Latest News
- Newsletter - 3rd October 2023 4th October 2023
- Newsletter - 15th September 2023 4th October 2023
Calendar Dates
- Bank Holiday 29th March 2024
- Bank Holiday 1st April 2024
South Wonston Primary School
Our approach to Teaching and Learning in KS1 and KS2
Our Aim:
To provide a safe and friendly school community where our children are encouraged to become curious, courageous and resilient learners
Together we nurture, inspire, challenge and achieve
We have designed our curriculum to encourage independence and resilience by promoting the following:
making decisions problems solving perseverance
team work building on knowledge and skills making connections
self – motivation communication articulating thinking
learning from mistakes evaluation reflection
Key elements and principles of teaching and learning across our school – a practical guide.
All lessons across our school should include the following key elements to ensure high quality teaching and learning. We expect every teacher to be a good teacher.
Teachers new to our school will receive training to ensure they fully understand these elements and to enable them to embed them in their everyday practice.
All teachers….. promote a Growth Mindset by
· portraying skills as acquirable
· valuing passion, effort and improvement over natural talent
All teachers ….. use ‘Growth Mindset’ language to
· talk about being a good learner rather than being clever
· talk about learning not working.
· talk about the benefits of persevering when things are hard, not giving up and learning from their mistakes.
All teachers ….. use praise to
· value and reinforce the benefits of effort, struggle and persistence despite setbacks.
All lessons have…..clear learning intentions which
All lessons have….. well planned success criteria (when appropriate to the lesson)
All pupils are….. actively engaged in learning and work cooperatively by
All pupils receive regular and clear …..feedback which enhances learning
All lessons are ….. differentiated to enable all pupils to
Learning is enhanced through….. effective use of questioning
It is adults who help pupils make sense of information. The frequency and nature of interactions between teacher and pupils is highly significant.
We develop understanding by
Learning is enhanced through the use of….. effective behaviour management
Effective, positive behaviour management is used to promote a positive learning environment in the classroom and around the school. For further details, please refer to our Behaviour Policy.
Learning is enhanced through the…..use of ICT.
ICT is used to enhance learning where ever possible. Although ICT is nearly always used by teachers at the start of lessons to engage children and in the plenary to consolidate learning, it is also used during the lesson as an aid to learning.
Learning is enhanced through the …..effective use of additional adults who
Learning is enhanced through the..…effective use of a plenary and mini plenaries
Reviewing learning is a key to memory and not confined to the end of the lesson. Teachers review throughout the entire lesson and constantly refer pupils back to the success criteria of the lesson, reinforcing prior learning.
Pupils are encouraged to reflect on what they have learned and what has helped them to learn.
We believe it is important for pupils to talk during lessons
When we talk we do more than articulate our current level of understanding. The very act of talking forces us to organise our thoughts and so deepens understanding.
We believe that Talking is central to learning. All lessons include planned and unplanned opportunities to discuss questions and extend thinking Think/Pair/Share and Talk to your partner are regular features in all lessons. Pupils are trained to use appropriate body language when talking to a partner and pupils understand that their TALK is valued as much as their written work.
Overview of marking at South Wonston Primary School
Across our school, we think of marking in terms of feedback about a child’s work. This feedback may take several forms – oral, written, formal and informal- and may be given on a group basis as well as an individual one.
Learning is enhanced through…a great classroom environment
Across our school we aim to ensure that all classrooms, group learning areas and whole school areas are spaces that everyone can use to learn and be proud of. All classes across the school have:
Working walls
Every class has a working wall for English, Maths and Science. This should reflect the work currently being studied in each of the subjects. It should include:
Well labelled and neatly organised resources
Classroom resources should be well organised and clearly labelled. Children should know where to find the resources they need for an activity. This will help to promote independent learning skills.
Displays of children’s work
Children’s work is displayed in classrooms and around the school to celebrate their achievements and reflect the diverse nature of our wider curriculum
Work on display may show the learning journey of a unit of work, the final outcome or be a combination of both.
Each half termly there will be a topic display that should be up before the first lesson of the topic. The key topic question is the title and all other lesson key questions are displayed. They are used as part of the ‘knowledge harvest’ at the start of a topic and will then be enhanced with children’s work as the topic progresses.