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ALl	Pen-y-bont ar Ogwr	Enw'r Ysgol	Porthcawl Primary School

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What was the focus for improvement?
• To develop collaborative/small group work from the ‘Working with Others’ unit from Link2Learn
• To develop a selection of learning tools from the ‘Working with Others’ and ‘How to Develop Thinking and Assessment in the Classroom’ to aid children in independent/collaborative learning
• To develop the thinking skills of gathering information from Developing Thinking section of the Skills framework - PLAN section
• To develop the thinking skill of forming opinions from the Developing Thinking section of the Skills framework - DEVELOP section
• To develop the thinking skill of forming opinions from the Developing Thinking section of the Skills framework - REFLECT section

What did we do?
We introduced a range of teaching tools which developed the three thinking principles highlighted above. Each tool was taken and applied to different curriculum areas from Nursery to Year 6. These tools were introduced on a fortnightly basis in staff meetings. During subsequent meetings we reviewed the outcomes of the strategy/tool before introducing the next one. We introduced a think board and stuck line into every classroom. We then developed further strategy icons as visual prompt for doughnuts etc. We introduced ‘thinking’ vocabulary for specific year groups and strategies. The teacher then had to go and develop the use of these tools in their classroom. We then began specifying the strategies into the Schemes of Work.

What were the outcomes?
• More group cooperation
• Children feel free to ‘have a go’ as there is less fear of making mistakes
• More independence and interdependence
• Teacher has more time to assess through observation and questioning
• Children more engaged and motivated
• More children are on task especially when using groups of 2 and then snowballing to 4
• Behaviour has improved in classes where this practice is embedded
• Speaking and listening are improving especially when active listening is being used
• Children with social language weakness are highlighted especially those children on the ASD continuum they find decisions too difficult and need a more graduated structured approach

What evidence have we collected to demonstrate improvements?
A broad range of evidence as illustrated in the linked files.

What have we learnt about teaching practice and pupils learning?
• Raised the profile of thinking across the school
• Made us rethink some of our teaching strategies
• Developed collaborative work and learning
• Developed a range of teaching tools which were developed from Nursery to Year 6 aid progression
• The children had a bigger stake in their learning
• Encouraged independence and choice making
• Children learn best when they know how to learn
• Patience and perseverance are key and embedding this takes time
• Children need to have a choice – not all strategies work

What we aim to do next
• Embed these tools into our teaching and lessons
• Further increase our range of strategies
• Map the use of these strategies through the curriculum and highlight them in planning
• Develop the Assessment for Learning side of the ‘How to develop thinking and assessment in the classroom'

Supporting Documentation
1. Vocabulary for Collective Memory Task
2. Vocabulary to Support Diamond Ranking Task
3. Vocabulary to Support Place Mats Task
4. Vocabulary to Support Place Mats Topic
5. Vocabulary for Think-Pair-Share
6. Staff Briefing Notes - Working with Others
7. Staff Briefing Notes - Working with Others
8. Staff Briefing Notes - Collective Memory
9. Staff Briefing Notes - Diamond Ranking
10. Staff Briefing Notes - Diamond Ranking - Think-Pair-Share
11. Staff Briefing Notes - Think-Pair-Share

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