CURRICULUM POLICY
Publication Date: September 2014
Review Date: September 2015
Reviewed and approved on behalf of the proprietor, Kedleston Schools Ltd 30/09/14
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Curriculum Policy
Background
This document is a statement of the aims, principles and strategies for the
teaching of the Curriculum at Arc School, Napton. Arc School, Napton is a
Special School for pupils aged 7-11 with a statement of special educational
needs for severe social, emotional and behavioural difficulties and other
complex and co-morbid needs.
Purpose
The overall aim of the school is to provide a broad balanced and differentiated
curriculum extending each pupil to reach their true potential, operating within
the guidelines laid down by the National Curriculum.
At Arc School, Napton we aim for our Curriculum to:
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Provide a broad and balanced education which is practical, relevant
and interesting to motivate and engage students.
Include all National Curriculum subjects in line with the current National
Curriculum.
Provide systematic and consistent teaching for behavioural, emotional
and social development.
Build upon previous skills and experience to extend the knowledge of
pupils, using practical activities and structured play where appropriate.
Offer a progression, through small steps, for the development of skills and
concepts.
Ensure equality of opportunity within the school, regardless of race,
gender, religion or class.
Provide a wide range of creative, cultural learning experiences
Be presented in the most appropriate way for groups and individuals to
access, to enable maximum participation.
Promote the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of pupils.
Prepare pupils for the opportunities and responsibilities of adult life.
Take into account individual differences and additional difficulties, using
specialist input from outside school where necessary.
Present opportunities for working in a range of groupings which could
include individual or paired, small group and whole class where possible.
Make use of the immediate and wider environment, visitors to school
and visits to sites of educational value.
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Be regularly reviewed and modified as appropriate to children’s needs
and in the light of research and developments.
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Promote Traditional British Values.
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Be supported through the use of our Five Keys to Safety and Success.
Strategies
Curriculum Planning
To support the planning of units of work the following procedures and
documents have been devised:
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All curriculum planning seeks to support an ethos of achievement for
every child and to include the nurturing of well-being and life skills.
Units are planned based upon individual needs to provide progression
at each level.
Adaptations to long term plans are made by class teachers to meet the
needs of their particular group.
Short term plans identifying learning objectives, appropriate activities to
teach these and specific vocabulary to be used, as well as providing
resources and guidance to enable colleagues to teach the unit
effectively are the responsibility of the class teacher. Relevant homework
is set as necessary.
Assessment of units of work are ongoing (see separate Assessment
Policy).
Teachers will work from planning files which are monitored by SLT.
Subject leaders and SLT monitor learning within subjects. Curriculum
monitoring will inform the School Development Plan and subject leaders
are responsible for taking appropriate action in consultation with Senior
Leadership Team. Subject leaders will receive feedback from colleagues
who will comment on how appropriate the planning was, what they
managed to cover, additions, alterations and omissions and the
availability and suitability of resources at teachers’ meetings. Subject
leaders should briefly review the unit and take any necessary action, in
consultation with the SLT and the teaching team. This may involve a
survey of work done, teacher records, pupil achievements and progress
over a term. It may involve lesson observations.
Subject leaders will write and review annually a Development Plan for
their subject identifying action points. This will be informed by their
monitoring activity and take account of new initiatives. Subject leaders
should review policies annually and update or rewrite as necessary.
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Curriculum Structure
The curriculum at Arc School, Napton is organised into integrated units of work.
Key Stage Two is mapped on a rolling cycle. All classes work on the same units
but adapt the content to the learning needs of the children in each year
group. These units exploit cross-curricular links, but in recognition of the need
to provide adequate coverage of each individual subject areas subjects do
not necessarily link and discrete units are planned. Not all subjects are covered
every term by both key stages. Units are based on schemes of work from the
Hamilton Trust but are then adapted and personalised for each individual and
cohort. Significant opportunities for creative, cultural learning are provided
within each unit.
English and Maths are taught with adaptations but closely following the
National Literacy and Numeracy Revised Frameworks. Aspects of literacy and
numeracy are taught within other subjects, for example, where accurate
measurement is required for Design Technology. The National Curriculum is
modified in respect of a child’s priority needs as identified on their statement
and subsequent Individual Education Plan (IEP). Work is differentiated for each
student. Teachers are mindful of individual learning styles and work with
students to maximise their potential across all subjects.
Where necessary, planning takes account of the Early Learning Goals and the
Foundation Stage curriculum as some children will have gaps in their early
developmental profile. Opportunities are provided within the curriculum for
learning through play for those where it meets an identified need or objective
on their statement or EHC plan.
Behavioural, Emotional and Social Curriculum
This has a high priority for all our pupils and opportunities to practice social skills
and new behaviours are planned into the timetable. The school continues to
develop its own behavioural, emotional and social curriculum using a range of
interventions and techniques to teach strategies and skills to promote
appropriate behaviour and increase children’s’ ability to self-regulate. This is
done in conjunction with the expertise of other professionals such as
educational psychologists, speech and language therapists and occupational
therapists.
Assessment and Record Keeping
Baseline assessments are made at the start of the academic year or within six
weeks of the commencement of a place. Small step targets are set for each
term. Progress against these is reviewed half termly and the targets are
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changed termly. These targets are shared with parents via the child’s daily
diary and telephone calls home from teachers. Class teachers are responsible
for maintaining records of individual’s progress and for writing summative
reports at intervals (Annual Reviews and Annual Reports to parents/carers).
Arc School, Napton has adopted the B Squared strategy of Assessing Pupil
Progress. This involves ongoing targeted assessments in English and Maths
during the year which inform future planning. Short term assessments are made
against the learning objectives identified in planned units. These should be
recorded in the child’s file in the assessment folders. Occasional dated and
annotated evidence should be kept in Progress and Achievement folders.
Records of assessment in other subject areas are kept on an ongoing basis by
class teachers and are recorded in through B Squared throughout the year.
Extra-Curricular Activities / Enrichment / Community Cohesion
Opportunities to link with the wider community are encouraged. Arc School,
Napton employs the services of a Cultural Curator to source ongoing exciting
partnerships which will enhance the children’s learning. We have visitors to the
school offering a wide range of activities and expertise. Visits from school to
the wider community are carefully risk assessed and planned to enhance the
curriculum.
Safeguarding Children
All elements of the school curriculum are underpinned by the need to enable
pupils to feel safe and adopt safe practices. The Designated Safeguarding
Person (DSP) supports staff in delivering specific safeguarding issues within the
curriculum, including how to keep safe, e-safety, anti-bullying and wide range
of awareness raising topics. Staff are also trained in protective behaviours.
Non-Partisan Views
Throughout the curriculum, we encourage pupils to respect the fundamental
British values of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual
respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs.
Our curriculum is designed to be non-partisan and our staff handbook reminds
those with influence over our pupils to maintain a non-partisan approach at all
times during curriculum delivery.
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