Show Notes
Episode Summary In this episode of The Leadership Lens, Rachael Snowdon-Poole takes us inside her own school’s journey with retrieval practice — the scepticism, the design choices, and the lessons learned along the way. Starting with Ofsted’s 2019 definition of learning as “an alteration in long-term memory”, Rachael explores how this shifted thinking in curriculum design and assessment. From the pitfalls of “pub quiz facts” to the power of application tasks, she shares how her staff moved from activity-driven planning to a curriculum that deliberately sequences, revisits, and secures the most important knowledge. What You’ll Learn in This Episode: Why recall alone isn’t enough — and how to move from “know more” to “do more.” How a scope check can reveal curriculum gaps, duplications, and priorities. Practical retrieval strategies: multiple-choice with misconceptions, application prompts, and interruption slides. What research says about retrieval, spacing, and transfer (Roediger, Butler, Dunlosky, Adesope, Coe). How retrieval informs both formative and summative assessment. Why broad and balanced curriculum design strengthens memory and schema. Episode Highlights: The two fears that shaped our approach: trivia recall and “open-book retrieval.” How identifying two or three key ideas per unit transformed sequencing and assessment. A two-part retrieval structure: “Know More, Remember More” + “Do More.” The role of AI tools in supporting teachers to create deeper application questions. Examples across subjects — from Florence Nightingale to Roman roads to fractions. Resources for Premium Members: Curriculum map examples showing how knowledge builds across year groups. Retrieval practice slide templates from multiple subjects and year groups. Closing Thought: When retrieval is short, purposeful, sequenced, and paired with application, it doesn’t just help pupils remember more — it strengthens the whole curriculum.
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In last week’s episode, I explored why so many school development plans don’t quite do what we hope they will. We looked at the idea that we often focus too heavily on goals, rather than the day-to-day systems and habits that actually drive change in schools. We also reframed the starting point for planning away from “what do we want to achieve?” and towards “what are our persistent problems?” This week builds directly on that thinking. Because once you’ve identified your persistent problems, the next step is deciding what to do about them. That’s the moment where most plans either become genuinely powerful… or quietly fall apart. In this episode, I introduce the concept of premortems, a simple but incredibly powerful way of strengthening your school improvement plans before you implement them. Rather than waiting to evaluate something after it hasn’t worked, a premortem asks you to imagine that your plan has already failed, and then work backwards to understand why. It sounds uncomfortable, and it is, but that discomfort is exactly where the insight sits. In this episode, I explore: Why we tend to move too quickly from identifying problems to implementing solutions What a premortem is and where it comes from How premortems create space for honest, risk-aware thinking within leadership teams A step-by-step walkthrough of how to run a premortem effectively in your school A detailed school-based example focused on improving reading fluency in lower KS2 Three non-examples of premortems that look right on the surface but fail in practice — and what goes wrong in each case How to use premortems to strengthen your school development plan before it reaches the classroom 🧠 Key takeaway Identifying the right problem is only half the work. Designing the right response, and properly stress-testing that response before you implement it, is where school improvement either succeeds or quietly falls apart. Premortems help you do exactly that. 💡 Premium Membership If you want to take this straight into your own setting, this week’s premium resource is designed to do exactly that. As a premium member, you’ll receive: A full slide deck that walks you step-by-step through the premortem framework Clear guidance on how to structure and facilitate the session with your team A resource you can use immediately in SLT meetings or wider leadership discussions Premium membership also gives you access to the full back catalogue of 36 episodes, each with accompanying resources including: Training scripts Slide decks School development frameworks Practical tools you can use straight away Topics covered include safeguarding, behaviour, personal development, curriculum design, retrieval practice, alternative provision, and much more. 👉 You can join here: https://the-leadership-lens.mykajabi.com/premium-membership It’s £11 per month, and each week you’ll receive a resource linked directly to the episode, designed to support your work as a school leader in a practical, usable way.