As educators, at St John’s we are dedicated to providing a nurturing, challenging and rewarding education empowering our students to be catalysts of positive change in the world. The introduction of St John’s new strategic direction in 2020 and the Strategic Enterprise Model has strengthened the teaching and learning intentions at the College.

Within the People with Purpose Enterprise, fostering a culture of continuous professional improvement through peer mentoring and review has been a key focus at the Junior School. We have sought to leverage the collective wealth of expertise and knowledge of our teaching staff through collaboration in a safe and trusted learning environment. And what has evolved is a professional development teaching directory aptly named Share and Show, Learn and Grow.

Junior School teaching staff have identified areas of personal strength which include:

  • Early Years Maths
  • Curriculum Planning
  • Talk Agreement linked to the Zones of Regulation
  • SEL (Social and Emotional Learning), Formative and Documentation
  • Literacy and Group Rotations
  • Behaviour Management
  • Emotional ABC’s
  • Central Idea and Lines of Inquiry with Students

Staff may reflect upon their own practices and identify areas within the teaching directory that require development subsequently working with a colleague who is willing to “share and show” to assist in their professional development. It is a wonderful way to enable our teachers to become leaders and allow everyone the opportunity to explore, discover and invigorate the art of teaching and learning no matter what stage of their career.

This Learn and Grow Model supports and develops our teachers to be world-class educators and positive role models for our students as they engage in collaboration and mentoring, striving for excellence in their ambition to be People with Purpose.

In the words of highly regarded educational experts, Hargreaves and Fullan (2012) “Teaching like a pro is also different from teaching like a champion…Champions battle alone on behalf of their people. Pros, however, are more effective in achieving their worthy ends because they do this…with the force of the team.”

Martin Brownlow
Head of Junior School