would recommend Chris Quigley Education to anyone – I think the development of the Essentials Curriculum is perfect for Junior Schools to enthuse and inspire children whilst at the same time building on essential skills that are developed across the Key Stage.
Karen Stonehouse, Head Teacher, Bartley C of E Junior School, Southampton
Securing Greater Depth - one of the best CPD sessions I have attended in 17 years. Professional and well delivered. Thank you Chris.
Paula Cumming, Deputy Head Teacher, Abu Dhabi
The day was insightful, with the staff that worked with Alex taking away an awful lot of ideas and ways to develop and improve their planning of activities and lessons. The training was excellent, a great experience, very thought provoking with great practical ideas, would really recommend to others. The use of depth and mastery will really transform how we plan in school.
Miss R Towns, Head Teacher, Wickhambrook Primary Academy, Suffolk
Please thank Chris for a great day! Everyone was buzzing afterwards about new approaches and ideas. It was very interesting to think about how maths and English can take on “bite size” chunks across other areas of the curriculum and how little exercises can be completed throughout the school each morning. The day brought about several topics for discussion within my SLT and I heard TA's and Teachers talking about different approaches to parts of the day! Thank you for a fabulous and thought provoking day!
Louise Croker, Head Teacher, St. George's Catholic Primary School, Warminster
Alex was very easy to listen to and very knowledgeable which was important at the end of a busy day and half term! Staff now have a clear understanding of mastery and what they need to think about when planning lessons to enable children to master and deepen their learning across different areas of the curriculum. The verb sheet was really useful as an aid to think about questions, lots of ideas that will have an impact in the classroom on learning. Everything Alex said was relevant and you can tell he has recent experience in classrooms and it will be quite easy to implement some of the suggestions. The inset was very well received by all staff. The booking process was easy, queries were responded to promptly. A professional and efficient service. Thank you.
Jen Hughes, Pinfold Primary School, Cheshire
Our staff had lots of questions that Chris happily answered, and then tailored the training to meet their needs. This resulted in Chris completely adapting the content of his presentation for us, which meant we were able to get a very personalised experience that matched what we needed as a school. We really appreciated Chris being so adaptable, it was a fantastic morning thank you. The quality of our booking with Chris Quigley Education was exceptional -very personalised, extremely useful, and illustrated with real life anecdotes – adding humour and enhancing understanding.
Carly Newman, Assistant Head Teacher, Queensbridge Primary School, Hackney
Exemplified documents to use with staff.
It was a fabulous day and we were thrilled to have 'the man himself' to throw all our questions at. Thank you very very much to Chris.
Elaine Le Gros, Head Teacher, Rednal Hill Infant School, Birmingham
Thanks for sorting the day out for us at such short notice. You have continued to impress. It was great working with Alex, the feedback we have got from across the cluster has been great. Everybody enjoyed the day and got a lot from it. Experienced teachers enjoyed the chance to look again at things they knew but had perhaps forgotten and younger teachers found what you had to say very informative and inspiring. Already staff are acting on things they took away from the day.
Jonathan Bursnall, Head Teacher, Brook Street School, Cumbria
The whole day was extremely useful and really supported us in our thinking. Chris is an inspirational speaker who is able to put present complex issues in a very simple and clear manner that compels you to act. It was particularly helpful to hear the research based evidence that underpinned the key messages as well as the humorous anecdotes and analogies. We had the luxury of spending the day after his visit discussing what we had taken away from his presentation and there was unanimous support for making change. I would like to say a personal thank you to Chris for his input, I was lucky enough to hear him in September and hearing him again has ignited the passion for change yet again. It was a truly inspirational day and the feedback was overwhelmingly positive and left us with lots of food for thought.
Amanda Talbot-Jones, Head Teacher, St Denys Primary School, Southampton
Chris presented the information in an informative and entertaining way. He appealed to all levels within the audience. He simplified, through the use of practical examples, the way to resolve some of the difficulties experienced in school. He was knowledgeable and able to offer alternatives for every staff member to take away. We had a wonderful day and I struggled to make comments about how to improve.
Bev Allford, Head Teacher, Ravensfield Primary School, Tameside
Chris was a very engaging and knowledgeable presenter. All delegates who attended said that their expectations of the day were fully met, with the majority of teachers stating that their expectations were exceeded. All delegates were able to identify key areas of focus for their follow up work in school.
Achieving for Children, Deep Learning Conference, Kingston and Richmond Schools
Very good quality. It was everything I wanted from an INSET day. It enthused and inspired staff, gave them concrete ideas to try out whilst also giving a good overview of what the whole picture should look like. There was plenty to chew on for leaders, Teachers and TA's. Andy's delivery was engaging and easy to stay with. He took the whole staff with him and they were really enthused by the day. Thank you.
Sally MacDonald, Head Teacher, Greythorn Primary School, Nottingham
The messages were clear and insightful. Staff were so motivated by the day that they were texting me at home that evening! The morning session was especially useful as the reasons for reorganising our curriculum were obvious to all the staff attending. Staff enjoyed Chris' stories and humour but they were all grounded in thought provoking content. Please thank Chris and the team for such an enjoyable and interesting day.
Jude Yoxall, Deputy Head Teacher, Beckstone Primary School, Cumbria
The whole day was really inspirational and the staff felt very empowered and positive about taking our foundation curriculum forward. We also had a governor attend and he commented on what a fantastic event it had been. Many thanks to Alex for a great day!
Mark Church, City Academy Whitehawk, Brighton
Chris covered everything that had been asked of him in a calm and measured way. As always, he was very thought provoking and provided a lot of very practical advice. 11/10!
Su Plant, West Midlands Consortium
Engaging, informative, reassuring, useable, and very professionally delivered. Many Thanks.
Simon Perkins, Head Teacher, Long Whatton CE Primary School, Leicester

Staff Inset was useful and gave staff confidence to speak to parents about our changes. Chris gave an excellent and inspirational talk to parents and answered questions well.

Deputy Head of Juniors, Blackheath High Junior School
Please would you pass on our thanks to Chris for today. He was inspirational and my staff are buzzing. It was an absolute pleasure to have him in school.
Davina Clacy, Old Church CofE Primary School, Walsall
All of the sessions were informative and relevant. Chris, as always, presented the course with the right balance of information, opportunities for reflection and humour. I think everyone took a great deal away from the morning and it certainly made us think about our own schools and possible ways forward to improve learning and understanding in our own settings. A brilliant day.
Richard Mason, Head Teacher, Milking Bank Primary School, Dudley
Reflecting on the use of questioning to deepen learning helped us to put the National Curriculum 2014 in context, as Chris exemplified the question types and styles. The staff from all of the schools went away feeling positive about next half term. There were plenty of opportunities for discussion, laughter and plenty of learning. The communication has been highly professional and, for once, the course did what it said on the tin - thank you to all concerned. Thank you Chris.
Julie Rees, Head Teacher, Ledbury Primary School, Herefordshire