Learning expectations for different stakeholders

Definition of learning

Schools are explicitly in existence to guide young people’s learning. But what is learning? Whilst there are many different definitions, I consider it a deep and long term process involving understanding and connection-making. These act as bedrocks for higher order thinking and the transfer of current knowledge to new experiences and contexts. This is important for the expectations of the different stakeholders in our community. 

 

Staff

Staff are expected to continually learn and reflect on their pedagogy for improved strategies to guide and assist learning, so they should understand what learning is and how it maps onto the context of our school and our Guiding Principles.

 

Students

Students are encouraged to learn for the long term. Successful learning is not cramming for a test but being able to recall information many months in the future and to be able to use that knowledge in new situations. These may be in or outside the classroom. But it is essential that all our students can measure their learning against staff expectations built from the school definition and the Guiding Principles.

 

Parents

Parents need to know what the school’s fundamental aims are and what the school’s fundamental aims and objectives are for their children. They need this clarity of purpose when they select a school.

 

Advisory Board

Our Advisory Board are expected to show a deeper understanding of the school’s characteristics and to bring a different perspective to viewing the threats and opportunities of these characteristics but without the common understanding of the overall aim for the school then their advice may be misplaced.

 

This is why we will undergo a whole school community exercise in the second half of the term to understand what learning really is at VIS and how this impacts our school in the light of our Guiding Principles. I hope all our stakeholders will enjoy the process.