Lord Street C.P. School
Teaching & Learning Policy
This policy was reviewed in May 2016
The policy was ratified in June 2016
Headteacher:_______________________Date:__________
Chair of Governors:_________________Date:___________
This policy is reviewed by the teaching & learning committee.
Rationale
At Lord Street C.P. School we believe that every child has the right to receive the very best
quality of teaching to enable them to fulfil their potential. Through precise, quality first,
teaching, we equip our children with the necessary skills, knowledge, understanding, values and
attitudes to become successful lifelong learners.
Aims
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To ensure that every teacher understands the elements of high quality teaching;
To ensure that the quality of teaching directly impacts on high quality learning for all
children;
To instil within children the values, attitudes and behaviours commensurate with those of
lifelong learners;
There are seven main elements to the teaching and learning policy: use of assessment; setting
pupil targets; lesson planning; lesson delivery; formative marking; intervention strategies; and,
presentation of work.
1. Use of Assessment
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Assessment information (P scales, APPs, FSP, Ages and Stages) is used to establish what
children already understand and to identify the next steps in their learning;
Assessment information is used to organize classes, sets or groups according to their
particular learning needs;
These identified learning needs become the basis for week-to-week planning;
Across the course of each term regular assessment opportunities are provided to allow
children to demonstrate the progress they have made. This information is used to update the
child’s assessment information (P scales, APPs, FSP, Ages and Stages) and plan further
learning needs;
A range of assessment opportunities may be planned: optional SAT tests, Key Stage 1 tasks,
local authority assessments (Wigan mathematics) or independent pupil tasks.
2. Target Setting
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Each medium term plan (half a term’s learning) identifies specific targets for groups of
children or individuals;
Medium term plans should be produced for reading, writing and mathematics;
The number of targets set for each child depends upon their attainment or their age.
These targets must be specific and quantified (in the example below the quantified aspect is
bold):
‘For each paragraph to contain at least two adjectives’
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Children are presented with regular opportunities to achieve their target through independent
tasks, guided work and whole class activities.
Each teacher monitors the progress towards these targets by initialling each target when
evidence of its achievement has been witnessed. On the fifth occasion the target is evidenced
it is then deemed to be achieved and a new target is set.
Children are to be encouraged to provide evidence of their achievement.
Targets are reported to parents once per term and are discussed at parents’ evening.
3. Lesson Planning
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All school planning should use school formats.
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Learning objectives are to be made explicit and to be shared with children.
Success criteria are also to be discussed with children.
The teaching input must contain clearly sequential interactive teaching tasks which promote
learning through dialogue (e.g. talking partners or kagan structures)
Teaching tasks should use a variety of methods (visual, auditory and kinaesthetic) so as to
engage and motivate all learners. The tasks should also be levelled to ensure they are
pitched at an appropriate level of learning.
Key questions to develop and clarify understanding should be identified within the lesson
plan.
Differentiated tasks pitched at an appropriate level of learning should be outlined within
lesson plans.
Opportunities to assess learning throughout the lesson must be built into the lesson plan.
4. Lesson Delivery
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Each lesson should ensure that all children are actively engaged and involved in the lesson.
The teaching input should use questioning, modelling and exposition to clarify the skills,
concepts and knowledge children are to acquire;
An emphasis on learning through dialogue, with regular opportunities for pupils to talk
individually and in groups;
The pace of teaching should be brisk;
Children should be expected to take responsibility for their own learning;
Children should be expected to work independently;
Praise and encouragement should be used to motivate pupils further;
Pupils will receive immediate feedback on their progress;
An expectation that pupils will accept responsibility for their own learning and work
independently.
5. Formative Marking
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Work should always be marked against the learning objective and the success criteria;
Periodically work should be marked using pupil’s individual targets;
All work marked formatively should identify two or three strengths (related to the learning
objective) and one area for improvement;
Strengths should be highlighted (using green) and should be the focus for a positive
comment from the teacher;
The teacher should provide a structured comment related to the area for improvement. In
class the teacher should provide every child with some time to respond underneath the
comment;
Work which is not marked in this way should be spot-marked, ie. Ticked to indicate
completion;
Work which has been verbally marked will be indicated by the letters VM;
A child’s absence should be noted in their work;
Teacher’s should explicitly model how to mark children’s work using learning objectives,
success criteria and individual targets (self-assessment);
After a sustained period of modelling children should be provided with regular opportunities
to assess their own learning following the principles of three stars and one wish (selfassessment);
After a sustained period of modelling and of self assessment pupils will be provided with
regular opportunities to assess the learning of other children in class (peer assessment);
Each Big Write should be levelled and marked in red using the child’s individual targets;
Calculation work should be levelled.
6. Intervention Strategies
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It is expected that all of the pupils at Lord Street Primary School will make at least the
expected rate of progress through quality first class based teaching.
Four times every academic year there is a pupil progress meeting (twice in the autumn term,
then once in the spring and summer).
Each class teacher will analyse tracking data to identify underachieving children in order to
plan some additional WAVE 2 provision.
An intervention plan is devised outlining the child’s learning needs are and how they are to
be met.
The progress of these identified children is monitored by the senior leadership team.
If identified children do not make sufficient progress then action will be taken under the
school’s SEN policy.
7. Presentation
Handwriting
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All classes should have at least one discrete handwriting session per week;
From Reception onwards children are taught how to form letters in accordance with the
school scheme;
All children are encouraged to join their handwriting from the outset;
By the end of Y2 all children must be joining their letters independently in most of their
writing;
By the end of Y3 all children must be joining their letters independently in all of their writing;
By the end of Y4 all children will be writing with either blue or black pen.
Presentation
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It is expected that all children will demonstrate a pride in the presentation of their own
learning;
All children should strive to present work using the guidelines below at the earliest
opportunity. It is expected that children from Year 2 upwards will present their work
following all of the guidelines;
Guidelines for presentation are:
o Date on the top line of the exercise book which is then underlined neatly;
o A line is then missed;
o The learning objective is written on the next line which is also underlined;
o A line is then missed before work commences;
o Both the date and the objective start immediately beside the margin in the exercise
book;
o Writing will be joined using the school style.