A Re-engagement Curriculum for Almondsbury CE Primary School

Together we will be able to work for the benefit of our pupils.

The Coronavirus pandemic has impacted on everyone’s lives across the whole of society. The impact on pupils, parents and school staff has been significant. With this in mind when we return in September, we will need to focus on the challenges as well as the opportunities for supporting all members of the school community back into a near normal approach to learning.

During the school closure our school staff have supported the pupils through the use of structured online learning, regular class meetings, weekly worship and telephone and electronic communication. For the pupils, they now need a resemblance of routine and structure that will enable them to move forward.  It is inevitable that there will be gaps in pupils’ understanding, knowledge and personal development as a result of being away from school for such a long period of time.

When the pupils return to school in September they will require a ‘Recovery Curriculum’. This will comprise of learning and activities in wellbeing, mental health as well as ‘catch up’ of learning lost over time. Pupils will need to know what they are doing now and what is coming next.

Our Re-engagement Curriculum will be based on the 5 levers created by Professor Barry Carpenter (2020)

1. Relationships - we will ensure that pupils are given the time, space and mechanisms to re-establish relationships with their peers and staff within school.
2. Community – we will listen to how well the pupils have coped with the past few months but also identify where further support is required to those who need assistance. We will re-engage with all members of our school community to ensure continuity and progression.
3. Transparent Curriculum - we will ensure that our learning, personal development and wellbeing activities strike a chord with all pupils and develop their understanding further.
4. Metacognition – we will ensure that the pupils have the ‘catch up’ required to have them back on track to where they were before the closures. Also to ensure those who need to be challenged are well supported to reach their full potential.
5. Space – we will ensure all pupils have the space, creativity and voice to explore their development of themselves.

(paraphrased from ‘A Recovery Curriculum: Loss and Life for our pupils and schools post pandemic.’ Professor Barry Carpenter 2020)

Almondsbury CE Primary School will address these areas through the following vehicles –

Creativity

To support pupils’ mental health and wellbeing the curriculum at the start of the new academic year will focus on learning that promotes self-expression. There will be focus on creative, artistic learning to support development of themselves as people and their needs. The pupils will be able to re-engage with their friends and teachers, communicate and share an understanding of their experiences.

Active Learning

To support the pupils’ physical development there will be an emphasis on outside learning and physical activity. This activity will be carried out in PE, Forest Schools, outside learning which will be socially distanced. There will be plenty of active learning from concrete, first hand experiences moving back into the abstract.

Both of these aspects of the curriculum will be developed to ensure pupils also re-engage with their core learning. Teachers will assess and plan reconnection learning experiences to ensure pupils make the progress that they should. Pupils will rediscover their understanding of concepts and build on what has been learnt during school closure.

Oracy and Reading

We will use high quality texts to stimulate pupils’ feelings and articulation of these. The development of vocabulary will be key for pupils to share these feelings and deepen their understanding. The use of vocabulary will improve pupils’ confidence in developing their ability to ‘catch up’ and make progress in their overall learning.

Celebration and Belonging

We will celebrate the learning and successes that have taken place during the school closure. By celebrating the achievements of all pupils during this time we will verify the work they have completed, knowledge and skills learnt. There will be a reconnection and sense of belonging to their school community and sense of identity.

Technology and Parental Partnerships

We recognise the use of technology that has been brought to the fore during school closures.  These will continue to be used as much as possible to engage all members of the community and parents in particular.

Please read through the more detailed curriculum overview attached below.

We have also put together a plan for the use of additional 'Catch-up' funding from the DFE. Please see the plan attached below.