Our teachers have high expectations of their pupils and of themselves.
Here at Northfield School for Girls we pride ourselves on the high quality of teaching delivered by our staff and the fantastic opportunities this gives to all our pupils, whatever their ability. Our aim is to develop this love of learning by ensuring our lessons are well matched to the needs of our pupils, engaging and challenging. We encourage our pupils to be brave and take a chance in their lessons, to try to be resilient if they make a mistake as this is what will help them make progress.
We are committed to exploring new approaches in teaching and learning. Our in-service training and access to professional development encourages our teachers to deliver their subjects in varied and interesting ways. Many of our teachers have successfully completed The Outstanding Teacher Programme and actively share this expertise with colleagues. In recent years we have hosted conferences in Teaching and Learning, The Teacher Toolkit’s “Just Great Teaching” and Safeguarding and Mental Health Wellbeing best practice.
“Teachers set high expectations of what students can achieve and students respond well to this level of challenge”
Ofsted
We teach pupils to expect “excellence” and to understand how to respond to feedback.
At Northfield School for Girls everyone is a reader. Our commitment to the love of reading is evident throughout the school – it is an essential part of who we are. All pupils at KS3 take part in the Accelerated Reader programme. This gives pupils and teachers regular feedback on how much reading each pupil has done, at what level of complexity, and how well they have understood what they have read. As a result our pupils are making great strides in their reading ages, vocabulary growth and literacy skills. This has not only an impact on achievement but makes a strong contribution to our positive climate for learning. Yr8 forms are well supported by our Yr11 Accelerated Reader “ARnties” who encourage reading for pleasure and provide great leadership role models.
Many of our lessons and pupil resources can be accessed via our Virtual Learning Environment (VLE / Moodle). This gives exceptional support to pupils in their home study / homework and allows parents to see the sort of work undertaken in class. Parent Guides to supporting Literacy and Numeracy can be downloaded here.
A vast range of additional support and intervention is provided to enable all pupils to make rapid progress in their learning including Yr7 English and Maths catch-ups with subject specialists; Family Learning; Grade 7+ Maths Boosters; GCSE Boosters and a wide variety of SEND programmes.
Lunchtime and after-school are busy times at school. Not only do pupils eat and socialise but many of our staff provide extra-curricular opportunities in their subject areas, help with homework is available, and pupils are able to access ICT Network Rooms and The Library for independent study.
“If I had to sum up King Edward VI Northfield School for Girls in just two words I would say it was both empowering and caring. We empower all of our pupils to reach their personal and academic potential. At the same time we care for them and we encourage them to care about and support others.”
J. Hall, Deputy Headteacher
