Teachers' Standard 5

Adapt teaching to respond to the strengths and needs of all pupils:

know when and how to differentiate appropriately, using approaches which enable pupils to be taught effectively
have a secure understanding of how a range of factors can inhibit pupils’ ability to learn, and how best to overcome these
demonstrate an awareness of the physical, social and intellectual development of children, and know how to adapt teaching to support pupils’ education at different stages of development
have a clear understanding of the needs of all pupils, including those with special educational needs; those of high ability; those with English as an additional language; those with disabilities; and be able to use and evaluate distinctive teaching approaches to engage and support them.

Early Career Teachers can find out more by listening to our podcasts

Our short podcasts offer advice and tips from our Quality Assurance Officers and expert guest speakers, who look at what ECTs should focus on to meet the different teachers’ standards, what great practice looks like for ECTs, how they can build evidence and work with their mentor to pass their assessment , as well as insights into what assessors are looking for in the assessment of the Teachers’ Standards.

Prior knowledge: A guide for ECTs

Isabel Instone, the Secondary Curriculum Lead at Ark Teacher Training explores what ECTs need to know about prior knowledge and how they can apply it to their practice for their assessment.

The Assessment, Evaluation and Adaptation Cycle: A guide for ECTs

Ryan Kendall, the Primary Curriculum Lead at Ark Teacher Training talks about The Assessment, Evaluation and Adaptation Cycle. He discusses why it is important and how ECTs can develop and evidence this area of practice for their assessment.

The Assessment of Teachers’ Standard 5

Jacky Glancey, a Quality Assurance Officer for NTA, shares her insights into what Early Careers Teachers need to do to meet Teachers’ Standard 5 and what assessors are looking for.

Top Tips for mentors on writing assessments for ECTs

Click below for advice and tips from NTA’s Quality Assurance Officers on writing ECT assessments.

Evidence

Where do I get evidence from to show that the NQT is meeting TS5?

Evidence needs to demonstrate that the Early Career Teacher (ECT) is able to adapt their teaching to respond to the strengths and needs of all pupils. Examples of where this evidence can be found include:

Lesson plans: e.g. where the lesson plan details a shared learning goal for the group and identifies where and what support will be given for those who need it, such as writing frames, coloured overlays, graphic organisers, use of a laptop etc.
Flexible groupings: e.g. where groupings are used flexibly as a result of formative assessment.
Context sheets: e.g. where the context sheets detail specific needs of some students and strategies commonly used to support learning, such as, using images to support the explanation of new concepts for a student with English as an Additional Language.
Conversations, emails and plans shared with Teaching Assistants or other support staff: e.g. where these communications evidence the conscious use of strategies and choices to provide support for particular students or groups of students.
Examples of formative assessment: e.g. where the formative assessment allows the ECT to assess and then direct student to the next stage in their learning, or where the formative assessment informs the ECT whether the learning is secure for all / some / few students and prompts a choice in terms of whether or not the ECT moves on or re-explains a concept using a different strategy.
Lesson materials: e.g. where the lesson materials include a graphic organiser to support working memory for students, or a writing frame for some students, or concrete examples to support cognition etc.
Feedback which moves learners on: e.g. marking and verbal feedback which clarifies what the next steps for a student should be.
CPD record which evidences that the ECT has attended and benefitted from CPD that has developed their knowledge on adaptive teaching: e.g. notes from a CPD session on dyslexia and a resulting lesson plan or observation showing how the ECT has employed suggested strategies for particular students.

For more advice on how to get evidence for ECT assessments, watch NTA's short presentation below.

Evaluative Statements

Points to consider when writing evaluative statements for Teachers’ Standard 5:

Does the ECT demonstrate a clear understanding that:

all students are different?
students will arrive at the lesson with differences in their prior knowledge and retention of previously taught content?
students with SEN or disabilities are likely to require additional or adapted support to access lessons?

Does the ECT:

take steps to remove barriers so that all students can access learning?
engage effectively with colleagues / family / students / safeguarding leads / those with specialist knowledge and expertise to understand the barriers faced by students and identify effective strategies?
monitor the impact of the steps taken and replan / change strategies if necessary?
identify students who need new content breaking down and take steps to do so?
reframe questions to provide greater support or stretch for students?
use formative assessment effectively to identify which students require greater support and / or challenge?
use intervention in an efficient manner to support students?
make effective use of strategies such as, dual coding, use of graphic organisers, scaffolding, writing frames etc to offer additional support?
plan lessons that stretch the most able whilst offering support to those that need it?
Use the SEND code of practice to develop a greater understanding of their pupils?

Example evaluative statements

‘X habitually uses formative assessment tasks after the input of new knowledge, in her KS3 Maths lessons, in order to quickly and efficiently assess how well the group and individuals have understood the new content. X then makes a decision to reteach aspects, identify and deal with common misconceptions, probe incorrect answers, and / or set some students off whilst regrouping other students to re-explain (often with the use of dual coding), this ensures that students make good progress in their lessons. Examples of this were observed in learning walks on 11th February, 15^th May and 19^th June’.

‘Y has made effective use of information from an EAL specialist in order to plan strategies to support a Year 9 students who has recently arrived in the country with very little English. X regularly sends the EAL specialist key vocabulary for the lesson, which is then used in 1:1 support sessions and uses images as often as possible when talking to the student and has made sure that the student is sitting next to another students who shares the same home language. X reviews her plan monthly and has adapted it in light of new information about the student’.

How to write an evaluative statement

An evaluative statement should include a qualitative statement along with something that is being judged, the extent to which it occurs and an example that helps to demonstrate the circumstances in which this was perceived or observed. This could be described as an ESEE statement where:

E = Evaluation
S = Subject
Ext = Extent
Exa = Example

Areas For Development

Areas to consider when setting targets for teachers’ standard 5

It is not realistic for ECTs to develop expert and fully comprehensive knowledge of every potential barrier that can be faced by students. It might be wise to work with the ECT to select one area at a time that will positively impact some of the students taught by the ECT this year, for example dyslexia, low literacy levels, slow processing. Choose areas for development that will allow the ECT to develop their practice by making choices that are practical, developmental, achievable and measurable.

Example targets

‘Create and regularly review an action plan for student Y in order to identify barriers to learning and plan strategies to remove these barriers. Create the plan with student X’s input, as well as input from her tutor and Head of Year (and family if this is appropriate). Identify and read / watch / take part in relevant CDP books / articles / podcasts / sessions. Share the plan with those concerned and review every two weeks. Adapt the plan when necessary’.

‘Regularly plan in formative assessment activities that will allow you to quickly and efficiently identify who is struggling with new content. Identify what additional support may be required for these students and plan activities to support them with this. Observe teacher X and teacher Y using strategies designed for this purpose (e.g. whiteboard feedback and hinge questions)’.

How to write an area for development

When designing areas for development there should be a clear line of sight with the evaluative statement.

Focussed	Is the afd focussed on the specific standard?

Practical	Does the afd provide a practical action?

Developmental	Is the afd likely to develop knowledge, skill, understanding?

Achievable	Is the afd realistic?

Measurable	Will the afd be able to measure this quantitatively or qualitatively?

For more detailed guidance on writing a good assessment, read the following guide.

60 seconds with a recently qualified teacher

Recently qualified teacher Anna talks about what helped her pass her induction.

1. What advice would you give to an ECT trying to differentiate appropriately?

Make use of formative assessment, e.g. by employing interactive quizzes that include common misconceptions (Kahoots.com is an absolute favourite among the children in my class!)
Invest your time in getting to know your children and their personal interests, and include these in your lessons.
Use your time wisely and don’t overcomplicate your differentiation

2. What tips would you give to ensure that when trying to meet the needs of all your learners you don’t create an unnecessary workload?

Consider mixed-ability seating plans (might be different for different lessons)
Most valuable advice I was given about managing lesson preparation: if it takes you longer to prepare a resource than you will spend using it, it is not worth your time

3. How did you develop your knowledge of adapting your teaching to meet the needs of your pupils?

Observed more experienced colleagues
Took part in appropriate CPD (SEN and Outdoor Learning were particularly useful)

4. Is there anything you think is a must read to develop your practice of differentiation?

M. Hughes ‘Magenta Principles’
R. Ritchart ‘The Power of Making Thinking Visible’

5. What challenges did you face when trying to meet the needs of all pupils and how did you overcome them?

At first, I found it challenging to provide appropriate work for higher attainers and I had to overcome this by asking more experienced teachers for some strategies. Never be scared to ask your colleagues for advice.

6. What did you find useful that your mentor did to help you develop in this area?

My mentor always looked at my planning ahead of my lessons, giving me tips on how to improve differentiation. After a while, I felt confident in designing appropriate tasks for all abilities in the class.

7. How did you evidence this for your assessment?

Lesson plans
Examples of differentiated work (one piece of work from each group. e.g. HAPs, MAPs, LAPs)
Annotated journal articles

8. If you won the lottery, what would you buy first?

Another lottery ticket.

9. Would you rather swim in the sea or in the pool?

Sea, in any weather!

Anna Szmak
Class Teacher, Milton Keynes

Opening quote Never be scared to ask your colleagues for advice. Closing quote

Early Career Framework

The Early Career Framework outlines what early career teachers should learn about, as well as what they need to learn how to do. It is based on expert guidance and research evidence. The framework should be central to all ECTs’ development.

Click below to see the “Learn that…” and “Learn how to…” statements.

Learn that...

Pupils are likely to learn at different rates and to require different levels and types of support from teachers to succeed.
Seeking to understand pupils’ differences, including their different levels of prior knowledge and potential barriers to learning, is an essential part of teaching.
Adapting teaching in a responsive way, including by providing targeted support to pupils who are struggling, is likely to increase pupil success.
Adaptive teaching is less likely to be valuable if it causes the teacher to artificially create distinct tasks for different groups of pupils or to set lower expectations for particular pupils.
Flexibly grouping pupils within a class to provide more tailored support can be effective, but care should be taken to monitor its impact on engagement and motivation, particularly for low attaining pupils.
There is a common misconception that pupils have distinct and identifiable learning styles. This is not supported by evidence and attempting to tailor lessons to learning styles is unlikely to be beneficial.
Pupils with special educational needs or disabilities are likely to require additional or adapted support; working closely with colleagues, families and pupils to understand barriers and identify effective strategies is essential.

Learn how to...

Develop an understanding of different pupil needs, by:

Identifying pupils who need new content further broken down.
Making use of formative assessment.
Working closely with the Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator (SENCO) and special education professionals and the Designated Safeguarding Lead.
Using the SEND Code of Practice, which provides additional guidance on supporting pupils with SEND effectively.

Provide opportunity for all pupils to experience success, by:

Adapting lessons, whilst maintaining high expectations for all, so that all pupils have the opportunity to meet expectations.
Balancing input of new content so that pupils master important concepts.
Making effective use of teaching assistants.

Meet individual needs without creating unnecessary workload, by:

Making use of well-designed resources (e.g. textbooks).
Planning to connect new content with pupils’ existing knowledge or providing additional pre-teaching if pupils lack critical knowledge.
Building in additional practice or removing unnecessary expositions.
Reframing questions to provide greater scaffolding or greater stretch Considering carefully whether intervening within lessons with individuals and small groups would be more efficient and effective than planning different lessons for different groups of pupils.

Group pupils effectively, by:

Applying high expectations to all groups, and ensuring all pupils have access to a rich curriculum.
Changing groups regularly, avoiding the perception that groups are fixed.
Ensuring that any groups based on attainment are subject specific.

Back to all Teachers' Standards