About personalised learning

As defined in the Report of the Teaching and Learning in 2020 Review Group: "Put simply, personalised learning and teaching means taking a highly structured and responsive approach to each child's and young person's learning, in order that all are able to progress, achieve and participate. It means strengthening the link between learning and teaching by engaging pupils - and their parents - as partners in learning."

Personalised learning is not a new initiative. Many schools and teachers have tailored curriculum and teaching methods to meet the needs of children and young people with great success for many years. What is new is our drive to make the best practices universal across all schools, particularly for children whose needs can be the most challenging to meet. We want to help schools and teachers establish their own approaches to personalised learning, so that across the education system the learning needs and talents of young people are used to guide decision making.

Principles at the heart of personalised learning:

To build a successful system of personalised learning, we must begin by acknowledging that giving every single child the chance to achieve their full potential, whatever their talent or background, is not the betrayal of excellence, it is the fulfilment of it. Personalised learning means high quality teaching that is responsive to the different ways students achieve their best.

Each school will need to determine its own plans to deliver personalised learning most effectively, and how best to invest their resources and deploy their staff to cater for the learning priorities of their pupils and according to their own circumstances. When personalised learning is carried out effectively, it will be possible to identify tangible benefits for all involved in the learning process.

The following are likely, although not exclusively, to be the essential features:  

For pupils:

• They will be treated as partners in their learning, with joint responsibility for participating in the design of their learning
• They will have their individual needs addressed, both in school and extending beyond the classroom and into the family and community
• If they start to fall behind in their learning, they will be able to identify their weaknesses and how to improve, and will be given additional support to help them get back on track quickly
• They will receive coordinated support to enable them to succeed to the full, whatever their talent or background
• They will develop respect for others, self-esteem and skills for collaboration through learning in a mutually supportive environment

For parents and carers:

• They will receive regular updates that give clear understanding of what their child can currently do, how they can progress and what help can be given at home
• They will be involved in engaging with their child's learning and in planning their future education
• They will be confident that their child is receiving a high quality education that is designed to meet their learning needs and which will equip them with the skills they need to thrive throughout their lives
• They will have the opportunity to play a more active role in school life and know that their contribution is valued

For teachers and support staff: 

• They will have high expectations of every learner, giving them confidence and skills to succeed
• They will have access to and be able to interpret data on each pupil to inform teaching and learning, incorporating more fine-tuned assessment and lesson planning;
• They will be in a stronger position to share and exchange information about best practice among their colleagues in different schools and through external networks, resulting in opportunities to develop a wide repertoire of teaching strategies
• They will participate in high quality professional development, working with other teachers to develop their skills in understanding the learning needs of their pupils and how best to address those needs and engage them
• They will be able to depend more routinely on the support of non-teaching staff and other adults from outside the school to provide a holistic, tailored educational provision for all their pupils

For schools:

• They will seek to configure their design, resources, curriculum and organisation around the needs of their learners, to reflect a professional ethos that accepts and assumes every child comes to the classroom with a different knowledge base and skill set, as well as varying aptitudes and aspirations
• They will demonstrate a determination for every young person's needs to be assessed and their talents developed through a variety of teaching strategies
• They will have the confidence to innovate and develop approaches to personalising learning that meet the diverse needs of their pupils
• They will put personalising learning at the heart of their vision for transforming teaching and learning

The rationale of these outcomes is clear: to raise standards by focusing teaching and learning on the aptitudes and interests of pupils and by removing any barriers to learning. The fundamental issue is how collectively schools build on this offer for every pupil.

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