From the Head of Junior School

It was wonderful to welcome Years 2 to 6 students back on campus for face-to-face lessons in Week 3. As smoothly as remote learning went in the first two weeks of term, there is nothing that can replicate the classroom dynamic made possible by having teachers and learners in the same room together! 

Over the course of a school week, I visit classrooms, constantly garnering an understanding of what is happening across the Junior School. In a Year 4 classroom, when I asked a student what he was working on, he explained to me that he was working on spelling. He didn’t stop there, but went on to clarify that his words were different to other groups of students in his class; the reason being that his teacher had used pre-assessment data to organise the groups. It is excellent to hear a student articulate confidently and clearly about how his teacher had used data to inform differentiated instruction in the classroom.  

In How to Differentiate in Mixed-Ability Classrooms, Carol Ann Tomlinson (2001) states that ‘Differentiated instruction is rooted in assessment…… teachers look for every opportunity to get to know their students better—through conversations with students, classroom discussions, student work, observation, and formal assessment. Then, teachers design and modify learning experiences based on assessment findings. Each student’s progress is measured, at least in part, from where that student begins.’

This is best practice, and this is what I am seeing in classrooms across our Junior School.  

For further information about differentiation, please see the following ASCD article What Is Differentiated Instruction and Why Differentiate?  

Please remember to be in touch with any questions or feedback.  

Have a lovely weekend.  

Jasmine Taylor
Head of Junior School

 Dates for the Diary: