Teaching & Learning

At Drapers’ Academy, we are committed to achieving the highest possible standards of teaching and learning. 

Our dedicated staff shared a clear vision and ethos, to provide high quality teaching and learning that leads to ambitious progress for all. Our Drapers’ pedagogy is based in research evidenced methods and acknowledges the challenges of our community alongside a personal commitment to recognising we can all be better practitioners with reflection and coaching.

The Teaching, Assessment and Curriculum (TAC) Team have established an instructional coaching model based around the core principles of a successful lesson that has high expectations for all through:

• Routines
• Do Now activities
• Cold Calling and Retrieval activities
• Teacher led explanations and modelling
• Independent Practice
• Live Marking

Learning at Drapers’ Academy is exciting, vibrant and challenging. We encourage pupils to have a growth mind-set;  a can-do attitude, develop resilience and perseverance and the belief that they can achieve anything with hard work. We are ambitious for our pupils with additional needs in the classrooms and ensure that pedagogy reflects this. Literacy is embedded throughout our curriculum and pupils are encouraged to read and are read to in lessons.

Our pedagogical approach is that we teach to the top and scaffold for those that need adaptive teaching. This ensures that our high prior attainers are challenged throughout every lesson whilst those that need variations in the delivery, questioning or support receive that. As well as offering a comprehensive SEND support programme both within and out of the classroom we offer a similar programme for our highest achievers. This includes:

• The Brilliant Club
• Seminar Masterclasses at KS4 in preparation for Year 10 Mocks and throughout Year 11
• Literacy Ambassadors and Book Club
• Poetry by Heart competition
• UK Maths Challenge 
• EPQs at Post 16
• Speakers and Workshops across curriculum areas such as Holocaust speakers and Language Translation Project  

At Drapers’ Academy we believe that regular Continued Professional Development, for all staff, is vital to provide quality teaching and learning.  We believe it is essential to allow staff to develop their subject expertise and prioritise the development of subject excellence through our Twilight training plans. In addition, we have a collegiate coaching and rehearsal model, staff receive weekly training in our Thursday ‘Teaching and Learning briefing’ held in the DJH. We have an excellent optional Friday Breakfast CPD once a half term, a well-developed ECT programme and a full new staff induction.