Updated on
September 24, 2026
Quality First Teaching: 6 Strategies + Free Placemat
Six evidence-based quality first teaching strategies that support every learner, including SEND, with no extra adult needed. Free classroom placemat.
Quality First Teaching for SEN: Strategies, Checklists and Examples is about inclusive teaching in the classroom. It means meeting learners' needs first, before you add a separate intervention.
For SEND, good teaching has four parts: clear goals, explanations every learner can follow, live checks for understanding, and feedback. Only after these are in place should you think about withdrawal or a separate programme (Education Endowment Foundation, 2021).
QFT is an older short name for this idea. In England, the shift to adaptive teaching began with the ITT Core Content Framework and the Early Career Framework (Department for Education, 2019; Department for Education, 2019). These were later joined into one document, the ITTECF (Department for Education, 2024).
The legal duty has not moved. Schools must still use their best endeavours to provide special educational provision (Department for Education and Department of Health, 2015).
Key Takeaways
- Prioritise High Quality Teaching as the First Response: Before reaching for targeted interventions or separate SEN resources, audit your initial classroom offer. The EEF emphasises that inclusive, high-quality teaching is the most powerful lever for improving outcomes for all learners, including those with SEN.
- Adapt in Real-Time Without Lowering Expectations: Maintain ambitious curriculum goals for your SEND learners. Instead of watering down the target or providing an easier worksheet, adapt your delivery by rephrasing complex vocabulary, changing how information is represented, or providing additional guided practice.
- Embed Practical Scaffolds in Daily Lessons: Anticipate learning barriers and integrate scaffolds directly into your lesson design. Use tools like stem sentences to support verbal explanations, mini-whiteboards for active checks for understanding, and concrete manipulatives to make abstract concepts accessible.
- Apply Evidence-Based Instruction Principles: Utilise Rosenshine’s Principles of Instruction to structure your teaching for all learners. Break complex material into small steps, provide clear, worked models, and ensure sufficient guided practice before expecting independent application.
- Document the Impact of Classroom Adjustments: Take ownership of the first stages of the graduated approach. Carefully record the specific classroom strategies you have tried, what adjustments were made, and how the learner responded before moving them toward formal, targeted SEN support.
- Embrace Current DfE Guidance Terminology: Recognise the shift in the latest Department for Education guidance from 'Quality First Teaching' to 'High Quality Teaching' and 'adaptive teaching'. While the terminology has evolved, your core duty to proactively meet individual needs within the mainstream classroom remains unchanged.
In a Year 5 fractions lesson, the teacher models one worked example, checks mini-whiteboards, gives a stem sentence for explanation, and offers manipulatives or speech-to-text where these remove barriers. Rosenshine (2012) supports small steps and guided practice, but the class teacher still records what was tried, what changed, and what the learner produced before moving to targeted SEN support.
Quality First Teaching in SEND classrooms
Quality First Teaching means planning the first classroom offer so most learners can access the same ambitious curriculum. It uses clear goals, structured explanation, active checks for understanding, and feedback that changes the next step (Rose & Meyer, 2002; Florian & Black-Hawkins, 2011).
Universal Design for Learning gives this planning a practical frame. It means spotting likely barriers before the lesson. Teachers can then vary representation, action, expression, and engagement without making a separate task for every learner (Rose & Meyer, 2002). In Year 7 history, the same enquiry question can use a source image, a glossary, a sentence frame, and an oral rehearsal option.
The curriculum aim stays shared; the route into it is more accessible.
For SEND, QFT is not a separate worksheet or a lower target. It is whole-class teaching adapted in real time: a teacher rephrases vocabulary, changes the representation, adds a scaffold, or gives extra guided practice while keeping the learning goal intact.
What You Need to Know
- Quality First Teaching is fundamentally built upon evidence-based instructional principles that benefit all learners, including those with Special Educational Needs. Effective QFT integrates strategies such as clear explanations, guided practice, and regular checking for understanding, which are core to Rosenshine's Principles of Instruction (Rosenshine, 2012). These foundational approaches ensure high-quality learning experiences, reducing the need for extensive additional interventions.
- Differentiation is not an add-on but the very core of Quality First Teaching, particularly for learners with Special Educational Needs. Tailoring teaching methods, resources, and outcomes to meet diverse learning needs within the mainstream classroom is paramount, aligning with the concept of the Zone of Proximal Development (Vygotsky, 1978). This proactive approach ensures all learners can access the curriculum and make progress, rather than relying solely on reactive support.
- Robust formative assessment is indispensable for effective Quality First Teaching, enabling teachers to precisely meet the needs of all learners, including those with SEN. Continual assessment for learning, including effective feedback and questioning techniques, allows teachers to identify learning gaps and adapt their instruction in real-time, as advocated by Black and Wiliam (1998). This diagnostic approach ensures teaching is responsive and targeted, preventing misconceptions from becoming entrenched.
- Quality First Teaching serves as the bedrock of inclusive provision, significantly impacting the progress and outcomes for learners with Special Educational Needs. By consistently delivering high-quality, adaptive teaching, schools can ensure that the majority of learners, including those with SEND, have their needs met within the universal provision, as highlighted by the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF, 2021). This proactive, whole-school approach minimises the need for more intensive, individualised interventions.
- Whole-Class Teaching: QFT promotes an inclusive environment where effective teachers engage the entire class, ensuring that every learner has access to the key skills and knowledge being taught.
- Personalised teaching: While maintaining a whole-class approach, QFT responds to individual needs, removes barriers, and gives each learner a clear route into the shared task.
- A Framework for Teachers: QFT provides a structured framework for teachers, guiding them in implementing quality first teaching best practices and strategies that cater to diverse learning styles and abilities.
- Emphasis on Key Skills: This approach prioritises the development of key skills that are essential for lifelong learning, such as critical thinking, problem-solving, and collaboration.
- Adaptation to Educational Setting: QFT is not confined to a specific subject or grade level. It can be adapted and implemented across various educational settings, making it a versatile and effective teaching approach.
Tomlinson (2014) highlights Quality First Teaching as key. Teachers should support each learner's needs and notice their differences. Wiliam (2011) argues that formative assessment helps teachers adjust teaching while learning is still happening.
QFT means teachers introduce maths concepts to all learners initially. They then give individual learners different tasks or support depending on their needs (Vygotsky, 1978; Rogoff, 1990; Lave & Wenger, 1991).
Key Insights:
- Inclusivity: Includes all learners, with teaching adjusted for access, communication, attention, and confidence.
- Flexibility: Adapts to various subjects and year groups.
- Teacher judgement: Gives teachers practical ways to respond to learner needs without lowering expectations.
- Focus on Essential Skills: Prioritises the development of skills that are vital for success in the modern world.
Quality First Teaching and high standards
QFT helps all learners and supports their needs, reducing your planning. The Three-Wave Framework (National Strategies) raises standards. This framework helps learners achieve (Westwood & Graham, 2003) through staged support. Inclusive teaching is consistent in QFT (Florian & Black-Hawkins, 2011).
QFT means strong classroom teaching for all learners, including neurodivergent learners and learners with dyslexia. Responsive teaching is central. But broad effect-size claims need care: Hattie (2009) reports averages across varied studies, and Snook et al. (2009) argue that the method can hide context, sample quality, and implementation differences. For ADHD, PDA profiles, complex trauma, or sensory needs, check whether the strategy reduces barriers for this learner before treating it as a solution for everyone.
Retrieval practice can support durable recall, which means remembering learning for longer. It works when learners bring information back from memory, instead of only rereading it (Karpicke, 2008). For a learner with dyslexia, the teacher can practise key vocabulary out loud before writing. For dysgraphia, speech-to-text can remove the handwriting barrier while the learner still works on the same concept.
Treat the National Strategies legacy as useful routines, not as evidence for a fixed 20% gain.
Quality First Teaching means teachers meet diverse learner needs through tailored instruction. We ask effective questions to engage all learners, (Black & Wiliam, 1998). Feedback should support learner progress, as Hattie and Timperley (2007) suggest. This creates a supportive environment, regardless of challenges (Ainscow, 2020).
Researchers Black and Wiliam (1998) found feedback engages learners. Teachers change lessons to meet diverse learner needs. This provides quality teaching, like modelling (Hattie, 2012). Feedback also boosts learner confidence and exam scores (Yorke, 2003).
The National Strategy Interventions and QFT
The National Strategies Intervention ensures that mainstream schools teachers are being inclusive in their choice of pedagogy to teach each child. These teachers must support all the children, irrespective of circumstances, to learn to the best of their ability. This often involves implementing direct instruction methods alongside more flexible approaches to meet diverse learning needs. This program was dropped by the UK's department for education and skills in 2010 but its legacy lives and can be accessed via the.gov archive.
The practical legacy is the Three-Wave model. This means strong classroom teaching first, targeted small-group support next, and specialist support when needs remain significant.
Whole-class teaching, then group work, guided practice. This influenced Quality First Teaching later. Teachers learnt to adapt lessons (Tomlinson, 1999).
They supported all learners. Structured differentiation is key for inclusive classes (Westwood, 2001; Ainscow & Booth, 2003).
Slavin (2008) noted that some criticised interventions for limiting teacher choices, yet they created standards. Frequent checks and targeted support helped learners, research shows. Hattie (2012) found interactive whiteboards, phonics, and maths talks boost inclusion.
The National Strategy Interventions legacy
National Strategies influenced UK schooling. They promoted personalised learning (Hillage et al., 1998). Teachers still use effective methods in class (Slavin, 2020). What survived the strategies is the three-wave model and the habit of checking every learner's progress, not the folders of guidance.
- Continued focus on inclusion: Schools still need to provide quality education for all learners, regardless of background, disability, language, or prior attainment.
- Emphasis on personalised learning: Teachers adapt explanation, practice, grouping, and feedback so individual learners can access shared curriculum goals.
- Use of evidence-informed strategies: Research-backed teaching methods help teachers improve learner outcomes without adding unnecessary tasks.
The National Strategies Intervention helped education. It still inspires teachers to create great learning. Teachers can use these ideas to help every learner succeed (Hillage et al., 1998; Slavin, 2020).
National Strategies shaped teaching around 2000. Differentiation meets each learner's needs well. Planning uses assessment to track learner progress (Black & Wiliam, 1998; Hattie, 2008).
Success criteria, structured talk, and targeted questions still work well. Three-part lessons, though less strict now, guide effective teaching (Bennett, 2006). Clear objectives and summaries help learners consolidate knowledge (Wiliam, 2011; Hattie, 2012).
Teachers must engage in education changes (Fullan, 2007). Quality First Teaching asks that teachers understand why strategies succeed. This knowledge helps them adapt methods, not just follow steps (Timperley, 2011; Black & Wiliam, 1998).
Implementing the Three-Wave model
The Three-Wave model supports all learners while you teach. National Strategies created it. It helps teachers spot learning needs early through the assess-plan-do-review cycle (DfES, 2004). Address needs before they become big problems for learners.
Wave 1 means good teaching for all learners. Teachers should use clear goals, different methods, and assess often. For example, when teaching fractions in Year 5, teachers could use visuals (Bruner, 1966), objects, and examples (Willingham, 2009). This ensures all learners grasp the main idea (Hattie, 2008).
Wave 2 gives extra help in small groups to learners needing it. This may mean teaching new topics beforehand or fixing errors the same day. A teaching assistant could help four learners understand place value while the class practises alone (Ainscow & Booth, 2003).
Wave 3 gives learners focused, individual help. This support aids strong classroom teaching. For example, Thomson and Johnston (2008) suggest coloured overlays for learners with dyslexia. Singleton (1999) advises larger fonts or recording written work.
Practical strategies for Wave implementation
Plan and monitor work carefully, but do not turn adaptive teaching into a high-stakes compliance exercise. Map which learners need Wave 2 and Wave 3 support, review work samples regularly, and use brief team meetings to coordinate year group support (Ainscow & Booth, 2003; Hattie, 2009). The strongest audit question is not "Did every teacher use the checklist?" It is "Which barrier did we identify, what did we change, and what evidence shows whether the learner could access the task?"
Assessment strategies that support Quality First Teaching
Assessment helps teachers understand learners' knowledge, informing QFT. Ongoing assessment guides teaching, not just unit tests (Wiliam, 2011; Leahy et al., 2005). This informs decisions in real time. The point is to find out what learners know before you decide what to teach next.
Mini-whiteboards give fast feedback. Learners show column addition on the board (Black, 2004; Wiliam, 2011). Teachers can spot common mistakes quickly. They can then correct misunderstandings straight away (Sadler, 1998; Christodoulou, 2017).
Exit tickets give teachers helpful lesson feedback. Asking learners "What challenged you today?" helps planning (Black & Wiliam, 1998). Use Microsoft or Google Forms for fast response analysis and streamlined marking (Wiliam, 2011).
Building assessment into daily practice
Use assessment during lessons. Wiliam (2011) describes watching learners work as evidence you can act on in the lesson, and simple symbols in books can track what each learner has understood.
Self-assessment helps learners take charge of their learning. Traffic lights quickly show how confident learners feel (Andrade & Brookhart, 2016). Ladders and checklists help learners work with more independence.
Use assessment data to adapt teaching during the lesson. If half the class shows amber or red on traffic lights, pause for extra modelling or paired discussion before moving on. This keeps challenge in place while giving learners enough support to continue.
The quality first teaching checklist: ten strategies
Print this list, tick what you already do, and pick one item to sharpen this week. Each line names the strategy and what it looks like in the room. Together the ten cover planning, explanation, questioning, practice and feedback, the five parts of a lesson every learner meets.
- Shared objectives and success criteria: the objective is on the board in learner language, and a Year 5 class can say what a good answer will contain before they start writing.
- Explicit modelling with a worked example: the teacher completes one full example under the visualiser, thinking aloud, before learners try a similar one.
- Small steps with checks between them: new material arrives in short chunks, and every chunk ends with a mini whiteboard question that every learner answers.
- Wait time and targeted questioning: the teacher asks, pauses for three seconds, then names a learner; nobody opts out with hands up.
- Scaffolds that fade: a KS3 writing frame is full on Monday, half on Wednesday and gone by Friday, with the same task each day.
- Flexible grouping by need: groups are formed from yesterday's exit tickets and change every lesson, not fixed by a September label.
- Retrieval at the start: five questions from last week, last month and last term, answered from memory, marked in two minutes.
- Feedback that changes the next step: a comment names one thing to redo now, and the learner redoes it before the lesson moves on.
- Vocabulary taught explicitly: a new word gets a plain definition, an example, a non-example and a chance to use it in a sentence.
- Access tools where they remove a barrier: speech-to-text, a coloured overlay or a printed copy of the slide, given without fuss to the learner who needs it.
Share learning objectives and success criteria with each learner. This helps learners grasp what they learn and why. Sweller (1988) argued that cognitive load affects how learners process new information, so clear purpose supports attention. Learners process information better when expectations are clear.
Effective questioning builds learner thinking. Use both targeted and open questions. Mary Budd Rowe (1986) found 3-5 seconds wait time improves responses. It benefits learners needing more processing time.
Learning goal groups help, not ability ones. Vary group tasks with individual work, and change groups often for different subjects. This prevents rigid groups and aids peer learning. Give different tasks so every learner finds a suitable challenge (Tomlinson, 2014).
Differentiation: The Heart of Quality First Teaching
Adaptive teaching is the current policy language for much of what older QFT guidance called differentiation. It means adjusting teaching, resources, scaffolds, grouping, or technology so learners can work towards the same curriculum goal. It does not mean thirty lesson plans or lower expectations for learners with SEND (Tomlinson, 2001; Rose & Meyer, 2002; Department for Education, 2024).
Dweck (2006) argued that learners' beliefs about ability shape motivation and persistence. Offer choices so learners see intelligence as changeable, and effort helps them grow.
Try simpler or harder tasks. Let learners choose how they show understanding. Tailor support as needed.
Tomlinson (2001) said some learners need harder tasks. Pritchard (2005) suggests teachers change tasks using different methods. Vygotsky (1978) noted varied teaching helps learners. Black and Wiliam (1998) advise regular learner assessment.
Cognitive Load Theory and Quality First Teaching
Sweller's (1988) cognitive load theory shows how we teach new learners. Working memory can only hold a small amount of information. Overloading it blocks learning and transfer (Chandler & Sweller, 1991). Sweller found three types of cognitive load.
Quality First Teaching cuts distractions. Worked examples help learners grasp solutions instead of searching (Sweller, van Merriënboer & Paas, 1998). Plain language with matching diagrams uses both visual and verbal pathways. This boosts memory without overload (Paivio, 1991).
Chandler and Sweller (1991) showed classroom setup affects learning. Learners use working memory to link diagrams and text. Integrated formats, like labels on diagrams, prevent overload. A geography teacher can explain river meanders, using this idea.
Cognitive load theory helps teachers make informed choices. Splitting complex topics aids learning, as Sweller et al. (1998) showed. Giving learners part-filled notes and removing distracting images can reduce workload.
Expert learners don't need supports; expertise reversal exists (Sweller et al., 1998). Teachers should adjust support levels as learners gain knowledge.
Building a Quality First Teaching Environment
Classrooms affect how learners progress, meeting their needs. Organised spaces can reduce unnecessary mental effort. Cognitive load theory suggests clutter can overload working memory, so displays, labels, and resources should serve the task rather than compete with it. Calm, structured rooms help learners focus without turning the classroom into a compliance script.
Routines help when they are predictable and humane. Zero-tolerance routines can raise anxiety for autistic learners, learners with ADHD, and learners who have lived through trauma. The risk is highest when a routine demands eye contact, a quick public answer, or silent compliance.
Milton's double empathy problem (Milton, 2012) reminds teachers that communication has to adjust in both directions. Offer a private way to respond, name the sensory choices on offer, and treat calm, regulated participation as learning behaviour.
Classroom layouts help learners work together or on their own. Labels on resources help learners find and use them without adult help. Visual aids remind learners of learning goals and expected behaviours.
Review your classroom and ask learners for feedback. This ensures the space meets learner needs.
Overcoming Quality First Teaching Challenges
Adaptive teaching feels hard when it seems to mean thirty separate tasks. The ITTECF describes it more simply: understand the barriers, keep expectations high, and adjust the explanation, the scaffold, the grouping, the technology, or the practice. None of these changes should create lower-status work for named learners (Department for Education, 2024).
In 2026, AI-generated scaffolds and accessibility tools can cut preparation time, but they do not replace teacher judgement. A teacher can use AI to draft vocabulary routes, reading checks, or speech-to-text prompts. The teacher then chooses the option that keeps the concept clear and protects working memory (Education Endowment Foundation, 2019). Use AI to draft options, not to decide entitlement.
QFT also becomes unsafe when schools use it as a funding argument. Webster (2022) describes how inclusion can look settled in policy. Yet in practice, learners with special educational needs may have less access to specialist help.
The SEND and Alternative Provision Improvement Plan wants support to arrive earlier. But High Quality Teaching must not become an excuse. Schools should not use it to delay a specialist assessment, turn down EHCP evidence, or take away a teaching assistant who is working well (Department for Education, 2023).
Leaders need a short Graduated Approach record for each learner. Assess the barrier, plan the classroom adjustment, and carry it out every time. Then review a sample of the learner's work and decide whether targeted or specialist provision is still needed.
Some learners are not in the room often enough for a normal QFT checklist to work. Severe absence and children missing education have risen sharply, and SEND is also over-represented in missing education data (Children's Commissioner for England, 2024). For EBSA, QFT needs a home route learners can use: short recorded explanations, predictable tasks, one trusted adult check-in, and assistive technology where needed. The return plan should reduce sensory and social threat, rather than force immediate full attendance.
For a comprehensive exploration of this approach in practice, see our Ofsted's detailed look process guide.
Next lesson action
Next lesson, choose one learner who often needs additional support and plan the first classroom offer before the intervention. Write the learning goal, the barrier you expect, the scaffold you will use, and the evidence you will collect from the learner's work.
After the lesson, keep the record short: what you taught, what changed during the lesson, what the learner produced, and what you will review next. This turns QFT from a slogan into evidence for the Graduated Approach.
When high quality teaching becomes an excuse
Good classroom teaching is the first response for a learner with SEND. It is not the last one. The rebrand to high quality teaching is sometimes used as if it were.
Picture a Year 3 class. The teacher has already added a task board, pre-taught the vocabulary and set up paired reading. A learner with a language disorder is still two years behind. The honest next step is a specialist assessment, not another universal adjustment.
Webster (2022) records this pattern in The Inclusion Illusion. Schools were told that good teaching should be enough, teaching assistants were withdrawn, and the learners who needed the most got the least. The guidance itself does not support that reading. The EEF report on special educational needs in mainstream schools puts high quality teaching first, with targeted and then specialist support alongside it, never instead of it (EEF, 2020).
So keep a written record. When a universal strategy has been tried for six weeks and the gap has not moved, that record is the evidence for an assessment request or an EHCP application, and it stops "we do quality first teaching" being used to close the conversation.
Auditing adaptive teaching across a school without crushing workload
A leader who wants to know whether adaptive teaching is happening should look at three things a teacher already produces, not add a fourth. Look at the exit tickets from one lesson and ask what changed in the next one. Look at how teaching assistants are timetabled: a TA sat beside the same learner all day is a sign that the teacher's input is being replaced rather than supported, which the EEF warns against (EEF, 2020). Look at one lesson a fortnight, with the observer noting what the teacher did when a check for understanding came back wrong.
In a secondary maths department this took the form of a shared exit-ticket folder and a ten-minute conversation at each department meeting: which question did most of Year 8 get wrong, and what did each teacher do about it the next day? No grading, no new proforma, and the strategies spread faster than any CPD session had managed.
Compliance is not engagement
Whole-class routines such as tracking the speaker or sitting still for a full explanation can look like attention. In some learners they produce the opposite. An autistic learner in Year 6 who holds eye contact and a straight back may be spending all their working memory on holding that pose.
Milton (2012) describes the double empathy problem. The difficulty runs both ways. A routine designed by non-autistic adults can read as reasonable to them and as a sensory demand to the learner.
The practical move is to separate the goal from the pose. Ask for the answer on a whiteboard. Allow a fidget tool or a quiet corner for the explanation. Judge engagement by what the learner produces, not by how they sit.
Quality first teaching and SEND: the graduated approach
The SEND Code of Practice sets this out as a cycle of assess, plan, do, review, repeated until the support fits the learner (DfE, 2015). Quality first teaching is the first step of that cycle: what every learner gets before any extra provision is considered.
The Education Endowment Foundation offers five key teaching strategies for all learners. These strategies come from the EEF guidance report Special Educational Needs in Mainstream Schools (EEF, 2020). They are part of regular classroom practice, not separate plans. These strategies help most learners with SEND access lessons before needing additional support.
| Strategy | What It Means | SEN Application | Example in Practice |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Explicit Instruction | Teaching new concepts and skills clearly and directly, with step-by-step explanations, worked examples and guided practice before independent work. Nothing is left to chance or assumed to be understood. | Learners with cognition and learning needs benefit from clear, unambiguous instruction rather than discovery-based approaches. For learners with SLCN or autism, explicit instruction removes the need to infer meaning from context. Reduces cognitive load for all SEN learners. | A teacher introduces column addition by modelling the full process on the board, narrating each step aloud ("First I look at the ones column. 7 plus 5 is 12. I write 2 and carry 1"). Learners then complete a guided example together before working independently with a worked example displayed alongside. |
| 2. Cognitive and Metacognitive Strategies | Teaching learners how to plan, monitor and evaluate their own thinking and learning. Includes self-questioning, graphic organisers, retrieval practice and reflection on what strategies worked and why. | Learners with SEMH and ADHD benefit from structured self-monitoring (checklists, traffic light systems). Learners with cognition and learning difficulties need explicit teaching of strategies they will not develop independently. Metacognitive talk supports language development for SLCN learners. | Before writing, learners use a planning frame with three questions: "What do I already know? What do I need to find out? How will I organise my ideas?" After writing, they use a self-assessment checklist. A learner with ADHD uses a "focus tracker" card, marking every 5 minutes whether they were on task. |
| 3. Scaffolding | Providing temporary support structures that enable learners to access tasks beyond their current independent ability. Scaffolds are gradually removed as competence grows, following a model of "I do, we do, you do." | Essential for all four areas of need. Visual scaffolds support autism and SLCN. Procedural scaffolds support cognition and learning. Physical scaffolds support sensory and physical needs. The key is matching the scaffold type to the learner's specific barrier (see scaffolding types table above). | In a Year 5 science lesson on forces, the teacher provides three levels of recording sheet: Level 1 has sentence starters and a labelled diagram to annotate. Level 2 has key vocabulary and a blank diagram. Level 3 is an open page. All learners answer the same investigative question. |
| 4. Flexible Grouping | Grouping learners in different ways for different purposes, avoiding fixed ability groups that limit expectations. Includes mixed-attainment groups, paired work, expert groups and strategic seating. | Avoids the stigma of permanent "bottom groups" that damages self-esteem for SEMH learners. Mixed grouping provides language models for SLCN learners. Strategic pairing gives peer support for cognition and learning needs. Allows pre-teaching groups to be formed temporarily without labelling. | During a reading comprehension lesson, the teacher groups learners by the strategy being practised (inference, prediction, summarising) rather than reading level. A learner with dyslexia who has strong verbal comprehension is placed in the inference group, where the text is read aloud and the focus is on reasoning skills. |
| 5. Using Technology | Using digital tools purposefully to reduce barriers, provide alternative access to content and enable learners to demonstrate learning in different ways. Technology is a means, not an end. | Text-to-speech and speech-to-text remove literacy barriers for cognition and learning needs. Communication apps (Proloquo2Go, Grid 3) enable non-verbal learners to participate. Audio recording allows learners with physical difficulties to demonstrate understanding without writing. Screen readers support visual impairment. | A learner with dyslexia uses the Immersive Reader feature in Microsoft Teams to have a history text read aloud, with syllable highlighting and a picture dictionary. They then record their response as a voice note rather than writing it. The teacher assesses the same learning objective through a different output mode. |
Find the Right Evidence-Based Strategy for Your School
Researchers (Coe et al., 2020) show evidence strength matters. Answer five questions about your school.
Then, get EEF strategy suggestions. These are ranked by impact and cost. They help every learner.
Compare the Cost-Effectiveness of Teaching Strategies
Researchers (Coe et al., 2020; EEF, 2021) found schools need easy budget tools. These tools help teachers choose the best learning strategies. They show which approaches improve learner progress most efficiently for the money spent. This aids better resource allocation.
Audit Your Teaching Assistant Deployment
EEF guidance helps assess TA impact. See if your current TA use aligns with the seven recommendations. Pinpoint key areas where you can improve support for learners (EEF, 2021).
Plan Your Pupil Premium Spending
Use your PP budget to pick strategies ranked by evidence across three tiers. This will generate a full strategy plan, including ROI analysis. (Kraft, 2016; Slavin, 2020).
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Limitations and Critiques
Quality First Teaching is strongest as a universal classroom entitlement, but it has limits. First, large evidence syntheses can hide variation. Effect sizes from Visible Learning (Hattie, 2009) are useful for discussing teacher clarity and feedback, yet critics argue that combining diverse studies can blur sample quality, context, and cost (Snook et al., 2009). This matters for SEND because studies often underrepresent learners with complex trauma, PDA profiles, ADHD, autism, or co-occurring needs.
Second, structured teaching can slide into compliance when schools mix up clarity with control. Rosenshine (2012) backs modelling, guided practice, and checking for understanding. But teachers still need to adapt these routines for sensory load, communication differences, and anxiety.
For some neurodivergent learners, a cold call, a demand for eye contact, or a fast public answer does not produce real thinking. It produces masking instead (Milton, 2012).
Third, inclusion carries the dilemma of difference. Norwich (2008) and Florian and Black-Hawkins (2011) show that naming need can secure support, but it can also separate learners from ordinary classroom life. Webster (2022) adds a sharper system warning: high quality teaching should not be used as cover for reduced specialist provision, delayed assessment, or weaker EHCP evidence.
Finally, the evidence for QFT has limits. Studies from one country, one age phase, or one inspection system may not fit every UK SEND setting. Rules built on compliance, such as forced eye contact or whole-body listening, can also punish neurodivergent and racialised learners.
Even so, the lasting value of Quality First Teaching is clear. It keeps responsibility with the class teacher. It also keeps specialist support available when universal provision is not enough.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is quality first teaching the same as high quality teaching?
In substance, yes. The EEF and the DfE now say high quality teaching or adaptive teaching, and the duty on the teacher is unchanged: plan one ambitious lesson and adjust it in the room.
Is there a quality first teaching checklist PDF?
Yes. The ten-strategy checklist above prints on one page, and the free pack on this page carries it.
What is quality first teaching in a UK classroom?
Westwood (2017) states Quality First Teaching means high standards for all learners. Teachers deliver effective lessons and respond to each learner's needs. This reduces reliance on extra support, benefitting all learners.
How do I implement quality first teaching strategies?
Kirschner et al. (2006) found modelling, scaffolding, and retrieval help learners recall information. Clark & Lyons (2004) say graphic organisers show thinking and give feedback fast. Wiliam (2011) urges teachers to check learners understand the lessons fully.
Why does quality first teaching matter for learners with SEND?
Strategies help learners with SEND feel included in their class. Structured routines and tools aid neurodiverse learners. Good teaching helps dyslexic learners in class through structured literacy, coloured overlays where they help, and tools that bypass writing barriers (Thomson & Johnston, 2008; Singleton, 1999). Schools should use these methods.
What does the research say about its impact?
Responsive teaching helps vulnerable learners. Hattie (2009) reports that feedback and teacher clarity are among the strongest influences on progress. Gorard (2010) and Allen (2011) found good teaching narrows attainment gaps.
What are the common mistakes?
Single plans work better than many (Wiliam, 2011). Schools need systems supporting learners consistently (Hattie, 2012). Avoid thinking this cancels all support for learners (Black & Wiliam, 1998).
How does quality first teaching relate to differentiation?
Differentiation in tasks is vital. Quality First Teaching adapts lessons for all learners. Teachers group learners flexibly based on their insights, avoiding labels. Varied support lets each learner access the curriculum (Tomlinson, 2014; EEF, 2021).
References
Dweck, C. (2006). Mindset: The new psychology of success.
Hattie, J. (2009). Visible learning.
Karpicke, J. (2008). The critical importance of retrieval for learning.
Rosenshine, B. (2012). Principles of instruction.
Sweller, J. (1988). Cognitive load during problem solving.
Vygotsky, L. (1978). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes.
Wiliam, D. (2011). Embedded formative assessment.
Further Reading
Ainscow and César (2006) showed inclusive education goals affect policy. Their article offers teachers useful inclusive practice ideas. Use this research to shape practices for each learner.
Florian (2014) questions evidence for inclusive education. See European Journal of Special Needs Education 29(3): 286-294. The article encourages busy teachers to reflect on their work with each learner.
Mortimore, P. (1999). Understanding pedagogy and its impact on learning. Paul Chapman Publishing.
Westwood (2017) helps teachers adapt lessons for diverse learners. The book aids inclusion and addresses classroom issues. It offers usable strategies; find them in Inclusive and Adaptive Teaching.
