Your visits

The lesson visit criteria

What a visit looks for in each of the six areas, and how Amber, Green and Blue are used.

Curriculum intent and sequencing

Lessons that build in a deliberate order, so today makes sense of last week.

A visitor looks at

  • Whether learning is well planned and logically sequenced.
  • If learners understand what they are learning and why.
  • How effectively activities build knowledge and skills over time.
  • Whether learners can connect current learning to previous and future learning.

Green

  • The lesson is clearly planned and follows a logical sequence.
  • Learning builds securely on what learners already know and moves them towards new understanding.
  • Activities are well chosen and help learners practise, apply and show what they have learned.
  • Planning reflects awareness of learners' starting points and where the lesson sits within the wider course.
  • As a result, most learners engage well and are able to make progress within the lesson.

Curriculum intent and sequencing

The three bands for Curriculum intent and sequencing
AmberGreenBlue
  • The lesson is planned, but activities do not always follow a clear or logical order.
  • Learning aims are present but not always clearly linked to prior learning or curriculum context.
  • Activities do not consistently build towards deeper understanding or clear learning outcomes.
  • Planning shows limited use of information about learners' starting points or prior assessment.
  • As a result, some learners struggle to access, connect or sustain learning during the lesson.
  • The lesson is clearly planned and follows a logical sequence.
  • Learning builds securely on what learners already know and moves them towards new understanding.
  • Activities are well chosen and help learners practise, apply and show what they have learned.
  • Planning reflects awareness of learners' starting points and where the lesson sits within the wider course.
  • As a result, most learners engage well and are able to make progress within the lesson.
  • Learning is explicitly connected to prior and future content, and learners can explain these links in their own words.
  • Activities deepen understanding, address common misunderstandings and support learners to apply learning confidently.
  • Checks for understanding are precise, target likely misconceptions and visibly shape teaching within the lesson.
  • Barriers are anticipated in the design of the lesson, so learners with SEND, disadvantage or other barriers access the same ambitious content.
  • As a result, every learner present connects, applies and extends their learning during the visit.

How lesson visits work

Four things worth knowing.

  1. Visitors look at the typical experience of learners, not a single perfect lesson. Evidence comes from what learners are doing, saying and producing.
  2. Feedback focuses on what is working, what could be stronger, and next steps.
  3. Lesson visit evidence is triangulated and contributes to a wider picture alongside learner work, data, reviews and professional discussion.
  4. Amber, Green and Blue show stages of practice, not judgements. The full descriptors are used by visitors to support consistent feedback and professional dialogue.

What the bands mean

Stages of practice, not judgements. Pick one.