AFL / Intervention

Use assessment information to intervene in lessons so that students and groups of students make good progress. Assessing students' learning more rigorously in lessons so that learning activities can be adjusted to extend or consolidate students' learning. making more effective use of assessment information to plan and adapt work and learning activities in lessons to better meet the learning needs of individual students. In the best lessons, there are high expectations based on rigorous assessment and carefully considered activities. In the better lessons, teachers assess individuals' learning well through good use of targeted questioning but such checking of learning and understanding during lessons is not consistent Teachers have high expectations and monitor students' work closely, using skilful questioning to probe and extend their understanding. Their lessons are usually well adapted to students' different needs. To improve... Improve the use of question and answer techniques, so that teachers effectively check what students know and ensure they are challenged to apply what they have learnt improving the rigour of monitoring of teaching and learning to pick up on weaknesses and deal with them promptly AFL / Micro - Assessment

In the best lessons, teachers use their questioning skills and knowledge about the students well to enable the students to work out solutions together and for themselves. In the very best examples, students lead learning and are involved in evaluating how much progress they have made and what they need to do next Pupils relish practical activities, especially those that are challenging and involve elements of problem- solving. In the best practice seen, teachers use a variety of strategies to engage students so they are actively involved in their learning. There are excellent examples of peer assessment, such as students offering detailed advice about answers provided by other students. Students make particularly good progress when they are given opportunities to research or work in groups to find things out for themselves, but this approach is not used often enough. Lessons in which students are required to think things out for themselves are the ones enjoyed most, and in which the best progress is evident. extending the use of effective questioning and dialogue, so that students are given greater opportunity to reflect deeply on their learning and progress Independent Learning / Peer - Self Assessment / “Time to Think”

Outstanding practice In a Year 8 performing arts lesson, for example, students' learning about theatre from other cultures was outstanding because they had opportunity to work in a group and to show initiative through independent learning. Students show confidence and resilience, exemplified in two outstanding performing arts lessons where they performed individual pieces unselfconsciously as actors and musicians and gave insightful developmental feedback on each other's work. In an outstanding German lesson, students were able to select, with guidance from the teacher, the activity which was best suited to helping them make rapid progress in their learning. In an outstanding Spanish lesson, for example, the teacher combined collaboration with challenge so that all students were able to interpret unfamiliar language and develop high-order listening and reading skills. In equally outstanding religious education, drama and textile lessons students were given very good opportunities to work together and were challenged by teachers' questioning that demanded more and more from them. In a Year 8 geography lesson, students were challenged to work out what they needed in a survival kit for use in the desert.

On the Downside... shortcomings do occur, as witnessed in lessons where teaching was satisfactory and in the small number observed that were inadequate. It is in these lessons that pupils become passive learners and opportunities to develop higher order thinking skills are therefore missed. This happens when teachers talk for too long or, when the use of assessment to support learning is not as effective as it should be in ensuring activities meet the needs of different ability groups. The quality of marking in such lessons is variable and in a few instances not completed at all. Consequently not all pupils are clear about what they need to do to improve their work and the pace of learning slows down. In other lessons, there is too much teacher talk and a lack of opportunities for students to participate actively in their learning. The quality of marking and feedback is inconsistent, with a significant amount of marking that is brief and infrequent.

Intervention Data Data Poor... No KS2 Science SAT No KS3 Science SAT NO GCSE Module result until halfway through year 10. Few Past papers.. CWK raw mark UMS.. Unknown