Our staff implement our curriculum through our shared principles of teaching and learning.  See below.  For further information on our curriculum please click here: TOA Curriculum

Teaching and Learning Principles

Planning

• Planning must meet the needs of all children
• Planning of work must follow an agreed scheme of learning and pinpoint exactly where students are in that journey
• Where relevant planning should include opportunity for PSHE, RSE, LIMB and cultural Capital
• Time to act upon feedback will be built into lessons
• Homework is planned in line with the curriculum and with the aims of extending or retrieving knowledge or enriching pupil experience of the subject

Learning

• Activities are adapted to engage and challenge students in their learning
• Students are supported to make progress through modelling, questioning and pace
• Retrieval practice is used regularly to support the recall of essential knowledge.
• Reading fluency is modelled and the 3-2-1 strategy is used to determine meaning from a text.
• Exam classes are supported in preparation for external assessment with a focus on not only content but techniques for successful navigation of papers and questions.

Presentation of work

• Students are encouraged to show pride in and respect for their work and to follow the teacher’s guidance on how to lay out their books/folders

Assessment and feedback

• Success criteria will be shared and modelled to students
• There will be a relentless focus on feedback (in all its forms) so students know where they are against that success criteria and are given advice on how to improve as well as opportunities to act upon that advice
• Opportunities must be identified to praise students who are making progress

Monitoring

• Heads of department/faculty and senior leaders will regularly monitor the quality of learning opportunities and feedback being provided to support students with progress over time including the Identification of underachieving groups and strategies to support progress
• Staff will reward and celebrate student successes in line with the behaviour policy