LEARNING AND TEACHING POLICY 

May 2021 

To be reviewed May 2023 

 

This policy sets out what Embsay School community believes to be the priorities for the children in our care as they journey through our school. 

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We work together to nurture an inclusive family of hard-working, respectful individuals who have a lifelong love of learning. 

“Life in all its fullness” (John 10:10) 

These priorities have been used to inform our Learning and Teaching Policy, with a view to equipping our children to be lifelong learners. 

Introduction 

At Embsay School our primary aim is for children to fulfil their potential and leave our care well prepared for the next stage in their learning journey. Learning is seen as a far wider concept than academic success. An important part of it is that children should understand the importance of showing kindness and respect to everybody, whatever their background, and to become responsible for their own learning, learning how to learn, including working with and supporting others.  

This aim is underpinned by the Christian ethos of our school, and is supported by our school community, regardless of any specific beliefs.  

The different aspects of children being responsible for their own learning and showing kindness and respect to everyone can be summarised in the following way: 

Attribute 

What it means 

Respect everyone 

  • Keep hands and feet to ourselves 

  • Speak politely to everyone 

  • Always use good manners, verbally and in behaviour round school 

Encourage each other 

  • Give praise (say well done) 

  • Give genuine feedback to help our friends’ (and peers’) learning improve 

Speak truthfully 

  • We are honest 

  • We speak truthfully about others and what they have done/we have done to them 

  • We say/recognises what we have done and admit when we have done something wrong/made a bad choice and apologise for this 

Practise, persevere and make progress 

  • We try again and again to improve our skills 

  • We do not give up 

  • We revisit our work with pride 

Embrace mistakes 

  • We learn from our errors 

  • We look at mistakes as a way of moving our learning forward 

Consider our choices 

  • We think before we act 

  • We know we always have a choice 

Thrive together as a team 

  • We work together 

  • We help each other and celebrate achievements of other children as well as our own 

Developing these attributes is incorporated into our learning and teaching, with certain areas being key aspects of our School Improvement Plan. They are also incorporated into our expectations for behaviour in school. 

They also link into the children developing ‘mastery’ of their learning. This means more time is spent going into depth about a subject, enabling children to experience deeper and richer understanding of concepts and creating opportunities for them to apply their knowledge to new learning and show others how to master the skills.  

Learning is therefore a process of thinking, with children being taught to personalise concepts in order to make purposeful connections linked to their prior learning, across the curriculum and when applying these concepts in new contexts. 

Our objectives: 

  • To promote positive attitudes, good behaviour and moral understanding.  

  • To ensure that every child succeeds by providing an inclusive education within a culture of high expectations  

  • To provide a broad and balanced curriculum which provides opportunities for all children to progress in knowledge and understanding through appropriate variation and differentiation. 

  • To ensure high quality teaching that enables the acquisition of skills, knowledge and understanding which will be of use to all future learning 

  • To promote, facilitate and enable the inclusion of children with disabilities and special educational needs 

  • To promote a wide range of enrichment experiences for learning which enable children to make connections between all forms of learning. 

  • To develop lively and enquiring minds through encouraging children to question and discuss issues, in order to make informed decisions 

  • To nurture self-esteem so children are motivated to learn and to develop an ability to co-operate and work with others 

Expectations of Children: 

  • To treat both adults and children with respect and kindness at all times 

  • To respond well to teaching and for lessons to proceed without interruption. 

  • To demonstrate high levels of engagement and commitment within learning time. 

  • To respond readily to the challenge of the tasks set and show a willingness to concentrate on them. 

  • To operate confidently and with resilience, to persevere and take risks when answers are not readily available. 

  • To use skills to evaluate their own work. 

  • To work collaboratively with all children. 

  • To respect the school environment 

Expectations of Staff 

  • To have high expectations of themselves and all children 

  • To impart knowledge accurately and with enthusiasm to generate high levels of commitment from children. 

  • To use their knowledge of pedagogy and best practice to stimulate and capture children’s interest  

  • To seek advice and support from Senior Leaders or subject leaders when needed. 

  • Lessons to be based on assessment of prior learning 

  • Lessons to demonstrate key elements of good Assessment for Learning (AfL) practice  

  • To regularly assess learning in progress and to provide prompt intervention to minimise ‘gaps’ being created in learning 

  • Activities to be planned to facilitate children to explore, develop and practise new skills/ concepts, aspiring for achievement of ‘mastery’ in all aspects of learning 

  • Activities to be planned to facilitate collaborative, problem solving approaches to learning 

  • Activities to offer access to differing learning styles to motivate pupil participation, discussion and understanding including use of the outdoor learning environment 

  • To provide appropriate resources, which support learning outcomes and provide challenge for all children 

  • To ensure that individual needs are met through staff having an awareness of factors that create barriers to learning and through the implementation of EHC Plans and IEPs  

  • To have high expectations of presentation, quality and quantity of work 

  • To provide high quality assessment and constructive feedback to children that assist in next steps in their learning. 

Curriculum 

We want our children to: 

  • be curious 

  • explore ideas 

  • be able to shine in whatever they do 

  • be aware of our locality and the wider world 

  • care about others 

  • have experienced a wide range of opportunities 

  • have the skills and mindset to be meet the challenges of our changing society 

Our curriculum is therefore planned so that children are excited and involved with their learning, explore ideas and make links between subject areas. 

Opportunities which will open the children’s eyes to the wider world are both planned and taken up when they are offered to the school. 

Given the challenging nature of the world we live in, we also focus on the skills and mindset that the children will need to succeed, in whatever they do, throughout their lives. 

We use a range of resources to ensure our curriculum achieves our aims: 

  • School Self Evaluation and Improvement Plans, SIAMS Self Evaluation and Action Plan 

Extensive self evaluation is carried out by SLT and areas for improvement are included in the School’s Improvement Plan and SIAMS Action Plan. Staff training and resources are prioritised based on this. 

  • Collective Worship 

Through our carefully planned collective worship schedule, key aspects of spiritual, moral and cultural development are addressed, linked to core Christian Values as well as on-going reinforcement of attitudes to learning. 

  • Planning  

Long and Medium Term Planning 

  • The curriculum in Reception is based on the Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum, and is adapted to meet the needs and interests of the specific cohort each year. 

  • For years 1 to 6, our school curriculum documents plot the content covered for each individual year group and each curriculum area, based upon the expected outcomes of the National Curriculum 2014 

  • Learning in each subject area is broken down carefully into cross-curricular units with clearly specified objectives and opportunities to promote the development of mastery and our other curriculum aims. 

Short Term Planning 

Teachers plan on a weekly or unit basis for each curriculum area, adjusting content of learning so that the needs of all learners are met in the light of ongoing assessments carried out. This planning takes a variety of forms. 

  • Assessment 

Formative Assessment 

Assessment is not a singular activity; it is both about the measurement of performance at a given point in time and the ongoing process of Assessment for Learning (AFL). These assessments are against National Curriculum statements to ascertain whether children are working at age related expectation and also in relation to key aspects of children’s ability to learn. 

We expect formative assessment to be an integral part of day to day teaching, with children also being given regular opportunities to check their progress against expected outcomes through the implementation of a range of assessment strategies. Eg use of success criteria, self assessment, peer assessment. 

Summative Assessment 

On a regular basis we expect summative assessment information to be recorded on school systems by teachers. These include Scholarpack and Assessment folders on SharePoint. Teachers are expected to draw upon a wide range of evidence to develop a comprehensive picture of where the child is currently working in relation to age related expectations. 

We expect teachers to monitor all pupil performance and promptly identify and provide additional support for any children at risk of underachievement. Additionally we also ensure that those children who have accelerated capacity or have been identified as high attainers to have increased opportunity to deepen their learning. 

Analysis of the data submitted is carried out at both a pupil and school level to ensure progress and attainment are maximised.  

Pupil progress is discussed at regular intervals with a member of the SLT and, where necessary, adjustments made to the provision offered. 

  • Homework 

Homework is an important part of children’s learning and plays a vital role in our delivery of a broad and balanced curriculum.  It is used at Embsay School to achieve a variety of aims, the first of which is to extend and consolidate learning. The other two main aims change in priority as a child moves through school, namely developing an effective partnership between home and school and encouraging children to develop the self-confidence and discipline needed to work on their own, preparing them for the requirements of secondary school. More detail is set out in the school’s Homework Policy. 

  • Outside Providers  

Where appropriate children’s needs are met through the use of specialist outside providers, either on a regular or one off basis.  

  • Educational Visits – on and off premises 

These form an important part of learning, providing experiences through which children’s engagement and offering opportunities for them to apply learning in whole range of different contexts. 

Monitoring of Learning and Teaching Policy 

Monitoring of implementation of this policy will take place through the systematic monitoring programme carried out by SLT and subject leaders.