At Highburton C.E First Academy, our vision is to cultivate a vibrant learning community where every child is valued and empowered to flourish. We envision a school where kindness, helpfulness, honesty, and gratitude are woven into the fabric of daily life. Our commitment is to nurture independent thinkers who celebrate their uniqueness and embrace the power of collaboration.
"Every person is a rainbow waiting to shine."
"Having wisdom and understanding is better than having silver and gold,"
Proverb 16:16
Rationale for Our Teaching and Learning Approach
Our teaching and learning approach is designed to ensure clarity, continuity, and active engagement in every lesson. We use a structured model rooted in cognitive science principles, emphasising clear learning intentions, the activation of prior knowledge, and scaffolded practice to support long-term retention and application.
Each lesson begins by making the learning journey visible to students—sharing learning objectives and connecting new content with prior understanding. This not only reduces cognitive load but also helps learners see the purpose and relevance of their learning. We activate essential prior knowledge to prepare pupils cognitively for new concepts, creating stronger neural links between lessons.
New content is introduced through explicit teaching in small, manageable steps using the “I do (my turn) – we do – you do (your turn)” model. This gradual release of responsibility supports pupils in building confidence and competence. Through modeling, guided practice, and carefully designed questioning, we identify and address misconceptions early.
Independent practice is scaffolded to ensure all students can access and apply new knowledge meaningfully. Feedback is integrated throughout—via peer, self, and teacher interactions—ensuring responsive teaching that adapts to student needs in real-time.
This approach aligns with our commitment to high-quality instruction that promotes mastery, deep understanding, and the development of autonomous, reflective learners.
Curriculum Intent
The knowledge and skills that pupils gain in each subject throughout their school life is set out in each subject specific curriculum overviews, where deliberate choices have been made to make links to our vision and values developing our children's character.
Curriculum Implementation
Our curriculum is designed to provide robust and connected learning. We want the children to have a broad and deep understanding of our curriculum and our teaching and learning approach supports this.
Curriculum Impact
Our children feel happy and safe in school and our outcomes in national tests and internal data are consistently above the national expectation. Children leave Highburton ready for the next stage in their education; the outcomes of our children at Key Stage 2 supports this.