Rosebrook’s Curriculum: Our Vision

Our Curriculum
Early Years	Early Reading and Phonics	English	Maths
Science	Computing	Design and Technology	Art and Design
History	Geography	Physical Education	Religious Education
Music	Modern Foreign Languages	Forest Schools	Personal Development

Intent

At the heart of our work is Personal Development.
Our aim is to provide a curriculum which extends learning beyond the academic, technical or vocational, supporting our pupils to develop their character – including their resilience, confidence and independence – and help them know how to keep physically and mentally healthy and safe. We recognise that, children learn best when they feel safe, secure and all their basic needs are being met.
Because of this the curriculum we offer our pupils is constantly evolving as we take in to account statutory requirements as well as their interests and needs.

At each stage of education, we prepare pupils for future success through planned transition and careers education. By developing their understanding of Rosebrook’s core values as well as fundamental British values, we model how to be responsible, respectful, active citizens who contribute positively to an increasingly diverse society.

A key driver of our curriculum is vocabulary and language acquisition, taught and developed through our rich reading curriculum. By exposing pupils to a high-quality texts, both fact and fiction, we foster their love for reading, promote knowledge acquisition and develop understanding about the world.

Our curriculum meets the needs of all characteristics covered by the Equality Act 2010. We ensure equality, diversity and inclusion are embedded throughout the breadth of the curriculum in order to foster healthy relationships between different groups.

Our curriculum is broad, balanced and ambitious for all pupils including those with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities. Our teachers and support staff work closely to children’s diverse needs and work with our SENDCo to overcome barriers and participation in all subjects.

Implementation

Although we are an academy school, we still teach the statutory programmes of study from the National Curriculum, but with a local approach – “All roads lead to Rosebrook.”

In order for our children to be proud of their local area and to be ambassadors for Stockton-on-Tees and the North-East as a whole, our curriculum focuses on local industry rich in history, celebrates the successes of local people and encourages aspiration for all.

“We can be whatever we dream”

Core Subjects

Starting in Early Years, we provide children with the prime and specific areas of learning and development implemented through adult led and child-initiated learning. Rosebrook adopts the Bug Club phonics programme from the early years phase.

Our curriculum overviews contain the knowledge that we have identified as essential to our school. These have been carefully crafted for each subject, identifying composite knowledge and skills and breaking them down into component parts to ensure sequential, layered knowledge acquisition.

English and mathematics are taught daily at Rosebrook. Science, maths and English are taught discretely; however, our teachers are very experienced at developing these skills through a range of other subjects and activities. Teachers follow our “non-negotiables” which sets out the programmes of study for each year group. From these, they design tailor-made units of work to suit the needs and interests of their pupils at the appropriate level. Coverage is tracked by the teachers themselves using a term-by-term highlighting system.

Foundation Subjects

Teachers use our subject content documents to develop a curriculum which is inspiring and relevant to their year group. We are constantly refining and improving our cross-curricular approach which is driven by reading: creating as many links between subjects as possible.

Teachers have the freedom to choose projects / topics to study within given parameters: as long as certain language, knowledge and skills are taught. We encourage pupils to be involved in constructing their curriculum whenever it is feasible to do so.

These projects are mapped out into long term plans then subsequent individual lessons are planned. Teachers endeavour to begin each new project with an engaging hook for learning. This could be an educational visit or a guest speaker. Projects are also designed to have a specific real-life purpose for learning when pupils are given the opportunity to express their learning. This could be through a class assembly where parents are invited in or the creation of a project over time. Teachers ensure each lesson is differentiated in order to meet the needs of all learners.

Key questions to consider when planning units of work:

What do they know already about this subject and what has gone before?

How is it relevant to pupils?

Which aspects of keeping safe can be included?

How will it help them develop as readers and promote a love of reading?

Does it promote equality?

Does it encourage aspiration and ambition?

Is it diverse and does it help pupils understand about other cultures and religions?

Does it celebrate diversity?

What new language and vocabulary will be taught?

How can the new knowledge be demonstrated and applied to real-life contexts?

How will pupils be supported to remember new knowledge?

What will be assessed (KPIs)?

How will pupils be encouraged to learn independently?

Have pupils had their input in what to learn?

Impact

Assessment

Formative assessment takes place in every lesson. Teachers and teaching assistants are very effective at observing and questioning children in order to find out their strengths and what needs teaching next. Assessments inform teachers’ planning.

Reading, writing and mathematics are assessed frequently using set criteria set out in year groups.

Science and foundation subjects are assessed termly using criteria based on Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) which were developed by each subject co-ordinator based on the requirements laid out in the National Curriculum. Formative assessment is done on a lesson-by-lesson basis, helping to form a judgement about a pupil’s achievement against the KPIs.

Pupil voice and book looks take place each half term to reveal how well the curriculum structure supports pupil learning; what knowledge is planned and taught; what sort of tasks pupils undertake; the range of questions and the use and impact of retrieval practice. The effectiveness of feedback and how well pupils understand and respond to it is also monitored across the curriculum.

The school has an summative assessment schedule which sets out which assessments take place and when. Low stakes testing such as quizzes, and Times Tables Rock Stars are carried out frequently by teachers to help pupils practise, retrieve and revisit previously-taught knowledge.

Summative testing takes place termly (or half termly) in certain year groups. Information collected is used to inform teacher judgements. The outcomes of tests are used to identify pupils’ targets and next steps for learning; thus informing teachers’ planning.

Parents and carers are able to find out further information about our curriculum by clicking on the individual subjects or contact school directly.

Rosebrook Curriculum and Assessment

Policies

Primary Curriculum & Assessment Policy
Accessibility Policy
Marking & Feedback Policy

Year Group Overviews

Hub overview 
Year 1 overview 
Year 2 overview 
Year 3 overview 
Year 4 overview 
Year 5 overview 
Year 6 overview