Our Learning Pedagogy

 

At Willow Primary School, skills for learning are broken up into four areas: Resilience, Collaboration, Evaluation and Investigation which are taught and nurtured across all areas and ages.

They are referred to as the ‘Learning Superpowers’ and are represented by four Learning Superhero characters for the pupils to relate to: The Incredible Investigator, Captain Collaboration, Agent Evaluation and Major Resilience.

 

In order to secure progression in learning superpowers, it is important to ensure they are incorporated into all lessons and all areas of school life, such as the school’s recognition and behaviour policy. In order to achieve the highest possible outcomes for all learners, pupils must understand that learning is a process not just an outcome on a test so that they become lifelong learners.

 

 

 

 

 

Home Learning

 

Research tells us that children who complete regular homework are usually more successful in their school life as it supports the development of lifelong learning skills and it promotes engagement in the curriculum.  Parents can have a positive effect on homework completion and help children to develop positive learning habits.

 

Learning beyond the classroom is a vital part of ensuring that our children succeed. It helps teachers to maximise the learning time in class, and gives pupils the opportunity to extend and deepen their understanding. Activities such as Brownies, Cubs, Sports, Dance & Drama all develop important skills and they promote positive mental and physical health. This is why we encourage our children to take part in after school clubs during weekends and evenings as well as the clubs offered by Willow Primary School.

 

We believe that our children should be allowed the freedom to engage in lots of activities out of school as these activities support their learning in school so the amount of homework we expect allows for family and social time.

 

 All children are expected to read at least 5 times per week at home, this is recorded in their Reading Journal and they can record their progress in Reading Passports. 

 

We use Mathletics  and Timetables Rockstars along with other resources  for Maths homework and pupils have access learning set by their teachers through Purple Mash and Bedrock Vocabulary. 

 

Our children love to show how engaged they are in their topic work so we encourage them to complete ONE project linked to their current topic. Teachers suggest projects that develop research skills and support creativity.

Projects are displayed in the classroom or around the school building to celebrate how engaged children are in their learning.

 

Further Challenge through Homework

All children have a login to Purple Mash  and teachers set additional learning through this online resource. Children can challenge themselves in all areas of the curriculum and ‘hand in’ the work to their teacher using Purple Mash.

 

Children can also independently challenge themselves in certain subjects by completing the Willow Graduate Programme, available in its own section on the website.