Teaching and Learning

Here at Charles Darwin Primary, we have very high expectations for all our pupils. We believe that quality teaching has a huge impact on pupil learning. As such, we have a strong focus on staff development, as well as clear pedagogical principles that we follow.

We believe in explicitly teaching pupils, through high quality modelling and explanations, before guiding their practice. We utilise high leverage tasks to maximise learning time, and offer both challenge and support to ensure all our pupils achieve success. A key part of our teaching and learning principles is providing children with live feedback, to avoid misconceptions and improve learning.

As a school, we focus on individual pupil progress, ensuring all pupils excel from a range of starting points. We therefore celebrate individual improvements, demonstrating to children that they are on their own learning journey.

We believe strongly in our knowledge-rich curriculum, with children receiving explicit vocabulary instruction, alongside regular reading and writing opportunities. We teach a truly broad and balanced curriculum, with each discipline being taught explicitly.

We know that children thrive in their learning when they make connections. In order to do this, they need to remember what they have learned. We therefore utilise quizzing for memory, alongside making clear links to learning in prior units, different subjects, and previous year groups.