Professional learning processes have been used to develop pedagogy across the school to support the development and use of pupils’ metacognitive skills - these are detailed below.
Book Club: Regular Book Clubs are conducted with all teaching staff. Teachers are given dedicated time to read and engage with various publications, including articles, books, podcasts, and videos. The headship team selects these publications carefully and provides guiding questions to help teachers focus their thinking. Staff then engage in discussions about the content and are encouraged to identify a key takeaway that they can apply to their practice.
Research/reading library: The school established a digital repository that contains summaries written by staff about publications they have engaged with. Staff members identify key information related to metacognition and reflect on how they can incorporate their findings into future practice. This library is easily accessible to staff, who can use the contents list to navigate to specific summaries that support their professional learning.
Professional learning/dissemination: External professional learning opportunities are utilised to develop staff expertise. Carefully selected staff members attend training sessions, and the school ensures that the knowledge gained is shared and disseminated among all staff. The school also dedicated several INSET days to support all staff’s understanding and confidence.
Action Research: Leaders engage all teaching and support staff in action research – to reflect upon their own practices, identify areas for improvement and implement changes based on evidence. The school sought guidance and training from a local university. Experienced mentors from the university assist the action research teams by refining research questions, designing research methods, and analysing collected data. Their expertise ensures high-quality and rigorous research. Teach Meets are scheduled to provide action research teams with time to meet, track progress, and plan next steps. Collaboration and knowledge-sharing activities allow staff members to present their findings, share best practices, and receive feedback, fostering a culture of continuous learning and improvement. Overall, the collaboration between the local university and school plays a significant role in supporting the staff's use of action research and in developing bespoke pedagogy to support the development of pupils’ thinking skills.
Video platform: The school utilises a videoing system with which staff review their own practice and that of their peers. The focus of the videoed sessions centre on pedagogy used to develop pupils’ thinking skills. Leaders review recorded sessions to identify practitioners’ areas of strength and support needs. Leaders then strategically group staff to review each others’ according to learn from each other.
