Llantwit Major School Ysgol Llanilltud Fawr

The Llantwit Lesson

At Ysgol Llanilltud Fawr, we are committed to providing high-quality teaching that ensures every learner achieves their full potential. Our approach is structured, consistent, and evidence-based, creating a purposeful learning environment across all subjects.

Every lesson follows our ‘Llantwit Lesson’ structure to maximise learning time and engagement.

• Teachers greet learners at the door, creating a positive and welcoming environment
• Every lesson begins with a 'Do Now' activity - a focused five-minute task that learners complete independently as soon as they enter
• Clear routines are established from the outset, with learners sorting equipment and books before the lesson begins

• We use positive praise and rewards to promote positive attitudes towards learning
• Teachers apply our Engagement Policy consistently across the school
• Staff move around the classroom during lessons, providing support and checking understanding rather than teaching from the front
• We communicate with calmness, role-modelling the behaviours and attitudes we expect from our learners

• Lessons finish with time to reflect on learning and clean up, without wasting valuable learning time
• We highlight the positives by nominating a ‘Learner of the Lesson’ before learners leave
• Any issues are resolved before the next lesson
• Teachers dismiss learners from the door, maintaining the structured approach throughout

Our Instructional Model: I Do - We Do - You Do

We use a three-stage teaching approach that builds learner confidence and independence.

During this stage, learners work in silence while the teacher provides explicit instruction. This goes beyond simple demonstration - teachers actively make their thinking visible by:

• Showing - demonstrating each step of the process
• Telling - explaining what they're doing and why
• Thinking aloud - articulating their thought processes so learners understand the reasoning behind each decision

We ensure active listening through regular questioning to check understanding, and all information provided is directly relevant to the learning tasks that will follow. This explicit approach ensures learners don't just copy what they see, but genuinely understand the concepts and processes being taught.

This is the most critical phase of the lesson. Teachers and learners work through tasks together, with clear success criteria shared at the start. We demonstrate processes step by step, constantly checking for understanding through questioning and addressing any misconceptions immediately.

During this phase, the teacher scaffolds carefully by:

• Asking learners to complete each step with support
• Prompting and reminding them of tricky elements
• Providing immediate feedback on responses
• Working through multiple examples together until the class is ready

This phase has two distinct stages:

Initial Guided Practice - Learners begin working independently, but the teacher provides high levels of guidance through live feedback using techniques such as dot marking, cold-call questioning, and mini whiteboards. The teacher circulates constantly, checking for understanding and providing immediate action points. 

Independent Practice - Only when learners consistently demonstrate high success rates do they move to truly independent practice. At this stage, the purpose shifts to building fluency and automaticity through repeated practice. Teachers continue to monitor, but interventions become less frequent as learners consolidate their understanding.

Key Teaching Techniques

We use specific strategies to ensure all learners engage fully with their learning:

No Opt Out - We don't accept "I don't know" as an answer. Instead, we provide support through cues, allow other learners to help, or provide the answer for the learner to repeat. The key principle is ensuring every learner successfully encodes the information.

Right is Right - We hold high standards for answers, encouraging learners to refine their responses until they are 100% correct. We use prompts such as "Can you develop that further?" or "Can you rephrase using technical language?" to push learners to express themselves precisely.

Cold Call - Rather than relying on hands up, teachers ask a question first, give thinking time, then select a learner to respond. This ensures all learners are actively thinking about every question, not just those who volunteer. It creates an inclusive classroom culture where everyone's contribution is valued and expected. When used positively and supportively, cold calling keeps all learners engaged and accountable for their learning.

While these principles apply across all subjects, how we implement them varies depending on what we're teaching. 'We Do' in mathematics looks different from 'We Do' in essay-writing or practical subjects. Each department adapts the model to suit their subject's specific demands, ensuring the approach is meaningful rather than formulaic.

We continuously evaluate the quality of teaching and learning through:

• Full lesson observations
• Regular learning walks
• Learner voice surveys
• Book scrutiny activities

Our Feedback Approach

Effective feedback is central to learning at Ysgol Llanilltud Fawr. We provide timely, personalised feedback that helps learners understand what they've done well and what they need to do to improve.

We ensure regular, personalised feedback for all learners:

• Subjects with three or more lessons per fortnight: At least one piece of personalised written feedback every 6 teaching weeks
• Subjects with two lessons per fortnight: At least one piece of personalised written feedback every 9 teaching weeks
• Practical and oracy-based subjects (such as IT, French, and Welsh): Learners receive at least three opportunities for written feedback plus formalised verbal feedback

All feedback is recorded in learners' usual exercise books to ensure it's accessible and easy to track. We use a colour-coded system:

• Red/Pink: Teacher feedback and live marking
• Green: Learner self-assessment or peer assessment (with peers initialling their comments)
• Purple: DIRT (Directed Improvement and Reflection Time) - learner responses to feedback

When providing written feedback, teachers follow a clear structure:

Teachers highlight 2-3 specific strengths, always focusing on how well learners have achieved the learning objectives or success criteria - not simply presentation or effort.

Teachers provide 1-2 actionable areas for improvement (always fewer than or equal to the number of WWWs). These are phrased as clear commands beginning with a verb (for example, "Practise..." or "Develop...") so learners know exactly what to do next.

For extended writing (half an A4 page or longer), learners must proofread using "The Llantwit Way" checklist before submission. Teachers use literacy marking codes and circle spelling errors - including subject-specific terminology - but do not correct them. This encourages learners to take ownership of their literacy development.