Building Learning Power at Wren Secondary Academy

Practice Description

From its inception, Wren Academy worked with educational pioneers in order to integrate the Building Learning Power Approach (BLP). BLP works to create a culture both in the classroom and school as a whole, to cultivate those habits and attitudes that enable young people to become better and independent learners; and face difficulty and uncertainty calmly, confidently and creatively, such as through making how we learn explicit.

The school encourages a respectful community feel. There is no staff room, the canteen is very much a core of the community where staff of all levels and departments sit together with students. They believe the open space and environment supports the growth of soft skills in both pupils and teachers. Anecdotally they report that alumni have appreciated this school environment for the building of their skills.

Teachers are committed to 3 hours of CPD per week (part of the academy day). This includes a one hour department meeting with a PD focus (not administrative!). Other timetabled activities include: Online CPD resources (e.g. retrieval practice, modelling learning habits), then providing a reflection and actions to their group; Developing individual subject knowledge and teaching best practice, and reflecting on these in writing using ‘modelling learning habits’. All professional development is shared on SharePoint and at the end of each term they report back to their department. Additionally, for one term, each teacher takes on the role of a TA, which helps with SEND understanding, and supports learning from other teachers’ practices.