A strong commitment to high-quality teaching and learning is at the centre of our motto ‘Learning Changes Lives’ and we are relentless in our drive to improve the learning experience of our students.  It is this commitment to teaching and learning that enables us to continue improving our results year on year and for us to be awarded the SSAT Educational Outcomes Award in 2019.

Classroom Practice

At The Quest Academy, we value opportunities for collaboration and celebration of success and our open-door policy, coupled with a best practice table allows teachers the opportunity to observe their colleagues regularly to gain new ideas.

Ensuring the best quality teaching

Each year, we encourage as many of our staff as possible to become examiners or moderators for the exam boards both at GCSE and A Level. With numbers continually increasing, we are ensuring that our students receive not only up-to-date teaching and information but enhance their exam technique.

CPD

We are one of the few schools in the country to receive the Gold Quality Mark Award for CPLD and despite receiving this prestigious award, we continually look for new opportunities to further develop our teachers.

All staff receive 2 hours of CPD every Monday. These sessions enable our staff to learn from best practitioners and cover a range of topics to improve all aspects of teaching and to maximise student learning.  As part of our commitment to ensure we are constantly making positive changes, implementation time is built into these sessions, so departments have an opportunity to collaborate and implement new strategies.

Staff are encouraged to seek out external CPD to benefit their development.  Several teachers are engaged in various NPQ leadership programmes and others are completing their Masters and Doctorates; bringing the benefits of their research into the Academy.

Early Career Teachers

The Quest Academy puts a great deal of time and resources into the development of new teachers. Working closely with Croydon, UCL and Sussex Coast Schools Alliance, we ensure that all Early Career Teachers (ECTs) receive weekly mentoring sessions and tailored ECT support. The Quest Academy also works very closely with Teach First, training teachers at the beginning of their career and shaping them into outstanding practitioners. We are also a member of the South East Learning Alliance working to train the next generation of teachers and leaders.