Steps to Success

The Connex ‘Steps to Success” is a pedagogical approach linked closely to the Rosenshine’s Principles in Action (Sherrington, 2019). These principles identify ten evidence-based strategies proven through research to support effective teaching and learning within the classroom.

At Connex, we believe our learners deserve the highest quality education. By embedding these principles into our practice, we ensure our approach is evidence-informed and focused on:

understanding how the brain acquires and applies new information
using highly effective teaching and learning strategies
equipping learners with skills that support lifelong learning

Within the Connex SEMH provision, the teaching of our core subjects (English, Maths and Science) follows our eight ‘Steps to Success’. This approach also underpins teaching across all other subject areas.

	Step	Learner Vocabulary	Link to Rosenshine's Principals in Action	In action at Connex, you will see
1	Retrieval Practice	Retrieve	Daily Review Long Term Retrieval	Retrieval of information from prior learning (mixture of topics)
2	Review prior learning	Recap	Daily review Weekly and monthly review	Recap yesterday’s learning - in problem solving or related to real life context so that it was applicable to all learners
3	Vocab Rich	Vocabulary	Present new material using small steps	Introduce 3-4 words linked to that topic to explain the meaning
4	What are we learning?	Learn more	Present new material using small steps Ask questions	Breaking content into manageable chunks to avoid cognitive overload
5	Model an example	Model	Present new material using small steps Ask questions Provide models Guide student practice Provide scaffolds for difficult tasks	Demonstrate the task using several worked examples, with staff thinking aloud
6	Work together	We apply	Present new material using small steps Ask questions Provide models Guide student practice Check for student misunderstanding Provide scaffolds for difficult tasks	Group/partner problem solving, this could be with peers and support staff, giving immediate support and feedback Monitoring responses and addressing any misconceptions as they occur
7	Independent learning	I apply	Provide models Guide student practice Check for student misunderstanding Obtain a high success rate Provide scaffolds for difficult tasks Independent practice	Independent work with adult oversight, applying new strategies
8	Live marking and feedback	Review	Guide learner practice Check for student misunderstanding Obtain a high success rate Weekly and monthly review	Reflection activities and quizzes

Staff consistently refer to the Connex Steps to Success during teaching to ensure learners are familiar with, and can follow at each stage of the learning process. The Steps to Success are displayed throughout Connex and are embedded within planning formats for our core subjects: English, Maths, and Science.