Our Recovery Curriculum

 

Here at Brightwell we recognise that all children were provided with home learning from March 2020 and that most (all year groups) but not all children returned to our school from June 2020. Remote learning was provided for all children from 5th January 2021 with engagement levels high during both closures and delivery via Microsoft Teams in terms 3 and 4. We also recognise that each family will have had a different experience around home and remote learning. Responses to surveys and an “All About Me/ What I want my child’s teacher to know” shared in term 6 in 2020, offered a good understanding of what their experience had been and where they felt their challenges with their child’s learning lay. 

 

In preparation for September 2020, topics planned had been adjusted, taking into account the likely starting points of each year group. They offered opportunities for children to cover skills and knowledge they may ordinarily have covered in the summer term and this was no different for the 8th March full reopening. We continue cover the full breadth of the curriculum, working to reduce the gap between disadvantaged pupils and their peers and raise the attainment of all pupils to close the gap created by the closures.

 

From September we continued to apply the embedded systems in place to assess learning in a formative way so as to continually inform our planning and teaching. This was undertaken in whole class settings as well as small groups and continued to be driven by need. Our internal monitoring systems indicated that progress in terms 1 and 2 was very positive. Great teaching continues to be the most important part of improving outcomes for our children and targeted academic support includes same day interventions, pre-teaching and teacher led interventions. We continue to reflect on the period of home and remote learning and build into our day-to-day teaching those skills that children may have had less opportunity to develop while away from school, such as collaborative working. Teachers continue respond to the needs of the class as they are presented.

 

In light of the pandemic experience, we are mindful of the even greater importance than usual that PSHE will have in class and throughout the school. In addition to our timetabled PSHE lessons and regular work on the school values, each class has dedicated time daily to focus on their emotional learning and mental health. This takes many forms and is, of course, age appropriate. We have increased outdoor learning opportunities and will ensure that all children can enjoy outdoor play at breaks and lunchtimes, no matter the weather.

 

We continue to explore the government's National Tutoring Programme suitability for our school context and the need presented by our children as part of our COVID recovery at Brightwell School.

 

In short; great teaching, targeted academic support, assessment and feedback and wider support for all.  

Pre COVID statement

At Brightwell cum Sotwell CofE Primary School, our curriculum is based on the National Curriculum 2014. We have developed a curriculum that is enriched with opportunities for the children to explore, investigate and question. The jigsaw map for each class and term, outlines the coverage of learning within each subject. Each term the subjects aim to be linked more widely to include our English and Maths teaching, as detailed on the subject pages.