What is Teaching and Learning?

Teaching and learning is the purpose of our school. It is the method through which we offer a curriculum, which is broad and balanced and meets the requirements of the Education Reform Act.

Aims

Our aims for Teaching and Learning are that all children will:

• be tolerant and understanding with respect for the rights, views and property of others
• develop a responsible and independent attitude towards work and towards their roles in society
• achieve their potential in terms of academic achievement, aesthetic appreciation and spiritual awareness

Principles of Teaching and Learning

We see teaching and learning as a process of co-operative teamwork. We welcome and encourage the involvement of parents and others in the community.

All members of the school community (teaching and non-teaching staff, parents, pupils and governors) work towards the school's aims by:

• valuing children as individuals and respecting their rights, values and beliefs
• fostering and promoting good relationships and a sense of belonging to the school community
• providing a well ordered environment in which all are fully aware of behavioural expectations
• offering equal opportunities in all aspects of school life and recognising the importance of different cultures
• encouraging, praising and positively reinforcing good relationships, behaviours and work
• working as a team, supporting and encouraging one another

Teachers work towards the school's aims by:

• providing a challenging and stimulating programme of study designed to enable all children to reach the highest standards of personal achievement
• recognising and being constantly aware of the needs of each individual child according to ability and aptitude
• ensuring that learning is progressive and continuous
• being good role models - punctual, well prepared and organised
• maintaining an up-to-date knowledge of the National Curriculum and examination syllabi.
• having a positive attitude to change and the development of their own expertise
• establishing links with the local community including work placements, professions and industry to prepare pupils for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of adult life
• working collaboratively with a shared philosophy and commonality of practice

Pupils work towards the school's aims by:

• attending school in good health maintained by adequate diet, exercise and sleep
• attending school regularly, avoiding term time holidays
• being punctual and ready to begin lessons on time
• being organised - bringing necessary books, kit, and equipment, taking letters home promptly, returning reading books regularly
• conducting themselves in an orderly manner in the school, in the playground, in the grounds, on trips and visits, and on journeys to and from school.
• taking growing responsibility for their own learning

Parents work towards the school's aims by:

• ensuring that children attend school in good health, regularly and punctually
• providing support for the discipline within the school and for the teacher's role
• being realistic about their children's abilities and offering encouragement and praise
• participating in discussions concerning their child's progress and attainments
• ensuring early contact with school to discuss matters which affect a child's happiness, progress and behaviour
• giving due importance to homework, and in the Prep school hearing reading and assisting in learning of tables and spellings
• allowing their children to take increasing responsibility as they progress throughout the school

Strategies for Teaching and Learning

The curriculum is organised in discrete subjects within which there are opportunities for a variety of learning styles, including topic work.

Modes of working include individual work, paired work, small group work and whole class work where appropriate. Within this structure:

• groups are usually of mixed ability
• relevant discussion is encouraged. In the Prep School some periods of the day are set aside for silent work

In the Senior School there are specialist subjects teachers.  In the Prep School most  subjects are taught by the class teacher although there are specialist teachers for Drama, French, Music and P.E. plus most ICT and Art

Classroom assistants are available in Key Stage 1 as appropriate and at the discretion of the class teacher and Headteacher.

Volunteer helpers may assist on outings and visits as appropriate and at the discretion of the Headteacher.

PGCE students may join the school for training, and college students on work experience may be accepted into the school at the discretion of the Headteacher. Certain standards of dress and conduct are expected.

In the Prep School commercially available schemes of work are used where appropriate to support the teaching of a number of subjects.

In the Prep School pupils with special needs are withdrawn for extra support provided by a part time special needs teacher and/orreceive extra support in the classroom or as part of a small focussed support group when necessary.

In the Senior School pupils with an Educational Psychologist's Report will be given extra time or facilities in external examinations as recommended by the Report.

Homework is considered to be a valuable element of the teaching and learning process therefore:

• children are encouraged to work at home on a regular basis
• it is expected that all Prep School children will read at home and share a book with their parents
• Prep School children will have multiplication tables and spellings (when appropriate) to learn at home. In the Senior School girls may be required to stay after school to complete work once arrangements have been made by letter home.
• children who have made insufficient effort during class time may be asked to complete work at home
• extra homework tasks will be given in Year 6 to help prepare them for life at secondary school
• further practice in basic skills for Prep School children may be set at the discretion of class teachers after negotiation with parents

The emphasis of our teaching and learning policy is on first hand experience and we encourage children increasingly to take control of their own learning. Thus:

• investigative work is common
• children are encouraged to communicate their findings in a variety of ways
• opportunities are provided for children to become involved in decision making

Excellence is celebrated in display and performance wherein:

• each child is given the opportunity to have work of a high standard displayed at some time in the school year
• sustained effort including drafting and reworking is encouraged to enhance standards
• school events such as concerts and drama are seen as opportunities for all pupils (not just the most gifted) to demonstrate their own best performances
• pupils are encouraged to believe that any exhibited work (performance or display) should represent their highest standards of personal achievements

Strategies for Ensuring Progress and Continuity

Planning is a process in which all teachers are involved, wherein:

• the foundation for curricular planning is the School Development Plan, developed through a process of collaboration between staff and approved by governors
• schemes of work for individual subjects are developed by co-ordinators (in collaboration with the whole staff)
• medium and short term work plans are drawn up by individual teachers for each half-term and monitored by the Headteacher
• regular staff meetings are used to discuss various aspects of the curriculum and ensure consistency of approach and standards

Subject Co-ordinators have a variety of roles. They:

• take a lead in policy development and the production of schemes of work designed to ensure progression and continuity in their subject throughout the school
• support colleagues in their development of detailed work plans and implementation of the scheme of work and in assessment and record keeping activities
• monitor progress in their subjects and advise the Headteacher on action required
• take responsibility for the purchase and organisation of central resources for their subjects
• are expected to keep up-to-date through reading and attending relevant courses

Feedback to pupils about their own progress is achieved through the marking of work. Effective marking

• aims to help children learn, not to find fault and comments aim to be positive and constructive
• is often done while a task in being carried out through discussion between child and teacher
• of written work is used sensitively and with discretion so that a child can assimilate a limited number of corrections at one time - this will vary according to age and ability

Formative Assessment is used to guide the progress of individual pupils. It involves identifying each child's progress in each area of the curriculum, determining what each child has learned and what therefore should be the next stage in his/her learning. Formative assessment is mostly carried out informally by teachers in the course of their teaching. Suitable tasks for assessment include:

• small group discussions perhaps in the context of a practical task
• short tests in which the teacher gives questions orally and pupils write answers
• specific assignments for individual pupils
• individual discussions in which children are encouraged to appraise their own work and progress
• Sixth Form pupils discuss and monitor their targets with subject teachers regularly.

Continuity across Key Stages is ensured by:

• regular liaison meetings between teachers
• regular liaison meetings or communication between teachers of Year 6 pupils and those from the Senior school or other prospective secondary schools
• visits to secondary schools by Year 6 pupils
• transfer of pupil records of progress and summative assessment results
• References for leavers

Strategies for Recording and Reporting

Records of progress kept for each child are:

• updated annually by class and form teachers
• examined by class and form teachers at the start of each academic year as they prepare for a new class
• retained throughout the child's time at the school and passed on as required.

Reporting to parents is done through parental interviews, parents' evening, four sets of session marks for senior girls and two written reports per year.  In addition the Sixth Form share in a target setting and review process twice a year with documentation sent home. Parents are made aware that they may meet their child's teacher by appointment at any other time, to discuss particular concerns.

Formal Summative Assessment is carried out at the end of Years 2-6 through the use of NFER tests in Reading, English and Maths. On completion of this activity

• results of individual pupil's assessments are made available to the parents concerned
• results are recorded on each individual child's reports to be passed to the next class teacher
• Years 7-10 have end of year exams
• Years 10 & 11 are entered for GCSE examinations
• Years 12 & 13 are entered for AS and A2 examinations

Strategies for the Use of Resources

Classroom resources are the responsibility of classroom or subject teachers who ensure that:

• there is a range of appropriate, accessible resources available from which pupils can select materials suitable to the task in hand
• all children know where resources are kept and the rules about their access and use
• all children know what they must not touch for reasons of safety and privacy
• children are encouraged to act independently in choosing, collecting and returning resources where appropriate
• children and teachers act together to establish an attractive, welcoming and well organised environment engendering respect, care and value for all resources

Central Resources are generally the responsibility of subject co-ordinators or Head of Subject. Stationery in ordered by the school secretary and stored centrally with free access for all staff.

Time is a resource that we value. To maximise its use:

• in the early years children's time is tightly organised by the teachers
• as children progress throughout the school they are encouraged to take greater control of their own learning, including their use of time
• time wasting is reduced by ensuring that tasks are made specific and clearly defined
• all children engage in useful activities immediately upon entering the classroom and know what to do between the end of an activity and the end of a session

Information Technology is a resource which is used across the whole curriculum.

The Library is a valued resource to which all children have weekly access in the Prep School and constant access in the Senior School.

Health and Safety issues are the responsibility of all who work in the school. There is a nominated member of staff and all problems should be reported to her/him.