How We Teach

Our teaching is based on Barak Rosenshine’s Principles of Instruction and on research into how children learn and remember. Teachers use the WalkThrus programme by Tom Sherrington and Oliver Caviglioli, which sets out effective teaching techniques step by step. Our six WalkThru themes give all staff a shared approach:

Theme	What it means in our classrooms
Behaviours and relationships	Calm, purposeful classrooms with clear routines, so no learning time is lost
Explaining and modelling	New learning in small steps; teachers model and “think aloud” before pupils try
Questioning and feedback	Every child answers: partner talk, cold calling and whiteboards instead of hands up
Practice and retrieval	Regular quizzes and reviews so that knowledge is remembered for the long term
Curriculum planning	Lessons planned from clear knowledge goals for each year group
Mode B teaching	Debating, presenting and extended projects that let pupils apply what they know

A typical lesson

Most lessons begin with a short Do Now task that recaps earlier learning. The teacher shares the learning objective and success criteria, introduces new learning in small steps, and models it, often under the classroom visualiser so that every child can see. Pupils practise with a partner, then independently, and the lesson ends by checking what has been learnt.

Remembering more

We know that learning is only secure if it is remembered. Pupils take part in regular retrieval practice: quick quizzes, weekly and monthly reviews, and knowledge organisers that set out the key facts and vocabulary for each topic.

Every child included

All pupils follow the same curriculum. Teachers adapt their teaching with scaffolds, pre-teaching of vocabulary and extra practice, so that pupils with SEND, pupils new to English and disadvantaged pupils can succeed in the same learning. See Inclusion and SEND.

Developing our teachers

Teachers take part in regular coaching and practice sessions based on the WalkThrus, so that our teaching keeps improving.