Why independent education?

Posted on: 15 Jun 2017 by Weston Green School

Research by the Centre for Evaluation and Monitoring (CEM) at Durham University has found that attending an Independent School in England can give pupils benefits equivalent to two additional years in education,  such is the quality and diversity of what we offer. The conclusions of that research are no surprise to those of us who have been in independent education for some time: we know how purposeful the environment, how strong the ethos, how wide-ranging the pupils’ daily educational diet and how focused and energy-filled each day, week and term can be; that rich combination was always going to deliver results which proved the high ‘value-added’.

I believe we have added even more to this wonderful dynamic this year. The teachers have been working together on ways to ensure that that learning environment is active, interactive, vibrant and focussed. In doing so, we have adjusted our own ways of working by sharing best practice regularly.

Add to this an intentional delivery of vital learning characteristics (resilience, independence, risk-taking, creativity, collaboration, high-order thinking) and one can see why children’s learning progresses so quickly. I hope this edition of the newsletter gives you another window into the children’s world – may you enjoy your reading.