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Teaching & Learning Policy

Wolvercote Primary School The River Learning Trust

Wolvercote Primary School is an academy managed by The Cherwell School Academy Trust, which is an exempt charity and a company limited by guarantee, registered in England and Wales with a registered company number 7966500. Registered Office: The Cherwell School, Marston Ferry Road, OXFORD OX2 7EE United Kingdom.

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Date Adopted by Governing Body: Autumn 2019/2020

Date to be reviewed: Autumn 2020/2021

Signed Chair of Governors

Jenny Knight

Signed Headteacher

Lucy Young

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Wolvercote Primary School Teaching and Learning Policy

Aims This teaching and learning policy has been developed by the staff and Governors of Wolvercote Primary School and will be reviewed annually. It aims to ensure that the children at our school are provided with high quality learning experiences that lead to a consistently high level of pupil achievement. The whole school community will be involved in developing this policy during the 2019/2020 academic year. It is designed to be a working document so that it can be kept up to date with new improvements.

Teaching and Learning Expectations Effective Teaching Effective Learning

Teachers will prepare fully for teaching and learning

Know your subject

● Teachers have a deep subject knowledge ● Teachers are prepared to explain concepts

and content in a range of ways

● Teachers are able to identify and rectify misconceptions quickly

● Pupils make links from other subjects and lessons

● Pupils are able to communicate their learning and misconceptions

Know your class

● Use SEND information and know which pupils will need support to achieve the learning outcomes

● Have a sharp focus on disadvantaged /pupil premium pupils

● Plan how the higher attaining children will be challenged

● Pupils engage well with the teacher and TA

● Pupils understand the expectations of the lesson and how they can be successful learners

Plan each lesson

● The learning is part of a clear sequence which builds on prior learning

● Scaffolding and support is planned

● Key questions and vocabulary are identified

● There are high expectations for all learners

● Maximum use is planned for lesson time and there is a good pace

● Pupils have high expectations of themselves

● Pupils understand the learning objective and are clear about the success criteria

Prepare resources

● Resources are available and support learning and independence

● TAs are deployed to effectively move learning forward

● Pupils know where to find support and make effective use of resources

Teachers deliver high quality lessons

There are high expectations for all pupils

● Teachers are determined that all pupils will achieve well. They build pupils’ attitudes of resilience and pride in their efforts: the vocabulary of growth mindset supports this

● Pupils are curious and interested learners

● Pupils understand that making mistakes is part of the learning process and they are prepared to set themselves challenges and to keep going when they face difficulties

Articulate clear and appropriate

● The purpose of the lesson is clearly explained

● The learning objective and success criteria are explained and displayed visually

● Pupils understand what they are learning, and why, and how they can be successful

● Pupils are on task and engaged in their learning

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learning intentions

● Success criteria is co-constructed with the pupils when appropriate

Build on previous learning

● Previous learning is reviewed and the lesson is set within this context

● Pupils understand how the new learning fits into the sequence of lessons

Explain new content clearly

● New information is introduced in small, manageable chunks

● Examples are understood and practised successfully

Model to exemplify success criteria

● Adults model the ‘thinking’ as well as the ‘doing’

● Build in ‘mid-learning stops’ to showcase and discuss examples of successful learning/work

● Pupils challenge themselves and extend their own learning

● Pupils are able to ‘magpie’ ideas

Scaffold challenging tasks

● Use a range of strategies: working walls, mind maps, apparatus etc

● Pupils work independently at their appropriate level

● Pupils are confident to question and explore

Structured targeted questioning

● All pupils will be included

● Questions will be probing and targeted as appropriate

● Pupils respond well to targeted questioning and are prepared to ‘have a go’ and take risks

Independent practice

● Adequate time is given for pupils to embed skills and knowledge and to work independently

● Pupils are resilient and can work independently until skills are embedded and knowledge is secure

Teachers review the quality of learning

Check understanding

● High quality questioning is used to check pupils’ understanding

● Lessons are adapted as needed to address any misconceptions

● Any pupil who is falling behind is quickly identified and support is put in place

● Pupils have ownership of their learning and are proud of their achievements

Feedback ● A range of feedback is given: verbal, written comments, peer and self-assessment

● Future lessons are planned on the basis of this feedback

● Pupils respond to feedback and improve their work

● Pupils are motivated to identify areas for improvement

Review regularly

● Opportunities are built in to re-check pupils’ knowledge and skills and action is taken if they are not secure

● Pupils know their next steps in their learning

● Pupils make good and accelerated progress

Environment Expectations Aims of Displays

● To enrich the children’s learning experiences

● To encourage independence

● To stimulate and enthuse the children in their approach to learning

● To reflect the ethos of the school and set a high standard for all to see and aspire to

Inclusive Use the SEND checklist to see how the classroom could be made more ‘SEND friendly’.

Working Walls These are designed to show work in progress, to be interactive and to be used by children and staff during the lessons. ● Key vocabulary

● Main concepts/ideas

● Questions

● Examples of strategies that can be used

● Modelled examples

● Success criteria

Corridor Displays

● Have a title

● Label to say which class/year group

● Clearly have children’s names

Clutter! We will aim to keep the environment tidy and free from clutter

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Classrooms Each class to display ● School rules, rewards & sanctions

● Working wall for Maths & English (KS1 & KS2) ● Number lines/grids

● Alphabet or RWI phonics

● Visual timetable

● Sign or display relating to the value of the month and the aspect of growth mindset children are developing

● ‘What to do if they need help’

Reading Area ● Comfortable, inviting, drawing children in to want to read/choose books

● Books available that are appropriate for dyslexic children

● Book recommendations

Equipment All labelled and accessible for children to use independently

Cloakrooms All pegs labelled with children’s names Constant reminders for tidy cloakrooms

English Expectations

Phonics ● We use Read Write Inc for phonics in EYFS and KS1

● Children in EYFS and KS1 have phonics taught daily

Reading ● All children have a reading record to communicate between home and school ● EYFS: Aim to read at least 5 days out of 7 at home. Teachers to check and write in journals

once a week

● KS1: Aim to read at least 5 days out of 7 at home. Teachers to check and write in reading journals once a week

● KS2: Aim to read at least 5 days out of 7 at home. Teachers to check and write in reading journals once a fortnight

● Guided Reading: All children should read in school/complete a focused small group reading task with an adult once a week. We have a wide range of books including ‘Badger Learning’

● Reading Area: All classes should have an inviting reading area

● Staff are expected to promote reading for pleasure in a positive way

Writing ● Most writing is done through our topic. Curriculum coverage is available for each topic

● Writing should be taught by studying examples of the text type. We use CLPE resources

● Relevant points of grammar or punctuation should be taught within English lessons ● Writing should be modelled by the teacher ● Children should regularly be in a focused/guided writing group with an adult ● We will do monthly whole school extended writing ‘WRITE-ON!’ ● We aim to underpin all learning with a sense of purpose, fun and engagement ● There is a focus on developing vocabulary through ‘Word-Up’ activities

Spelling ● All children have weekly spelling patterns to work on/spellings to learn

● We teach the spelling patterns expected for each year group in National Curriculum, whilst recapping on previous year groups patterns where needed

● We teach the children to spell the common exception words and the specific y3/4 and y5/6 word lists from the National Curriculum

● KS2 should have at least 3 sessions a week on spelling

● Dictionaries, thesaurus, word banks, alphabet cards etc should be available

Handwriting ● We use ‘Penpals for Handwriting’ (Cambridge Press) ● EYFS: One weekly input session (led by an adult) plus small group practice sessions once a

week ● KS1: One weekly input session (led by an adult) plus 2-3 independent practice sessions a week

● Y3/4: One weekly input session (led by an adult) plus 2-3 independent practice sessions a week

● Y5/6: One weekly input session (led by an adult) plus 1-2 independent practice sessions a week

● Children in EYFS and KS1 write in pencil

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● Children in KS2 write in black or blue handwriting pen - not gel pen or biro (although good quality biro can be used for left handed children who find smudging an issue)

Grammar and Punctuation

● Grammar and punctuation is taught according to expectations for specific year groups in the National Curriculum

● Remember to cover grammar and punctuation taught in previous years to build on knowledge

● Please teach grammar and punctuation first and foremost as an integral part of your English lessons and recap on things taught through short extra activities and in guided reading sessions

Learning Environment

● Up to date working wall with vocabulary, current grammar or punctuation, spelling patterns, features of current text type

● FS- Y4 should have phonics /sounds posters

Homework ● All children will have weekly spellings/spelling patterns to learn/focus on ● Children are expected to read at home regularly and update their journal

Assessment ● We update Target Tracker regularly for reading and writing and use it to inform our planning

Maths Expectations

Curriculum ● National Curriculum: ‘pupils should make rich connections across mathematical ideas to develop fluency, mathematical reasoning and competence in increasingly sophisticated problem solving’. Developing these three strands underpins all maths teaching.

● KS1&2 use White Rose Maths Hub resources to support a Mastery approach, in keeping with the principles of Growth Mindset that all children can achieve highly in maths.

● Overviews and plans for each year group are accessible on Google Drive, with hard copies in the maths resource boxes. They are available to download through the TES website.

● Teachers should use their professional judgement along with attainment information from Target Tracker to plan as necessary for the needs of their class, using other resources to complement. Recommended: - https://nrich.maths.org – search by topic and age range; problems, games, articles

- www.iseemaths.com – problems, games, free visual resources to download

- www.ncetm.org.uk – great reasoning resources, bit dense to navigate, see guide

- www.whiterosemathshub.co.uk/problemoftheday – KS1/2, range of topics

Learning Environment

● Up to date Maths ‘Working Wall’ with current topic language, resources, strategies, reasoning/problem solving challenges. NB should be visible to children from across classroom!

● Other ongoing year-group specific resources visible to children (e.g. numberline, 100 squares, Place Value charts, number bonds, times tables)

White Rose supports using Concrete-Pictorial-Abstract (CPA) approach to progression in learning: ● Appropriate concrete resources should be available to & used by all children in all year groups. ● Lesson-specific concrete resources used to support modelling and explanations, by teachers. ● Resources should be organised, labelled and easily accessible to all children and adults.

Resources ● Some year-group specific resources in classrooms. ● Shared, whole-school resources stored centrally:

- Number (inc. money): in large coloured boxes opposite Y5 classroom - Measures: in large cupboard in library

● White Rose documents and the calculation policy give exemplification of how best to use resources to support C-P-A progression in learning.

● Whole-school subscription to Times Table Rockstars to be used in school and at home. ● Whole-school subscription to My Maths for use as homework tasks.

Assessment & Feedback

● Timely feedback from adults is one of the most valuable tools for helping children to progress. Within the lesson wherever possible, verbal or written feedback should address misconceptions and/or extend children’s thinking.

● Target Tracker used to support planning, track attainment and analyse ‘gaps’ in understanding. ● Head Start/ White Rose ‘tests’, problems and other resources can be used as snapshot

assessment tools. ● PUMA tests each term give standardised score; used to compare year on year. Gap analysis

after each test

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KS1 / KS2 Homework at Wolvercote Primary School

At Wolvercote School we offer a creative curriculum, designed to enhance the children’s academic achievement

and to provide enriching experiences. We aim to foster a partnership between parents, children and school. We

recognise that the experiences that children get at home through family outings, clubs and playing with friends

are of utmost importance to their development. Our homework programme is designed to work alongside these

other commitments.

We have taken into consideration feedback from parents, staff and children regarding homework, alongside

current research. We will continue to review homework and its impact over the coming months.

Home Learning Purpose of Home Learning

● To provide an opportunity for parents to become involved with the work that is going on in class

● To consolidate and reinforce key skills and understanding, for example times tables

● To extend school learning, for example through topic research

● To further stimulate enthusiasm for learning

● To foster good habits of organisation and independence (especially as pupils get older)

Research Research suggests that short focused tasks or activities which relate directly to what is being taught, and which are built upon in school, are likely to be most effective.

Routines and Expectations

● Homework will be set each Friday

● Homework should be completed and handed in the following Wednesday

● Each child has a homework book ● Homework tasks will be written in the homework book. They will be published under the

class pages on the website ● Homework is not set over the holidays and half term breaks

Feedback ● Teachers will always look at the homework ● The main type of feedback will be verbal feedback and group discussion ● There will be opportunities for children to share their topic homework with their peers or

other classes e.g. their buddies

Types of Homework

Reading At least 5 times a week

This will involve listening to your child read; discussing the book to develop their understanding; reading to your child to further develop a love of books.

Key Maths Skills Once a week

Parents are not expected to teach new skills. ● Support in practising tables, number bonds, doubling &

halving etc. as directed by the teacher ● ‘My Maths’ and ‘Times Tables Rock Stars’. Children will be

issued with a login and weekly work will be set ● Maths games

Spelling Once a week

Learning spellings: not just for tests but to be able to use them in independent writing

Continuation of Classwork At the teacher’s discretion

At times further reading or research will be encouraged or work suggested that will feed into the ongoing class activities

‘Write-On’ Talk Topic Once a month

Once a month, KS1 and KS2 will have an extended writing lesson called ‘Write-On’. This helps to build children’s resilience in writing and provides additional practice for them to apply their independent writing skills. In order to support the children, a Talk Topic will be set the previous Friday. Parents are asked to

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discuss the subject with their child at home; this will help them prepare for the writing activity.

Topic Once a (long) term

At the beginning of each topic, the children will bring home a menu of creative topic related activities. The expectation is that the child will choose one task to complete that term. This will be handed in at a designated date (usually in the penultimate week of term).

Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND ) Personnel ● Inclusion coordinator: Pippa Read

● Assistant Inclusion Coordinator: Sheera Suner ● SEND Governor: Jenny Knight

Quality First Inclusive Teaching

Best practice is when staff adapt their teaching to meet the needs of the vulnerable children in their class. Consider your differentiation, targeted questioning, scaffolding, use of multi-sensory resources and additional adults. All adults must keep high expectations of what the children can achieve and aim to build the children’s self-belief at every opportunity.

Environment Use the SEND checklist to see how the classroom could be made more ‘SEND friendly’. A copy is in the class SEND folders.

SEND Register

We use the Oxfordshire descriptors to identify primary & secondary needs and to demonstrate that the child should be on the SEND register. They also provide useful ideas and advice for support. Complete at the end of each year and as the need arises.

SEND Reviews

These should be held for each child on the SEND register at the end of the Autumn, Spring and Summer terms. The Pupil Profiles will be reviewed with the child and new objectives written, before sharing with the parent/carer.

Voice of the child

● This will be completed with each child on the SEND register and should be referred to regularly ● Please use child’s full name and class

● Please date reviews when parents make their responses

Interventions ● Interventions should be preceded with an assessment to identify

level and to use to able to measure progress. ● Interventions should end with an assessment to show the impact. ● Tracking forms need to be completed by person delivering

the intervention.

Paper work The class intervention map, timetable, tracking form, and current Pupil Profiles will be kept in class intervention folders and should be used as a living file, written in and updated daily.

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Assessment

School Aims ● To monitor and record the attainment and progress of individuals, groups and cohorts

● To use attainment and progress information to guide teachers’ planning, strategies and use of resources and to plan intervention

● To inform parents and the Governing Body about progress and attainment ● To ensure a consistent approach to measure progress towards and against national standards

Formative Assessment

● We aim to provide high quality, in-depth teaching which is supported and informed by high quality formative assessment

Target Tracker ● Teachers regularly update the objectives in Target Tracker. The following codes are used for the objectives:

No highlight = not started or met Highlighted red = started, not yet secure Highlighted blue= secure Highlighted gold= greater depth ● Data is collected for all children 3 times a year

Standardised Tests

● Pira (Reading) and Puma (Maths) tests are carried out in KS1 and KS2 at the end of every long term

● Youngs Spelling Test is carried out for key children

Involving pupils

● The school’s work on growth mind-set has supported the children to become more active learners. Children are encouraged and taught to do the following:

● Take responsibility for their learning

● Understand their strengths and identify what they need to do to improve- using success criteria as guidance

● Give feedback to their teachers through smiley faces, traffic lights or dialogic comments

● Self-assessment and peer-assessment are encouraged throughout the school

Inclusion SEND

● SEND reviews are held 3 times a year, in addition to parents evenings

● A monitoring plan is managed by the SENCo to measure impact of interventions

● Pupil Profiles are kept for each child on the SEND register

Reporting to Parents

● Parents evenings take place in October and March

● Reports are sent home in June. These indicate whether a child is working above, at, or below national expectations and if progress has been accelerated, expected or slower than expected

Monitoring and responsibilities

● Monitoring includes: learning walks; lesson observation; book looks conducted by all teachers; pupil voice

● Governors have precise areas of responsibility: Data, Behaviour & Attendance; Pupil Premium and SEND etc

● Pupil progress meetings are held 3 times a year. These are attended by the headteacher, SENCo, key stage coordinator, class teacher, teaching assistant

● Moderation for all year groups with RLT schools; additional moderation with Cherwell Partnership if required; internal moderation between classes

● Teachers’ workload is taken into account and regularly discussed

Target setting ● Target setting using Target Tracker takes place in October and is regularly reviewed

External Assessment

● Foundation Stage; Year 1 Phonics Screening; Y4 times tables; KS1 SATS; KS2 SATs

Wider Curriculum

● History and Geography documents to ensure full curriculum coverage include assessment (initials for children working below or at greater depth- being developed this year)

● Science assessment using Target Tracker

Early Years ● Tapestry software is accessible on iPads and on the computer to record observational assessment

● Observational assessments are collated into individual ‘Learning Journeys’ for each child

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Marking & Feedback Purpose ‘If learners are to take more responsibility for their own learning, then they need to know what they

are going to learn, how they will recognise when they have succeeded and why they should learn it in the first place.’ Shirley Clarke

WALT and Success Criteria

There is a printer for sticky labels in the PPA room ● WALT (We Are Learning To) is the learning objective

Aim for children to ask, ‘What are we learning?’ not, ‘What are we doing?’ ● Success criteria: ‘I can’ statements. These can be child generated

WALT & SC will - ideally be visual (written up) and explained orally - be in ‘pupil-friendly’ language - be referred to regularly throughout the lesson - be reviewed in the plenary

The label should include Example of possible label format ● Date ● T (worked with teacher support)

TA(worked with TA support) I (Worked independently)

Marking Code Teacher marks in a green pen

Child respond to marking in a purple pen Peer marking/ self-assessment in another colour (not prescribed)

● The success criteria is to be highlighted

Green- objective met; yellow- objective partly met; red- objective not met (left blank if not attempted)

Written in the margin ● SP: Incorrect spelling is underlined. Teacher writes the correct word, or child to use a

dictionary to find the correct spelling (at the teacher’s discretion). Child to write the correct spelling at the bottom of the page x5

● CL: Child to find where the capital letter should be in that line and to correct it ● P: Child to find where the punctuation should be in that line and to correct it (for some children

you may need to also underline where the punctuation needs to be)

Next steps comments can then focus on the success criteria, not the non-negotiables. The main aim of these comments is to address misunderstanding and to move learning forward. The school is trialling ‘no marking’ for writing in Y5 and 6 with a view to rolling this out to the whole school.

CD: Class dojo awarded Verbal feedback can be extremely effective: use this whenever possible. There is no expectation to use a code or write what was discussed; this is not good use of time

PP & SEND Ensure PP & SEND books are marked in detail Make sure TA time is available to support PP & SEND children to respond to marking

Pupil’s Comments

● Respond to feedback. It is essential to plan in regular time for children to respond to feedback ● Pupils’ self-assessment is important. This could be traffic lights, smiley faces etc and/or written

comments. It could be verbal e.g. ‘Find one example you are really proud of and circle it. Tell the person next to you why you are pleased with it.’

● Peer collaborative marking (where the author is in charge of the pen)

Questions to ask

Ask yourself, “How effectively do I communicate the WALT and SC with the children?” “Have I built in time for structured reflection?” “Could I use the visualiser to model good examples/discuss next steps?” Ask the child, “Are you doing well on this task? How do you know?”

An effective structure to use: ● Plan: plan a series of questions (could link to Bloom’s). ● Pose: ask questions linked to the learning objective. Use mini plenaries to check progress

in order to springboard the learning and re-shape thinking. ● Pause: increase waiting time to promoting higher order thinking. ● Pounce: use ‘no hands up’ rule. ● Bounce: ask students to comment on the answers provided by their peers. Think of

passing a ball around the classroom, rather than playing ‘Ping-Pong’ between the teacher and a single student.

WALT present a point of view in a persuasive way.

02/09/17 T/TA/I I can … I can … I can …

• I can find the pages of the first letter of the

word

• I can scan through words using 2nd/3rd letter

to help me

• I can choose the best synonym for my word

WALT use a thesaurus to find synonyms 02/01/17

T/TA/I

• I can find the pages of the first letter of the

word

• I can scan through words using 2nd/3rd letter

to help me

• I can choose the best synonym for my word