Teaching and Learning Policy

iBOS Teaching and

Learning Policy

The aims of our school are:

• A school where teachers, staff, and students are expected to support and extend the atmosphere of respect, courtesy, the love of learning and the value of friendship that is held dear at iBOS.
• iBOS aims to develop students to become well-rounded individuals. We aim to empower our students with the best tools and resources, making them capable in following and achieving their dreams, to become valued members of our global societies, and to allow them to make a positive difference to the world, wherever they choose to progress to.
• Students leave iBOS prepared for university. They are confident, contributing, and caring members of the global community and they have embraced the challenge of our specialized education. They will have gained the values that equip them to make a positive contribution.

Responsibility of: The Principal

Date Ratified: 03 July 2025

Review Date: 03 July 2026

Background

iBOS is an online school that prides itself on its pioneering approach to learning and encouraging students from all backgrounds to achieve their very best in school. iBOS aims to inspire and encourage all students to complete work to the best of their abilities and become valued and important members of society. This policy aims to keep our school a safe and high-quality place for learning. The principles of this policy are:

• To make sure that all students achieve their best possible outcomes, throughout the curriculum, ensuring rapid progress from the beginning
• To provide all students with the relevant skills for later life and further education and to create students who are resilient and tenacious in their learning.
• To equip students with the tools and skills needed to learn independently and in a school setting, also to leave our students with the tools they will need in higher education and the workplace
• To provide lessons that not only encourage students to reach their full potential but also inspire them What makes the learning and teaching at iBOS different? At our school we understand that learning is a process, when taught by great teachers it will lead to a lifelong passion to acquire knowledge. One of the fundamental skills our teachers embed in our students is independent learning. Our students will find this an invaluable skill in later life as they are well used to researching projects and tasks on their own. iBOS core principles for Teaching and Learning
• Clear routines and high expectations: Students are free to learn and teachers are free to teach when all students are clear of their expected boundaries. Practice high expectations with your students, repeat this until they learn these. Use positive behaviour management strategies to build positive relationships with your students, whilst not lowering your standards.
• Planning of challenging lessons: Well planned and appropriately pitched lessons will get the best out of your learners; get to know your students. All students can achieve when they are taught effectively and well.
• Knowledge rich lessons: the teacher is the expert and delivers their knowledge to students with passion. Learning intentions should be clear and shared. The basic premise is that the students have the same idea as their teacher about what is going on in the classroom, and what they should be learning as a result of doing. Many students are not going to know this unless it is signposted and modelled for them.
• Retrieval practice: Students are continually tested on their knowledge recall to support the development of their long-term memories; this is usually the starter activity of the lesson.

• Plan for attention: Lessons are carefully planned so that students think about what the teacher wants them to learn, for example, a key question or topic is at the heart of the lesson.
• Learning is desirably difficult: Students should have to work hard but can still achieve success; this approach cements teachers’ high expectations and standards in the classroom.
• Explanation: Instructions/activities are carefully and succinctly explained to students so that they are clear of their expectations. Students should be able to repeat back instructions.
• Modelling and scaffolding: Well-planned lessons mean learning is scaffolded and accessible for all students. New knowledge is carefully delivered to students; activities are demonstrated by the teacher so that students are explicitly aware of what they need to do. Modelling also enables high expectations to be demonstrated and consistently understood by students. Embedded expectations from the outset enable teachers to teach excellent lessons and students to learn without interruption. Modelling is a vital tool in the classroom. Teachers should apply adaptive teaching techniques to respond to learners' prior knowledge and current needs. This includes adjusting language, resources, or scaffolding—without reducing expectations—to support access and challenge.
• Questioning: Students are carefully questioned every lesson so that the teacher can identify misconceptions and test the understanding of students. A variety of question techniques can be used to ensure all students are effectively questioned. Teachers use diagnostic questioning, cold-calling, and wait-time to assess understanding and surface misconceptions. Questions should be inclusive and stretch all learners, with particular attention to supporting those who need additional processing or language support.
• Deliberate practice: Students working on activities to develop their practice, under careful instruction. Deliberate practice will enable students to improve their performance through repetition.
• Feedback and assessment: Students receive live feedback on the quality of their work, and misconceptions are addressed for the whole class to benefit from. Whole class feedback is used to support the improvement and further development of students in lessons. Feedback must be actionable, timely, and specific. Teachers are expected to use this data to close knowledge gaps, identify common misconceptions, and refine future planning. Students must be taught how to reflect on feedback and improve their work.
• Cumulative assessment: Students are regularly tested on the knowledge that they have learned throughout the academic year. This allows students to develop their long-term memories through regular retrieval of knowledge. Students’ knowledge recall goes beyond the topic they are currently covering; previous content is interleaved into starter activities to support recall. Parameters for success at iBOS Believing in yourself - We believe every student with the right type of motivation can achieve far more than they thought possible

1. 1. Reflection - Knowing what needs improving and working to improve on it.
2. 2. Progress - Due to our unique online platform and small class size rapid progress is expected.

1. 3. Learning from mistakes – Seeing mistakes as chances to learn.
2. 4. Listening – Listening and understanding skills are improved. Leading Teachers at iBOS Because we only employ the very best teachers at our school, we have very high standards and expectations of them. We want our students to have the very best educational experience and to do that we only use teachers who can motivate and inspire young minds Encourage students to question and investigate topics that interest them. A good teacher will help build students who are not afraid to question what they are being taught Assessments are used to ascertain student progress making sure that all students understand the lesson. It is the responsibility of every teacher to plan high-quality learning for every lesson, reviewed and adapted to meet the individual needs of all learners. Lessons are well planned

• Assessments are designed to ensure students have grasped the subject been taught
• Plan sessions to allow students to collaborate
• Know each students’ strengths and weaknesses
• Challenge students to extend their subject knowledge Equality and Inclusion All lessons must comply with the Equality Act 2010 by removing barriers to learning. Teachers must consider the principles of universal design for learning, differentiating where needed to ensure accessibility. iBOS teachers must be trained in inclusive pedagogy and expected to make reasonable adjustments in instruction and assessment. Others in the online classroom At iBOS, each class has analysts which monitor both the student and teachers’ developments. Students receive weekly reports based on their progress, attainment, and attitude towards learning.

Pedagogy

High-quality teaching and learning permeate all that we do. Students at iBOS speak highly of their teachers and enjoy their lessons; this is facilitated through excellent quality lessons and ingrained core routines in our students. We always use research and evidence to inform our practice to ensure better outcomes for students. We have several factors that determine aspects of professional learning which we prioritise each year:

• The needs of the school development plan
• Student outcomes
• Individual staff needs identified through the performance development review process
• Outcomes of lesson reviews and learning walks in curriculum areas
• Wider education changes e.g. September 2020 Ofsted Framework
• Staff surveys and feedback

iBOS benefits from having qualified UK trained teachers, the majority of whom are examiners. We constantly run CPD sessions to develop our staff with their curriculum, teaching strategies as well as pedagogy.

CURRICULUM AREA T&L MEETINGS AND CPD SESSIONS

There is additional dedicated curriculum time given over to CPD and Joint Practice Development so that curriculum teams, under the guidance of the curriculum leader can meet, focus on subject specific CPD and evaluate impact on student outcomes using the responsive learning cycle model. Please refer to the school calendar for when these are scheduled and speak to your curriculum leader for further details. CPD must include elements of research-informed practice, digital learning strategies, and techniques to boost long-term memory, such as spaced practice and metacognitive reflection. All CPD should be logged and evaluated for impact on pupil outcomes.

LESSON REVIEWS AT IBOS

Reviewers should consider how well the lesson met the needs of diverse learners and whether adaptive teaching strategies were evident. Feedback should refer to relevant Teachers’ Standards, and link to future CPD needs.

WHAT’S THE POINT OF LESSON REVIEWS?

As teachers, we have a morally driven purpose to go beyond simply complying with legal or contractual requirements. We ask ourselves the question ‘Would it do for your child?’ and therefore we see ourselves as morally bound to deliver high-quality learning for all, thereby making important differences to the lives of our students. Teaching is a challenging profession. What we have constructed is a supportive framework of monitoring performance and professional development of staff to allow us to fulfil our obligation to students in our care. Teachers are our most valuable resource, and professional development is a crucial need and right. Teaching requires practical skills that are never totally mastered. It becomes obvious to us as a school, that observing each other teaching and learning from each other is an invaluable part of professional life. Lesson reviews are developmental and designed to further enhance the quality of teaching and learning at iBOS. 3 formal lesson reviews (one per term) will take place over the academic year with developmental feedback intended to support the practice of the reviewed colleague. Teachers play an active role in selecting the class/es that they wish to be observed with and the colleagues who they would like to observe them. Lesson reviews are paired and will have a subject specialist involved in the lesson review where possible. Feedback from lesson reviews is honest and reflective. The reviewee will commence the conversation with their reflections on the positive impact and next steps from that lesson. The reviewers will then lead coaching style conversations regarding their reflections on the teaching of the lesson. The teacher will determine the focus of the lesson review, here are some suggestions for the lesson focus which you may wish to use for your review (this list is not exhaustive, and further suggestions can be gained through conversations with curriculum leaders, colleagues, line managers etc...)

• Level of challenge
• Modelling/scaffolding
• Retrieval practice
• Questioning
• Explanation
• Effective classroom management
• Subject knowledge
• Pace/timings

IMPLEMENTING AND EVALUATING PROFESSIONAL LEARNING

WHAT INFORMS OUR PROFESSIONAL LEARNING NEEDS?

We have a number of factors which determine aspects of professional learning which we priorities each year:

• Student outcomes
• The needs of the school development plan
• Individual staff needs identified through the performance development review process
• Lesson reviews and feedback
• Staff surveys and feedback
• Internal reviews
• Wider education changes e.g. Ofsted Framework Please note that his list is not exhaustive. In order to maximize the impact of professional learning at iBOS, we see professional learning as a cyclical process that requires constant reflection and evaluation of impact. We have used the ‘Responsive Professional Learning’ cycle from Unleashing Great Teaching by Weston and Clay (2018)