At its core, a teacher’s role is to encourage student achievement and growth â€“ ultimately, to help students reach their full potential. 

But teachers have to balance providing the necessary support with classroom teaching, heavy workloads, pressure to achieve good results and demands from parents. So how can teachers help students reach their full potential? 

How to support high-achieving  students

Support is often discussed in terms of the students who struggle â€“ and while that support is essential, supporting high-achieving students is also key in empowering all students to thrive and reach their potential.  

Ways to support high-achieving students include: 

• Differentiating learning and tailoring tasks to challenge them 

• Encouraging independence 

• Building their skills to apply knowledge across subjects – for example, how something learned in a history lesson might be relevant to a text they’re studying in English 

• Identifying and addressing existing or potential challenges to their social, emotional and mental health 

Inclusion and pupil achievement 

Building an inclusive learning environment is key to increasing achievement for all. Inclusive education means a classroom where all students have the opportunity to learn and thrive, including those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). 

Inclusion in schools is increasingly a focus for schools and trusts across the UK, with the Department for Education (DfE) proposing major SEND reforms earlier this year. 

While taking steps towards creating an inclusive classroom is beneficial for students with SEND, inclusion isn’t something that happens overnight. It's important that students are given the specific support they need, such as with:

• An individual learning plan 

• An  for those who need more support â€“ though these may be changing in future due to the DfE’s proposed reforms 

• One-to-one or group learning interventions delivered by a teacher or teaching assistant (TA) 

Learning interventions 

Some students need more support than they can receive in a classroom setting. One way to support these young people is with learning interventions – these are short-term, focused teaching programmes aimed at individuals or small groups. 

Learning interventions are provided alongside regular classroom teaching and are often delivered for students with SEND. 

Essentially, learning interventions are a huge step in enabling students to reach their full potential, as they provide extra learning time and more intensive support for those who need it. 

Providing learning support one-to-one or in a small group is also beneficial by giving each young person a more personalised learning experience. 

Give students the support they need, when they need itÌý

We understandÌýforÌýmany classroom teachers, there’s simply not enough time to address each student’s individual learning needsÌý– butÌýthis is keyÌýfor all students to reach their potential.Ìý

Ensuring your support provision is managed as efficiently as possibleÌýis key toÌýproviding the right support while saving staff time.Ìý

°Â¾±³Ù³óÌý°Õ±ð²õÌýProvision Map, all your learningÌýand SENDÌýsupport provision is kept in one place, centralising and ensuring consistent record-keepingÌýwhile givingÌýstaffÌývaluable time back.Ìý

Keeping all your records in one place simplifies communication with parents andÌýenables you toÌýevidenceÌýyour school’s inclusion practices when it comes to inspectionsÌýsuch as Ofsted.Ìý

How Provision Map helps you better support students:Ìý

• Choose from a library ofÌýover 1,000 SMARTÌýtargets, orÌýadd your ownÌý

• Flexible learning plan templatesÌýmean less time spent on adminÌý

• SENCOs can getÌý20% of their time back, enabling them to prioritise supporting studentsÌý

• Accurate tracking and reportingÌýhelpsÌýschools secure anÌýextra £11,000 in fundingÌýper year onÌýaverageÌý

Read our free guide to explore how the platform can help you enable students at your school to reach their full potential.Ìý

Read the guide