Balby Central Primary School

Policy for Teaching and Learning

Date of Policy: October 2014
Approved by the Governing Body:
Review Date: October 2015








KEY HEADINGS

So that children can be the best they can be, we encourage and help
them to develop into creative, lively, interesting and interested people
who engage proactively in learning and who are caring and
compassionate.
We help them to develop key learning superpowers through our
teaching and their learning:-

Confidence
Determination
Resilience
Collaboration
Talk
Effort
Reflection
We see good teaching as an evolving and complex process, constantly
trying to match our resources including our own knowledge, skills, time and
energy to the needs of the children and the essential learning needed to
succeed in the educational system. This is a professional process involving all
adults in the school developing and learning and it is never complete.
Childrens needs, curriculum ideas, policy decisions, technology and the role
of school in society are all areas open to radical and rapid change and we
constantly revaluate our thinking and practice in light of this. This includes
continual renewal and improvement of our knowledge, expectation, planning,
use of resources, assessment, use of time, questioning skills, use of
technology and repertoire of approaches.

We see good learning as an active and creative process, with children ready
to learn, engaging and coming forward, developing resilience, resourcefulness
and reflectiveness and able to take responsibility for their own learning and
achievement. We help children to develop the flexibility and thoughtfulness
needed to select the best approach from their increasing bank of learning
skills and strategies. We understand that a range of learning is essential
across subjects and disciplines and in intensity. We help children to have
deep learning experiences that are memorable and significant and build key
knowledge and skills.

This policy links with other policies in the school, including planning,
assessment, recording and reporting, marking, SEN, individual curriculum
policies, monitoring and observation, behaviour and display.







Teaching and learning map




TEACHERS
Inspiring
Making work relevant
real and enjoyable
Challenging
KEPRAT QTR

PUPILS
Proactive, independent
and aspirational
Pride, enthusiasm and
resilience
Immersion in learning
Deep enjoyment and
learning



PARENTS
Informed partners
Shared interest in
childrens learning and
achievement
Supporting / challenging
school and children

SCHOOL
Systems and structures
Intrinsic and extrinsic
rewards
Sanctions

This policy describes how effective teaching and quality learning is
encouraged and led by the staff at Balby Central Primary. Through this policy,
we seek to meet the school aims in a consistent and ordered way. It
underpins all curriculum policies and is fully compatible with all other policies.

INTRODUCTION
At Balby Central Primary School we believe in the concept of lifelong learning
and the notion that learning should be a rewarding and enjoyable experience
for everyone; it should be fun and interesting but also challenging. Through
our teaching we equip children with the skills, knowledge and understanding
necessary to be able to make informed choices about the important things in
their lives. We believe that appropriate teaching and learning experiences
help children to lead happy and rewarding lives, with immersion in deep
learning being a key element of happiness the concept of flow.

SCHOOL AIMS
Balby Central Primary aims to work in partnership with its children to enable
them to:
Be motivated and confident individuals, who are excited by learning
and achieve well
Take pride in their achievements and aspire to be the best they can be,
wherever their starting place is
Respect and celebrate different opinions, attitudes and cultures
Face challenges with confidence in their own abilities and persevere in
overcoming them
Recognise that they need to work hard in order to achieve highly
Form positive relationships and make responsible life choices
Compromise and show both compassion and understanding of the
difficulties faced by others
Be positive, active and considerate members of society
Be responsible for their actions and aware of how others can be
affected by what they do
Enjoy life and the opportunities that come their way

EFFECTIVE LEARNING
We acknowledge that children learn in a variety of ways and we recognise the
need to develop strategies that allow all children to learn in ways that best suit
them.

We offer opportunities for children to learn in different ways. These include:
Investigation and problem solving
Whole class work
Research and finding out
Questioning
Group work
Paired work
Individual work
Use of ICT
Fieldwork and visits to places of educational interest
Creative activities
Discussion
Responding to film, TV and other recorded material
Debates, role play and oral presentations
Designing and making things
Participation in physical activity
Reflecting on what has been learnt

We encourage children to take responsibility for their own learning, to be
involved as far as possible in reviewing the way they learn and to reflect on
how they learn what helps them learn and what makes it difficult for them to
learn. Self-review and peer review strategies are used as part of the schools
use of assessment for learning (AfL), as well as planned plenary at the end of
lessons to review the key learning objectives and to assess the level of
understanding.

CROSS CURRICULAR LEARNING
Teachers are encouraged to plan learning which takes advantage of strong
and meaningful links between subjects. Rigorous and quality teaching of
Literacy and Mathematics should be at the heart of a broad and rich primary
curriculum which seeks to build skills and concepts in progression.

EFFECTIVE TEACHING
When teaching we focus on motivating children and building on their skills,
knowledge and understanding of the curriculum. We have built up our own
teaching programmes for Literacy and Maths which are based on the 2014
curriculum, but are adapted to the needs of our children. Each year group has
a topic structure that follows the Cornerstones Curriculum, based on the
requirements from the National Curriculum, which forms the basis for their
teaching in most subject areas. These topic plans set out the areas of
learning, and what is to be taught to each year group.

We believe children learn effectively when the teacher provides:

Thorough preparation and planning
Shared learning objectives which are pupil friendly
Clear expectations of what pupils are expected to achieve by the end
of the session
An atmosphere where children are prepared to take risks
Lessons which are appropriately challenging
Innovative teaching
Appropriate pace to the session
Lessons where childrens previous learning and interests are built upon
Opportunities to review and reflect on their learning
Thinking time before answering questions
Open ended, thought-provoking, challenging questions
Support for the learning of pupils with differing abilities
Lessons where childrens understanding is developed through active,
practical and first hand experiences
Developmental feedback and constructive criticism of pupils work
A planned programme of educational visits to reinforce and stimulate
learning

MIXED ABILITY TEACHING
We base our teaching on our knowledge of the childrens steps of attainment.
Our prime focus is to further develop their knowledge and skills. We strive to
ensure that all tasks set are appropriate to each childs level of ability. When
planning work for children with special educational needs (SEN), we give due
regard to information and targets for achievement based on individual needs
which are clearly shown in each classes provision map. We have high
expectations of all children and believe that all children should be included in
the full range of educational opportunities and that their work here at Balby
Central Primary School should be of the highest possible standard.

POSITIVE RELATIONSHIPS
All teachers try hard to establish positive working relationships with the
children that they are teaching. We treat them fairly and give them equal
opportunity to take part in class activities. All teachers follow the school policy
with regard to discipline and classroom management. We praise and reward
children for good effort and help to build positive attitudes towards school and
learning in general. We insist on good order and behaviour at all times. When
children prevent others and themselves from learning, we follow the
guidelines for sanctions as outlined in our school behaviour policy.

ROLES OF TEACHING ASSISTANTS INCLUDING HLTAs
Teaching assistants and other adult helpers are deployed in a variety of ways.
Sometimes they work with individual children and sometimes they work with
groups of identified target children. They work within the classroom setting as
a support to the teacher and also withdraw targeted groups to deliver
intervention programmes, designed to accelerate childrens learning. HLTAs
are also used to team teach and deliver lessons to identified groups of
children.

PLANNING
Literacy Literacy lessons are largely text based or thematic based and
weekly plans are written, showing coverage of 2014 curriculum objectives, a
clear teaching sequence, differentiated activities and opportunities for AfL.
Maths Maths planning is based on the 2014 curriculum objectives for each
year group. Short term plans are written, showing the objectives, a clear
teaching sequence, differentiated activities, and opportunities for AfL.
Topic We have taken the 2014 National Curriculum and linked our key skills
to each curriculum area to ensure clear consistent progression through the
Cornerstones Curriculum. The topics we have produced are definitely not
carved in stone. We will evaluate annually the success of each theme, within
the National Curriculum. This will maintain the integrity of our curriculum
coverage, continuity of skills development and the rich and varied experiences
we expect to provide for all pupils. Planning is written and adapted to show a
clear learning objective and progression of skills for our learners.

TARGET SETTING
Children are set and identify their own next steps in learning for reading,
writing and maths. These are used in lessons and are regularly reviewed by
both teacher and pupil, being updated and changed when necessary.

ASSESSMENT FOR LEARNING
Assessment exists to help the teacher to help the child. It ensures more
effective teaching by providing the evidence for closer matching of tasks to
the childs needs. It assists the children by providing them with an indication of
what stage they have reached in the learning process. It helps to identify
future planning and teaching strategies. It also helps us to recognise and
move on from success.
Assessment for learning:
Is part of effective planning
Focuses on how students learn
Is central to classroom practice
Is a key professional skill
Has an emotional impact by promoting self-esteem
Affects learner motivation
Promotes commitment to learning objectives and assessment criteria
Helps learners know how to improve
Encourages self-assessment
Recognises progress from childs previous best

We use these strategies to link assessment to better teaching and learning:
Evaluation of daily and weekly planning to inform future plans
Use of data from formal assessment to inform planning and
intervention
Children are given back work with feedback as to how it might be
improved (bubble and box/two stars and a wish etc.) Children are
expected to reflect on this feedback and act upon it.
Assessment tasks, e.g. reading, writing, maths: results used to inform
future planning
APP (assessing pupil progress) carried out termly in reading, writing
and maths to inform teacher of current levels and to set future targets
Pupils self-assessments

BASIC SKILLS
Teachers have built into their timetables, daily basic skills sessions, where
children are taught to learn and apply generic literacy and maths skills that
they can use in daily lessons. Targeted children are also taught in intervention
groups during this time, by HLTAs and TAs, to accelerate their learning and to
fill in any gaps that they may have in their learning.




HOMEWORK / HOME LEARNING
We use homework to encourage children to learn basic key skills, to underpin
what is taught in school and develop their knowledge. We encourage children
to take ownership of their own homework by allowing them to choose their
own learning journey whilst also completing specific suggested tasks.
Homework tasks that are given are set to meet the needs of the individual
learner.

REWARDS AND SANCTIONS
We use a range of rewards and sanctions to encourage children to work hard
and push their own boundaries of learning. These are reviewed and refreshed
on a regular basis, recognising that systems can become embedded and
invisible and thus ineffective. Each week the children share their
achievements as a class in the Pride Assembly to show how they are aiming
to be the best they can be.

We are very aware of the tension between intrinsic and extrinsic rewards and
seek to use extrinsic rewards as bridges to developing intrinsic reward, rather
than simply as an end in themselves. For example, extrinsic systems of stars
and stickers or points and prizes are used to encourage children to work
hard and succeed so they can appreciate the intrinsic value of learning for its
own sake: take pride in achievement and appreciate the intensity and joy of
immersed and deep learning - contributing to increasing genuine happiness in
children.

As far as possible, sanctions are presented and used positively. For example,
we see them as opportunities for children to catch up on missed work or to
improve on work that is below their best. When sanctions are used to improve
behaviour, we take pains to avoid a connection between punishment and
work for example, if a child is missing break times as a result of poor
behaviour, any work that is done during that time is presented as an
opportunity to make positive use of the time, rather than a punishment
exercise.

DISPLAY
We use that classrooms should be stimulating learning environments and that
the main purpose of display is to support pupils learning.
This is achieved in a variety of ways:
Engaging pupils in learning through use of interactive display where
they are encouraged to ask questions and add ideas.
Enabling learning to take place through the use of word lists,
connectives, timelines, phonics, etc.
Keeping what is learnt in mind by building up a display through the
week, or over a topic which contains work the children have put
together, or discussed.
Celebrating success by displaying good examples of work in
classrooms and corridors.
Raising expectations by displaying targets, agreed classroom rules,
etc.
Encouraging dependence by using self-registration charts, labelling
resources and putting dictionaries, word banks, etc in accessible
places.
Enjoyment of reading has been given a high profile in school with every
class having a designated reading area where children can go to enjoy
and learn about different books.

MONITORING AND EVALUATION
We monitor and evaluate the quality of teaching, learning and planning
regularly and systematically throughout the year in the following ways:

Subject review: Curriculum areas are monitored in line with action plans
developed by subject co-ordinators and whole school policy outlined in the
school development plan. This evaluation is led by subject leaders and
involves lesson observation, work and planning scrutiny, pupil interviews,
teacher assessment moderation and progress tracking through regular
assessment.

Headteacher: The head teacher monitors the quality of teaching and learning
through lesson observation, assessment data and childrens work, learning
walks, environment audits and pupil interviews. Ofsted criteria are used to
make a judgement about the quality of teaching and learning and teachers are
given written developmental feedback.

Other staff: Team leaders regularly monitor and observe colleagues, opening
up discussion around Ofsted criteria and good practice. Colleagues also
monitor and observe on a peer to peer basis, focusing on specific areas of
practice.
Effective CPD is implemented around constantly improving teaching and
learning within the school

ROLE OF GOVERNORS
Governors have a statutory role to play in monitoring and evaluation of the
school curriculum and the quality of teaching and learning.

October 2014