Our vision for Teaching & Learning
To develop a community where everyone has a passion for learning.
The school sets out its approach to teaching and learning in four main areas :
- Leadership of Teaching and Learning
- Features of Outstanding Teaching
- Monitoring, Evaluation and Accountability
- Developmental Strategies
Leadership of Teaching and Learning
Leadership of teaching and learning is prevalent at all levels of the school community. It is everyone’s responsibility to ensure that the core business of teaching and learning remains engaging, enjoyable and unhindered.
The Headteacher has prime responsibility for ensuring that teaching and learning remains of the highest quality and that the best staff, the best resources, the best CPD and the best systems all align to drive continuous improvement in the quality of provision.
The Governing Body has a key role to play in ensuring that teaching and learning is at the core of the school's improvement plan and strategic direction so that outcomes for all students continue to improve. They also have an important role to play in ensuring effective accountability and resourcing.
Middle Leaders across the school ensure that the most relevant and engaging curriculum is offered to students so that they remain motivated and engaged and develop a love for learning. They lead their teaching teams by example and provide support and challenge to ensure the best teaching occurs.
All teachers are leaders of learning within their own classrooms. They plan and deliver lessons in line with the school T&L policy which are challenging, enjoyable, relevant and inclusive. All teachers lead by example and do not just see themselves as subject specialists, but as professionals with a clear remit to develop key transferrable learning skills for every student.
Students actively contribute to leading and improving the quality of teaching and learning across the school. They participate in departmental review and whole staff training and are trained in observation in order to be able to provide meaningful and effective feedback. Opportunities for students to lead learning are built in to lessons as well as providing other student leadership activities throughout the school year.
Features of Outstanding Teaching and Learning
Outstanding teaching and learning is not something that schools fall on by chance, a school needs to aspire to develop this key strand so that every student is provided with the best life chances. To be outstanding, teachers need to produce good lessons on a daily basis rather than strive for outstanding and fall short. All students making progress is the key judgement that will determine whether teaching and learning has been successful. It is not sufficient to just monitor what teaching and learning looks in the school, but vital to create a learning environment that is supportive of staff who consistently challenge themselves to move learning forward without fear of occasionally trying things that may not have the impact they had predicted. Effective teaching and learning will always attempt to have:
High levels of engagement- it is critical that students engage with their learning (and the lesson) in order to really develop and progress.
High levels of challenge- differentiation opportunities should be evident from the planning right through to the plenary.
Quality feedback is welcomed - the quality and frequency of feedback is one of the most powerful factors that influence how rapidly students make progress. This isn't just confined to teacher feedback - but also encompasses all aspects of AfL.
Independent learning is encouraged throughout the learning process - this is vital for success as it includes student ownership of their learning, elements of choice within the lesson, matching differentiation with choice to provide personalised learning. It also has inherent issues around teaching students the transferrable skills that will allow them to be independent learners across the curriculum. There is lots of value in students understanding what makes a good question - as it requires prior learning and consolidation in order to frame in the first place.
A commitment to develop literacy levels- All students need to access the curriculum and giving them the tools to do so should never be overlooked.
Monitoring, Evaluation and Accountability
Effective monitoring and accurate evaluation are critical tools to ensure that standards continue to rise and that improvement plans are tightly focussed on the correct areas. The school is committed to ensuring robust systems are in place so that poor performance is not tolerated and the quality of teaching is of the highest standard.
The school operates an open door policy and encourages teachers to be regular informal observers as a way of sharing good practice and professional development. This also ensures that all staff receive regular feedback and become skilled at giving feedback themselves
A balanced programme of formal and informal lesson observation (buddy system) reliably informs quality assurance judgements at departmental and whole school level
All departments participate in internal review weeks which include lesson observation and students' perspective on the quality of teaching
Performance Management systems are clearly focussed on teachers standards and ensuring the highest quality teaching
An effective CPD programme for all staff is clearly linked to Performance Management objectives and the outcomes of other QA activity to equip staff with the skills they need to improve the quality of teaching across the school
The school has clear routes for all teachers regardless of the quality of their teaching so that; Outstanding teachers are rewarded and contribute to others' CPD; Good teachers have a personalised coaching programme to move them to Outstanding; and any teaching that is less than Good is rapidly addressed through informal support or formal procedures where appropriate
Developmental Strategies
To ensure effective teaching and learning, we must provide the teachers with the toolkit to solve the differing problems they may face daily. Before this can be achieved it is essential that a culture is created that rewards those who wish to develop. Personal progress should be recognised and celebrated and staff are empowered to share their knowledge rather than compete for position. To do this core elements are required:
- Professional development opportunities are available to all staff alongside a culture of trust and no blame
- CPD is enjoyable and regular and the impact is measurable
- Effective coaching lies at the heart of sustained improvement
- Staff stay up to date with current thinking
- Student voice is part of the evaluation process
- Effective support is in place for those who struggle
- A robust induction system
- A desire to make continuous improvement
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