Teaching and Learning
At The Prescot School, we believe that exceptional teaching and learning starts with a strong, positive culture. Our values of Kindness, Integrity, and Tenacity shape every classroom interaction and underpin our commitment to high standards and student success.
We achieve this by having:
Consistent Lesson Structure
We follow a clear, research-informed model to ensure every lesson is purposeful and consistent:
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Connect |
Lessons begin with calm, structured routines such as Do Now retrieval tasks. These short activities activate prior knowledge, strengthen memory, and create a focused start to learning. |
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Focus |
Teachers deliver new content using explicit instruction and modelling. Concepts are broken down into manageable steps, supported by worked examples and clear explanations to reduce cognitive load. |
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Practice |
Students engage in guided and independent practice, applying new learning with high expectations for effort and presentation. Teachers circulate to provide feedback and support. |
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Check |
Understanding is checked throughout the lesson using strategies like mini-whiteboards, cold-call questioning, choral response and No Opt Out, ensuring every student participates and misconceptions are addressed immediately. |
Strong teaching
Our approach is grounded in proven methods that maximise engagement and progress:
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Explicit Instruction |
Teachers model processes step-by-step, narrating their thinking and using the “I do, we do, you do” approach to build confidence and clarity. |
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Reducing Cognitive Load |
Tasks are chunked into smaller steps, distractions are minimised, and scaffolds are provided to help students focus on essential content. |
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Retrieval Practice |
Frequent opportunities to recall prior learning strengthen long-term memory and prepare students for new content. |
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Scaffolding & Flexible Grouping |
Support is tailored to individual needs, gradually removed as students gain independence. Temporary groupings allow targeted intervention.
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Technology Integration |
Tools such as visualisers, graphics tablets, and online platforms (e.g., Tassomai, Century Tech) enhance modelling, feedback, and retrieval practice. |
Checks for Understanding
At The Prescot School, checking for understanding is woven deliberately throughout every lesson so that teaching adapts in real time and no student is left behind.
We use a selection of high-impact techniques:
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Mini‑Whiteboards |
All students carry a mini-whiteboard as a key part of their equipment. Teachers use them to gather whole-class responses quickly, identify misconceptions instantly, and adjust instruction based on real-time evidence. |
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Cold-Calling |
Teachers ask targeted questions to named students to ensure every child is listening, thinking, and ready to respond. This supports accountability and keeps cognitive engagement high. |
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Choral Response |
Used for key terms, definitions, or short factual answers, choral response allows teachers to check attention, build pace, and ensure 100% participation in a low‑stakes way. |
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Turn and Talk |
Strategic paired discussion gives students the opportunity to articulate their thinking before sharing with the class. Teachers listen for strong explanations, common errors, and opportunities for further clarification. |
High-Quality Staff CPD
We invest heavily in professional development to ensure our staff deliver the best possible learning experiences:
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Dedicated CPD Time |
Every Friday morning is reserved for staff CPD, focusing on active practice of key teaching techniques. This ensures strategies are not just discussed but embedded through rehearsal and feedback. |
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Curriculum Look Forwards and Look Backs |
Staff regularly review upcoming content and reflect on previous delivery to refine approaches, share best practice, and ensure lessons are sequenced for maximum impact. |
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Instructional Coaching |
Every teacher has access to a trained coach who helps identify the highest-leverage improvement points in their teaching. Coaching cycles are personalised, practical, and focused on strategies that will make the biggest difference to student learning. |
What do the students say?
‘We find colour coding, varied content such as slides, videos and whiteboards useful.’
‘Teachers explain concepts in different ways to help us understand’
‘We find recall helpful, and visiting techniques from previous years’
‘We find the ‘I do, we do’ method and the teacher modelling really help us’
‘We think that using the whiteboards to check for understanding is really helpful’
