Curriculum Design at Lindsworth School – ‘One Size Fits NONE’
Intention
In each of the curriculum subjects a lead teacher has used their expertise in the subject and their knowledge of the school, group and individual needs of the school to select the most appropriate and useful knowledge and skills for the pupils that attend Lindsworth School.
These have then been mapped so that there is a ‘Skills and Knowledge Progression’ appropriate to meet the needs of all of the pupils that attend the school. From an age group perspective, Year 5 through to Year 11. At Lindsworth School this ‘skills progession’ is more important than a decision based on their age or Year Group.
In addition to this, each subject has a ‘Long Term Plan’ that maps out the delivery of their subjects across the different subjects. How this is completed successfully varies according to the need of each of the subjects. For example, in some subjects similar topics will be covered within the same term, the difference being a more advanced skill level. This gives a teacher the opportunity to revisit key concepts and check understanding etc.
The final step of the curriculum planning process is the subject’s ‘Medium Term Plan’. These are lesson by lesson plans written by subject experts. These are supported by resources and are written so that they can be used by non-specialists but with the flexibility for individual teachers to meet the needs of the pupils.
Implementation
At Lindsworth School, we believe that it is important to adapt the learning for the individual learners. Each teacher will have ‘Pupil Profiles’ that have crucial information on how they are adapting teaching resources or support to maximise the progress of the child.
This year there are two key strategies for developing the pupils’ ability to retain knowledge and applying it independently. Firstly, all lessons will begin with an activity that is carefully selected by teachers that involves a child having to recall a knowledge or skill from ‘Long Ago, Last Topic or Last Lesson’. A standard slide has been created to ensure consistency and support pupils in this.
In addition to this, to support pupils in their work/writing resilience, across their Medium Term Plans teachers have selected ‘Red Zone Tasks’. These are timed tasks that give a pupil the opportunity to apply a skill independently. They are timed and should be carefully positioned.
Impact
At the beginning of the year, all pupils sat a ‘Baseline Assessment’. These have been planned with the same principles of the 3Ls, with more value given to a pupils’ ability to recall knowledge and skills from longer ago. In addition to recall an additional section is included in which a pupil must apply skills and knowledge. All of these baseline assessments are marked out of 100 or converted to a percentage.
At different identified points during the year pupils will sit ‘Milestone Assessments’. These follow the same principles as above and give teachers the opportunity to assess the impact of interventions and teaching.
Finally, following each of the assessments, each subject teacher will complete the process of ‘Looking Back, Looking Forward’. This is the most important part of the assessment process and enables a teacher to reflect on the impact of their own teaching for the class, group or individual. The informs the next stages of teaching and informs interventions or teaching.
