Teaching Learning & Assessment Policy and Process

Guiding Principles

Pinehirst Education’s aim is to promote a culture that effectively breaks down the barriers to learning by creating a safe and stimulating environment based on individual need. And a second opportunity to succeed.


Students work towards academic success whilst developing social and emotional skills, preparing them to lead an active and fulfilling part in society. 

Staff are highly skilled, professional dedicated and determination to support and offer positive learning experiences at Pinehirst Education.


Head Office: 36 St Anne Street, Liverpool, L3 3DS.


Responsible person: Paul Morton P.morton@Pinehirst Education.net 

Developing excellence for our students who may have experienced negative educational experiences in the past. Presently offering and in the future, student centred, assessment centred, engaging second chances at learning. preparing for a life of challenges by delivering inspirational teaching and learning.


Pinehirst Education is committed to providing high quality teaching, learning and assessment to enable all students to achieve their full potential. This will be achieved through high quality teaching and learning opportunities, rigorous assessment, feedback, and the sharing of good practice.

The Teaching and Learning Policy and Process aims to provide an effective framework for the delivery of high quality teaching and learning.


This policy and process relates to all Pinehirst Education staff engaged in facilitating, supporting, and managing learning. It applies to all learning offered through the Pinehirst Education provision. The policy is informed by the Teaching, Learning and Assessment Strategy documents both internal and external governing and awarding bodies criteria and expectations.

Pinehirst Education delivers a range of courses to develop our students ready for employment and further studies.


The Teaching and Learning policy and Process aims to provide a holistic overview of processes to support the effective delivery of teaching and learning across all these specific remits, while recognising that each remit has its own external policy drivers and influences.

The key external policy drivers include the QAA Quality Code, Teaching Excellence and Student Outcomes Framework, UK Professional Standards Framework.

The Teaching and Learning Policy and Process aims to ensure that teaching at Pinehirst Education is inspirational and of the highest quality by:

  • All students having the opportunity to succeed and be empowered to fulfil their potential, placing the Student at the centre of the learning process, active promotion of diversity and equality of opportunity, the self-esteem and aspirations of all students being raised through mutual support and commitment.

  • All staff and students having high expectations and working together to develop high levels of achievement and success, ensuring students are retained and achieve their qualification developing employability skills as part of the curriculum, taking opportunity to develop Maths, English, and digital skills as appropriate, providing excellent progression opportunities, to employment, or further and higher learning.

  • Celebrating success, of both students and staff using assessment to provide effective learning opportunities through feedback, ensuring levels of student satisfaction and learner voice feedback are listened to across all courses to inform and inspire students, promoting a culture of academic excellence.

  • Informed teaching the subject expertise and educational content and knowledge of staff leading to excellent teaching and Learning. Actively promoting best practice in terms of embedding sustainability, particularly in the areas of resource efficiency, recycling, energy efficiency.

‘Providing outstanding teaching and learning by offering a second chance at Education, Skills and learning for young people studying at Pinehirst Education ’.

Frank Smith

Chairperson Pinehirst Education


  • Pinehirst Education will inspire students to exceed their aspirations through motivating and challenging courses with highly qualified and driven staff.

  • Pinehirst Education will deliver a student experience which consistently exceeds expectations.

  • Pinehirst Education will create an outstanding pastoral, teaching and learning environment and offer a second chance at Education, Skills and Learning.

  • Pinehirst Education will provide a learning environment and experience that inspires students to exceed their expectations and achieve what they never felt able.

  • This policy embraces Pinehirst Education Values ensuring a second chance at personal and educational development.

  • Respect for yourself, each other, and the environment

  • Welcoming, honest and student centred offering a second opportunity at Education.

  • Happy, safe, and supportive environment.

  • Inspiring students and staff to be the best.

  • Positive and innovative


Roles and Responsibilities for Teaching and Learning Practice

Pinehirst Education will provide:

  • An induction for all staff who deliver teaching and learning.

  • A clean, tidy, and well-maintained environment,

  • A safe environment following Pinehirst Education health and safety Process.

  • Access to resources that enable effective teaching, learning and assessment to take place and appropriate learning outcomes to be achieved,

  • A stimulating environment with displays of students’ work, research activity, posters, and relevant learning materials,

  • A welcoming environment for all students promoting equal opportunities.

  • Access and promotion of digital technology

  • Curriculum delivery that provides interaction, flexibility and encourages a wide range of teaching and learning activities,

  • Opportunities for teaching and learning to be discussed and promoted with good practice and techniques being shared,

  • Information regarding students with SEND and necessary adjustments, including access arrangements for assessments, to be shared with all members of the team.

  • Support for teaching staff through internal and external guidance.

  • Appropriate Continuous Professional Development (CPD) opportunities for teaching staff.

  • Tutors will ensure that all lessons are prepared and delivered to the highest standard.

  • Learning sessions at Pinehirst Education will:

  • Show clear evidence of planning with learning outcomes appropriate to the level and used to monitor student/learner progress.

  • Meet the needs of all individuals with, where appropriate, the full involvement of Inclusive Learning in the planning and delivery of the session,

  • Meet all course / programme objectives and requirements,

  • Build on students’ prior knowledge and understanding, using formative assessment to monitor progress and inform future learning,

  • Have strong links between theory, practical and industry practices,

  • Promote independent learning.

  • Be informed by current research and scholarly activity.

  • Have completed up to date Risk Assessments.

  • Follow relevant Process in relation to Health and Safety,

  • Adhere to Pinehirst Education policy regarding safeguarding.

  • Use findings from learner feedback to improve planning and delivery,

  • Generate learner confidence through the sound subject knowledge of tutors.

  • Use learning methods that inspire and challenge students.

  • Actively promote the development of digital skills, Maths and English and British Values in lessons.

  • Promote and demonstrate Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion

  • Provide a teaching schedule that shows the outline plan for the module and provides opportunity for students to plan ahead,

  • Promote the use of other learning resources such as the library in the support of learning and the provision of additional learning opportunities,

  • Provide opportunity for students to take part in module/course evaluation surveys (student voice) to provide effective evaluation and shape future improvements.

  • Promote best practice in terms of sustainability.

  • Enable tutors to reflect on and develop their practice.

  • Include marking of assessments that is accurate, consistent, and diagnostic, identifies incorrect spelling and grammar and provides effective feedback that leads to improvements.

  • Pinehirst Education staff will be expected to manage the learning environment in line with Pinehirst Education policies on attendance, discipline, and quality.

  • Registers will be completed for each timetabled session.

  • Poor attendance and punctuality will be monitored, and action promptly taken.

  • Students will be expected to use time effectively and take responsibility for their own learning in timetabled sessions and throughout the Pinehirst Education ,

  • Discipline issues will be dealt with promptly by staff with the appropriate reporting Process followed.

  • Observation of Teaching and Learning

  • The lesson observation process is fundamental to enhancing and improving the learning experience and supporting staff in the development of their teaching and management of learning.

  • Roles and Responsibilities

  • It is the responsibility of individual members of staff to:

  • Be familiar with and maintain the standards of performance expected of them

  • •Comply with, and undertake, appropriate CPD relating to improving teaching, learning and

  • assessment.

  • Comply with any action plans that are developed as a result of the opportunities to learn process.

  • It is the responsibility of lesson observers to:

  • Attend lesson observation training and standardisation meetings.

  • Be familiar with policies and Processes associated with lesson observation.

  • Ensure that the lesson observation Process is fairly and consistently applied.

  • Ensure that standards of performance and expectations are clearly communicated and understood.

  • Ensure that the professional discussion following lesson observation is timely, supportive, and appropriate.

  • It is the responsibility of all Pinehirst Education Inclusive Learning Staff and management to:

  • Liaise with teaching staff to ensure students’ individual needs are met in each lesson.

  • Review and update all processes and documentation relating to the lesson observation process.

  • Provide a robust opportunity to learn process that meets the needs of students, Management, and relevant external bodies.

  • Report the outcomes of lesson observations to the Director of Curriculum level.

  • Support and train lesson observers in all aspects of the Lesson Observation process.

  • Ensure that timely advice and support is readily available to managers and staff on the implementation of this policy.

  • Provide detailed analysis of lesson observation outcomes to inform the planning of appropriate CPD.

  • Liaise and the delivery of an effective teaching and learning CPD programme.

  • Provide moderation of the process to ensure that standards are maintained and improvements in the process identified and acted upon.

  • Make opportunities to learn support materials available.

  • The Observation Process for staff teaching timetabled lessons at Pinehirst Education sites:

  • All staff who deliver timetabled or planned teaching sessions at all Pinehirst Education sites will be observed.

  • Observations, other than peer observations, will be carried out by appropriately experienced and trained members of staff including Senior Management Team and the Director of Curriculum

  • Staff will have at least four and up to six observations each year, these observations will be based on a walk through concept. Each observation will be at least 20 minutes in duration. Feedback regarding the strengths, areas to develop and action plan.

  • Learning Walks will be used as a means of observations in place of observations where appropriate. There will be 10 Learning Walks in the academic year and theses walks will follow the following schedule:

 

Month          Theme

September   Induction, Behaviour & Attitudes

October        Registrations & Quality Processes

November     English & Maths

December     Work Scrutiny, Marking & Feedback

January         Progress Reviews & Tracking

February      Work Experience/ Work Placement

March          Pace, Stretch & Challenge

April             Careers Information Advise & Guidance

May              Assessment, Formative & Summative

June             Progressions/Next Steps


  • Feedback should have no more that 3 or 4 strengths/areas to develop identified. The process is to support teachers and more than this would be excessive for a 20 minute observation.

  • Observers should distinguish lesson strengths and norms. I.e. students working safely really should be the norm, not a specific strength.

  • A professional discussion must take place following the observation, enabling the teacher to reflect on their practice and strengths and areas to develop and actions agreed by the observer and teacher. Teachers should be offered relevant CPD opportunities to develop their practice and share good practice with others.

  • It is usual for observations to have at least one area for development, identified by the teacher/observer during the professional discussion - this is where sharing of effective practice could be highlighted.

  • The observation form should be returned to the Director of Curriculum with coding complete for data reporting from the observation process.

  • Observers have the right to extend the length of the observation in order to gather more

  • evidence to inform their judgements on the strengths and areas to develop of the lesson.

  • Observations will be conducted on all types of lesson including personal and group tutorials.

  • and a sample of tutorials from each learning area will be observed.

  • External Standardisation will take place at a time decided by the Director of Curriculum.

  • All observers will have a minimum of one joint observation per year with a member of the

  • Management Team or the Director Of Curriculum in order to validate the judgements made and subsequent action planning.

  • The Director of Curriculum will chair/report standardisation meetings, which will be held termly.

  • The purpose of the meeting is to ensure the quality of judgments and reporting, identify good practice and areas for improvement in the process.

  • All observers should attend all standardisation meetings.

  • Lesson observation outcomes will be used to inform staff reviews and CPD for all academic staff.

  • Pinehirst Education recognises that there may be times when, for a variety of reasons, it is inappropriate to observe a member of staff at that point in time.

  • The Quality Assurance and Observation process for staff working remotely:

  • All staff working remotely will attend a Performance Meetings three times a year. At this board, a range of performance metrics will be reviewed including success rates of students, caseload management, at risk students, learner reviews, and learner voice feedback.

  • Students will be sampled for each assessor tutor and a detailed review of their teaching, learning and assessment activity will take place.

  • Strengths, weaknesses, and areas to develop will be identified and agreed with staff. Staff should be offered relevant CPD opportunities to develop their practice and share good practice with others.

  • Online modules will be reviewed for quality with particular focus on the range of content, quality of content, student participation and student learning experience and in line with normal Educational regulatory expectations for the delivery of a quality teaching and learning experience.

  • Online reviews will be coded in line with on-site observations and subject to actions plans and support as described above.

Trainee Teachers

The new member of staff then continues to have at least three observations a year. Observers have the right to extend the length of the observation in order to gather more evidence to inform their judgements on the strengths and weaknesses of the lesson.

  • Trainee teachers undertaking their Initial training are supported by the Management team through teaching observations that are an assessed part of their course.

  • These observations involve pre and post observation discussion and support with planning.

  • Trainee teachers will be observed as part of Pinehirst Education observation process in addition to their formal course observations.

  • This provides them with developmental feedback and enables their departmental observer to offer subject specific support and expertise through professional discussion, as well as providing an overview of their teaching performance.

Peer Observations

All teaching staff are required to observe another tutor at least once per academic year. The purpose of the observation is for the mutual benefit of both the observer and the observe with the aim of encouraging dialogue on teaching, learning and assessment and the sharing of good practice.


The main aim is to encourage self-reflection of the teacher observing another teacher. They are not graded, nor judgements made and there is no central monitoring of the outcomes.

  • Records of the observation will be held by the CPD Team to monitor completion.

  • All staff are required to log the completion of their peer observations.

  • Observations will last at least 45 minutes and with reflection and dialogue count to at least two hours mandatory CPD.

  • Outcomes from opportunities to learn.

  • Observed tutors who demonstrate consistent strengths will be encouraged to share good practice with their appropriate team.

Observed tutors with significant areas for improvement over a minimum of three unannounced observations will be identified by the observer and referred to the Director of Curriculum.

Staff will be supported with the action plan initiated.

To assist the member of staff in achieving the necessary improvements the plan must cover:

  • The areas for and strategies how to achieve the desired improvement.

  • The measurable improvement required.

  • The time scales within which the improvement must be achieved, and any additional support required.

  • The date on which progress will be reviewed.

Pinehirst Education reserves the right to invoke the Professional Difficulties Process if there is significant cause for concern about the performance of a member of staff.

All action plans must be submitted to the Quality assurance processes.


Appeals Process

Informal

It is hoped that the Process, guidance, and information provided will ensure that the situations are avoided where a formal Process is required, and every effort should be made to resolve any issues arising from lesson observations ‘informally’ through positive dialogue and clarification.

Formal

If a dispute cannot be resolved informally, the member of staff should appeal in writing to the Head of Teaching and Learning, stating the grounds for the appeal within 5 working days of receiving feedback.

The appeal process will take the form of a panel meeting, conducted by; the Director of Curriculum, and an independent member of the observation team.

The member of staff will be given the opportunity to state his or her case at the meeting and will be entitled to be accompanied by a work colleague as observer. If the member of staff chooses not to attend, the panel will undertake a paper review of the evidence.


There are three possible outcomes from an appeal:

  • The Appeal is upheld, and no record of the observation is retained.

  • The Appeal is upheld and the outcomes of the observation, in terms of areas for improvement and actions, are retained and the member of staff is required to respond to them accordingly.

  • The appeal is NOT upheld, the outcomes of the observation are retained and the normal Process, as identified in this policy, is followed.

The decision of the panel will be made in writing within 5 working days of the meeting and will be final.

Analysis of Lesson Observation Outcomes

All outcomes relating to lesson observation and online reviews will be processed, analysed and reports produced to meet the requirements of the Pinehirst Education ’s quality cycle. Outcomes from lesson observations and online reviews will inform the relevant area’s requiring improvement or receiving praise.


All Pinehirst Education Policies are subject to screening for Equality Impact Assessment

Equality Impact Assessments are carried out to see whether the policy has, or is likely to have, a negative impact on grounds of age, disability, gender reassignment, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, marriage or civil partnership, sex, or sexual orientation.

Pinehirst Education not only fulfils its legal position in relation to current and future equality legislation, but additionally goes beyond compliance in providing and promoting “ A second Opportunities for all to succeed”, free from any aspect of discrimination, harassment, or victimisation.


All staff have a duty of care to look after the interests of and support their colleagues. This policy takes account of our commitment to eliminating discrimination, identifying, and removing barriers and providing equal opportunities for our learners, staff, and visitors to ensure that no one feels excluded or disadvantaged.


Safeguarding, Child Protection, Prevent and Missing from Education

All staff have a responsibility to support and promote Pinehirst Education Education’s commitment to providing a safe environment for students, staff, and visitors. Additionally, all staff have a responsibility to report any safeguarding or Prevent issues to the Designated Senior Lead for Safeguarding.


Document Version: 2 (June 2023) (REVIEW DATE June 2024)

Teaching and learning policy and process June 2023.

Author PNM

Quality Assurance

This Policy and Process maps to the following external quality assurance frameworks

• Inspection Framework

• MATRIX

• QAA

• QIA

• ESFA