Curriculum

Image result for dream believe achieve

In this section, you will find information about our school’s curriculum, including:

the content of the curriculum we follow in each academic term
how parents and carers can find out more about the curriculum we are implementing

Our Curriculum Intent

At Roebuck Academy we encourage our pupils to become lifelong learners who are ready for the next stage of their education. We want all of our children to follow their DREAMS and in doing so live the school’s motto of, 'Dream, Believe and Achieve'. We encourage our children to build character and develop their sense of self and others; building their aspirations as they grow and develop throughout the school. We want for our pupils to realise that if they can Dream it, they can Believe it, and if they Believe it, they can Achieve it!

We have high aspirations for all of our pupils and believe that with the correct mindset and attitude towards learning, that anything is possible. We believe that by providing our children with a rich, diverse and relevant curriculum that they will become: skilled readers, confident writers, mathematicians, scientists, historians, geographers, musicians, artists, linguists, athletes, digital leaders, designers and technologists, inclusive and diverse. Our children will love and embrace learning, becoming lifelong learners, ensuring that they are ready for their next stage in education.

We teach our children to follow the 3RS and their DREAMS.

Ready, Respectful, Resilient and Safe. The aim of the 3R's is to provide opportunities for children to develop their character and to have high aspirations of themselves and each other. We want our children know how to make a positive contribution to their community and the wider society.

Self-confidence, independence and risk-taking is encouraged through the embedding of our DREAMS Values and Positive Learning Behaviours: Determination, Respect, Excellence, Altogether, Motivation and Safe. The delivery of the curriculum is underpinned by our values and the school motto.

We want all of our children to have no limits to what their ambitions are and want them to embody our core values. We all believe that: “if you can DREAM it, you can believe it, If you believe it you can achieve it”. Our curriculum is carefully crafted so that our children develop their academic, social and cultural capital.

Our curriculum promotes curiosity and a love and thirst for learning. It is ambitious and empowers our children to become independent and resilient. We strive for academic excellence and want our children to have high aspirations.

We encourage our children to celebrate success and build on setbacks and mistakes in order to develop resilience. We want to equip them with not only the minimum statutory requirements of the National Curriculum but to prepare them for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of later life. We want our children to use the vibrancy of our growing town to learn from other cultures, respect diversity, co-operate with one another and appreciate what they have. We achieve this by providing a strong SMSC curriculum, with British Values and our core values placed at the heart of everything we do. We enrich their time in our school with memorable experiences and provide opportunities which are normally out of reach. We firmly believe that it is not just about what happens in the classroom, it is about the added value we offer to really inspire our children.

Our Curriculum Implementation

Our curriculum has been carefully crafted and designed around our pupils and places their needs and interests at its core. It ensures the coverage and progression of all national curriculum objectives and is as broad, balances and relevant as possible. Learning opportunities and assessment endpoints for each year group have been mapped out carefully to ensure progression and repetition so that learning, knowledge and skills are not only embedded and memorable but also unforgettable. Roebuck Academy has been working hard to re-invent the quality of education at the school and has been busy designing its new curriculum since September 2017. Some of the special features we love are: Inspire Maths, Daily supported reading in Key Stage One, Immersive learning experiences, Arts Focus & our Growth mindset approach.

The curriculum provides pupils with memorable experiences and opportunities for as much hands-on learning as possible. In addition to this we offer diverse and rich opportunities from which children can learn and develop a range of transferable skills. A primary focus of our curriculum is to raise aspirations and the desire to learn. Promoting resilience and enabling children to feel proud of themselves are fundamental factors; as a school value and an acronym for positive learning behaviours, believing in our DREAMS’ is a central part of school life.

We place great emphasis on our school motto of DREAM, BELIEVE, ACHIEVE with particular focus on our school values of DREAMS. They permeate all aspects of life at Roebuck Academy. Each half-term is allocated to one of these core values and these are explored as a whole-school theme. Weekly themes, under the core values umbrella theme, form the focus for our SMSC lessons and assemblies. For example, during our Safety themed half-term – our children explore themes such as ‘Share Aware Online Safety’ and ‘the Five ways to Well-being’.

We empower our staff to organise their curriculum as they see fit to best suit the needs of the pupils in their care. They are best placed to make these judgements. Staff develop year group specific long-term curriculum maps which identify when the different subjects and topics will be taught across the academic year. The vast majority of subjects are taught discretely but staff make meaningful links across subjects to deepen children’s learning.

Learning experiences are personalised to pupil’s needs and interests where possible and foundation subjects are delivered through a topic based approached to promote engagement in learning that is critical for pupils at Roebuck Academy. Children are introduced to new learning through immersive hooks and experiences which we find makes learning sticky and engages pupils in their learning. Children then share outcomes with parents and carers at their end points in a 'fantastic finish' where learning is shared and celebrated.

The curriculum on offer is not just enacted in the classroom and is a much broader experience at Roebuck; including wow days, immersive hooks, experiences, trips to places of interest, visits, workshops, extra-curricular opportunities and work with local secondary schools and our local community. We are very proud to offer pupils the opportunity to be a Roebuckian and follow the Roebuck Way’.

Our short-term plans are produced on a weekly and daily basis. We use these to set out the learning objectives for each lesson, identifying engaging activities and resources which will be used to achieve them.

We encourage staff to teach a weekly lesson for each of the foundation subjects and the core subject of science. This helps to ensure sufficient time is allocated to each subject area.

The teaching and delivery of the Arts have a high profile at Roebuck. We have earned the title of Arts mark platinum school. and have a profile across Hertfordshire as the lead school. Arts opportunities are extensive and many opportunities are offered through theme days and weeks across the school year. Giving the arts a focus across the school has supported many children in their learning including pupils with SEND.

Roebuck Academy is also able to offer an extensive range of after school provisions. To promote physical health and wellbeing, a range of clubs gives learners opportunities to access a wide variety of sports clubs after school hours and during lunch times. High quality visits and visitors into school enhance the curriculum and provide opportunities for writing for a purpose

Our Curriculum Impact

We use both formative and summative assessment information every day, in every lesson. Staff use this information to inform their short-term planning and short-term interventions – including in the foundation subjects. This helps us provide the best possible support for all of our pupils.

Our staff use formative assessment grids to systematically assess what the children know as the subject learning progresses which in turn informs their future planning. These formative assessment grids then inform summative assessment judgements for each subject in every foundation subject area.

Assessment information is analysed by Subject Leads, the Assessment Lead and Headteacher as part of our monitoring cycle. Pupil progress reviews are conducted half termly (formative) and termly (summative). This process provides the SLT and Governors with an accurate and comprehensive understanding of the quality of education in our school.

We set out our monitoring cycle at the beginning of each academic year. This identifies when monitoring for all year groups is undertaken in all subject areas. Monitoring includes: book scrutinies, lesson observations and/or learning walks, pupil/parent and/or staff voice.

All of this information is gathered and reviewed. It is used to inform further curriculum developments and provision is adapted accordingly.

In Maths, the children are taught using Maths No Problem scheme. Teachers plan and deliver teaching sequences for maths. They make use of the Online Teacher planning which helps to split the teaching and learning into different learning phases which make up the teaching sequence. Teachers have access to Medium- and Long-term plans from Maths No Problem online to ensure coverage of the national curriculum. The Subject Leaders monitor these plans half-termly and give staff individual feedback. Staff have attended training in the new Maths No Problem curriculum and planning and teaching as well as CPD on Bar Modelling, which features heavily throughout the scheme following. Please click on the link below for Year group objectives:

In English, children in EYFS and Key Stage 1 learn Phonics through the 'Monster Phonics 'scheme. This is matched closely to the letters and sounds programme by the DFE. This may continue in to Key Stage 2 for some children where appropriate. For English lessons, the children are taught the following. Please click on the link below:

English Year 1-6 (All terms)

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) sets standards for the learning, development and care of children from birth to 5 years old. Children in the EYFS are taught from the EYFS statutory framework. Click the link below to see this document:

EYFS statutory framework

Classes provide a curriculum web every term. Each web contains information on the learning taking place in each subject / Area of Learning. Learning is centred and planned around children’s interests and needs as well as pupil voice. We have also planned our curriculum around 'topical themes' that match both the national curriculum as well as pupil voice. Our topical work is linked to as many subjects across the curriculum so that we immerse children in their learning experiences. To see these curriculum webs, please click the links below:

We have recently updated our curriculum maps to further develop coverage and cohesion. The links above provide you an overview of the curriculum for each phase. If you would like to know more about the curriculum your child is following, please make an appointment (via the staff in the school office) to meet your child's class teacher.