At Windale Primary School, we are committed to delivering high‑quality teaching and learning that enables every child to achieve their full potential. Our approach is inclusive, ambitious, and research‑informed, ensuring that all children—regardless of background—are supported to succeed academically, socially and emotionally.
Our Teaching and Learning Vision
We believe that great teaching makes the greatest difference to children’s outcomes. Lessons at Windale are carefully designed to be purposeful, engaging and structured, underpinned by positive relationships, clear routines and high expectations. We foster classrooms where children feel safe to take risks, see mistakes as part of learning, and develop confidence as independent learners.
We value strong partnerships with parents and carers and work closely together to support children both in school and at home.
Research‑Informed Practice
Teaching across the school is rooted in educational research, particularly Rosenshine’s Principles of Instruction and an understanding of how children learn, remember and retrieve knowledge. Consistency of approach across classrooms helps to reduce cognitive load and allows children to focus fully on their learning.
Lessons are carefully sequenced and typically include:
Teachers use questioning, discussion and checking for understanding throughout lessons to ensure learning is secure before moving on.
Spoken language and vocabulary development are central to learning at Windale. We recognise that strong oracy underpins success across the curriculum and is key to equity for all learners. Children are explicitly taught new vocabulary, given regular opportunities to rehearse ideas aloud, and encouraged to explain their thinking in full sentences.
Our approach to oracy is informed by Voice 21, supporting children to become confident speakers, attentive listeners and thoughtful collaborators.
Assessment is an ongoing part of daily classroom practice and is used to inform teaching, identify misconceptions and support progress. Teachers use a range of formative assessment strategies, such as questioning, observation, mini‑plenaries and live feedback, to respond to children’s needs in the moment.
Feedback is timely, purposeful and focused on helping children understand what they have done well and how to improve. We prioritise approaches that are:
Children are encouraged to reflect on their learning, respond to feedback, and take increasing responsibility for improvement.
A Broad and Balanced Curriculum
Our curriculum is ambitious, well-sequenced and designed to build knowledge and skills progressively from Nursery to Year 6. Alongside high‑quality teaching in English and Maths, we provide rich learning opportunities across the wider curriculum.
Using our Knowledge Nuggets and within lessons, key knowledge and vocabulary are revisited regularly to support retention and help children make connections across subjects.
We are committed to ensuring that all children can access and succeed in our curriculum. Teaching is adapted to meet the needs of all learners, including children with SEND, those eligible for Pupil Premium and those with English as an Additional Language. High‑quality classroom teaching is supported by targeted interventions where needed.
Strong relationships, consistent routines, and high expectations of behaviour and engagement ensure children feel secure, engaged, and ready to learn.
A Positive Learning Culture and The Windale Wheel of Wishes
Classrooms at Windale are calm, respectful, and purposeful. Positive behaviour for learning is explicitly taught and reinforced through clear routines, consistent expectations and warm adult‑children relationships. Children are encouraged to persevere, reflect and take pride in their achievements.
Teaching and learning at Windale is underpinned by our Wheel of Wishes, which captures the attitudes, values and behaviours we want every child to develop as a learner and as a member of our community. Through a consistent focus on readiness to learn, challenge, belonging, independence, enjoyment, understanding and working better together, we support children to grow academically while also developing confidence, resilience and strong character.
Across school, children are encouraged to be good listeners, curious learners, motivated and productive, and co‑operative and respectful members of their class community. We actively promote qualities such as kindness, courage, determination, reflection and self‑discipline, helping children to feel safe, settled and proud of their achievements. The Wheel of Wishes provides a shared language for learning, behaviour and personal development, ensuring that our values are lived out daily in classrooms and beyond.