Learning at Moorings Way

When you come to our school you will notice that we do some things that are really special to us. As a school we see ourselves as one big family.

Individual welcome

At Moorings Way we welcome every child in the school individually. Each child shakes hand with their adult on the door. This is important to us as saying good morning every morning gives us a really good idea of how each child is feeling when they enter the classroom. It also starts the day positively. We work hard with the children to ensure we have good eye contact and a firm handgrip!

Teams not classes

At Moorings Way we made the decision to call our classes teams. They are all named after inspirational people who demonstrate or demonstrated some of our school values. We look being in a TEAM

Cold calling

Sometimes we ask the children to answer questions without putting their hands up. This helps everyone and makes sure that the teacher knows who is finding things tricky. We always give our children time to think about an answer before we say their name. In this way, all children have an answer ready when it is needed.

123 transitions

When we move from one place to another, we often use the numbers 123 to ensure our children get to their tables or carpet space quickly -making sure every second is used for learning. 1 is normally used for ‘stand’, 2 for ‘point to where you are going’ and 3 for ‘go there’. This helps us to focus on what we are asked to do.

‘Turn to your partner’

Sometimes we use Talk Partners to generate ideas or practice what we have learnt. The teacher or teaching assistant will use their hands to show a signal that the children recognise as ‘turn to your partner’.

Thinking Maps

At Moorings Way our children are trained in using thinking maps. We use different maps for different reasons. They help us to organise our thinking and show our thinking in a useful way.

Thinking Hats

We use Thinking Hats to look at information in a variety of ways. This helps us to solve problems by identifying how something is making us feel, noticing the positives and barriers to an idea and encouraging new thinking.

Cognitive Load Theory

Our teachers are trained on how to avoid cognitive overload. We understand that too many forms of media can cause confusion and take the attention away from learning. We try and ensure that we use dual processing to support learning. If we are using words to communicate, we will use diagrams and pictures visually to support what is being said. We reduce ‘extraneous load’ which is information that can distract our learners or point them in the wrong direction.