Personalised Learning

Personalising learning is a key idea which underpins current government policy in education. There are six components that provide a framework for the personalisation of students’ education at NHGS.

Assessment for learning: Prior attainment is used to set personal targets for each student at the end of KS3 and KS4. Individual student’s progress is tracked through the school. Students are encouraged to help each other and to take increasing responsibility for their own learning.

Effective Teaching: A wide range of teaching strategies are employed both within and across subjects. These actively engage students in their learning and include resource-based learning, practicals, investigations, experiments, research, problem-solving and fieldwork that are supported by teacher exposition, questioning, explaining and modeling. using direct, indirect and exploratory approaches.

Deep Learning: Teaching helps students to link new ideas to their existing concepts; encourages understanding, application, analysis, synthesis, evaluation and the search for meaning; curiosity and motivation are harnessed using direct, indirect and exploratory approaches that utilise a variety of student groupings.

Curriculum Entitlement and Choice: There is a broad academic curriculum with flexibility for different option choices at key points, supportive pastoral provision and a wider school curriculum with lots of opportunities for different extra-curricular experiences and challenges.

School Organisation: The school provides a safe and secure environment which maximises the opportunities available to students; provides out of hours study through extra classes, staffed LRC & ICT rooms and the VLE and creates opportunities for students to participate in a wide range of activities.

Strong Partnerships Beyond the School: Partnerships beyond the school enhance, enrich and extend students’ educational experience. We work closely with parents as set out in the Home – School Agreement and developed in the Handbooks. NHGS has links with other schools locally through the community dimension of our specialist school work and at secondary level through Campus Calderdale; nationally through the National Grammar Schools Association (NGSA) and the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust (SSAT) and globally through our international dimension work. We have developed close links with local universities. We also have wide involvement with local business and commercial organisations. We also work with the LA and the Learning and Skills Council for West Yorkshire.