OUTWOOD PRIMARY SCHOOL
Remote Learning and the Recovery Curriculum at Outwood
All of our children and community have been affected by the global pandemic. In the first lockdown, the majority of our children had been out of school for almost six months and now many of our children are learning remotely from home. This time away from school and friends will affect them all in some way. Outwood is responding to the needs of our school community through supporting families with Remote Learning and through ensuring that we offer both a Recovery Curriculum and a Recovery of the Curriculum.
Remote Learning
In order to ensure that learning is continued, irrespective of lockdown and self-isolation, Outwood Primary School has developed our remote curriculum offer. At Outwood, we will continue to provide a rich and deep remote curriculum that promotes a love of learning and gives children the confidence to be curious, to explore and to provide opportunities for children to challenge themselves. Through our remote curriculum offer we want our children to continue to develop as:
A – Aspirational learners who embrace learning throughout their lives
C – Curious and inquisitive minds that explore the world around them
O – Open minded individuals who embrace all opportunities with enthusiasm
R – Respectful and resilient global citizens who excel in a rich and diverse curriculum
N – Nurturing and caring individuals who make a positive contribution to society
These ‘Acorn’ core values feed through all of the children’s learning.
Recovery Curriculum
At the heart of our approach to learning, is the belief that children learn best when they are happy. We pride ourselves in the effectiveness of our pastoral care, which is underpinned by the Acorn values of our school. We are ensuring that there are more times and opportunities across the week for children to share their experiences and feelings alongside establishing routines to support the children. Each week classes will take part in Circles, where children have the chance to explore and share ideas. PSHE lessons are enhanced to ensure that there are many opportunities to re-build friendships and relationships. Wellbeing activities focus on having fun, sharing and enjoying being together again. Positive mental and physical health is central to our wellbeing programme. Whenever possible we learn outdoors, including forest school, smile for a mile, outdoor PE and a new initative "creating our own garden areas". Our Senior Leadership Team supports any children and families who need a little extra help. This may include support for families whose circumstances have changed due to job losses, bereavement or other circumstances. This is also further supported by the work of the SENDCo and external agencies who carry out programmes of work to support our children’s mental, emotional and social wellbeing.
Recovery of the curriculum
Its purpose is to embed any adjustments to the curriculum through our Acorn values. Our children’s experiences of the pandemic vary greatly. Some have loved learning and playing at home, whilst others have suffered losses which have made them feel anxious or sad. Children in our school come from a diverse range of home backgrounds; some have been affected more adversely by the pandemic than others. On the children’s return to school, we will assess their experiences and needs, so that we can adjust levels of support on an individual basis, dependent on need. We will ensure that we have a transparent curriculum where all our children know how together we will address the gaps that have arisen through their time away from school. Outwood will approach learning in differents ways to help reskill and rebuild the confidence of our children as learners. Finally, at Outwood, we will make certain that the children are not disadvantaged against their peers, providing opportunity and exploration alongside driving high expectations.