Teaching methods“…it looks like every responsible parent’s dream: absorbed faces, intelligent questions, patient teachers, general calm.” Alan Franks, The Times, August 2007 The children are given access to traditional teaching, excellent resources and educational advice at a very low cost. There is at least one teacher for every ten children, so each child gets lots of support and attention.
Charles Brickdale, English teacher at the Keighley Saturday School, explains what happens in his lessons: “I teach English using a very traditional approach which emphasises the skills of comprehension and accuracy in spelling, punctuation and grammar. I use Galore Park's English textbooks which are the basis of English teaching in many independent schools. We take the view that children of all backgrounds should have access to the same high standards. I also teach some history by means of 'Our Island Story'. My classes absolutely love it.” One of the maths teachers explains what happens during their lessons: “One of my main aims as a teacher is to convince the students that learning is fun and very rewarding. At the Wapping classes we have hit a nice balance between enjoying ourselves and getting down to some serious work. We have been concentrating on the main operations of maths. This includes addition, subtraction and multiplication (we haven't yet reached division, but we're getting there)! “The children in the younger group are struggling quite significantly. However, the group is very well behaved and have started to prove over the past few weeks that they are extremely smart too! Seven-year-old Tanya came into my class working at a very low level, with very little understanding of addition, and no concept of subtraction, multiplication or division. However, I am delighted with her fantastic progress. We’re making sure she’s fully confident with addition before moving on to subtraction and then eventually to tackle multiplication and division. “Because the classes are small, I am able to deal very quickly and effectively with any problems individuals may have. Children don't walk away feeling ignored or helpless. In fact, I'd like to believe they walk away inspired and confident.” Our teachers use a no-frills approach which concentrates on high quality teaching along traditional lines to enable children to master basic skills quickly. We emphasise phonics-based reading and mental arithmetic. We want children to be able to read fluently, spell accurately, know their times-tables and do long division. We also try to teach them a little bit about the history of this country and its institutions. We regularly test children’s reading ages using the respected Holborn Reading Scale. Our aim is to have the children reading at a level appropriate to their age as soon as possible, and then move ahead, as a child who reads well will make rapid progress in all other subjects. Children with special educational needs are given one-to-one support. Resources
The pupils who are reading at an appropriate level use The Butterfly Grammar, a very effective textbook introducing the essential rules of the English language, Galore Park textbooks and classic stories and poetry. Textbooks published by Galore Park are popular, as they present a thoroughly traditional pedagogic approach in a lively and modern format. We encourage the children and parents to read together regularly. Our classes contain book boxes so the children can take home a new book each week. The boxes contain classic stories, poetry and children’s favourites such as books by Michael Morpurgo, Anne Fine, Dick King-Smith and Michael Rosen. |
We use high-quality resources such as Irina Tyk’s Butterfly Book, a phonics-based reading course which has produced outstanding changes in the reading ability and confidence of our pupils. It teaches children to decipher words by recognising the 44 sounds that make up the English language. It is straightforward and easy to grasp. 
We also regularly read