Teaching and Learning

As outlined in our vision, motto and values, we want our students to love learning and to be fully prepared for successful and happy futures having had the opportunity to develop and pursue their passions. Every single member of staff has a part to play in achieving this. We believe that all students are capable of learning and all teachers are capable of making a positive difference to students’ lives.

Our teachers are given a significant amount of time to develop their practice and plan carefully for their lessons with other professionals including an hour each Thursday during the school day where they plan collaboratively. Teachers continue to learn and develop throughout their time at the school and are provided with a wide range of opportunities both within the school and externally. We currently have several middle and senior leaders taking National Professional Qualifications and some who are completing Masters and PhD-level study. Teachers regularly engage in dialogue about their practice through formative lesson observations, learning walks and departmental reviews led by middle leaders. We offer a range of routes into teaching from the Assessment Only route to Teach First and work with a range of PGCE providers. Our Newly Qualified Teacher training programme has been highly commended and is personalised to the needs of each teacher.

Our teachers use a range of data to plan ranging from information received from our Primary schools to CAT tests to in-class formative and summative assessments. Each teacher monitors the progress of the students in their class and Heads of Department have an overview of learning across each year group and Key Stage which they use to develop Schemes of Learning with their team. Assessment is used to accelerate learning and teachers help students to address misconceptions on a regular basis. Schemes of learning are knowledge-rich and are interleaved to support students in retaining the most difficult concepts. A range of strategies including questioning and low-stakes testing further supports students’ memory and this has been a theme in our Continuous Professional Learning programme this year.

Teachers are well equipped to support students’ literacy and oracy in class and in form time and are trained to use a variety of techniques and strategies. Students who are in the early stages of learning English make rapid progress in their language acquisition thanks to this. The CPL programme has also focused on stretch and challenge at all levels so that every student achieves the very best they possibly can.

Classrooms are well resourced with the latest LED interactive boards, textbooks, visualisers and very-recently updated ICT facilities. Our new teaching and learning library has a range of titles useful for a range of experience levels.

View the full Teaching and Learning Statement

Feedback and Marking Statement

​Objective: Students receive regular, timely, personalised feedback which helps them to improve the quality of their work and make exceptional progress. Teachers must use students’ work and misconceptions to plan future lessons.

Marking and feedback will appear different at each Key Stage (as described below in the full version of the statement) Heads of Department have adapted a generic policy to suit the learning needs of students in their subjects. These will appear in the departmental handbooks.

View the full Feedback and Marking Statement

Continous Professional Learning Statement
“Powerful, significant and long-lasting professional development happens when teachers engage together to solve real problems and make new meanings for application in real
classrooms” (CUREE, 2003 cited in Pickering et al. 2007: 117).

View the full Continuous Professional Learning Statement