ABSTRACT
This chapter describes how the Research Schools Network was set up in England. This was a network of schools in England charged with supporting others to understand how the use of research evidence could be woven into the everyday fabric of decision making. Collectively, they endeavoured to learn to do the work of teaching and learning better. In collaboration with the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) and the Institute for Effective Education (IEE), the Research Schools Network was established to co-construct with teachers and leaders unique responses to the challenges faced across the education sector. In essence, the role of the Research Schools within the Research Schools Network was to support other schools to understand what it looks like, sounds like and feels like to integrate research evidence into the heart of teaching and learning. From the initial approaches of five schools, building to a fledging network of twenty-two schools, this journey is told with the insights from many of those involved from the beginning as they sought to expand on and codify their expertise at crossing the bridge between research and practice. It is, in essence, a journey of learning from, with and on behalf of each other.
