“The important thing is not so much that every child is taught, but rather that every child is given the wish to learn.”
John Lubbock
The teaching and learning that takes place at Stoke Bishop Church of England Primary School is based on key principles that give depth to the content and also add long term impact to the children’s experiences. It is our intent that all children will develop the skills and desire they need to be successful learners and therefore cherish the importance of learning throughout their lives. These principles are:
Active learning
The aim of implementing, as much as possible, the intention of drawing out learning through children doing – rather than simply providing them with large chunks of information and instruction for them to digest. This can only be done with an effective mix of content and learning experience and also means that the recording of their learning – and therefore the feedback – will often take different forms rather than just the traditional recording in books about things that they have done.
Independence
Children need strong core skills in reading, writing and number to enable their access to information and knowledge that support their development of ideas and opinions. Learning is therefore often provided in a way that gives the child questions or problems to resolve. They are encouraged to think about how they share their learning as much as what they are sharing.
Inclusion
The vision of ‘Believing it’s Possible’ is about all children, no matter what the barriers to learning that they may face. The intention is that all children can access all learning opportunities. Where this becomes difficult we use a range of strategies and resources to support them to do so. The expectation for children is that they are making appropriate progress for them to be at least at the expected level when they transition to their secondary education.
Advocacy
As part of our learning as a school we are evolving a range of experiences and opportunities that give children an understanding of what Advocacy is. They should understand what is important to them and be able to voice that. In this way we believe they can develop an understanding of the need to stand up for and support others. These are often people in society who are not able to do it for themselves – or need financial or vocal support in doing so. For this to impact on children we seek for them to have experiences that include raising funds, initiating or contributing to campaigns and to physically participate in activities that are about supporting the aims of others.
Hub Learning
We are in the process of establishing a new organisational structure to underpin teaching and learning at Stoke Bishop Church of England Primary School. This is based around ‘Hubs’ of two year groups, where there are set teams of four teachers and four teaching assistants who plan and work together to provide effective learning opportunities for the range of children in the cohort. The number of adults means there is a wider opportunity of teaching strategies that can be applied to support children making as effective progress as possible.
Parental Participation
We see the engagement and participation of parents in their child’s learning as crucial to their progress.
- Supporting parents with their understanding of core skills so that they can work with children to provide continuity of learning at home is a basic element of this. More importantly it provides parents with a knowledge and appreciation of how their child is progressing, which means they have a valuable insight to share.
- Through three times a year Learning Meetings, a three-way conversation takes place where the teachers and parents meet with the child in order to discuss progress. By so doing, the views of all contribute to a better understanding of strengths and areas for development. This process develops an expectation and understanding from the child that their parents are essential to the conversation, at the same time as helping the parent to understand how to participate effectively in such conversations.
- Hub based Parent workshops / shared learning events take place each term and often provide a clear focal point for the children in their learning. Activities range from DT workshops and Art galleries to shared maths sessions or SATs activities. This supports the parental understanding and also provides children with a huge motivation and sense of purpose.
Oracy
The biggest challenge we see for children is the development of effective oral skills, both for developing their thinking and also in sharing it too. With the ability to speak about themselves and their learning, children are developing key skills that will support them throughout life. To be confident in making their views known and to express their beliefs and intentions they grow the important capacity for galvanising themselves and others in contributing to the world we live in.