Our Teaching and Learning Approach

Principles of Teaching and Learning

At SCC, high-quality teaching and learning is at the heart of everything we do.  We think carefully about every aspect of our practice, and our teaching and learning approach brings together key insights from educational research and cognitive science to support teachers in their planning and delivery of highly effective sequences of learning. 

We have identified four core principles that underpin all aspects of teaching and learning, and which help us to plan and deliver lessons that support all students to make real progress.  These principles are based on an in-depth understanding of the learning process, including what makes learning difficult.  We recognise that learning is not simply a matter of delivering curriculum content, and for students to achieve meaningful and sustained progress, they must encode, store, and retrieve knowledge, and be able to apply that knowledge in increasingly complex ways.

Together, these principles form a shared language for great teaching at SCC: a way of understanding not just what we do, but why we do it.

We build CONFIDENCE - It is important that we address issues of confidence and low aspirations before trying to teach content.  Evidence shows that poor motivation is a response to repeated failure and so it is crucial that we support all students to experience success in order to build confidence and, consequently, increase motivation for learning.

We focus ATTENTION - ‘Thinking’ takes place in working memory and occurs when we combine information in new ways.  This combining of information is essential for learning and, as such, it is crucial that we support all students to focus their attention on what we need them to be thinking hard about during lessons.  We recognise the limitations of working memory and must be mindful of not overwhelming this by introducing too much information at once or increasing the complexity of a task too quickly.

We make CONNECTIONS - For students to learn something, they must be able to connect new ideas (things they don’t know) with old ideas (things they do know).  This allows them to make meaning and consequently build strong, interconnected units of knowledge (schema).

We check UNDERSTANDING - The meaning that students make from what we say is a combination of what we say and the relevant knowledge they already have.  Consequently, it is important that we regularly check for understanding, allowing us to take students from where they are, not from where we imagine or would like them to be.

Teacher Knowledge

We recognise that teacher knowledge plays a critical role in effective teaching, including understanding how to adapt explanations and examples to meet the needs of all students.  We think of teacher subject knowledge in three interconnected parts:

• Content knowledge – We prioritise the development of teacher subject knowledge in all subjects.  This enables our teachers to make informed decisions about what to teach, when to teach it, and how to build new learning on what has come before. 
• Pedagogical knowledge – We place a strong emphasis on supporting all teachers to continually develop their pedagogical knowledge.  This ensures they have the professional expertise to explain concepts clearly, design effective learning sequences, and adapt instruction so that every student can succeed.
• Technological knowledge – At SCC, technology is an integral part of teaching and learning.  All staff and students have access to their own iPad, creating powerful opportunities to enhance learning both in school and at home.  We carefully consider how we can use technology to support teaching and learning, including increasing accessibility for all students.

We recognise that for effective learning to take place, these three elements of teacher subject knowledge must form part of a well-sequenced curriculum that organises content logically and coherently.  More information about our Curriculum approach can be found here.

High-Quality Instruction

High-quality instruction sits at the heart of great teaching.  We know that learning is complex and so it is vital that teaching is clear, carefully sequenced, and responsive to students’ needs.  Our approach ensures that every student, regardless of background, prior attainment, or additional need, can access the curriculum and experience success.  By prioritising clarity of explanation, modelling, scaffolding, and opportunities for guided and independent practice, we help all students to build confidence, focus their attention, make meaningful connections, and demonstrate understanding: the four principles that underpin our approach to teaching and learning at SCC.

Adaptive, accessible, and inclusive teaching is central to this.  We deliberately design lessons that anticipate where students may struggle and provide the right support and challenge at the right time.  Teachers continually make professional judgments about how to present information, when to pause for checking understanding, and how to adjust explanations, scaffolds, and tasks so that every student can engage successfully.

At SCC, we have identified Eight Elements of Practice that have been designed to make the biggest difference to learning when consistently applied across lessons.

1. Minimise Extraneous Load - Learning is harder when students’ limited working memory is filled with distractions or unnecessary complexity.  By creating a calm classroom climate and designing explanations and materials that focus on what matters most, we support attention and free up space for deeper understanding.

2. Make thinking Visible - We cannot see what students are thinking unless they show us through speaking, writing or performance.  Making thinking visible allows us check understanding and gives students the confidence to share and refine their ideas.

3. Recall Previous Learning - Actively recalling prior knowledge helps students to connect new material to existing knowledge.  When students recall knowledge from long term memory, it takes up little space in working memory, freeing up space for deeper processing and new understanding.

4. Gather and Process Material in Small Steps - Presenting new content in carefully sequenced, manageable chunks avoid cognitive overload.  This keeps attention focused on the right things and ensures students have secured understanding at each stage before moving on.

5. Don’t Assume prior knowledge - Students start from different places, so we mustn’t assume they already have the knowledge we are teaching.  Using examples, analogies, images, and clear vocabulary ensures access for all, builds connections to prior knowledge and strengthens understanding.

6. Scaffold and Model Towards Independence - Modelling and scaffolding show students not only what to do, but how to do it.  Effective scaffolding builds confidence and supports understanding, but it must be used carefully: just enough to enable progress and then gradually removed.  This helps ensure that students develop genuine independence.

7. Check for Understanding at each Step - We can only move learning forward if we know where students really are, not where we assume or hope they are.  Regular checks reveal gaps and misconceptions, allowing us to adapt teaching and ensure that understanding is built securely.

8. Involve all Students in Checking for Understanding - It is not enough to confirm that a few students understand, we must check that all students have secured the key ideas.  By involving everyone, we avoid widening gaps, build confidence across the class and ensure that no student is left behind.

Classroom Climate

We place great importance on maintaining a calm and positive classroom climate for all classes and in all subjects.  To achieve this, we focus on five key principles:

We provide a positive, inclusive and safe environment for all - We know that a calm, safe, and predictable classroom climate is the foundation for all learning.  We create classrooms where rules and routines are taught explicitly, positive relationships are nurtured, and boundaries are applied consistently.  This includes using visual prompts, clear language, and step-by-step instructions where needed to ensure every student can meet expectations confidently.  We actively model positive responses to mistakes and encourage collaborative problem-solving, so students see errors as part of the learning process.  This environment ensures that every student, regardless of starting point, feels valued and able to succeed.

We demonstrate high expectations for all students - Every student is capable of success and at SCC we communicate this through the way we speak, the quality of tasks we set, and the consistency of our routines.  We set ambitious but achievable goals, providing clear success criteria, and celebrating progress.

We establish effective routines - Clear, consistent routines underpin effective teaching at SCC as they remove uncertainty and maximise learning time.  Visual prompts and step-by-step instructions are used where needed to support inclusion, ensuring all students can access the structure and security routines provide.

We manage behaviour effectively and consistently - Effective learning depends on calm, purposeful and predictable classrooms.  We communicate expectations clearly and these are upheld without exception so that all students are able to focus on their learning.

We manage every learning environment effectively - Classrooms and the wider school environment are organised to support focus and communicate that learning is valued, with our teaching spaces designed to be orderly and welcoming.