Growing Learners. Shaping Futures.

At Marwood Primary School, we believe that if we want children to become lifelong learners, adults must be learners too.

Our vision, Growing Learners. Shaping Futures., applies equally to staff and pupils. We are committed to creating a culture where professional learning is valued, collaboration is encouraged and everyone is supported to develop expertise throughout their career.

As a small rural primary school, we offer something distinctive. Staff have opportunities to make a genuine difference, take on leadership responsibilities, contribute to whole-school improvement and work closely with colleagues across Harbour Schools Partnership. Professional learning is woven into the life of the school and is viewed as one of the most powerful ways to improve outcomes for children. 

Whether you are considering teacher training, applying for a teaching position, beginning your Early Career Teacher journey or developing leadership aspirations, we hope this section gives you a flavour of professional life at our school.

Working at Marwood

At Marwood, every member of staff matters.

We offer:

• A welcoming and supportive team.
• A strong village school community.
• High-quality professional development.
• Leadership opportunities at all career stages.
• Trust-wide collaboration and networking.
• A culture of coaching and continuous improvement.
• A commitment to staff wellbeing.
• Opportunities to help shape school improvement.

Because we are a small school, staff have opportunities to contribute meaningfully to wider school development and gain experiences that might take much longer to access in larger settings.

Our Professional Learning Offer

We view professional development as a curriculum in its own right.

Rather than relying on isolated training events, we build knowledge and expertise over time through a coherent, cumulative programme of professional learning.

Whole School Professional Development

All staff engage in:

• Weekly professional learning sessions.
• Safeguarding training and updates.
• INSET days.
• Learning walks and professional dialogue.
• Research-informed teaching and learning development.
• School improvement priorities linked to teaching, curriculum and inclusion.

Subject and Phase Professional Development

Teaching staff access:

• Subject leadership development.
• Curriculum-specific training.
• Harbour Schools Partnership networks.
• Phase-specific development opportunities.
• Collaboration with colleagues across the Trust.

Examples include EYFS, KS1 and KS2 networks, Maths development, English leadership, SEND provision and curriculum leadership training.

Individual Professional Development

Professional development is also personalised and bespoke.

This may include:

• Coaching conversations.
• Leadership projects.
• Professional reading and research.
• Specialist courses.
• Teaching Assistant development.
• Subject leadership pathways.
• NPQs or other professional qualifications.
• Bespoke support for individual interests and career aspirations.

Coaching and Professional Growth

Professional growth at Marwood is built on trust, reflection and professional dialogue.

We use a range of coaching approaches depending on career stage and individual needs, including:

Co-Active Coaching

Collaborative conversations that encourage reflection, professional curiosity and innovation.

Instructional Coaching

Structured support for trainees, Early Career Teachers or staff implementing new approaches.

Facilitative Coaching

Guided professional discussions that encourage autonomy and problem solving.

Our aim is simple: to help staff become even better at what they do while feeling supported, challenged and valued

Initial Teacher Training and Early Career Teachers

We are proud to support the next generation of teachers.

Trainee Teachers

We welcome trainee teachers and work with providers including Exeter Consortium.

Trainees benefit from:

• Supportive mentoring.
• Opportunities to teach across mixed-age classes.
• Exposure to curriculum leadership and school improvement.
• Professional coaching and feedback.

Early Career Teachers

ECTs working at Marwood would receive:

• Structured mentoring.
• Regular instructional coaching.
• Professional development aligned to the Early Career Framework.
• Opportunities to observe effective practice.
• Support from both school and trust colleagues.

Professional Learning in Action

2024-25: Building strong foundations for future success

Our focus during 2024-25 was on strengthening the foundations of teaching and curriculum development following significant curriculum work across the school.

Key themes included:

• Curriculum coherence and progression.
• Adaptive teaching.
• SEND and inclusion.
• Subject leadership development.
• Curriculum implementation.
• Safeguarding.
• Development of our teaching and learning model.

Why?

These priorities supported the next stage of school improvement by creating a more coherent curriculum, consistency in routines and behaviour management and strengthening quality first teaching and building leadership capacity across the school. 

2026-27: Current priorities

This year our professional learning programme is focused on:

• Formative assessment.
• Peer and self-assessment.
• Effective feedback.
• Coaching and professional dialogue.
• Evidence-informed teaching.
• Continued curriculum refinement.
• Safeguarding and inclusion.
• Leadership development.

Why?

Our current priorities are designed to strengthen classroom assessment, improve pupil understanding of learning and further develop professional expertise throughout the school.

Impact

We evaluate the impact of professional development through:

• Learning walks and classroom visits.
• Book scrutiny and curriculum monitoring.
• Staff feedback and professional dialogue.
• Leadership development outcomes.
• Successful support for trainees through Exeter Consortium.
• Pupil outcomes and achievement.

We believe professional development is successful when it improves both staff expertise and outcomes for children.

Our Curriculum and Assessment Handbook provides an overview of teaching, learning and assessment at Marwood Primary School. It outlines our expectations, approaches and curriculum principles and is shared with all teaching staff.