THIS week’s In the Classroom feature reporter Grace Walton visited the Year 5 and 6 pupils from Grimley and Holt CE Primary School to see what the children's learning in action.

During my visit to the school in Grimley, near Worcester, the pupils were focusing on persuasive writing as part of the school’s ‘Mantle of the Expert’ programme.

There was plenty of discussion and engagement during the lesson. What stuck out for me was, rather than the pupils asking the teacher for help, they turned to their peers for support. This approach is encouraged by the class teacher, Rachel Watkins.

Mantle of the Experts aims to cover what is going on around the world. The pupil’s act as a company and take on commands which are guided by teachers. The pupils set up a company from scratch – even the core details, such as creating a logo.

Jason Carpenter, teaching assistant said: “The children benefit from Mantle as everything they do has a meaning. They feel part of the company they have created. Their writing, speaking and listening and conversational skills has improved as they do a lot of partner work, communicate with each other and also deliver feedback on a regular basis. They all get on so well and support each other.

“We have a strong focus on building skills needed for adult life. We think it’s better to make the pupils into better people and develop their skills from a young age. Mantle is great, you can take it where you want, and the children can guide it too.”

This term the children have taken on the role as eco tourists and they have been coming up with places to go. It has been geography related and the pupils have been learning about volcanoes.

The pupils were focusing on creating a fundraising project for Comic Relief which was based on celebrities climbing an active volcano. The children had to write a persuasive piece and state whether they were ‘for’ or ‘against’ the event.

Holly Bishop, aged 9, said: “Mantle focuses on different topics around the world. We have a lot of general knowledge and know what is going on outside the country. We have learnt a lot about volcanoes, especially the active ones. Lessons are always interesting with Mrs Watkins. We cover different topics and her teaching is fun. Mrs Watkins does not tell us off if we get anything wrong. She is supportive and tells us what we need to improve on.”

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