Curriculum Offer at Elmwood School

Background:

The curriculum offer at Elmwood has developed significantly overtime and puts our pupils at the centre of everything we do. We prepare our young people for their post 16 journeys and adulthood by providing opportunities that offer stretch and challenge, make rounded personalities and help individuals find how they can best contribute to their surrounding community. We believe ‘it takes a village to raise a child’ and that our learning community when combined with parents & carers, are the best possible attributes involved in this journey utilising a skills deficient model to create brighter futures.

Each aspect of the curriculum is underpinned by one of Morlock’s stages of adventure and secures a global movement committed to changing the modern world so that it lives in harmony with nature.

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The four stages of adventure are as follows:

Play: Where the child is working in an environment where no fear/risk are prevalent but they are having a nice, pleasant time.

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Adventure: The child is in control of the situation and is using their knowledge and experience to overcome potential barriers, fear/risk is virtually absent due to control levels.

Frontier Adventure: The child is working within an environment where uncertainty is apparent, there is fear/risk of failure but if they succeed in this event then is firmly etched upon their mind for ever. This enables “stretch and challenge” to occur.

Misadventure: The child is experiencing a situation that they are not in control of and don’t have the knowledge and experience to achieve the outcome YET! They will be made aware of the risks and natural consequences that could occur if they continue with this activity without support and guidance.

Each curriculum area is supported by the use of a Knowledge Word Wheel which enables differentiated outcomes, and planning for differentiated questioning aligned to blooms taxonomy. This in turn provides pupils with the opportunity to deepen their knowledge and understanding in a clear and accessible way when needed. In addition to this each subject area conducts a baseline assessment which enables us to celebrate a child’s progress from starting point into the school whilst establishing challenging targets for them to aspire to and maximise attainment.

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Our Key Stage 3 Curriculum Model: 

All of our pupils are encouraged to actively engage in a wide range of learning experiences that promote a knowledge of all areas. The KS3 Curriculum Model is constructed with a central focus being on Out and About, the Social Use of Language, and the skills of reflection. English, Maths, Science, Physical Education, Food Technology, Art, Design & Technology, a half termly theme topic, Drama, Social reading and PSHEe enhance the variety of subjects offered to our pupils. We encourage pupils to take pride in their work and find ways to overcome challenges when faced with adversity using appropriate methods and strategies that have a positive impact on learning. Pupils are stretched and challenged both academically and personally as we promote resilience in attitudes to learning by using a variety of skills and work models. We celebrate pupils who are able to show a love of learning in a variety of ways which doesn’t have to be excellent attainment but can also be a passion to learn or a desire to excel.

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We encourage learning to be taken beyond the walls of a classroom where relevant as often as possible. This enables learners to relate their learning to the world around them and make it more accessible and relative to real life experiences and scenarios. We underpin all our learning to educate our pupils to know how it fits into their environment and the impact it has on engagement with their surroundings.

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