Curriculum Implementation
“The best available evidence indicates that great teaching is the most important lever schools have to improve outcomes for their pupils.” – EEF
To translate our curriculum intent into highly effective classroom practice, Wardle Academy utilises an evidence-informed “Teach Model”. This framework establishes a consistent, high-impact approach to lesson delivery across all departments, ensuring that every learner experiences a climate of high challenge and robust academic support.
The vertical y- axis showcases Teacher Agency as the driving force of the sequence, giving our professional’s autonomy, to ensure lessons fit the needs of the learner’s in their class.
This agency is entirely fueled by the “Plan” phase on the left—the vital mental preparation required before a teacher steps foot into the room:
- Milestones and misconceptions: Before the lesson begins, the teacher’s agency is used to map out the milestones from the lesson end-point, identify predictable misconceptions and subject specific vocabulary.
- “Knowing your learners”: Teachers set high expectations for all learners. They will use data to set ambitious targets and plan challenging work for all groups, including:
- Learners with low prior attainment
- Learners from disadvantaged backgrounds
- Learners with SEN
- Learners with English as an additional language (EAL).
- Planning for access and depth: Because the teacher has completed this deep intellectual preparation, they possess the agency to navigate the lesson phases (Wardle Now, Input, Over To You, Store) with confidence. They know exactly when to push for depth, when to deploy a scaffold, and how to maintain high expectations for every learner in the room.
The X-axis serves as the literal and metaphorical foundation of the live lesson. Purposeful Circulation = Purposeful Checking means the teacher is moving with intent. They are following a pre-planned circulation route and using zoning during the “Over to You” phase to target specific learners (such as SEND or high-prior-attaining learners).
The recent addition of the “Over to you” section to every lesson at Wardle Academy is to build learner persistence, linked to Ambition and Leadership in the Wardle Way.
To do this, we consistently use the language of the “Learning Pit” as shown below:
Wardle Academy, classrooms frame errors as valuable learning opportunities that reveal the next steps in instruction, removing any stigma associated with being incorrect. We reinforce that incomplete or incorrect work during practice is a natural phase of learning, ensuring learners feel confident attempting challenging tasks during the “Over to you” phase.
Through the high-fidelity execution of the ‘Teach Model’—where expert teacher agency intersects with purposeful circulation—we ensure that every lesson is anchored in rigorous formative assessment. This responsive, systematic approach guarantees that low-stakes retrieval, live checking, and high-quality feedback are embedded in daily practice, empowering all learners to realise the full ambition of our curriculum
