School profile


the resource to once again realise that we can actually teach better without it. When investing in products we now


tend to use the motto, “does it enhance and improve the teaching?” A few ICT products have proven popular with all the teachers in the school, the interactive whiteboards, visualiser, and classroom response systems have increased motivation within classes and enhanced personalised learning. An essential, yet challenging skill a teacher


needs to master is the ability to engage with each individual pupil, which is difficult when you are teaching a class of 20 or more children. Since the government set out the personalised learning strategy a few years ago, I have found that certain tools can really help with this. Teaching subjects that require practical demonstrations can prove tricky for the group of students at the back of the class whose concentration sometimes wanes, resulting in discussions regarding last night’s X Factor. These pupils usually switch off even before the demonstration has begun. Speaking to other members of staff they have found this a problem too. If the children cannot see what you are teaching, interest is very quickly lost and the teacher has to reiterate the points again to individuals, taking up time that could be used more productively for questions and assessment. An effective solution here is a document


camera, commonly called a visualiser in the UK. With the camera lens directed onto the


textbook, experiment or object we project onto the interactive whiteboards, which allows all pupils to see clearly what is being taught. This technique has really helped with


Assessing Pupils Progress (APP). Teachers could take children’s work, place it under the camera and the whole class can then discuss what has been written or worked out by their fellow peers. We have found that students become more confident due to APP, they get used to


results, information and the like, which parents can access when convenient. We have found that by building a partnership with the parents they support us as much as we support them. When we require the students to dress up or complete homework the parents never fail to impress me and are always happy to comply. In turn we have created an inviting environment and made it clear that parents can come in whenever they like to discuss issues, enabling fast and effective problem resolution.


“What remains at the heart of our teaching is ensuring the school provides an environment the children want to come to and want to learn in”


discussing their work in front of not only the teacher but other pupils. Teachers can also monitor each pupil’s strengths and development needs, deciding on whether someone needs extra support in a certain area.


Partnership with parents Making the parents or guardians of the children aware of their child’s school life is incredibly important. We like to communicate with them regularly and invite them into the school to experience first hand what and how we are teaching. Our website has proved to be a great channel of communication for this. We post news,


We know that if parents feel involved and happy, they will also want their children to become more involved in the school. What remains at the heart of our teaching is


ensuring the school provides an environment the children want to come to and want to learn in. There are so many factors that can enhance a child’s education and if we can adopt the most effective ones then we can shape a child’s life and prepare them for further education and indeed adult life.


• Steve Mills is assistant headteacher of William Ransom Primary School, which uses Elmo visualisers.


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