Learning, Teaching & Assessment

Ten Word Tiny Tales

As past of Book Week, all children in LPPS and SPS took part in a Ten Word Tiny Tale challenge. Designed to spark imagination, children were challenged to write and illustrate a story in ten words, designed to make readers think. Based on Joseph Coelho's thought-provoking Ten Word Tiny Tales book, children have loved writing stories to be shared with classes across both schools. This has developed Literacy skills and allowed us to share and celebrate learning with a wider audience.

Click the icon to look at some examplesof our Ten Word Tiny Tales

School Resources

The Collaborative Model has allowed for opportunites to share resources across both schools. This has enhanced our existing offering e.g. Rocket Phonics decodable books, play resources and Izak 9 problem solving resources.

One Note Planning

In August, staff came together to explore a new digital planning platform. This has allowed for consistency in planning format approaches across both schools, with staff being able to share online. This has supported professional dialogue and moderation, allowing for greater consistency of teacher professional judgement. The opportunity for professional collaboration has led to sharing of staff expertise and consideration of alternative approaches to teaching and learning, enhancing experiences for our children.

Debora Harrison explaining the use of One Note Planning.

Meta Skills Scotland

This year we have explored learning opportunities in our community and with partners to further develop pupils' meta-skills.Meta-skills are defined as: 'Skills for the future - timeless, higher order skills that create adaptive learners and promote success in whatever context the future brings'.As a cluster we are working together to develop and embed these skills within our curriculum.

Writing Moderation

Moderation is the process of teachers sharing, working through and agreeing their understanding of expected curriculum levels of pupil achievement and progress. It supports teachers to validate their teacher professional judgement, ensuring accuracy in the assessment/planning cycle. Please click the icon to hear Mr McCullough (P4 at SPS) speaking about the process and impact.

Differentiation

Differentiated learning involves adapting learning, teaching & assessment to meet the learning needs of all children and young people.This year, both schools have engaged in authority led training on differentiation focussing on content, process, product and environment. This reflects current research, thinking and practice. This offering together has allowed staff to engage in quality dialogue, considering effective examples of differentiation and looking at approaches to enhance current practice in their own classrooms. Sharing good practice in differentiation teaching practices across our Collaborative Model schools has enhanced outcomes for learners already. This will be deepened over time.

An example of a class teacher’s action plan following one of the sessions. This will be reviewed for impact at a future session in 2024.

Have a look at our progress

Differentiation

We have been focussing on content, environment and process, developing our action plans further. Staff have had the opportunity to meet and share their action plans throughout the term.

Good Practice

In May, all staff took part in a sharing good practice visit to each school. Staff had key questions to discuss, highlighting strengths within each setting. Staff gave feedback for each other using a Padlet. We used this to help us shape a new display/environment policy at Low Port. We will continue to hold shared collegiate sessions in each school to further share good practice. Please click the icon to listen to Mrs Gemma Fleming discussing how we implemented good practice visits across both schools.

Listening & Talking Moderation

Both schools have taken part in the moderation cycle this term, focussing on Listening and Talking. This involves selecting shared Experiences and Outcomes from Curriculum for Excellence and identifying three children in each class to track during the lesson and speak to about their learning.All staff (e.g. the two P5 Springfield teachers and one P5 Low Port teacher) then meet their stage partners to discuss their lesson and the assessment product. They discuss observations, children's attainment and progress and any future supports or next steps for individuals or the whole class.

Community Book Learning Experiences

This term classes have been working hard to pull together the shared community book that will be published in June. Class teachers have worked together to plan experiences for our young people that involve them being out and about in our local area, interviewing experts, both in person and online, and researching using a variety of methods. Children over both schools have been working together in person and using digital platforms. This has allowed for many rich learning opportunities:

• Children have been on local excursions
• Interviewed experts in our local community
• Researched and developed our understanding of our local area
• Collaboration with peers - across both school settings
• Literacy skills - reading, writing and listening and talking
• A sense of achievement and pride in our local area and collectively writing and publishing a book
• Developing skills across the curriculum such as digital, art and social studies