Learning Walks: Primary vs Secondary
(Why one size never fits all)
It's easy to assume a learning walk is a universal tool. Same approach, same questions, same process.
But anyone who's walked through both a Year 2 phonics session and a Year 10 chemistry lab knows:
Primary and secondary classrooms are very different worlds.
To get meaningful insight — and build trust — your walk-through approach has to reflect that.
Walking in a Primary Setting
In a primary school, the classroom is its own ecosystem.
You're likely to see:
- One adult teaching all subjects across the week
- A strong sense of community and personal routines
- Phonics, guided reading, and hands-on learning
- Classroom environments used actively for learning (e.g. working walls, phonics displays)
- Pupils at very different stages of social and emotional development — sometimes even within the same year group
That means your learning walk questions might include:
- Are pupils accessing the vocabulary they need to succeed?
- How is early reading being prioritised and modelled?
- What kind of talk is happening — is it exploratory, instructional, collaborative?
- How are routines adapted for younger or more vulnerable learners?
And tone is everything:
🎒 If you're doing a KS1 walk, tread softly — it's their world, not yours.
Walking in a Secondary Setting
Secondary schools run on subject expertise, tight schedules, and varied classroom cultures.
You're likely to encounter:
- Specialist teachers with different pedagogical approaches
- Pupils moving around the site every 50–60 minutes
- A range of learning behaviours — and learning expectations
- Greater reliance on abstract thinking, extended writing, and independent tasks
So in secondary, learning walks might focus on:
- Are subject-specific strategies clearly visible?
- Is there consistency in expectations and transitions between lessons?
- Do pupils understand where this learning fits into the broader subject journey?
- Are low-level behaviours being pre-empted and managed calmly?
And critically:
How does the environment support depth, focus, and challenge?
Same Intent — Different Approach
In both settings, the aim is the same:
- Understand the learner experience
- Check alignment to curriculum and routines
- Spot strengths and inconsistencies
But how you walk, what you look for, and how you feed back should be tailored to the setting.
That's how you build genuine insight — and avoid creating a tick-box culture that doesn't reflect the reality of each phase.
Final Word
A learning walk isn't a form — it's a lens.
And that lens needs adjusting when you're walking through phonics one hour and physics the next.
Know your context. Know your questions.
Walk with purpose — and phase-appropriate understanding.
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