Pupils as learning coaches
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Information about the school
Pantysgallog Primary is a medium sized, English medium school with 324 pupils on roll. The school serves the village of Pantysgallog, which is located between the town of Merthyr Tydfil to the south and the Brecon Beacons to the north, and its surrounding area.
Context and background to the effective or innovative practice
The use of class coaches has been developed as a means of raising the confidence of learners and encouraging independence within pupils.
Description of nature of strategy or activity
Upon returning to school after the COVID lockdowns the school noticed a shift in the behaviour of different cohorts of pupils. Younger pupils had become much more reliant upon the support of adults within their respective settings. During lockdown their home based learning had been heavily scaffolded with the support of adults at home, whilst older pupils had become much more independent. During the lockdown period they had been left to work independently, for varying reasons.
As part of its COVID recovery the school wanted to support younger pupils with the development of independence and at the same time wanted to utilise the independent nature of how older pupils were working upon their return to school.
Staff within each class identified key individuals who have a particular ‘expertise’ in a certain aspect of the curriculum. These aspects were specific to the different year groups and were chosen to be relevant to the pupils within different cohorts. For example, within the nursery setting there is a shoe lace tying class champion. This pupil is someone who others go to for support with tying their shoe laces. The pupil may tie the lace for the pupil, but they will also try and explain the methodology or process. At the other end of the school, in Year 6, they have a maths coach. If a pupil within Year 6 is finding a certain aspect of maths difficult, they can approach the maths coach for support. This coach would go through the mathematical operation of the question causing issues. They use class resources to support this, including class ‘manipulatives’ or the class ‘working wall’.
Images of the different class coaches are displayed within the classroom. This provides a visual reference point that celebrates the success of coaches and provides a means of raising the self-esteem and well-being of pupils. The roles are changed termly so that different pupils have an opportunity to lead on different areas.
The process increases the independence of pupils in respect of the adults within the provision. It strengthens pupils’ relationships, builds confidence in the coaches and consolidates the understanding of different aspects of the curriculum in the coaches.
What impact has this work had on provision and learners’ standards?
In listening to learners, as part of the Monitoring Evaluation and Review (MER) cycle within school, it is clear that pupils are more articulate in relation to their learning. Class teachers and support staff report that the levels of independence have increased in pupils, as has the confidence in the class coaches, who thrive within their roles.