Teaching and Learning at Stanborough Secondary School
This Teaching and Learning Framework gives clear expectations for effective teaching, identifying exemplary practices that enables us to meet our goal of all students making progress. The Framework highlights the researched-based strategies that have been proven to be effective in meeting the needs of our diverse learners including English Learners, Students with Special Needs and Students with Disabilities. In addition to this, the Teaching and Learning Framework describes teaching practices that will help to prepare all students to be successful and productive 21st Century learners. These include having high expectations and effective teaching strategies.
The Argument: Visible Teaching & Visible Learning
The big idea is ‘know thy impact.’ We believe that expert teachers are not wedded to specific ideas but instead focus regularly on evaluating the effects they have on their students and adjust teaching methods accordingly. Visible learning involves teachers seeing learning through the eyes of students; and students seeing teaching as the key to their ongoing learning. When learning is visible the student knows what to do and how to do it and the teacher knows if learning is occurring or not. Teaching and learning is visible when the learning goal is not only challenging but is explicit.
Nine Mind Frames of Effective Teachers:
Teacher mindframes: It is critical that teachers see themselves as evaluators of their effects on students and develop a mind frame in which they see it as their primary role to evaluate their effect on learning. Teacher’s beliefs and commitments are the greatest influence on student achievement.
Evaluators of the effect of their teaching on pupil’s learning | See assessment as feedback about their impact. | Develop positive relationships with pupils that foster effective learning |
‘Change Agents’ who take responsibility for enhancing all pupils learning | Engage in dialogue not monologue with pupils. | Have a common and shared language of learning which is understood by all. |
Talk about how pupils learn and not about how teachers teach | Enjoy the challenge and engage pupils in the challenge | Teach students the value of: Concentration, perseverance and deliberate practice. |
What expert teachers do | So that pupils |
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• Clear learning intentions • Challenging success criteria, • Range of learning strategies • Know when students are not progressing • Providing feedback • Visibly learns themselves | • Understand learning intentions • Challenged by success criteria • Develop a range of learning strategies • Know when they are not progressing • Seek feedback • Visibly teach themselves |
Art of teaching:
Feedback: One of the most powerful single influences enhancing achievement is feedback. For feedback to be effective it needs to be:
• clear, purposeful, meaningful and compatible with pupils’ prior knowledge, and to provide logical connections.”
• directed at the right level, so it can assist students to comprehend, engage, or develop effective strategies to process the information intended to be learnt.”
• combined with effective instruction in classrooms, and focus on what is being learnt (learning intention) and how students should go about it (success criteria)
• occur as the students are doing the learning
• provide information on how and why the student has or has not met the criteria
• provide strategies to help the student to improve
Effective teaching strategies used by staff
Modelling: Allowing teachers to impart knowledge in order to ensure students are engaged in learning and generate high levels of commitment to learning. Teacher modeling is clear and against the success criteria. | Differentiation: Teachers use well judged and often imaginative teaching strategies that, together with clearly directed and timely support and intervention, match individual needs accurately. Planned differentiation ensures exceptional progress for all. | Assessment proficient learners: All children consistently respond to teacher marking and feedback and this will help them to make better than expected progress. Children are clear about what they are learning, how this relates to what they have done previously and what success looks like. |
Assessment proficient teaching staff: The teacher systematically and effectively check students’ understanding throughout the lesson, anticipating where they may need to intervene and doing so with notable impact on the quality of learning. | Learners understand how to improve their work (through diagnostic feedback) and are consistently supported in doing so. Very effective questioning is used to gauge understanding and inform teaching and learning. Peer and/or self assessment will link to success criteria and drive forward achievement. | Specific references are made to the school’s progress measures in planning. Teachers further teach to the gaps in students learning, as evidenced in Schemes of Work (SOW), progress data and external assessments. |
We have high expectations in the classroom
- Presentation: High expectations of presentation across the school. Presentation is in line with the school’s presentation policy and students are taking pride in their work. Pride indicates that students are a part of the learning process, not merely observers. Pride comes from having a sense of ownership and control over their learning. Presentation checklist poster.
- Pitch: Teachers are monitored to ensure that learning is pitched to a range of outcomes (A.M.S), skilfully adapted and children have clear mechanisms and routines to demonstrate their learning.
- Productivity: High expectation of productivity across all students. We are creating a culture where there is no significant difference between the volume of work in low and high attainers. In addition, no difference between the volume of work in different groups of students (male/female – SEND/non-SEND).
Monitoring of Teaching and Learning
Teachers are monitored for the quality of teaching and learning, through a variety of platforms. This includes, dropping into lessons (face-to-face and remotely) and through scrutiny of work and lesson observations. Note that during the pandemic, cameras in lessons are usually turned on so that leaders can monitor lesson delivery, student wellbeing and safeguarding/behaviour without having to physically visit the classroom.
Intervention
At Stanborough School we are committed to meeting the needs of all pupils to ensure that they make the best possible progress. As all children progress at different rates, there may be times when a teacher feels a child may benefit from an intervention group which would be in addition to everyday class teaching. In some cases, this may be because we feel a child is not completely reaching their potential and may need ‘a little extra push’ or it may be to ‘catch up’ in a particular area.
Small Group Intervention
It may be appropriate for your child to receive small group support either inside or outside of the classroom setting. Your child will work with their class teacher and a programme of work will have been planned for your child that will close any gaps or misunderstandings that have arisen in their learning. Interventions will normally last for 6 weeks; at the start we measure the children’s abilities and again at the end which shows us whether the intervention has had an impact on the child’s learning. From this we can decide what will be our next step.
Supporting at Home
Your child may come home with an intervention letter, informing you that your child is receiving extra classes and the details of the extra class. Parents who take on a supportive role in their children’s learning make a difference in improving achievement and behaviour. Your child will progress more quickly if you can support us, please ask your child’s teacher in what ways you can help. Please see below an example of our intervention timetable:
AUTUMN TERM | LUNCH 13.55 – 14.15 | AFTER SCHOOL 15.35 – 16.30 |
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Monday | KS3 English Year 10 English Language – (Odd week) Mrs Hussey – Room 118 Maths – (Even week) Mrs Venter – Room 221 | |
Tuesday | Chemistry – Mrs Anderson – Room 215 Maths – Mrs Brambilla – Room 222 |
Year 7 – 10
Day | Time | Subject | Teacher |
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Monday | 1.55 – 2.15 | French | Mr N’Guessan |
Monday | 3.35 – 4.30 | Geography | Mr Amo |
Tuesday | 3.35 – 4.30 ( Odd week) 3.35 – 4.00 (even week) | Maths | Mrs Venter |
Wednesday | 3.35 – 4.30 | Maths | Mrs Brambilla |
Wednesday | 1.55 – 2.15 | Chemistry | Mrs Anderson |
Thursday | 3.35 – 4.30 | History | Mr Amo |
Thursday | 3.35 – 4.30 | Art | Ms Sinclair |