In ??? we agreed a Vision for our school
AGREED TEXT
Taynuilt Primary School and Early Learning Centre’s Vision, Improvement Plan, Curriculum Overview and Standards and Quality Documents have been developed in consultation with and between staff, pupils, parents and some members of our local community.
We have adopted a reflective approach sometimes referred to as Plan, Do, Review and have found that this enables us to evaluate and improve the core business of Learning and Teaching as we go along.
Staff view the Curriculum for Excellence as a wonderful opportunity to meet the learning needs of our pupils through constantly reflecting upon the key elements of; Challenge and Enjoyment, Personalisation and Choice, Progression, Coherence, Relevance, Breadth and Depth.
We also consider of excellent local environment as a natural, exciting and adventurous opportunity to develop our active and outdoor teaching and learning. In recent times we have observed that active learning both indoors and outside in the wider local environment is producing positive outcomes for pupils and excellent feedback from parents.
Learning and teaching policy
Rationale
The purpose of our learning and teaching policy is to promote a common understanding of what constitutes effective practice. This will help us to meet the needs of all pupils.
Aims
The aims of our learning and teaching policy reflect the quality indicators from HGIOS3 and include;
- Curriculum design and provision – to endorse the values, principles and purposes of Curriculum for Excellence.
- Planning and teaching for effective learning – through well planned, high quality programmes of work which focus on learning experiences, learning outcomes and personal learning planning.
- Learning and teaching – to deliver dynamic and purposeful learning opportunities which motivate, stimulate and develop pupil responsibility for their own learning through appropriate challenge and progression. To develop the purposeful use of technologies to support and enhance learning.
- Meeting learner needs – to ensure we use a wide range of teaching strategies which meet individual pupil needs by creating an ethos of positive discipline, providing opportunities for interaction and regular feedback and taking account of recent developments in pedagogy.
- Assessment as an integral part of the learning process – to improve learning, to increase pupil ownership of their learning, to identify and plan next steps and to enable effective reporting on progress.
- Expectations and promoting achievement – to set challenging but achievable expectations for all learners and recognise and celebrate individual and collective success.
- Equality and fairness – to promote an ethos of achievement by creating a positive, inclusive learning environment.
- Partnership with staff, learners and parents – to engage in dialogue about pupil learning and the life of the school to ensure that learners make the best possible progress.
- Care, welfare and development – learners feel safe and well cared for through positive relationships
- Improvement through self evaluation and quality improvement – to outline self evaluation strategies which support staff and learner development and ensure continuous improvement.
Curricular Design
Teachers will work together in partnership to ensure that the curriculum reflects the 7 design principles by:
- Providing all learners with breadth, depth and progression at all stages
- Ensuring there is continuity and progression between stages and at key transitions
- Ensuring relevance and coherence to wider life
- Providing opportunities for pupils to exercise personalisation and choice
- Taking account of cross cutting themes and interdisciplinary learning to ensure challenge and enjoyment.
Learning, Teaching and Assessment
Our staff will consider barriers to pupil involvement in their learning arising from additional learning needs, language, disability, gender, race, religion or belief and sexual orientation and how these can be overcome.
Learners learn best when:
- Clear learning intentions and success criteria are shared
- They are given feedback on the quality of their work and helped to understand how to improve
- They are fully involved in decisions about what needs to be done and who and what can help them
INSERT AIFL TRIANGLE
All staff working within classrooms should embed the following in their practice:
- Ensure planning builds upon children’s prior learning using the information gained from appropriate assessments
- Provide a balanced range of stimulating and motivating approaches to learning and assessment which should include active, collaborative, independent and written tasks
- Provide clear learning intentions, success criteria and quality feedback on how to improve
- Use a range of strategies to meet the needs of all pupils including those with additional needs
- Use a range of assessment approaches which enable children to demonstrate their knowledge and understanding, skills and abilities
- Provide opportunities for children to be involved in reflection, planning and evaluation of their own learning and that of peers
- Support out of school learning through varied, stimulating and enjoyable home learning tasks
- Maintain and regularly review records of progress
- Provide parents with clear information on their child’s progress, next steps in learning and how they can support their child’s learning.
- Regularly evaluate the impact of learning and teaching to inform next steps in planning.
The senior management team will support teachers by:
- Providing opportunities for professional dialogue
- Encouraging collegiate working
- Undertaking quality improvement activities
- Facilitating the sharing of good practice
- Encouraging shared moderation of standards
- Ensuring that resources are allocated appropriately
- Tracking monitoring and attainment
LIST WHAT EFFECTIVE L & T LOOKS LIKE IN TAYNUILT QI 5.2,3,4,5- this has come from feedback from a wide variety of sources I could give these a weighting to show how far we are through with each aspect.
Everyone actively involved and engaged in their learning.
AIFL strategies in use throughout
Activities and resources are well matched to learning needs for all children
Children able to transfer their learning – knowledge and skills Making links, connections
Stimulating learning environment.
Variety of relevant, meaningful learning opportunities.
Effective plenary to revisit learning and to identify next steps.
Appropriate pace and challenge for all.
Pupils engaged in explaining, sharing ideas and views confidently. They can articulate their thinking out loud.
Pupils working cooperatively to help each other develop understanding e.g. pairs, trios, groups, whole class Balance of individual and cooperative activities.
Variety of assessment approaches used to demonstrate understanding, Self, peer and teacher assessment
Pupils take responsibility for aspects of their own learning.
Purposeful Interactive Challenging Experimenting with ideas – no ceiling
There is an open culture of risk taking and that making mistakes is great as learn from them.
Use of praise motivates learners.
Feedback is used effectively to promote learning.
Clear, effective and purposeful questioning and discussion is used
Children and teacher asking questions – really good examples for fractions with P6/7 boys
Variety of differentiation strategies to meet individual needs.
Teaching starting from where children are in their learning.
High quality teacher-pupil and pupil-pupil interactions.
