Staff Spotlight

Progressive teaching which elevates outcomes

The Leeds East Academy Staff Spotlight is a regular feature where we focus on the outstanding work of teachers, leaders and support staff across our whole school community. Our first Staff Spotlight looks at the outstanding work of Ms Akhtar. 

Ms Akhtar is a specialist History teacher who also teaches Geography, RE, Citizenship and English. She joined Leeds East Academy in September this year and has quickly become very popular with students and colleagues within the Humanities team. 

Ms Akhtar explains: "My classes are mixed ability, so it is important to focus on a broad range of outcomes in each lesson. I draw upon kinaesthetic learning (a method using physical activities) with my English classes. One of my recent lessons was based around senses, using sensations and language to describe, say, a scary location. So I provided students with a sweet at the beginning of the lesson and asked them to describe what they could see, smell and taste from the sweet and what could they feel from the wrapper. This proved to be a very engaging process which we all enjoyed, providing imaginative outcomes in their written work." 

"With my EAL pupils I provide alternate journeys for every lesson. Students work their way through translated tasks, which are still similar to what everyone else is achieving in the lesson, however the task is more suited to their personal targets. Like the rest of the class they access an examination question and learn the same topic, but perhaps with a slightly different focus so they absorb specific information. It's important to ensure that the lesson is universally accessible to all learners in the class, whilst furthering and challenging everyone's ability." 

Ms Akhtar has also been producing revision guides with her GCSE classes: "With Year 9 we've produced a guide on America in the 1920s, focusing on content revision and differentiated homework. Following a test, I will often give students a content revision homework or a source question. I also like to ensure all of their exam papers are collated into one, partnered with marking schemes, allowing students to assess themselves at home and during the holidays, which has worked well." 

Mr Stokes, Principal, adds: "Ms Akhtar is an outstanding teacher and one of the first to arrive in the morning and last to leave at night, investing her time to deliver imaginative and high-quality lessons. Ms Akhtar's lessons are vibrant and engaging, leading on our 60 Second Challenge whilst consistently promoting our Seven Core Values. She has enthusiastically met all expectations around our improvements in procedures and policies, ensuring that every student reaches their full potential. Ms Akhtar's work demonstrates my new standard and expectations in teaching; providing an exceptional learning experience for each and every student."