Here at Hammersmith Academy we believe that……

• Every child should have the chance to achieve their full potential, whatever their talent or background.
• Teaching and learning are inexorably linked: they are valueless alone.
• We teach children, not lessons, and the children in turn learn.
• Children learn best when they are taught well, so it follows that each lesson taught must add to the child in some way if it is judged to be good.
• Effective teaching and learning are underpinned by good behaviour.
• Through personalised learning we can secure high quality teaching that is responsive to the different ways students achieve their best.

Principles at the heart of personalised learning:

To build a successful system of personalised learning, we acknowledge that giving every single child the chance to achieve their full potential, whatever their talent or background, is not the betrayal of excellence, it is the fulfilment of it.

The following are the essential features of Personalised Learning at Hammersmith Academy:

For students:

• They will be treated as partners in their learning, with joint responsibility for participating in the design of their learning
• They will have their individual needs addressed, both in school and extending beyond the classroom and into the family and community
• If they start to fall behind in their learning, they will be able to identify their weaknesses and how to improve, and will be given additional support to help them get back on track quickly
• They will receive coordinated support to enable them to succeed to the full, whatever their talent or background
• They will develop respect for others, self-esteem and skills for collaboration through learning in a mutually supportive environment
• They will sign a joint school/student contract which sets out the agreed responsibilities between the school and the student

For parents and carers:

• They will receive regular updates that give clear understanding of what their child can currently do, how they can progress and what help can be given at home
• They will be able to log on to the Academy VLE and access their child’s data
• They will be able to communicate with the school in a way that suits them, including; phone, email, online, text and in person
• They will be involved in engaging with their child's learning and in planning their future education
• They will be confident that their child is receiving a high quality education that is designed to meet their learning needs and which will equip them with the skills they need to thrive throughout their lives
• They will have the opportunity to play a more active role in school life and know that their contribution is valued
• They will sign a joint school/parent contract which sets out the agreed responsibilities between the school and the parent(s)

For teachers and support staff:

• They will have high expectations of every learner, giving them confidence and skills to succeed
• They will have access to and be able to interpret data on each student to inform teaching and learning, incorporating more fine-tuned assessment and lesson planning;
• They will be in a stronger position to share and exchange information about best practice among their colleagues in different schools and through external networks, resulting in opportunities to develop a wide repertoire of teaching strategies
• They will participate in high quality professional development, on a weekly basis, working with other teachers to develop their skills in understanding the learning needs of their students and how best to address those needs and engage them
• They will be able to depend more routinely on the support of non-teaching staff and other adults from outside the school to provide a holistic, tailored educational provision for all their students

The rationale of these outcomes is clear: to raise standards by focusing teaching and learning on the aptitudes and interests of students and by removing any barriers to learning.