Larchwood Pupil Panels: Learning in Focus

At Larchwood Primary School, pupil panel meetings take place each half term. A selected group of pupils meet with Mr Bowsher, Headteacher, and Mrs Jaycock, Deputy Headteacher. The children bring their exercise books to the Headteacher’s office and, while enjoying refreshments, discuss their learning, reflect on what works well in lessons, and suggest ways in which they feel further support could be provided.

Each half term has a different focus linked to the school’s teaching and learning strategy. Mrs Jaycock, Deputy Headteacher, said:

“Pupil panels give us an opportunity to monitor books closely, gather pupil voice, and see the impact of the interventions we have in place for the group we meet with. The children have been very positive about the learning taking place in their classrooms, with last half term’s focus being reading. The group expressed that they did not enjoy completing reading comprehensions independently (‘cold tasks’), yet unanimously selected these as the pieces of work they were most proud of. This has opened up valuable discussion across the school about how we can tackle challenging tasks and feel a real sense of pride in completing things we initially found difficult.”