Curriculum

Intent

Our science curriculum encourages our pupils to ask questions and supports them in discovering ways to work scientifically to seek their answers.  We want our children to be ambitious and connect with science and see how science fits into everyday life and different professions. 

We encourage our pupils to understand that scientific questions can be answered in different ways and that we all continue learning no matter how much experience we have.  We want our pupils to remember their science lessons as Bramley Oak, we aim to achieve this by providing practical hands-on experiences that encourage curiosity and questioning and to help every pupil secure and extend their scientific knowledge and vocabulary. We use Switched on Science by Rising Stars as a base for our planning and progression and draw on the expertise within this scheme.

Our aim is that the learning experiences we provide help our pupils to secure and extend their scientific knowledge and vocabulary.  We have a coherently planned and sequenced curriculum which has been designed and developed with the need of every child at the centre of what we do. Science is taught as a discrete subject and sequenced throughout the year to ensure that children have opportunities to revisit learning across different contexts and make links with prior learning, for example at Forest School or Outdoor Learning, in PE, PSHE, or in STEAM projects.  We want to equip our children so that they are prepared for the opportunities, responsibilities, and experiences of later life.

Implementation

At Bramley, our science curriculum is aligned with the National Curriculum.  Our topics are taught in blocks to allow our pupils the time and space to develop their knowledge and skills and study each unit in depth.  Our curriculum is progressive and is designed to allow pupils to build on prior knowledge.

Our teachers promote enjoyment of the subject by creating opportunities for as much hands on experience as possible where our pupils can explore, question, predict, plan, carry out investigations and observations as well as conclude their findings.  Our pupils learn to present their findings and learning in a range of ways, using subject specific vocabulary. 

Cross curricular links are carefully planned, for example, presenting findings in a digital format using technology; consolidating mathematical skills of Venn diagrams, charts, and graphs; taking accurate and timed measurements of capacity, mass or temperature etc using a range of instruments.  Literacy is also a key component of science; however, we use effective differentiation to ensure that pupils can access age-appropriate content regardless of their literacy levels to build and sustain high engagement and appropriate challenge of the subject content.

Retrieval practice at the start of every session provides opportunity for pupils to need to keep remembering key knowledge and vocabulary; these retrieval practice opportunities also enable pupils to see how what they are learning now connects to prior learning in different topics.  We provide our pupils with knowledge organisers at the start of every topic; these detail the key learning and vocabulary pupils will need to support them in their acquisition of knowledge and act as a retrieval practice tool, which supports with independence.

We enhance our teaching of science with additional opportunities for enrichment and engagement, for example with British Science Week (BSW).  During BSW, our pupils will enjoy a week packed with investigations, research and experiments, pupils will enter competitions and take part in enrichment visits to local science centres.  We will end this week with a big event, where we will also invite families in to enjoy the wonders of the exciting scientific performance.

Intended Impact

The impact of our curriculum leads to pupils knowing more and remembering more.  Pupils are more confident to engage in this area of the curriculum and are curious about the natural world, pupils ask questions and are curious. Assessment throughout the lesson means that teachers are able to support pupils and provide further challenge where appropriate and assessment at the end of the learning using our assessment tracker tool means that any gaps in learning will be identified and used to inform further planning. Our pupils develop an understanding that Science is all around us and that discoveries and research change and improve lives every day.

How Parents and Carers can support at home 

Here are some useful websites you can access at home to support and extend science learning:

Key stage 1

https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/subjects/z6svr82

Key stage 2

https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/subjects/z2pfb9q

All children:

https://wowscience.co.uk/

This website allows you to search by key stage and area of science for interactive games and activities online.

https://www.topmarks.co.uk/

Curriculum Intent

At Bramley Oak Academy, it is evident that the subject of Art and Design pose increasing benefits in all aspects of children’s four major areas of development. This in turn has positive impacts with their academic achievements, whilst meeting individual SEMH (Social Emotional Mental Health) needs. Children at Bramley Oak are able to freely explore and express their ideas, in order to be inquisitive and modern day learners.

As a school, we encourage children to explore and develop their creative enquires through an array of mediums and practical learning such as the intention of inspiring unique final pieces. Art and design lessons at Bramley Oak stretch children’s thinking and decision making skills, empowering our children to express their thoughts, feelings and understanding that meet their cognitive and SEMH needs. Bramley Oak are guided by Kapow Primary scheme of work, to enhance and develop our planning, progression and expertise within our art and design curriculum. We have adapted and sequenced our learning in order to meet the needs of every child to ensure success. Art and design is taught as a discreet subject and sequenced throughout the year to ensure that children have opportunities to revisit learning, whilst making connections to past and present learning, such as Outdoor Learning, PSHE or PE.

Implementation

Bramley Oak’s art and design curriculum is aligned with the National Curriculum. Each topic is taught in a block rotation, which encourages children to learn at a controlled pace; promoting development of new knowledge and skills within the topic block. The different strands in each unit generate a variety of skills and knowledge; motivating children to present skills using an array of mediums (such as photography, live art and sculpting), whilst referring to artistic influences relevant to the skill in hand. All units are adapted to ensure pupils can access age-appropriate content regardless of their academic levels to build and sustain high engagement, whilst providing appropriate challenges within the subject content. Key learning and vocabulary are tailored in order to support children in their acquisition of knowledge and retrieval practice; supporting and promoting with independence and individuality.

Impact

The impact of our curriculum leads to pupils being able to explore and express their ideas both practically and verbally. Pupils are involved in and are expressing their evaluation, dialogue and decision making about the quality of their outcomes and the improvements they need to make. This supports them in making decisions and talking confidently about their learning journey, helping them develop stronger metacognitive skills. Moreover, in addition formative assessment throughout the lesson means that teachers are able to support children and provide further challenges where appropriate. Overall, through our art and design curriculum children develop their creativity, self-expression and problem-solving skills. These skills are paramount in children’s overall SEMH development and wellbeing. The curriculum provides a space for all students to enhance their personal growth and self confidence in a curriculum where there is no right answer. This encouragement of expression improves the student’s confidence to engage across all subjects.

Intent 

At Bramley Oak Academy, we strive to support all children to become fluent, lifelong readers by empowering them to use a range of skills to support themselves in accessing this important life skill with confidence. We endeavour to provide all children with a variety of opportunities to listen to and read high-quality texts, be exposed to a language rich environment and enjoy reading for pleasure.  

Implementation 

Reading for Pleasure and reading experiences 

At Bramley Oak Academy we feel strongly that children should hear a high-quality text read to them each day by their teacher. Pupils in all classes have daily access to high quality story time which ensures that reading is correctly modelled to children, as well as giving them the opportunity to discuss content and to enjoy being read to. Pupil voice is key, as the class share their views and interests to aid the selection of these books. These sessions include a ‘Myon’ recorded story and a story read by an adult from the class.  

Each half term, each class is provided with a number of non-fiction texts linking to the class Science and Humanities topics. These are displayed in each classroom and children are encouraged to read these texts to support their cross-curricular learning. Every class has an engaging book corner which is filled with books for pleasure, AR books or phonics books and a ‘familiar book box’ to support the children’s confidence with reading. Children visit the school library to change their books and classes are timetabled to visit this space weekly, which further supports the children’s engagement with reading for pleasure.  

Throughout the school year, the importance of reading is enhanced through assemblies, competitions, World Book Day and book bag raffle ticket collections in order to support the growing reading culture at Bramley Oak Academy. 

Reading schemes

At Bramley Oak Academy, all pupils complete a phonics placement assessment upon entry. We use the Read, Write, Inc Phonics scheme followed by the Accelerated Reader scheme once a child has completed the phonics programme. Read, Write, Inc provides a highly effective approach to decoding print. Phonics is taught in structured daily lessons to children who have been assessed as needing the scheme. We follow the programme progression, using the high-quality resources and books and adhering to the mantras, which make the programme what it is. We adapted and personalised the implementation of this scheme to ensure that we meet the needs of the individual readers in our school. Following the programme in this way enables us to be confident that we are providing an effective systematic synthetic approach to the teaching of Phonics across the school. During Phonics sessions, children access and read fully decodable Read, Write Inc books, which give them an opportunity to practice their decoding, prosody and comprehension skills where appropriate. They implement their new learning straight away by being presented with opportunities to practise using the sound to read and write words, phrases or sentences as appropriate.

Pupils who have passed the Phonics assessments are assessed using Star Reader. Star Reader supports pupils in selecting an appropriately challenging book within their Z-Code range using Accelerated Reader (AR). Pupils will complete a quiz upon completing an AR book, providing further opportunities for comprehension practice. Pupils take home a matched AR book and a book for pleasure and are also able to access Myon from school or home. Myon is an online library with access to over 7000 books; pupils can use Myon to read a matched AR book or a book for pleasure which can become accessible through the inbuilt audio feature

Pupils’ progress is continually reviewed to allow planning for gaps and interventions to ensure that there is sufficient challenge available for those who are ready to progress sooner. The National Phonics screening check is performed in June for pupils in Year 1, this is also an opportunity for a recheck for pupils in Year 2 who did not pass the previous year. The purpose of the screening check is to confirm that pupils have learnt phonic decoding to an age-appropriate standard. Parents are invited in to discuss the Phonics screening check at the start of the summer term and to develop an understanding of how they can support their children at home in advance of this, the appropriateness of this check for each pupil will be assessed by the school and this process will be overseen by the Head of School. If the check is not suitable for a pupil, this will be discussed with the parent or carer.  

VIPERS Comprehension 

At BRAMLEY OAK ACADEMY, we use VIPERS (Vocabulary, Inference, Prediction, Explaining, Retrieval and Sequencing/Summarising) to ensure that we are asking our pupils a broad range of questions to support our pupils in developing a range of comprehension skills including those that require deeper and profound thinking. These question stems are used by staff and sent home as a resource for parents to use to further support with home reading. 

Home reading 

We carefully monitor pupils’ reading at home and encourage parents to be active and engaged with us to support their child’s ongoing development. Pupils take home a book which either matches their reading ability which could include a familiar phonics book or a book linked to their AR Z-Code or a book which sparks their interest that they would like to share with someone at home. At Bramley Oak Academy we hold termly Reading Support Workshops, where parents are invited in to discuss how reading is taught in school and how parents can support the development of their child’s reading at home, through practice and the use of our home reading resources. We also set up an information station during Academic Review Day (ARD) where a member of the reading team will be able to share resources, answer questions and provide the support our parents need to be able to be confident in helping their children learn to read at home. There are incentives for children bringing in their book bags and for reading at home to further motivate our pupils. 

Impact

Through the phonics scheme, pupils learn the importance of being able to read. This is supported by class stories, home and individual reading. Using VIPERS, pupils are able to find their voice, formulate opinions and are able to confidently discuss, question and explore literature and texts. This affords them the opportunities to use these skills across the curriculum, ultimately having a true impact on their life and future success.

Geography at Bramley Oak Academy

Intent

At Bramley Oak Academy, our Geography curriculum:

• harnesses children’s natural curiosity in the world around them
• fosters a love of learning through engaging and meaningful lessons
• equips students with the appropriate geographical knowledge and skills to have an awareness and understanding of their place in the world
• prepares students to be well rounded world citizens with a strong sense of identity and respect for diversity, culture and the environment

Implementation

At Bramley Oak Academy we teach the National Curriculum through a programme that is adapted to meet the needs of our learners. This includes:

• Multisensory, immersive and practical learning experiences that are meaningful and contextual for students to ensure high levels of engagement and learning. This includes the use of resources, technology, the school grounds and trips into the local area and beyond.
• Allowing students to access the lesson content and to show their learning in a range of ways in line with their EHCPs and Special Educational Needs.
• The use of Rising Stars Geography to support progression of skills and knowledge across topics and year groups.
• Teaching students how to ask and answer questions that encourage them to think critically about the world around them.
• Continuously building on prior knowledge and utilising opportunities for retrieval and repetition.
• Regular formative assessment which informs the direction of the learning.
• Clear learning intentions taught in small, manageable steps to reduce cognitive overload.
• Utilising the special interests of the students to increase engagement and desire to learn.
• Teaching geography half termly (alternating with history) to ensure a broad and balanced curriculum.
• Adaptations that take into consideration differing abilities in reading, writing and Maths and remove these as barriers.

Impact

The impact of our well adapted curriculum is that all students are able to make progress in geography during their time at Bramley Oak Academy. Teachers feel confident and skilled at planning and delivering the content of the Geography National Curriculum, with the support of Rising Stars Geography, in a way that is well suited and adapted to our learners. Regular use of formative assessment and retrieval practice, means teachers are able to support pupils responsively and fill gaps in their knowledge, or to explore in further depth where appropriate, across all stages of the National Curriculum despite the chronological age of the learner.