Teaching and learning

The Inclusive high quality first teaching: this is The Anthem Way!

At Oakbank we are fully aligned with our Trust ethos of ‘Every Student, Every Lesson, All The Time’. The Every Student Strategy outlines our expectation that every student is supported to make the best progress in every lesson all the time. In the very fabric of The Anthem Way are the ‘ordinarily available’ strategies that will support every student in the classroom in terms of managing cognitive load and building cumulative fluency. Woven through the cycle of expert teaching and the teaching prompts are strategies that will create an inclusive high quality first classroom. Inclusive classrooms tend to look like any other effective classroom – they are calm, quiet, orderly, predictable and clear – with particular attention paid to the quality of relationships, knowing pupils’ individual needs and creating enabling environments. The principles of explicit instruction, cognitive strategies and scaffolding which are woven throughout The Anthem Way are all recommended in the EEF’s Five evidence-based strategies to support high quality teaching for pupils with SEND. It is important to note that we always pitch the curriculum high. As part of our drive to ensure that challenge is as good as it can be, we teach to the top for all, with high level content and vocabulary, access to challenging texts and reading widely before scaffolding and personalising down for learners with SEND or other gaps. The best differentiation is ‘responsive teaching’ – this is to avoid the ‘denial of knowledge’ that can sometimes affect learners with SEND. As a fully inclusive trust we want to give every student the opportunity for exposure to the big ideas and rich knowledge that they are entitled to. Whilst an inclusive high quality first teaching approach is the best approach for every student, some students require a more personalised approach with adaptive and targeted teaching.