ABSTRACT
This chapter outlines the beginnings of the Young Researchers Project in Birmingham. In particular, it focuses on how the Young Researchers Project has made a meaningful contribution to school improvement across the city. The Young Researchers Project began in the school where author was headteacher, Colmore Infant and Nursery School in Birmingham. When the author began the research, school staff were reluctant to change, and any training to date on children as researchers had proved ineffective and with no impact. This has remained a key feature in shaping the success of the current Young Researchers Project. It also provided a gateway for pupils and staff across the alliance to work and learn together and showcase the findings at an annual conference. For some teachers, to begin with the research work was interpreted as showcasing a class project, for example on local history topics, rather than using it to examine an area of concern in school improvement terms.
