OUR TEACHING APPROACH
We use research to make practical design decisions. The evidence supports important teaching approaches; we evaluate this programme through students’ work, their use of feedback and the experience of their families.
Worked models show how a reader reaches an interpretation and how a writer makes a decision. Students then practise with support that gradually reduces.
The IES secondary writing guide recommends explicit writing strategies through a model–practice–reflect cycle. Read the IES guide.
Texts supply meaningful contexts for vocabulary, sentence choices and ideas. Students revisit earlier words and connect reading to their own writing.
EEF secondary literacy guidance supports explicit vocabulary teaching, help with complex texts and breaking writing into manageable steps. Read the EEF guidance.
The teacher selects an important next step and makes time for the student to act on it. A concise, specific comment is useful only when it leads to better thinking or work.
EEF feedback guidance emphasises sound initial instruction and planning how students will receive and use feedback. Read the feedback guidance.
The passport makes competence visible, gives students some meaningful choices and connects effort to teacher recognition. Achievements describe useful actions rather than points for clicking.
Self-determination research informs this design. It does not show that these particular achievements will improve English attainment. Read Ryan and Deci’s paper.
We check the time students actually spend, the quality of independent work, whether they act on feedback, retention and the teacher’s workload. Starting and later tasks offer evidence of change, while a programme evaluation without a comparison group cannot establish causal impact.
No study has validated this exact combination of a weekly hour, remote packs and personal feedback. We do not promise a particular GCSE grade or a measured reading-age gain.