OUR LEARNING CHALLENGE CURRICULUM
LONG TERM PLAN
Year 1- Year 6
Guidance for staff
The creative curriculum topics follow a three-year rolling programme for Y1 and Y2 (Key Stage 1); Y3 and Y4 (Lower Key Stage 2) and Y5 and Y6 (Upper Key Stage 2) following the same topics. The topics for each year should be completed in order and other subjects such as English and Mathematics can be taught to fit with the Learning Challenge Curriculum. This was decided by staff in 2014.
Learning Challenges – The Principles
The Learning challenge concept is built around the principle of greater learner involvement in their work. It requires deep thinking and encourages learners to work using a question as the starting point.
Teachers and learners use a prime learning challenge, expressed as a question, as the starting point. Using information gained from pre-learning tasks and the school’s context, a series of subsidiary challenges are then planned. Each subsidiary learning challenge is also expressed as a question. The subsidiary learning challenge is normally expected to last for one week but this does not need to be the case. The important point is that the learning challenges need to make sense to the learners and be something that is within their immediate understanding.
Planning of creative curriculum
It is expected that staff completing the same topics will work together to plan using Focus Education 2014 guidance (Medium Term Plan). This sets out the prime learning challenge and subsequent weekly learning challenges.
Pre-Learning Tasks ensure that learners are directly involved in the planning process. Well planned pre-learning tasks should help to bring out what learners already know; what misconceptions they may have and what really interests them. Teachers should take account of the outcomes from pre-learning tasks to plan the subsidiary learning challenges for each major area of study. It should help teachers recognise which transferable skills learners have already developed that could be used to initiate new learning with a level of confidence. Pre-Learning tasks could take many forms and can last for as long or as short as required. Some may be written tasks, others oral. Mind mapping should be used with the learners at the beginning of each unit in order make learning meaningful for them. This should be displayed in the classroom. This will then be revisited at the end of the unit before they complete their WINK assessment-What I Now Know. Using pre-learning tasks as part of a schools’ programmes of home learning will also help to get parent s and carers directly involved in their children’s learning.
Time for learners to reflect or review their learning is central to the whole process. This is in keeping with the ‘Learning to Learn’ principles where reflection is seen as a very important part of individuals’ learning programme. Within the Learning Challenge Curriculum it is suggested that the final subsidiary learning challenge is handed over for learners to reflect on their learning-WINK. The idea is that learners present their learning back to the rest of the class or another appropriate audience (parallel class or website) making the most of their oracy and ICT skills to do so. Initially, learners may require a great deal of direction so the reflection time may need to be presented in the form of a question which helps them review their work. Although reflection is seen as a concluding part of the prime learning challenge, it is hoped that there will be continual opportunities for learners to reflect frequently, especially as each subsidiary learning challenge comes to an end. Ideally, there should be a good deal of learner autonomy evident during reflection time.
Creative Curriculum Resources:
There are clearly identified topic boxes (yellow) and bags available for the new topics. These can be added to during the unit. Please feel free to take the boxes to your teaching areas whilst teaching the topic but it is imperative they are returned, fully resourced, when the topic is finished. Also available are a range of big books in the library.
The topic bags are available to store any paper-based resources (labels, photocopies etc) as these get damaged in the boxes.
Please only use resources from the allocated boxes so as to avoid repetition.
For the beginning of each topic a WOW experience is suggested and a book or books should accompany the topic. Each topic should ideally include an educational visit. This does not need to be expensive but could be a walk around the local area, a WOW day organised at school, a visitor coming to school or a planned inside or outside activity.
For each topic there are links made across the curriculum in: English, Maths, Creative Art, Expressive art and Design and Technology. It is important that all these areas of the curriculum are covered throughout the year.
Please use the following links to download a pdf version of each
Learning Challenge Curriculum Long Term Plan KS1 updated1
Learning Challenge Curriculum Long Term Plan KS1 updated2
Learning Challenge Curriculum Long Term Plan KS1 updated3
