Teaching and Learning

SCHOOL POLICY STATEMENT

Bedlington Station Primary School Teaching and Learning Policy

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TEACHING AND LEARNING POLICY

This policy is a statement of the aims, principles and strategies of teaching and learning at Bedlington Station Primary School. It lays the foundations for the whole curriculum recognising that at the heart of good learning is effective teaching within any subject or social context. This agreement was the result of a review in the autumn and spring terms 2003/4 and developed through a process of staff development, discussion and consultation. Principles We believe that: -

• teaching and learning is the central purpose of the school;

• effective teaching maximises the learning of all pupils;

• all our pupils have the capacity to learn;

• teachers are learners too.

Key Characteristics of Teaching and Learning 1) The Learning Environment In keeping with our school aims, we believe that the learning environment should positively support learning in all areas of a child's development and therefore should be organised so that: -

• it is welcoming, exciting and stimulating; • there is appropriate ventilation, lighting and furniture;



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• opportunities are available for pupils to realistically demonstrate independence, choices and decisions;

• learners can take increasing responsibility for the organisation and care of learning resources;

• available space and resources are used to support learning effectively; • pupils are involved in displays, and are encouraged to take care of their learning

environment; • pupils are encouraged to follow the school rules and work effectively in both group

work and as an individual; • pupil's learn to maximise the ICT as an aid to learning.

2) Pupil's Learning We believe that pupils should have opportunities to: -

• have first hand experiences; • think, solve problems, and be involved in investigative work; • communicate their findings in a variety of ways; • work individually and co-operatively; • take part in whole class and group projects/activities; • learn the basic skills of literacy, numeracy and ICT; • use ICT to aid learning; • when appropriate, select their own learning materials and tools relevant to their

task; • make the most progress possible , according to their capability and potential; • complete work in a given time; • reflect upon their own work and that of others; • take an active part in the assessment process in order to improve their work.

3) Teachers We believe that as managers of the curriculum and of teaching and learning, we should: -

• be clear about the skills, knowledge, concepts to be taught; • be aware of , and use, a variety of modes of learning - eg. Discovery, visual, oral,

kinaesthetic etc.; • plan effectively, monitor pupils' progress and use this to inform future work and

targets; • mark work regularly with effective comments to promote further progress; • have clear goals (learning objectives) for our teaching and make them explicit to

the children (written or oral); • ensure that the children are clear about what 'good' work means (success criteria); • have high expectations in order to motivate and extend pupils of all ages; • manage time effectively and ensure that lessons and learning have appropriate

structure and pace; • give appropriate guidance in order to promote effective learning; • use a range of questioning techniques; • form positive relationships as part of a team to ensure consistency of approach;



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• value the monitoring process and the opportunities that this provides for dialogue and personal professional development.

What do we believe constitutes an effective lesson? In an effective lesson, we believe pupils should be: -

• learning - ie. Making progress in skills/knowledge/understanding; • on task for a high proportion of the time; • actively involved in their learning - listening, responding, contributing willingly; • working with confidence and purpose; • demonstrating the behaviour expected of them - eg. Taking turns, working at a

noise level appropriate to the situation/task; • interested and engaged; • clear about what they are doing and why, including any expectations of

presentation and other criteria (learning objective, activity, success criteria); • receiving effective feedback (written or oral) to enable them to know what they are

doing well and how to improve; • using resources appropriately - accessing independently with the minimum of

interruption; • taking responsibility and using initiative; • interacting with teacher and others, as and when appropriate; • listening and valuing the work and views of others; • aware of and working within time limits and goals at a good pace; • confident to risk answers and learn from mistakes.

In an effective lesson we believe that teachers should; -

• have set clear learning goals, which they share with the children; • clearly explain the criteria for success; • have high expectations for amount of work, concentration and behaviour; • create a positive learning atmosphere, with good relationships, where children

are allowed to take risks; • ensure and sustain a welcome and stimulating learning environment; • ensure a high proportion of direct teaching which is interactive and challenging; • know their children, and provide work which is appropriately differentiated to

challenge all levels; • ensure a good learning pace which keeps children interested and active but

allows time for reflection; • use assessment information (observe, listen, question etc.) to build up a

knowledge by which to regularly review and refine targets and teaching; • give effective feedback to pupils to ensure they know what they have done well

and to improve their work; • be secure with the subject knowledge relevant to the lesson, ensuring progress

through and understanding of the learning goals beyond the current stage; • ensure that effort and success are recognised and praised; • manage pupil behaviour consistently to minimise disruption/maximise learning

by encouraging positive attitudes with recognition and praise; • set and check homework which is linked to the current learning and helps to

consolidate or move children on.



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Reviewing Planning

We believe that the whole school curriculum plan should secure appropriate coverage of the basic curriculum, and ensure that the pupils have a well-balanced, broad and progressive learning experience. Medium and short-term plans should effectively influence attainment and progress. When reviewing planning, the following points should be considered. The most effective medium term plans usually: -

• identify what pupils will be taught over a period of time (usually over a half-term); • identify assessment opportunities; • are based on broad assessments and targets; • show evidence of progression; • indicate the balance of time allocated to each subject; • indicate a balance between oral and written work; • indicate cross-curricular re-enforcement.

The most effective short term plans usually: -

• identify specifically what pupils should learn (learning objective); • show how lessons will start, continue and end; • outline activities and groups; • identify success criteria; • identify any key questions and teaching points, including assessment

opportunities; • show how work might be extended or reinforced; • show how staff will be deployed.

Short term planning is about teacher thinking, and for this reason is difficult to format. This means that some of the above may have been 'shorthanded' in some individual way. As long as the above issues have been thought through ('planned'), and good teaching and learning evidence this, teachers are free to adopt/adapt short term plans to reflect their own style. Classroom Observation Lesson observation, followed by feedback and discussion, is a valuable way of recognising and developing the work done by teachers. It is also a learning process in itself. The observer can: -

• learn new things to support their own ideas; • see how other people work, and reflect upon their own practice; • confirm what is effective; • suggest ways of developing and improving practice.



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The member of staff being observed can: - • expect support; • get a second opinion; • expect to receive feedback to support their development and improvement.

Observing lessons is not a one-way conversation where comments are conveyed from observer to observed. It is part of a professional dialogue to reflect on, support and develop effective practice. Guidelines for classroom observation Monitoring is primarily about finding out what is going on. Evaluation is about how worthwhile those practices are in terms of pupils' outcomes (learning/progress). Classroom observation is about positively supporting teachers in making their practice more effective - you don't have to be bad to get better. Points to note.

• Context • Be unobtrusive • Good practice • Issues for further discussion • Feedback • Self reflection • Targets for improvement

Looking at pupils' work It is not always possible to observe teaching first hand. However, systematically examining samples of work will give further information regarding the levels of achievement and rate of progress over a period of time. Where appropriate, we will look at the work of 3 pupils per year group (possibly to include a high, middle and low attainer), and review the quality, range and standard of work displayed in classrooms and around the school. We recognise that this will not give us an exact measure or answers, but we feel that it will indicate questions that we might ask, and highlight issues for discussion which, when analysed, could possibly lead to targets for improving practice/standards in some way. We will consider whether: -

• the level of work, the amount of work, and the progress over time are about right given the ages of the children and their starting points;

• the scope of work and the balance between consolidation, practice and more demanding thinking are appropriate;

• the work is appropriately challenging and rewarding for different abilities;



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• neatness and presentation indicate both pupils' and teachers' pride and value in the work;

• teachers mark the work in helpful ways, they identify pupils' errors, and their written comments help pupils to know how to improve their work.

The role of Subject Co-ordinators Co-ordinators will • take a lead role in policy development and the monitoring of medium term planning to

ensure progression and continuity in their area of responsibility throughout the school. • support colleagues in their development and implementation of the medium term

planning and in assessment and record keeping activities. • monitor progression in their area of responsibility and advise the Head Teacher of

action needed. • take responsibility for the auditing and updating of resources as necessary. • keep up to date with developments in their area of responsibility and disseminate

information to colleagues as appropriate. This policy will be reviewed in line with the School Development Plan cycle.

Documents

Teaching and Learning