Teaching & Learning at Orchard Meadow

Our Intent

Every child deserves to be taught well to enable them to learn new knowledge that can be applied in all aspects of their lives.

It is our aim that every pupil can look back positively on their school experience having achieved the highest standards of work and achievement. To this end we provide a broad and balanced curriculum which gives emphasis to the aesthetic, creative, practical, social and moral aspects of life as well as academic skills, underpinned by our school values (above).

These values are the bedrock of everything we do. They are the characteristics that we aim to foster in our pupils every day through our teaching and learning practice, so that by the time they leave school they will be confident, resilient, creative and responsible citizens.

Our approach to teaching and learning is built around Rosenshine’s Principles of Instruction. These define the key elements of effective practice. They are based around research, including cognitive load theory, and are designed to give direct links from research into practice.

Rosenshine’s 10 Principles of Instruction:

1. Begin a lesson with a short review of previous learning
2. Present new material in small steps with student practice after each step
3. Ask a large number of questions and check the responses of all students
4. Provide models
5. Guide student practice
6. Check for student understanding
7. Obtain a high success rate
8. Provide scaffolds for difficult tasks
9. Require and monitor independent practice
10. Engage students in weekly and monthly review

At Orchard Meadow we facilitate these principles through:

• Structured sessions with clear routines that identify and address gaps and misconceptions through same-day 'scoop and boost’ catch-up
• An emphasis on verbal, formative feedback that is immediate
• Smooth links between assessment processes to provide a clear understanding of pupil knowledge and gaps
• Planning templates with clear expectations for scripted modelling and success criteria for new knowledge
• Focus core skills and ‘deepening skills’ so all learners can succeed
• Regular opportunities for recall and review of previous knowledge
• A timetable with short, focused sessions
• Opportunities for developing positive learning behaviours, e.g. daily Brain Smart Start

For more information about our approach to Teaching and Learning and how we teach links to the curriculum and assessment, please see our Teaching & Learning Policy.

Classroom routines and processes: Rosenshine in action

At Orchard Meadow, the primary role of all adults is to facilitate high-quality learning opportunities according to the principles outlined above.

The flow chart below indicates how this is achieved in a typical learning session (core subjects). The expectation is that all teachers follow this routine, every day. Assessment for learning is at the heart of the learning process. The flow-chart shows how identification of pupil misconceptions and gaps is addressed through immediate verbal feedback and ‘scoop and boost’ sessions.

Scoop and Boost – Same day feedback response and gap filling

Receiving feedback is one of the most vital elements of making progress (EEF toolkit, 2020 +8 months progress based on evidence). Timely feedback gives children information about their learning and attainment, as well as a chance to work on what needs to be improved. It is important to give the children time to reflect and implement the feedback.

At Orchard Meadow, feedback will be same day and immediate where possible.

Scoop and boost will be completed once a day linked to the literacy or maths taught that day.

The lesson will be completed by all children (see flow chart above) and will end with the children leaving their books open on the page to be marked by the teacher.

The teacher will then highlight the learning objective with a (achieved) or (support required) marker depending on the outcome. The teacher will then prepare the books ready for the scoop and boost session.

At the end of the scoop and boost the teacher will have highlighted in the correct colour the objective where necessary and will have a named group of targeted children ready for the next session.

Achieving a high success rate is critical if learners are to embed their knowledge and progress. Therefore if less than 80% of pupils achieve the WALT independently during the session and after scoop and boost, the session must be retaught. Members of the academic team will support teachers to ensure lessons are effective and achieve a high success rate, but the responsibility will always be foremost with class teachers to ensure that they teach to an appropriate pitch, in line with our curriculum and follow the Rosenshine Principles of Instruction.

Target setting

• By using the feedback techniques the teachers will be able to set targets for the children linked to the core skills, outlined in the assessment descriptors.
• These group targets will then become a focus for the children when completing work and they will know what they need to do to achieve their next step.
• They will have a visible reminder of their targets (laminated A4 page with targets for literacy, maths and foundation subject being studied that week) on their working table which will be changed by the teacher when achieved and updated each week.
• The core skills for the subject will be visible in the front of each child’s book. At the end of the week the teacher will do a ‘deep dive’ for each subject and the core skills will be highlighted green if evidence is shown, in independent work, that the child has achieved the objective.
• Learners will receive their targets for the week following the deep dive and there will be a short opportunity to discuss and reflect on these.