Recovery Curriculum

We acknowledge the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the students’ learning as well as their wellbeing. Since the closure in March the team have been working towards redesigning its curriculum to ensure that all of our students can quickly recap on lockdown learning and be put back on track to make good progress in their subjects.

Based in part on the principles of Barry Carpenter’s Recovery Curriculum (2020), as well as integrating the recently revised teaching and learning strategies adopted by the academy prior to lockdown, the curriculum heavily emphasises modular learning and retrieval of knowledge. For the past few months students have experienced a blended approach of set home learning, some interactive teaching and, for some year groups, onsite teaching. As a result it is the aim of the revised curriculum to pull together all of these forms of learning in a structured way.

In order to support the students further and to prepare for a return to the academy all subjects have created revised curriculum maps to reflect the reduction in face-to-face teaching experienced. To complement the maps and blended learning approach, students will find an accompanying lockdown personalised learning checklist (which should cover the work they have been set during closure) as well as the plan for learning for August to October to close any gaps identified in learning.

The personalised learning checklists should be used by the students initially to reflect on their level of progress in the work set. When the students return subject teachers will be setting activities and developing retrieval practices to help students retain the knowledge listed on these documents.

The August to October planning should help to ensure transparency for students, parents and teachers about the start of the new academic year. Our aim is to reassure and support our students through these unprecedented times and by communicating subject expectations we hope to make them feel confident about how their progress will continue despite the current situation.

We will of course continue to update and amend our curriculum plans in response to any changes in the government response to the pandemic.

Checklists & Knowledge Organisers