Theme 3: Professional knowledge and understanding
3.i Pedagogic practice
3.ii Promoting children and young people’s development and well-being
Rationale
All children and young people, irrespective of background and ability, have a right to receive support, guidance and challenge tailored to their specific needs and abilities. Teachers will be more able to respond to the individual needs of learners, enabling them to make better progress, if they have an understanding and knowledge of how attainment can be raised and the many factors that influence children and young people’s well-being, development and ability to learn.
Standards
3.i Pedagogic practice
| C10 | Have a good up-to-date working knowledge and understanding of a range of teaching, learning and behaviour management strategies and know how to use and adapt them, including how to personalise learning to provide opportunities for all learners to achieve their potential. |
| C11 | Know the assessment requirements and arrangements for the subjects/curriculum areas they teach, including those relating to public examinations and qualifications. |
| C12 | Know a range of approaches to assessment, including the importance of formative assessment. |
| C13 | Know how to use local and national statistical information to evaluate the effectiveness of their teaching, to monitor the progress of those they teach and to raise levels of attainment. |
| C14 | Know how to use reports and other sources of external information related to assessment in order to provide learners with accurate and constructive feedback on their strengths, weaknesses, attainment, progress and areas for development, including action plans for improvement. |
| C15 | Have a secure knowledge and understanding of their subjects/curriculum areas and related pedagogy including: the contribution that their subjects/curriculum areas can make to cross-curricular learning, and recent relevant developments. |
| C17 | Know how to use skills in literacy, numeracy and ICT to support their teaching and wider professional activities. |
| C19 | Know how to make effective personalised provision for those they teach, including those for whom English is an additional language or who have special educational needs or disabilities, and how to take practical account of diversity and promote equality and inclusion in their teaching. |
3.ii Promoting children and young people’s development and well-being
| C5 | Recognise and respect the contributions that colleagues, parents and carers can make to the development and well-being of children and young people, and to raising their levels of attainment. |
| C18 | Understand how children and young people develop and how the progress, rate of development and well-being of learners are affected by a range of developmental, social, religious, ethnic, cultural and linguistic influences. |
| C20 | Understand the roles of colleagues such as those having specific responsibilities for learners with special educational needs, disabilities and other individual learning needs, and the contributions they can make to the learning, development and well-being of children and young people. |
| C25 | Know how to identify and support children and young people whose progress, development or well-being is affected by changes or difficulties in their personal circumstances, and when to refer them to colleagues for specialist support. |
Scope
3.i Pedagogic practice
These standards are concerned with how you gain and demonstrate the knowledge and understanding required to carry out the many activities involved in effective teaching. They are closely related to those on planning, teaching and assessment in theme four.
For example, aspects of practice covered by these standards might include:
- developing an awareness and understanding of strategies that ensure personalised learning and knowing what resources exist in your school to make personalised provision for learners such as the gifted and talented, those with special educational needs, disabilities or those for whom English is an additional language
- developing and using a range of strategies to manage behaviour and create a positive, calm and purposeful learning environment
- finding out what statistical information is available in school and how it is used by your colleagues
- developing knowledge about how and where to access information in order to advise learners about their attainment, current progress and areas for improvement
- developing your understanding of how different types of assessment can be used to identify personal learning needs
- taking steps to ensure that you maintain and update your subjects/curriculum area knowledge
- identifying and knowing where you can make effective use of your ICT skills in your teaching and wider professional activities
- understanding how you can promote the principles of inclusion and equal opportunity.
3.ii Promoting children and young people’s development and well-being
This group of standards demonstrate the need for teachers’ practice to be informed by an awareness of the factors that can contribute to under-achievement and an understanding of how children and young people’s development and well-being can be promoted through the use of various strategies and collaborative approaches.
For example, aspects of practice covered by these standards might include:
- developing a general knowledge and understanding of the range of agencies, organisations and colleagues working with learners, both inside and outside school, so that you know when, how and who to ask for advice, support or information
- developing your awareness of your responsibilities regarding confidentiality and sharing information, and when and how information about an individual child or young person should be shared with others and the actions to take
- developing your knowledge about how to respond to concerns about a child or young person’s development
- using knowledge obtained from others about learners’ development and well-being to inform your own planning and practice.
Questions
Prompt questions that can be used for discussion with your induction tutor:
3.i Pedagogic practice
- From whom can you seek support, where appropriate, to help you implement and keep up to date with current assessment policies and practices?
- Where can you find out about behaviour management strategies and any specific issues concerning behaviour in your school?
- How can you develop your knowledge and understanding about the assessment requirements and expectations of learners in the age range above and below that which you teach?
- Are there any aspects of your professional activities which you believe could be improved through better knowledge and use of personal literacy, numeracy or ICT skills?
- What teaching resources that reflect cultural diversity have been made available to you, and what opportunities have you taken to apply them? What additional support or guidance do you feel you need?
3.ii Promoting children and young people’s development and well-being
- Are there opportunities for you to involve parents and carers in discussions about a child or young person’s development and well-being and how can you use these effectively?
- Have you been made aware of who you would need to ask for help in dealing with concerns about a child or young person’s development and well-being?
- Are you kept fully informed of the range of other colleagues’ responsibilities covered by these standards and the role they have in supporting your pupils’ learning (for example, SENCOs, inclusion managers, gifted and talented leading teachers, child care workers, health service professionals, language assistants)?
- What additional support or guidance do you feel you need?
