The secondary curriculum review
Targeted intervention is designed to support learners who have fallen behind, who are working beyond age-related expectations, or who have a particular gift or talent.
Effective provision includes:
Many schools have adopted a systematic approach to teaching and learning based on three 'waves' of tailored support. Schools can use this approach to plan, design and tailor effective and appropriate provision.
Wave 1 provision focuses on high-quality inclusive teaching tailored to all learners' needs and prior learning, and supported by effective whole-school policies and frameworks. Planning and schemes of work should be designed to move all learners from where they are to where they need to be. Where there are large numbers of learners that share the same learning needs, then the best solution is to adjust the planning to cater for them. It means setting a new trajectory for the learning programme to take learners to where they need to be in terms of age-related expectations. Effective wave 1 teaching makes good use of yearly transition data and information to anticipate the needs of learners.
Wave 2 provision is designed to increase rates of progress and secure learning for groups of learners, putting them back on course to meet or exceed national expectations. It usually takes the form of a tight, structured programme of small-group support, carefully targeted and delivered by teachers, or teaching assistants who have the skills to help learners achieve their learning objectives. It can occur outside (but in addition to) whole-class lessons, or be built into mainstream lessons as part of guided work. Critically, this kind of support needs to help learners apply their learning in mainstream lessons and to ensure that motivation and progress in learning are sustained. The outcome of wave 2 intervention is for learners to be back on track to meet or exceed national expectations at the end of the key stage.
Wave 3 teaching involves one-to-one or very small group support via a specialist teacher, highly trained teaching assistant or academic mentor, to support learners towards the achievement of very specific targets. The aim is to accelerate and maximise progress and to minimise performance gaps.
There are certain features of lesson or session design - whether for a whole class, a small group or an individual - that are critical to success:
Cross-curricular support is critical in secondary schools as learners can be taught by up to nine different teachers, and unless the newly acquired literacy and numeracy skills are consolidated and applied in other lessons they will not take hold. What works is a combination of specifically tailored support in combination with teaching and learning across the curriculum so that learners' progress is sustained wherever they go in the school.
Taking a whole-school approach allows schools to look at intervention across the curriculum, to share objectives and integrate strategies. The emphasis should be on supporting, tracking and sustaining the achievement of all learners.
The teaching and learning approaches needed to challenge the most able will be of value and benefit to all learners. A key feature of effective provision is flexibility and an understanding that ability is not static and that some learners will only emerge as gifted in response to challenging opportunities.
The most effective teaching of gifted and talented learners will:
Teaching and learning should be suitably challenging and varied, incorporating the breadth, depth and pace required to progress high achievement. Learners should routinely work independently and self-reliantly and reflectively. What is central is what happens in classrooms on a daily basis: provision should enable ability to emerge and flourish; it should not just identify a small group and always treat them differently.
Effective teaching:
To support targeted intervention the Secondary National Strategy has produced The intervention toolkit, progression maps and training modules on intervention and on teaching the gifted and talented. These are available on the Standards website.
