School Improvement Consultant · Former HMI
Cindy Impey
Helping schools strengthen education through expert evaluation, curriculum design and leadership development.
School Improvement
M.Ed. NPQH BA (Hons) | School Improvement Consultant | Former HMI | School Lead Inspector
Meaningful school improvement starts with pupils. It follows the evidence through their learning and experience, building an honest picture of what is genuinely making a difference, where the barriers remain and what needs to happen next.
Latest Development
Inclusion Strategy
Focused, evidence informed support for school leaders developing a purposeful Inclusion Strategy.
Explore Inclusion Strategy SupportFollowing the evidence trail through pupils' experiences
About
School improvement that starts with pupils
Meaningful school improvement does not begin with documentation. It begins with pupils — with what they know, what they remember and what they are able to do. Everything else follows from that.
Cindy Impey is a former Her Majesty's Inspector (HMI) with extensive experience in school inspection and school improvement across a wide range of settings. That background informs the way she works, not as a framework to impose, but as a foundation for honest, well-evidenced evaluation.
Working with primary, secondary, special and independent schools, MATs, local authorities and teacher training providers, the focus is always on building a clear and accurate picture of where a school is. Not a performance for external scrutiny, but a genuine understanding of what is working, where the barriers lie and what the next stage of development requires.
Beyond the Scheme™ has grown directly from this way of working. It applies the same evidence-trail approach to curriculum specifically, exploring what pupils genuinely know, remember and understand rather than what has simply been taught. It is currently being piloted across a range of schools.
How I work
Following the Evidence Trail
Meaningful school improvement begins with pupils. Not with documentation or compliance frameworks, but with what pupils know, remember and understand and what their experience reveals about the quality of teaching and curriculum around them. Professional dialogue and careful observation provide evidence that written records rarely capture. From that evidence, it becomes possible to see clearly what is working, where the barriers lie and what genuinely needs to happen next.
This approach underpins every area of the work, whether that involves curriculum, leadership, school review, specialist settings or whole-school evaluation.
Begin with pupils, not planning documents
Gather first-hand evidence through professional dialogue and observation
Explore what pupils know, remember, understand and can apply
Examine how intent and expectation translate into practice and experience
Build an honest picture of strengths, barriers and next steps
Identify the next barrier to improvement
Services
School improvement starts with pupils.
Every piece of work begins with pupils and follows the evidence through their learning, their experiences and their work. That is true whether the context is curriculum, leadership, attendance, inclusion, specialist settings or whole-school evaluation. The process is thorough and evaluative, grounded in what pupils reveal rather than what documentation describes.
Honest evaluation provides something that frameworks rarely do: a clear picture of what is genuinely working, where the barriers remain and what needs to happen next.
Curriculum Diagnostic
Beyond the Scheme™
A diagnostic that follows the evidence through pupils' learning, exploring what they genuinely know, remember and are able to apply rather than what has simply been taught.
Get in touch
To discuss how this work might support your school or trust, please get in touch.