Our Approach to Teaching

Our Approach

At our school, teaching is purposeful, consistent and inclusive. We believe that excellent teaching creates calm, focused classrooms where all pupils are supported to achieve highly. Our approach is underpinned by four clear academic principles, which ensure that learning time is maximised and that every pupil is actively engaged.

Our Academic Principles 

1. The EPA Way 
All lessons are built around the EPA Way – clear learning routines designed to minimise disruption and maximise learning. Consistent expectations and well‑established classroom habits mean pupils know exactly what is required of them, allowing teachers to focus on teaching and pupils to focus on learning. Calm, orderly classrooms create the conditions in which all pupils can thrive. 

2. Careful Preparation of Lessons 
Lessons are carefully planned so that learning follows a consistent and logical structure: 

• Recap – activating prior knowledge and checking understanding from previous learning  
• Explain – clear, precise explanations and modelling of new content 
• Check – frequent checks for understanding to identify misconceptions  
• Apply – opportunities for pupils to practise, deepen and secure their learning 

This consistent lesson structure supports pupils in building long‑term knowledge and confidence, while ensuring that learning is coherent and cumulative. 

3. High Levels of Student Participation 
We believe that learning is most effective when all pupils are actively involved. Teachers use high‑ratio strategies to ensure every pupil participates, every lesson. These include approaches such as: 

• Mini whiteboard quizzing  
• Choral response 
• Targeted questioning 

These strategies enable teachers to quickly assess understanding, keep pupils engaged and ensure that no learner is passive or overlooked. 

4. Feedback that Improves Learning 
Feedback is an integral part of our teaching. Teachers provide live feedback during lessons, addressing errors and misconceptions in the moment. In addition, regular whole‑class feedback is used to identify common misunderstandings, reteach key concepts and model high‑quality responses. This approach ensures feedback is timely, meaningful and focused on improving pupil understanding rather than simply correcting work. 

Adapting Teaching to Meet Pupils’ Needs 

We are committed to meeting the needs of all learners. Teaching is thoughtfully adapted so that every pupil, including those with identified Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND), can access the curriculum and achieve success. 

Teachers: 

• Use clear explanations, modelling and structured scaffolding  
• Break learning into manageable steps 
• Adapt tasks, resources and questioning to support different starting points  
• Provide additional opportunities for practice and overlearning where needed 

For pupils with SEND, strategies outlined in individual support plans are consistently implemented in the classroom. This may include visual supports, adapted resources, targeted interventions or specific teaching approaches. High expectations are maintained for all pupils, while appropriate adjustments ensure barriers to learning are reduced. 

By combining consistent, high‑quality teaching with thoughtful adaptation, we ensure that every pupil is supported, challenged and empowered to make strong progress.