Elements of Excellence
The Elements of Excellence is a whole-school lesson framework designed to secure consistently strong teaching and learning. It provides teachers with a clear structure while ensuring students experience consistency, clarity, and high expectations in every classroom. Although the framework establishes common routines and expectations, it also allows teachers the flexibility to adapt lessons to meet the needs of their subject and learners.
Key features of the framework include:
- Meet and Greet – teachers welcome students at the door, establishing calm routines and readiness for learning.
- Learning Starts in Sixty Seconds – a retrieval activity that revisits prior learning and strengthens long-term memory.
- Connecting Prior and New Learning – teachers explicitly link new content to previously taught knowledge to deepen understanding.
- I Do, We Do – teachers model expert thinking before guiding students through supported practice.
- The Excellence Episode – students complete purposeful independent practice while teachers circulate to check understanding, address misconceptions, and provide feedback.
Together, these elements create a classroom culture built on strong routines, purposeful practice, and academic ambition.
Quality Assurance
Middle Leaders complete two Quality Assurance (QA) cycles across the academic year to monitor the quality of teaching and learning and support continual improvement. As part of this process, all teaching staff are formally observed twice alongside a range of additional QA activities, including:
- Learning walks
- Book and assessment reviews
- Student voice activities
- Standardisation and moderation
- Data analysis
The QA process is developmental and designed to identify effective practice, support professional growth, and maintain consistency across departments. To ensure reliability in evaluation, all Middle Leaders involved in lesson observations are standardised by the Senior Leadership Team (SLT), with additional support provided where required.
Portal of Excellence
The Portal of Excellence is a professional development platform that showcases effective classroom practice across the school. It provides staff with practical examples of teaching aligned to the Elements of Excellence framework and supports ongoing professional development.
The platform is used during coaching conversations and departmental development to demonstrate how key aspects of the framework can be implemented effectively in lessons. By sharing examples of strong practice from within the school, the Portal of Excellence helps to strengthen consistency, develop teaching expertise, and sustain high standards across the curriculum.
