Curriculum

Intent

At Roundwood School and Community Centre, we believe that writing is an important and valuable tool for all aspects of a child's education. Through the exploration of an author’s use of language and structure, our intent is for our learners to write clearly, accurately and coherently, adapting their language and style in and for a range of contexts. Our aim is for our students to develop an awareness of context, purpose and audience, with an increasingly wide knowledge of grammar, spellings and vocabulary. At Roundwood School and Community Centre, we strive to nurture a love of English and provide our students with the opportunity to develop their writing. Creativity and imagination are key to our English curriculum and students are given several opportunities to express their creativity. We want to provide our students with the confidence and knowledge to engage in a variety of writing activities, including poetry, non-fiction, and fiction that are relevant to their unique experiences and environments.

Implementation

Our whole school English curriculum is delivered through a text -based approach, using a range of diverse, engaging and relevant high-quality texts. The students can explore a range of texts, including traditional texts and progressively more complex texts such as Shakespeare, as well as various genres, enabling them to develop analytical and writing skills. This enables children to be shown a wide variety of texts and develop their writing skills, which can then be applied to their own work. Alongside this, teachers often use shared writing and scaffolding to support the students in levelling up their work. This is further encouraged by teaching pupils how to use dictionaries and thesaurus' to level up and improve their vocabulary. We provide high quality 1:1 individualised intervention to support writing gaps, which may include SPaG sessions, spellings, handwriting practice and programmes such as Toe by Toe. In KS4, the students are able to take part in functional skills and/or GCSE practice sessions to help our secondary school students to learn texts orally, study the features used in particular texts and then write and develop their own.

Impact

Our students will gain a rich vocabulary enabling them to communicate effectively in a wide array of contexts and apply this to their writing. They will be able to write across a range of genres and contexts and will have an enjoyment and love for language and writing. Furthermore, our students are enabled to write with accuracy and are encouraged to develop an interest in the richness of the English language. We hope that our students will develop a growing maturity in expression, thought and language, enabling them to achieve good grades in their GCSE or Functional skills exams in KS4

Intent

At Roundwood School and Community Centre, reading is the golden thread of the whole curriculum. We believe a love of reading is crucial to both personal development and life-long skills. We are passionate about reading and aim to enthuse this same passion to our students through exposing them to a range of quality books with a broad range of genres, contexts, authors, time periods, from contemporary works to classics that are considered canonical. We believe in the importance of developing children’s comprehension and word-reading skills. It is our aim at Roundwood School and Community Centre, that all students, regardless of their academic ability and background, can become competent and sometimes fluent readers, as the ability to read has a direct effect upon their attainment and progress in all areas of the curriculum. We also want our children to choose to read for pleasure and communicate their own interests and passions. Our intent is to develop our students’ independence and confidence in English to prepare them for the rest of their lives. We welcome and value the contribution our parents give to help nurture positive reading and writing attitudes in our children.

Implementation

All students, regardless of the Pathway they are on and the duration of their placement with us are tested in Reading, via GL Assessments, a nationally recognised Reading Test. We fully understand that the current generation of students with us are almost always in deficit with regards to their Reading Age and their chronological age, a situation that was profoundly affected by the pandemic and is still with us now. Where there is a significant deficit in Reading, students follow the Fresh Start Phonics scheme, part of the Read Write Inc programme. The programme is a balanced approach to the teaching of reading using synthetic phonics. It simultaneously teaches the segmentation of words for spelling and develops phonemic awareness skills. Where appropriate for their individual learning style, Students use a whole word reading approach to learning new words and sentences. We also use short, sharp interventions that last for about 20 minutes daily. We use highly structured decodable books matched to the reading level of the student.

Some of the individualised interventions we use to support their reading may include programmes such as Giglets and Toe by Toe. Possible KS3 and KS4 interventions include ‘enrichment’ sessions allocated to their timetable, tailored to support our students who have extensive gaps in their reading and writing. These individualised interventions include, SPaG sessions, comprehension skills and word reading.

All children participate in whole class reading sessions led by the class teacher. This is built around the teacher reading high-quality and challenging texts often linked to the class English unit. To supplement this, we have daily whole class reading sessions during our nurture times and the students also have an opportunity for independent reading. We have well-equipped reading bookshelves in each classroom to encourage reading for pleasure and so that the children are able to access a broad spectrum of texts in line with their varied interests. Other subject teachers have a shared view on the significance of improving reading standards. Students benefit from an explicit instruction on how to read new specialised vocabulary and keywords related to their subject, as well as practice through guided oral reading. Good practice is always shared between staff and CPD is used to inform teaching and learning across the school. We have whole school enrichment days throughout the year such as school book launches, Poetry Week and World Book Week. We also organise trips to the theatre and libraries to motivate the children and foster positive attitudes towards reading. We have a range of opportunities to promote reading for pleasure including celebration assemblies where we reward a ‘Reader of the Week' with a certificate and book token to purchase a book of their choice. 

Impact

Over a number of years, our students build their bank of well-known texts, supplemented by picture books (for EAL learners), novels, poems and non-fiction books. Gradually, this living library of language begins to equip the children with the words they need to express themselves. Our children can listen to, respect and tolerate others' opinions and views, as well as have the confidence and ability to share their own. Our children make good progress in reading from their individual starting points. They gain a rich vocabulary that they can apply to their spoken and written English. By the time they leave Roundwood School, most children should be able to read with confidence for meaning and regularly enjoy reading for pleasure. Furthermore, our students are able to progress in other subjects across the curriculum due to their ability to read. The reading skills they develop allow them to succeed across the Key Stages and in their daily lives. Many of our students go on to KS4 Functional Skills exams or GCSE accreditations. Through our curriculum, they can progress and be ready for the next phase of their education or life in a successful and positive way.

Intent

At Roundwood School and Community Centre we recognise that maths is part of everyday life and a key skill to support our students’ throughout their lives. Our intent is to empower our cohort with a student-centred, cohesive and accessible curriculum, leading to a mathematics qualification which will support their future goals. We want our students to develop an enthusiastic and positive attitude towards mathematics that will stay with them. We aim to develop children’s ability to share, discuss and explain their thinking using appropriate mathematical vocabulary. We hope that with our individual guidance and attention coupled with a differentiated learning journey from Year 7 to 11, students will become reflective learners which enables them to have advanced life skills and achieve their educational goals.

Implementation

Our policies, resources and schemes support our vision and clearly outline where maths can be applied across different curriculum areas. Key knowledge and skills are also revisited regularly allowing repetition to embed learning. In Key Stage 3 we primarily follow schemes of work available through White Rose Maths which is supplemented with practical activities to reinforce learning and continue from Key Stage 2 learning and address any deficits in learning. The areas of maths covered within this scheme include number, geometry, algebra, statistics, ratio and functional maths. Children are regularly taught problem-solving skills and given the opportunities to apply these to real-life contexts. In addition to daily maths lessons, we deliver individual intervention tasks involving number, sequences, place value, times tables, mental maths, using four operations (+, -, /, x) to fill in any learning gaps our students may have. In Key stage 4 the Maths qualification follows the same pathway as English and based on our students particular needs they will either follow the GCSE or Functional Skills pathways which are detailed below:

GCSE Maths - AQA

The GCSE course is built to enable students to :

• develop fluent knowledge, skills and understanding of mathematical methods and concepts;
• acquire, select and apply mathematical techniques to solve problems;
• reason mathematically, make deductions and inferences, and draw conclusions
• comprehend, interpret and communicate mathematical information in a variety of forms appropriate to the information and context.

Functional Skills Maths Level 1 / 2 – AQA

The Maths Functional Skills qualifications are designed to:

• develop the learner’s ability to represent situations using mathematics
• analyse calculations, solve problems and interpret mathematics to explain situations.

They’re assessed in a single, external test. Our feedback policy, assessment systems and use of individualised targets support the children to progress and become confident and fluent mathematicians.

Impact

We aim for all our Students to achieve at least a Functional Skills qualification and some will receive a GCSE in order to support them in their future goals. All our Students will meet their individual targets. They will have a good understanding of their strengths and targets for development in maths and what they need to do to improve. Our students will be able to understand the relevance and importance of what they are learning in relation to real world concepts. The students will leave Roundwood School with a positive approach to mathematics and an understanding of how maths skills can be used in their everyday lives.

My favourite subject is Maths because I am more confident with numbers.

- Year 10 EAL student

Intent

At Roundwood School and Community Centre, our science curriculum draws on the natural curiosity of our children by sparking their imaginations and nurturing, inspired and confident young scientists. Our curriculum is designed to accommodate individual learning needs, offering a range of differentiated activities, resources, and teaching strategies. We prioritise visual aids and hands-on experiments to enhance engagement and understanding. We intend for our learners to build on their scientific knowledge as they progress through the key stages and ultimately become as independent as possible with their scientific enquiry skills. We believe in making science relevant and meaningful to our students' lives.

Implementation

Our science curriculum is designed to accommodate individual learning needs, offering a range of differentiated activities, resources, and teaching strategies. The learning environment and teaching strategies help to keep all children engaged and inspire them to want to investigate the world around them. Learning activities focus on encouraging our children to enquire, observe, plan investigations, select appropriate equipment and use it safely, measure, record and analyse results and communicate findings. Our main tool for supporting individual students and whole group work is Developing Experts and selecting the most appropriate Scheme of Work from the programme to boost learning. Children are supported to develop their scientific enquiry skills in a safe and structured way. This is achieved through a variety of teaching strategies such as demonstrations, videos, experimental work and structured practical activities with adult support and modelling in the earlier key stages. Students at KS3 have access to wider science knowledge and this is further embedded with the use of the Kerboodle Science teaching and learning resource that covers all aspects of the foundation of Science knowledge and skills in preparation for the GCSE Science qualifications. Towards the end of Key 3, students in year 9 prepare and develop revision habits using past paper questions to apply content learnt that will be needed for public examination. The knowledge gained in KS3 is further built upon in KS4, as students continue to develop skills of investigation and reporting, gaining more understanding and confidence to address increasingly abstract and complex scientific issues and ideas. All students will work within the framework of the AQA Biology GCSE level. Access to this learning is supported through the implementation of individualised intervention programmes, which are tailored to meet the needs of each student. In years 10 & 11, students are given the opportunity to study AQA GCSE Single Science Biology for accreditation. Enrichment activities are given throughout the year to enrich the science curriculum. For example, science museum trips, science week activities, outreach visits and workshops.

Impact

Our science curriculum equips our students with problem-solving and critical thinking skills that are highly valuable in their everyday lives. They realise that science is not confined to a single context but is a tool for understanding and transforming the world around them. By engaging in scientific exploration, our students gain confidence in their ability to observe, question, experiment, and discover, empowering them to actively participate in and contribute to society. By highlighting how science benefits their everyday lives, our curriculum ensures that our children see the practical relevance and value of scientific knowledge and skills. This understanding fosters a sense of empowerment, independence, and engagement, enabling them to navigate their daily lives with greater confidence and a deeper appreciation for the wonders of science. When students leave Roundwood School and Community Centre, they will have made significant progress in their understanding of the work and be able to use their scientific knowledge and understanding to enhance their everyday lives.

Intent

At Roundwood School and Community Centre, we have created an ICT curriculum that will instil curiosity about the technological world around the children. We aim to ensure that our children understand the extent of technology, start building computing skills for their future and use technology to support all areas of life. Our students are exposed to a range of topics and are able to use these skills to develop into good digital citizens, to know how to use technology safely, respectfully and responsibly. We also want our students to be able to identify a range of ways to report concerns about content and contact. We want them to evaluate and apply information technology clearly, accurately and coherently to create, organise, store, manipulate and retrieve digital content. We want to give our children the confidence and knowledge to be able to communicate their ideas. We feel that ICT is a core skill in everyday life and runs across all curriculum subjects, so we therefore aim to equip our students with all the tools to be successful and develop essential skills. We also aim to develop children’s ability to be safe online and discuss their thinking using appropriate ICT vocabulary.

Implementation

Our ICT curriculum is delivered in several different engaging ways. KS3 and KS4 follow the ADAN Short Course Computing Curriculum, to give a formal structure to their learning. Our students have access to a Chromebook to support all areas of the curriculum. Teachers follow a clear progression of skills which ensures all students meet their expectations and are given the opportunity to enhance their prior knowledge. The structure of the lessons includes lots of visual information. We use assemblies and PSHE to enthuse and motivate the students to foster positive attitudes towards learning about keeping safe when using technology. All staff are encouraged to raise questions, seek support and request further training in order to ensure everyone is confident in how and what they teach in ICT. Good practice is always shared between staff and CPD is used to inform teaching and learning across the school.

Impact

Above all, Roundwood Schools’s ICT curriculum ensures our students develop a love for the technological world around them. Many of our children make good progress in typing, online research, communication and programming. Our students are able to respect and tolerate others’ opinions and views and identify a range of ways to report concerns about content and contact. They gain transferable skills such as critical and logical thinking, problem-solving and creativity, which they are able to apply at school, at home and in the future. Most of our students go on to complete the ASDAN Computing Short Course. Our students will have a secure and comprehensive knowledge of technology and digital systems, which is important in an evolving society. A few of our children excel in ICT and often want to pursue it in their future career.

I really like ICT. I like using the computer and creating things on the laptop. I enjoy being able to learn new things and using my imagination.

- Year 9 student

Intent

At Roundwood School and Community Centre we believe that PE is essential to a student’s physical health and mental wellbeing. We work collaboratively with local providers to ensure all children have the opportunity to engage safely and fully in PE through a creative and differentiated approach. Our PE programme has been designed to develop our children’s physical confidence and abilities so they can progress at levels appropriate to them. We aim to have a strong emphasis on physical activity rather than sport as we deem this is where lifelong positive attitudes to keeping fit and healthy will develop. We hope all children will leave us with the knowledge and willingness to take part in physical activity into their adulthood. We hope that by the time our children finish KS3 and move up to KS4 they have the basic skills to progress onto a more sport-based PE curriculum where they will be given the opportunity to achieve a Leadership Skills qualification by the time they leave us. We will be providing all our children with access to differentiated PE lessons where our objectives in the teaching align with the National Curriculum. We aim to ensure all students:  

• Will develop experiences in a broad range of physical activities
• Are physically active for sustained periods of time
• Have the opportunity to engage in competitive sports and activities • Understand, lead and promote healthy, active lives
• Build self-esteem, confidence and resilience

Implementation

PE lessons at Roundwood School and Community Centre encourage the social, emotional and thinking skills needed to live independent lives with a strong emphasis on children firstly competing against themselves before others. We want them to be able to accept both winning and losing positively. Children will have at least 2 hours of PE per week. The curriculum will follow the National Curriculum and will be complemented with off-site activities and ample opportunity for the development of social skills. During nurture times, children will often choose to go outside, further developing their physical health and wellbeing. There will be consistency in the structure of lessons to support our children’s needs, including an introduction with learning objectives, a warm-up, skill development activity, a game implementing the skill developed and a plenary including a self-evaluation. All lessons will be inclusive and activities will be differentiated. In KS3 students will take part in off-site activities such as sailing, swimming, BMXing and wall-climbing. These outings will be linked to their social skills' curriculum, giving them a platform to apply and consolidate these skills. In KS4 students taking the Sports Leadership qualification will lead sporting activities which they will be assessed on. They will also work collaboratively to lead any multiple sports activities.

Impact

Our students’ at Roundwood School and Community Centre have fantastic knowledge of what a healthy and active lifestyle look like. They are able to work as part of a team and show good sportsmanship. The students’ are physically active and understand the impact this has on their wellbeing and physical health through strong links with PSHE. Through our PE curriculum offer, some of our children are able to complete a Sports Leader qualification at either Level 1 or 2 depending on their ability. They develop their leadership skills and are able to help run fun, motivating events. We hope that students leaving Roundwood School and Community Centre in Year 11, go on to have a happy and healthy lifestyle and are able to apply the skills they have learnt through PE to support this.

PE is fun, we learn different skills and new sports that we haven't done before; mud running at Nuclear Races was fun!

Ethan - Year 11 

PE is a fun learning experience, a friendly environment and helps with our social skills.

Pele - Year 10

Intent

At Roundwood School and Community Centre, we have developed a comprehensive and inclusive curriculum that specifically caters to the needs of students with SEMH from Key Stages 3 and 4. Our curriculum aims to empower students with the knowledge, skills, and understanding necessary to make informed decisions, develop positive relationships, and lead healthy and fulfilling lives. We recognise the unique challenges faced by our students and are committed to providing a supportive, inclusive and nurturing learning environment that celebrates individual differences and promotes the wellbeing and personal growth of each student.

Implementation

Our approach to PSHE and RSE specifically considers the vulnerabilities of our students with SEMH and the teaching of these essential skills is not limited to PSHE or RSE lessons. Learning opportunities arise throughout the school day and at Roundwood School and Community Centre, every opportunity is a learning opportunity. We aim to create a safe, inclusive, and empowering learning environment with opportunities to practise and develop vital PSHE skills throughout the school day. All classes take part in structured PHSE slots which prioritise addressing the unique challenges our children face. We provide lots of opportunities for practicing social skills through structured activity, peer interactions, and group activities, fostering social competence and confidence. To enhance the teaching and learning in PSHE and RSE we seek guidance from experts, such as ‘Sport at the Heart’, ‘BANG’, therapists, and specialists to develop tailored strategies and resources that align with the specific needs of students and their learning styles. We Incorporate therapy-based strategies and techniques into the curriculum to support communication, social skills development, and emotional regulation. We work closely with our Speech and Language Therapist (SALT) to support teachers in adapting lessons for our children. By working closely with parents and carers we are able to gain a deeper understanding of their child's vulnerabilities and tailor support accordingly. We also share resources, strategies, and progress updates with parents, providing them with the tools and knowledge to support their child's social, emotional, and personal development outside of school. In KS3 and KS4, social skills focus more on the explicit teaching on friendship, teamwork, conflict resolution, and respectful behaviour, addressing the unique social challenges faced by our students as they enter puberty and beyond. Offsite activities play a crucial role in our PSHE and RSE curriculum. They offer unique opportunities for experiential learning, practical application of skills, and real-life engagement that cannot always be replicated or generalised within the context of the classroom. 

Impact

Over time, our implementation of our PSHE and RSE curriculum results in significant positive impacts on our students' social, emotional, and personal development.

Enhanced Self-Awareness and Self-Advocacy:

• Students develop a deeper understanding of their own strengths, challenges, and needs.
• They become more confident in expressing their thoughts, emotions, and preferences.
• They actively advocate for themselves, seeking support and accommodations when necessary resulting in reduced anxiety.

Improved Social Skills and Relationships:

• Students develop essential social skills, such as communication, empathy, and cooperation.
• They demonstrate an increased ability to navigate social situations and establish positive relationships with peers.
• Students engage in meaningful interactions, demonstrating respect and understanding of neurodiversity and ‘difference’.

Strengthened Personal Safety Awareness:

• Students gain knowledge and skills to recognise and respond to unsafe situations.
• They exhibit improved understanding of personal boundaries, both offline and online.
• Students demonstrate increased self-protective behaviours and make informed decisions to ensure their own safety.

Increased Knowledge and Understanding of Relationships and Sex Education:

• Students acquire age-appropriate knowledge about relationships, consent, and personal boundaries.
• They demonstrate a better understanding of emotions, healthy friendships, and respectful behaviours.
• Students exhibit an increased ability to make informed decisions and establish positive relationships.

Positive Well-being and Resilience:

• Students have shown improved emotional regulation and coping strategies, resulting in feeling safer and happier.
• They exhibit increased resilience in the face of challenges and setbacks.
• Students demonstrate a positive mindset, taking ownership of their actions and demonstrating perseverance.

Strengthened Collaboration with Parents and Guardians:

• Collaborative partnerships with parents and guardians have resulted in consistent support and reinforcement of skills and knowledge.
• Parents report improved communication with their child, leading to a better understanding of their needs and providing effective support at home.
• Parents express increased confidence in addressing sensitive topics and fostering their child's social and emotional well-being.

We remain committed to continuously evaluating and refining our practices to ensure the sustained growth and development of our students.

Intent

The intent of Art & Design at Roundwood School and Community Centre is to create and maintain an environment where young people feel safe and supported in their learning. Through Art they will build their self-confidence and self-esteem, learn to express themselves creatively and develop a wider appreciation of Art within their lives. We encourage young people to challenge preconceptions, take risks and to show resilience. We want to build our young people’s self-esteem and develop their confidence so that they are able to take ownership of their learning and celebrate their successes. We are essentially teaching our young people how to learn so that they can improve and potentially master a technique or idea through the medium of Art. These skills are transferable across all disciplines within Art and are essential in their wider education and personal development. Students are given repeated opportunities to explore a variety of art-based skills including drawing, painting, printing, collage, textiles, 3D work, photography and digital art. Where possible the department tries to offer activities that do not have a predefined outcome or expectation whilst providing opportunities for self-directed learning. Staff are well trained and able to help young people where appropriate, however a strong emphasis is placed on their ability to learn and solve problems independently. ·

Implementation

The Art Department will provide a safe environment with high expectations of behaviour and learning as well as close monitoring of equipment and modelling safe practice. Students will experience the following in their learning :

• A well planned series of lessons designed to stretch and challenge learners appropriately.
• A variety of formative assessment opportunities as part of the planned learning activity. ·
• Multi-disciplined and appropriately resourced curriculum including computer access for every young person.
• A variety of Key Stage 4 qualifications appropriate to the individual needs of each learner, with the OCR Entry Level Certificate Level 1 as a bare minimum for all.
• After-school and/or lunchtime sessions available where appropriate.
• Opportunities for exploratory, self-directed learning.  
• Learning to be recorded and shared digitally through e-portfolios and cloud storage.
• Students to be given the opportunity to take work home regularly and share in their achievements.
• Peer mentoring to model and encourage good working practice, including gallery assessment.
• Visits to museums and galleries as well as links with local facilities and workshop opportunities.
• Establishing clear cross-curricular links with other practises and support whole school initiatives such as ‘Year of Reading’.

Regular display that celebrates learning and promotes whole-school initiatives.

Impact

The art curriculum has been designed to engage with and stretch our young people whilst giving them the opportunity to learn some of the foundation skills and techniques in Art. The impact of Art will be seen in the following ways:

• Young people able to demonstrate an understanding of basic health and safety practise.
• Young people able to enjoy their learning and be proud of the work they have produced.
• Opportunities developed to evaluate learning through an e-portfolio as well as informal discussions.
• All key stage 4 students to have achieved at least the OCR Entry Level 1 Certificate in Art.
• Key stage 4 students to be well-prepared for possible post-16 art & design courses.