Our Rook’s Nest Learning Challenge Curriculum (LCC) has proved to be a successful means of ensuring full National Curriculum coverage through an exciting broad and balanced curriculum. The LCC is topic-based and is focussed on exciting themes, educational visits, visitors to school and quality first teaching. ‘Wow’ activities trigger children’s imagination and help to drive up standards through pupils’ positive engagement.
To ensure full coverage within an already squeezed curriculum, we have further refined our LCC so that teaching each half term is linked to a foundation subject. Other key subject drivers (Maths, English, Science, PE, PHSE, Art and Computing) are taught weekly and are linked, if relevant, to the main half-term topic.
When planning the curriculum, we have also considered how the unique selling points (USPs) of Rook’s Nest Academy are linked to the focus of the curriculum that particular half term.
- Curriculum – Progression
- Curriculum – Term
- Art and Design
- Computing
- Design Technology
- EYFS
- Geography
- History
- Literacy
- Mathematics
- Music
- PE
- RE
- Science
- Lockdown 1 2020 Home Learning Archive
Languages
Rooks Nest Academy believes that learning a language provides a valuable educational, social and cultural experience and that it can enrich the curriculum, with the philosophy that teachers are the experts. A high quality language education should foster children’s’ curiosity and deepen their understanding of the world. The progression of skills is evident across the school and is monitored on a termly basis.
Learning a language provides excitement, enjoyment and challenge for children and teachers, helping to create enthusiastic learners and to develop positive attitudes to language learning throughout life. Learning a language develops communication and generic language skills.
Learning a language enhances intercultural understanding and fosters love for languages and contact with other cultures. Pupils also gain a better understanding of their own culture and are liberated from insularity.
Learning a language provides a medium for cross-curricular links and for the reinforcement of knowledge, skills and understanding developed in other subjects. Children can see how language is such an important part of everything we do.
Special Events & Curriculum Diversity
As well as promoting curriculum diversity through our Learning Challenge Curriculum. Our curriculum promotes diversity through a series of school led or national celebrations including
- Language immersion days
- Black History Month (celebrated biannually)
- National Science week
- World Book Day
- Parent enrichment days
- World Mental Health Days
Preparing for SATs
Children in Year 2 and Year 6 take SATs in the Summer term to check how they are progressing with their learning. SATs include tests of reading, grammar and mathematics. At Rook’s Nest, we want all our children to achieve good results in these tests as they are good indicators of their general ability in Maths and English. While we value the tests, we believe that a broad curriculum helps children to succeed rather than narrowing teaching to focus on English and Maths. We pride ourselves on ensuring that Year 6 children have access to the full range of subjects in the lead up to the tests in May. As our curriculum is rigorous and built on high expectations, we do not run additional boosters during holidays and weekends.
If you would like to find out more about the SATs please speak to your child’s class teacher.
PHSE
At Rook’s Nest Academy, we use a range of teaching and learning styles to meet the PSHE requirements of government legislation on the teaching of personal, social, health and economic education. The scheme we use is 1decision, a kitemarked assured programme for PSHE, Relationships and Sex Education learning.