Head of Teaching & Learning: Luke Radley 

Our Approach to Teaching and Learning 

We believe that every pupil deserves great teaching, every day. 

Our approach is evidence-informed. We draw on the best available educational research, alongside the professional expertise of our teachers and our deep understanding of our pupils. We engage with the work of leading educational thinkers and researchers, including Rosenshine, Willingham and Lemov, using their findings to inform and strengthen our practice. However, evidence is not a prescription. We give our teachers the professional agency to interpret, adapt and apply research intelligently, drawing on their own expertise and knowledge of their pupils. Research informs our practice; professional expertise brings it to life in our classrooms.  

Great teaching starts with great teachers 

Our teachers are knowledgeable, passionate and reflective. They know their subjects and curriculum deeply and understand how pupils learn, drawing on evidence about prior knowledge, memory, practice and cognitive load. They create classrooms characterised by high expectations, warmth, trust and belonging. 

Our teaching is purposeful and well sequenced. Pupils understand what they are learning and why, and new learning builds on what they already know. Teachers explain, model, question, discuss and provide purposeful opportunities to practise, helping pupils to think hard about important subject content and gradually become more independent. 

Always learning, always improving 

We believe great teachers never stop learning. Through research, professional development, observation, feedback, deliberate practice and professional dialogue, our teachers continually refine their practice. 

We want our pupils to become independent, confident and successful learners too. We explicitly teach them how to learn, drawing on the best available evidence and helping them to understand how strategies such as retrieval practice, elaborative interrogation, reflection and self-regulation can support them. 

We regularly evaluate what we do and the difference it makes. Research informs practice, practice generates evidence, and evidence helps us improve. This creates a culture of curiosity, reflection and continuous improvement for both teachers and pupils. 

Ultimately, our ambition is simple: to create classrooms where every pupil is known, challenged and supported to think deeply, learn successfully and thrive.