Teaching & Learning
Our academy is a community in which we support and encourage each other to achieve our personal best. We combine the traditional values of discipline, respect and good behaviour with contemporary best practice in teaching, learning and technology.
Teachers take the time to get to know and understand each child. Whether they need to be stretched, are struggling, or are somewhere in the middle, we will always work to inspire the best in all our students. Children learn best when their school environment is safe, inclusive and welcoming. We have a culture of mutual respect between students and staff, and zero tolerance of bullying in any form.
Bringing learning alive
We provide students with a high quality education that raises standards and aspirations. This means:
- Offering a full, broad and balanced curriculum, and helping every student find something he or she excels at
- Keeping class sizes as small as possible, and employing teachers who make learning fun and engaging
- Giving support to students who need it through extra tuition in literacy and numeracy
- Offering a range of specialised courses for our Most Able students
- Setting regular homework - for Year 7 students this will usually be two or three subjects per night
- Encouraging debate, participation, and a spirit of enquiry.
How we approach lessons
To explain in a little more detail what goes on inside the classroom we've created a short document called Why we approach lessons the way we do. It sets out, for example:
- the pedagogical research we have taken into account when planning lessons
- what a typical lesson at Harris Garrard Academy might look like
- the six pedagogical principles we use
- how we use Rosenshine’s Principles and other up-to-date cognitive research to foreground our teaching approach in science
- our approach to continuous professional development for our staff, including the pride our staff take in their own teaching practice
- and the strategies we use in every lesson to aid learning (including ‘Do Now’ tasks, graphic organisers, and approaches to marking).
Download Why we approach lessons the way we do. If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact us.
