In education, the word ‘outstanding’ is often linked to the Ofsted definition but in our case it isn’t. We have, in our new School Improvement Plan, defined outstanding learning as follows:
“Outstanding learning is driven by a shared moral imperative that all students have the right to deep learning experiences, access to which demands the constant learning of the core skills of communication, literacy, numeracy and resilience, creating an aspirational learning environment where students are compelled to try. Students are then able to master the skills which enable them, in any given subject; to develop their own lines of enquiry to reach reasoned and well-argued conclusions, seek and find connections with prior learning, critically evaluate evidence and be analytical in their approach. These, combined with extensive knowledge of the content, lead to a student learning to be a scientist, an artist, a mathematician or a historian for example, rather than simply learning the processes of science, art, maths, history and all other subjects.”
It is against this very high standard that we will measure ourselves over the next four years, with the goal of ensuring all students have a consistent experience of outstanding learning. There are several ingredients to this definition but I would argue that in addition to resilience, which I wrote about last week, literacy is the most important. In order for a child to access deep learning, they must have a single minded determination to develop their own literacy skills. We often discuss the importance of reading, yet many students still tell us they do not read at home. In addition, we must also develop students’ oracy, particularly the use of standard English (for example stopping students using filler words, most commonly ‘like’, and encouraging them to speak in full sentences).
Between us, we can make sure all students constantly develop the vital skills of resilience, reading and oracy, enabling them to access outstanding learning and make the most significant step towards achieving our 2021 vision.
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