Evidence that informs teaching
Assessment design, comparative judgement, moderation, internal and external assessment, and manageable approaches to tracking progress and acting on findings.
RESEARCH-LED EDUCATION CONSULTANCY
THE LEARNING
GAP
From Educational Research
to Classroom Reality
Curriculum Design · Teacher Training · School Improvement
We help school owners, leaders, and teachers turn educational ambitions into coherent curricula, thoughtful teaching, and practical support for every learner.
FROM SCHOOL VISION TO CLASSROOM PRACTICE
- 01
Define the learning
Knowledge, understanding, and skills
- 02
Plan the evidence
Assessment connected to outcomes
- 03
Design the sequence
Coherent, practical schemes of work
- 04
Teach and apply
Explicit teaching through to guided inquiry
A clear route through the curriculum.
A purposeful connection to learning.
Online consultancy from ThailandFocused on-site visits and workshopsSupport shaped around your school
OUR EXPERTISE
A coherent curriculum.
A practical route forward.
Our flagship service is writing curriculum from scratch. We also help schools connect that curriculum with assessment, professional learning, reading, and learner support.
01 / BESPOKE CURRICULUMFrom a blank page to
From a blank page to
a scheme of work.
We translate your school’s educational vision and chosen standards into detailed, backward-designed curricula and schemes of work.
Vertical alignment builds progression across year groups and phases. Horizontal alignment creates coherence within each year, with purposeful links across subjects and consistent expectations across classes.
Backward designOutcomes first, then evidence, then teaching and learning.
Progression made explicitSequence knowledge, concepts, vocabulary, and skills.
Assessment that fitsConnect diagnostic, formative, and summative evidence to intended learning.
Plans teachers can useSpecify prerequisites, teaching sequences, resources, and learner support.
Experience across international frameworks
English National Curriculum · Cambridge · IB · New Zealand · Common Core · AERO · NGSS · Singapore · Ontario · Bespoke K–12 programmes
Support built around the learner
SEN, EAL, learning gaps, scaffolding, interventions, and accommodations. We develop Learning Support programmes that connect starting points, provision, and review.
Reading across the curriculum
Phonics, vocabulary, morphology, and appropriate texts across ages and subjects. Help teachers recognise the reading demands of their subject and teach the skills learners need.
Development that reaches the classroom
Tailored programmes informed by the science of learning and reading. Connect workshops with planning, coaching, feedback, implementation, and review.
Clear priorities and practical support
Work with owners and leaders to clarify direction, review provision, plan improvement, and prepare for accreditation through readiness advice within an agreed scope.
OUR APPROACH
Secure foundations.
Purposeful inquiry.
We connect explicit teaching, guided practice, and application. The amount of support responds to learners’ prior knowledge and readiness.
Teach with clarity
Explain, model, teach vocabulary, and make the knowledge and methods visible.
Practise with support
Check understanding, respond to misconceptions, and build confidence through structured practice.
Apply and investigate
Use secure knowledge in guided inquiry, evidence-based reasoning, and increasingly independent work.
Simon brings knowledge of Siegfried Engelmann’s Direct Instruction, cognitive science, and the science of learning and reading, alongside an understanding of Piaget, Jerome Bruner, Montessori education, and IB approaches. His consultancy helps schools examine the choices behind their curriculum and teaching.
OUR RESEARCH PUBLICATION
The Learning Gap
Why do students fall behind, why do learning gaps persist, and what can schools do about them? Our forthcoming research-led article series connects evidence from reading, language, mathematics and learning differences to practical improvements in curriculum, teaching, assessment and specialist support.
From educational research to classroom reality. Articles will be published on Substack. The publication link will be added when it is live.
SELECTED WORK
See the decisions
behind the design.
Our portfolio presents selected examples and an introduction to our wider expertise. Each engagement is tailored to your school’s priorities and direction.
EDUCATION CONSULTANCY PORTFOLIO
Curriculum. Teaching.
Professional learning.
Learner support.
Seven pages of selected extracts and commentary.
Read the portfolioDownload PDFCurriculum architecture
A Grade 5 unit showing backward design, planned progression, disciplinary integration, and assessment.
Explicit teaching and guided inquiry
A selective lesson example showing modelling, checks for understanding, and supported application.
Professional learning over time
Selected session pairs linking staff development to classroom decisions and assessment milestones.
Learning Support informed by evidence
Starting-point tools connecting task access, independence, intervention planning, and review.
OUR TEAM
School experience.
Personal partnership.
SENIOR EDUCATION CONSULTANT
Simon Saunders
Simon’s international leadership experience includes founding and directing schools across Asia and the Middle East, leading an IB continuum school, and responsibility for a school community of more than 1,200 students and approximately 120 teaching staff.
His particular strength is creating coherent curricula and detailed schemes of work, supported by expertise in assessment, reading, learner support, and teacher professional development.
View Simon’s LinkedIn profileCHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
Mark Jones
Chief Executive Officer of The Learning Gap (formerly Jones Saunders Education).
A consultancy built around your school’s priorities, with Simon Saunders leading the education consultancy offer.
WORKING TOGETHER
The right support.
The right arrangement.
We start with a conversation about your school’s needs, the direction you want to take, and the level of support required.
Per project
A defined scope, agreed deliverables, and a clear timeline.
Per hour
Targeted advice, coaching, or document review when needed.
Fixed monthly fee
An agreed programme of meetings, development, and implementation support.
Retainer
Reserved availability and continuing advice within agreed boundaries.
Primarily online, complemented by focused on-site visits, workshops, and accreditation readiness advice. Scope, timing, access, fees, and any travel arrangements are agreed before work begins.
LET’S TALK ABOUT YOUR SCHOOL
What direction
do you want to take?
Tell Simon about your school, your priorities, and the support you are looking for. We’ll start with a conversation.
Contact Simon on LinkedInSchool Improvement
Bespoke Curriculum
The Science of
Teaching and Learning