Stretch and Challenge at BIC Sa Porrassa

Since joining BIC, Ms Colwell (Principal) and Ms Compton (Head of Primary) have talked frequently about the importance of challenge across the school. Our teaching team is focussed on ensuring students are consistently challenged in their learning. A classroom where stretch and challenge is embedded is one where students know the standard they are aiming for, actively seek out feedback to reach that standard, and have the tools to move their own learning forward by using this feedback to develop their knowledge, skills and understanding.

This can be seen in many ways throughout lessons, for example;

• Learning Intentions - Sharing challenging learning intentions with students so they have a clear understanding of their learning journey and how they will progress through it.
• Questioning and discussion - Developing students’ questioning and participating in group discussion to improve the quality of their thinking.
• Activities - Offering a range of tasks with different levels of challenge so all students, regardless of their starting point, can accelerate their learning.
• Resources - Creating a range of resources to support students in accessing a challenging task but deciding when it is most appropriate to allow students to use them.
• Groupings - Identifying how students should be grouped together and to ensure they are appropriately challenged and can make an effective contribution.
• Feedback- Framing feedback so that students have to take responsibility for improving their own learning and closing their learning gaps.
• Academic vocabulary- Increasing the language demands you place on the students by explicitly teaching them academic vocabulary that they can use verbally and in writing.
• Homework- Providing tasks that enable students to extend their learning outside of class time.
• Learning Support Assistants - Collaborating with LSAs to ensure all students can access the learning and support students to challenge themselves further.

This year from Year 4 we have introduced stretch and challenge classes that are available as an alternative to languages in our option block. These classes, led by the Head of Primary at Baleares International College, are planned and developed based on the students’ needs but with the intention of taking them out of their comfort zone of learning, trying new activities and developing skills.

Each half term we focus on a particular core subject. This during the first half term we have dedicated to English via a novel study. Students are faced with a rich and more challenging text to develop their vocabulary, oracy and comprehension skills. During the second half term, we will be focussing on applying mathematical strategies and problem solving skills.