Teaching culture

At Dixons, everything we do is designed to ensure teachers can teach and students can learn, every lesson, every day. 

We believe that high-quality instruction, delivered consistently, is the most powerful lever we have to transform lives. That belief shapes our culture, our professional development, and our expectations. 

A culture that puts learning first 

Our academies are calm, purposeful places. Expectations are explicit and routines are clear, allowing teachers to focus on the quality of their instruction. We explicitly teach our learning habits and classroom routines - this shared culture creates classrooms with time and space for students to think hard and participate. 

Senior leaders are highly visible and know their first priority is to support staff and students. We keep our approach simple, evidence‑informed, and focused, reducing unnecessary workload and protecting teachers’ time and attention. 

A shared approach to excellent instruction 

All teaching at Dixons is rooted in our trust Instruction Principles. These provide a clear, coherent framework that underpins curriculum, teaching, coaching and professional development across our academies. 

Our principles include: 

1. Evidence‑informed teaching 

2. Planning for excellence 

3. Clear, flexible routines 

4. Effective formative assessment 

5. Strategic retrieval practice 

6. Modelling and scaffolding 

7. Adaptive teaching 

8. Development of literacy and reading 

9. Joy in learning 

10. Flexible grouping 

11. Effective feedback 

12. Warm challenge 

This shared instructional backbone means teachers are not left guessing. There is clarity about what great teaching looks like. 

Coaching, practice and professional growth 

Every teacher at Dixons benefits from ongoing instructional coaching. We believe improvement comes through deliberate practice, focused on high‑leverage classroom routines and strategies. 

Professional development is practical, relevant and responsive. Coaching is rooted in our instruction principles and focuses on techniques that increase participation ratio, think ratio and accountability ratio for students. At Dixons, we invest in your professional development, regardless of career stage, to ensure everyone can continue to get better and better. 

Feedback that moves learning forward 

At Dixons, we prioritise feedback over marking. Teachers use effective formative assessment and knowledge of their classes to adapt teaching in the moment. Feedback is timely, meaningful and often delivered within the lesson, ensuring it has real impact on learning without excessive workload. 

Planning that supports great teaching 

Teachers are given time to plan collaboratively. Across our trust, we have established curriculum frameworks and schemes of learning built around powerful knowledge. This means teachers can focus their time on anticipating misconceptions and adapting teaching to meet students’ needs. Rather than creating resources from scratch, planning time is spent on intellectual preparation.