Teaching & Learning

A Love of Learning

An aspect of our vision at Unity City Academy is ‘Everyone has a love of learning’. We strive to achieve such a high vision through creating learning experiences designed to motivate, challenge and engage all learners, making the broad and balanced curriculum we deliver meaningful for all. Teachers plan for progress, ensuring that subject knowledge content is selected, paced and sequenced to meet the needs and match the development of every individual learner. This vision also extends to all staff. Whatever our role within the Academy, we endeavour to be the best that we can be in order to implement our curriculum effectively, increasing student knowledge and progress, therefore the life chances of all our students; championing them to lead remarkable lives. We promote life-long learning, with all members of staff being models of such belief. There is a plethora of professional learning opportunities to allow all staff to be as effective as possible in their current roles and to develop their future career aspirations; there is no ‘glass ceiling’ at Unity City Academy for any of our learners. 

Collaborative Learning Approaches

We have embedded a collaborative learning culture at Unity City Academy. The EEF Teaching and Learning Toolkit identifies collaborative learning approaches as having a high impact for a very low cost. Collaborative learning has been shown to not only develop higher-level thinking skills in students, but additionally boost their confidence and self-esteem. Collaborative learning is also a great way to allow students to practise their oracy skills - a priority set by our Literacy Team. A collaborative learning approach involves our students working together on activities or tasks in a small group to ensure that everyone participates. Students in the group may work on separate tasks contributing to a common overall outcome, or work together on a shared task.There are four main collaborative learning activities that our teachers have implemented into their lessons for this academic year: 

Our Core Principles of Teaching and Learning at Unity City Academy  

Teaching and learning at the Academy is driven by a consistent application of the four core principles: climate for learning, knowledge and skills; assessment; and challenge for all. These principles underpin all aspects of teaching and learning and provide a purposeful framework for monitoring the quality of teaching and learning, giving feedback, planning lessons, professional learning and coaching discussions. 

Assessment 

Formative Assessment: 

Students are regularly assessed in lessons using Assessment for Learning strategies which allow the teacher to instantly assess student performance allowing them to become more aware of their students' needs and adapt their teaching accordingly. Some Assessments for Learning strategies used by teachers are: Academic Monitoring, Turn & Talk, RAG cards, Cold Calling & Whiteboards.  

Alongside lesson by lesson assessments, students also are assessed using Demonstrate & Connect. The Demonstrate task is an independent activity at the end of a learning sequence. This  will involve an exam or specification-based question that allows the class teacher to evaluate the progress achieved in a lesson. This activity will be challenging and assess the extent to which pupils have met the lesson objective. The ‘Connect’ task will be a direct response to the feedback given by the teacher. The Connect task is an activity designed to address misconceptions or mistakes from the previous lesson’s Demonstrate task. The Connect task also allows for challenge and to further students' responses.

Summative Assessments: 

Key Stage 4 students will take part in mock examinations where students will be graded using GCSE boundaries. Students will then be given a question level analysis breakdown to support their progress. 

Key Stage 3 students will be assessed at the end of every term. This assessment will measure what a student has learned over a period of time. Misconceptions are then identified and students will take part in a “reteach” week to ensure all knowledge is secure. 

Professional Learning (CPD)

The Academy has an open door culture, allowing all staff across the Academy to drop-in to lessons at any point during the day. Teachers receive regular verbal and written feedback from informal drop-ins that take place throughout the year, focused on creating dialogue around developing and sharing best practice. 

The Academy provides a rigorous and comprehensive Professional Learning programme that responds to the needs of teachers throughout the academic year. All teaching staff attend weekly Professional Learning sessions on a Monday evening and there is additional Professional Learning for ECTs, trainees and more experienced staff who want to further enhance their practice in certain areas. 

The Academy is supportive in providing staff with external opportunities for CPD and staff can apply for these by submitting a CPD request form. A number of staff are currently completing National Professional Qualifications provided by Lift Schools to support more experienced practitioners to continue their professional development. 

Praise Culture in Teaching and Learning

The development of the praise culture within lessons allows for effective teaching and learning to take place. Teachers do not miss an opportunity to reward students on the practice being developed and the evidence of positive character shown throughout the lesson. To further aid the praise culture within the classroom, teachers will display remarkable work to further model the high standards and expectations and praise students for their effort.

Positive Friday takes place weekly to celebrate all that has been achieved over the week. Praise Fest celebrates achievements made in the classroom. Students are invited to show staff work they are proud of. Students are awarded with a certificate and a stamp on their passport. Once their passport is complete, a prize is chosen from our academy prize ‘shop’.

Curriculum postcards posted to students to recognise work ethic and progress made in individual subjects.

Excel Postcard. Postcards are given for students who ‘excel’-working above their target grade.

Remarkable Performances by our students are celebrated daily. A3 laminated sheets have been placed on every classroom door celebrating students who have performed well in lessons each day. 

Wild Card Lessons

Staff at UCA are encouraged to think outside the box with their teaching and learning strategies through wildcard week. This is a dedicated time for teachers to try something new to encourage the love of learning our students have to develop even further.