Learning
Teaching and Learning:
Our aim is to provide the best possible opportunities for student achievement, progress and learning. We focus all of our teaching and learning CPD on the elements of our practice which research shows make the most difference. This enables all students to know and understand the curriculum and access the powerful knowledge within it.
Every teacher at Cherwell has a responsibility to:
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Know their subject curriculum deeply and plan for all students to be able to access it
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Create the social, cultural and structural conditions for learning in their classrooms, including securing attention effectively
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Present new ideas in a manageable way for students
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Push students to think deeply through both classwork and homework
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Regularly assess learning and respond to it
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Help students to consolidate their learning to support students to know and remember more
Teaching and Learning Priorities 2026-7
We focus all of our CPD with vulnerable students as the starting point, recognising that what works for those who find learning the most difficult will benefit all students. Quality first teaching will continue to remain at the heart of what we do as a school. At The Cherwell School all of our curriculum and teaching work is driven by the The Cherwell School CAT Policy
More recently we have focused on
student attention and access in the classroom, as we believe these are the foundations of successful learning for all students. We carefully consider how we gain and maintain the attention of all our students during lessons, in particular using a variety of methods to actively engage all students (such as mini whiteboards, paired discussion, I say you say, choral response and jump in) and how we break down new learning into manageable chunks to make it accessible for all learners.
We also recognise the different nature of subject disciplines and therefore subject leaders shape their own, more refined, principles to direct teaching within individual subject areas.
Homework
The purpose of homework is to support students to think deeply about the subject - reading, learning, memorising, revising or practising the knowledge and skills that they are taught in school. Some subjects utilise online platforms to consolidate new learning and give fluency practice: Maths and Science both set retrieval homework through Sparx, while English use Sparx as an online reading platform to support comprehension. Other subjects use platforms such as Carousel, Smart Revise, Uplearn and Everlearner to support students in knowing and remembering more. Other suitable homework activities include reading articles and answering questions to consolidate class learning, creating revision cards or notes, practising a taught skill or employing strategies to commit learning to memory. Homework is recorded by teachers on Google Classroom to support students and parents/carers with organisation.
