Mellor Primary School Challenge Curriculum Development Evening

1. Mellor Primary School Curriculum DevelopmentsAn evening to share with parents future developments of our ‘Challenge Curriculum’Thursday 17th November 2011

2. What will you learn tonight? • Our reasons for curriculum development • An understanding of the structure of the curriculum • The changing face of education and the skills development that school needs to consider • The methods we use to engage children in their learning • The type of learning experiences that your children will have

3. Parents and teachers worked together to identify what we believe to be the core attributes that a young person should have…

4. There were of course many more thoughts…

5. We have a responsibility to review and develop our curriculum. Our children live in a world that is subject to great changes in the following aspects… • Technology • Population • Gap rich vs poor • Global culture • Ethnicity • Sustainability • View of knowledge • What we know about learning • Economy

6. Diamond Nine Activity Place the attributes in order of importance from top to bottom.

7. TASC Wheel Challenge Curriculum Learning Development at Mellor Primary School Forest School Approach Non-negotiables

8. What is a challenge curriculum? • A way of working • A mind set • Not a new QCA • Not off the peg curriculum

9. What drives the learning challenge approach? • Learners at the centre • Enquiry based learning • Outcomes of high quality and valued • Embedding application of basic skills • Writing for a purpose • Research about learning and neurology • Matching to the context • Cross-curricular (where meaningful)

10. Outstanding Lesson • Active • Meaningful • Questioning • Reflective

11. What is the underlying pedagogy? • Teaching and learning • Build around a questioning and enquiry approach; helping to hook children into learning • Incorporates curiosity into the teaching sequences • Incorporates challenge and differentiation • Meta-cognition • Incorporating’ thinking about thinking and learning’ • Curriculum • Allows you to demonstrate statutory coverage • Ensures an incremental approach to skill development • Driven by driving standards in all subjects. • Supported differentiation • Weaves together subject specific skills; the basics and genre-features in writing • Assessment • Assessment pro-actively built into the planning process • Skill progression used to ensure clarity of levelling in all subjects • Allows assessment to be used to make a difference to what actually happens in the classroom

12. Belle WallaceA leading mind in understanding how best we learn… For further information look at the following web address http://www.tascwheel.com/belle-wallace

13. Thinking Actively in a Social ContextTASC Wheel This wheel demonstrates some of the ways that we engage our children during the learning process.

14. Creating Enquiry-based ethos Putting Questioning at the heart of the school’s ethos and culture Aiming for more learners involvement in the process Learning Challenges Improving Teacher and Learner questioning Deepen the Thinking Prime Learning Challenge Subsidiary Learning Challenges

15. Prime Learning Challenges that work • Where have all the puddles gone? • Why didn’t Granddad have a play station when he was little? • Where do the stars go to in the daytime? • Why are there so many leaves on the floor? • Should Goldilocks really have said sorry? • Why can’t I fly? • How can we save Frosty the Snowman? • What causes the Earth get angry? Prime Learning Challenges

16. Subsidiary Challenges

17. The Wow Event

18. The aim of the WOW event is to tap in to the natural curiosity of the learners, so that children will be compelled to ask questions, want to know more and be ready to plunge in to the learning experience.

19. Non Negotiables : Year 2 Core skill development age appropriate.

20. Non Negotiables All year groups have areas to develop children’s learning skills as exemplified above.

21. So what is creativity?It is part of the challenge Curriculum. When you think of hand painting what do you see?

22. Imagination is more important than knowledge Albert Einstein The question is.. Can we give our children the opportunity to express their imaginations and develop their creativity?

23. The work of Guido DanieleClick your way through the amazing creative work of this inspirational artist.

40. Class information sessionBut before you go! On a post it write: One thing that has made you think or struck a chord with you.

41. Parents’ thoughts at the end of the evening • Made me think that ‘thinking outside the box’ probably happens more often than I thought. • The need for a WOW to start the process of learning ……………….. • How does the challenge curriculum affect Maths? • It’s all about questioning. • Reflective – makes you think of ways to improve and learn. • Thinking outside the box and this encourages creativity. • Thinking outside the box – creative minds!! • Being imaginative, thinking ‘differently’ is a strength! • Importance of responding to children’s questions no matter how silly they seem such as ‘Why can’t I fly?’ • Do schools help or hinder creative development? • Love the idea of the ‘WOW’! • Thinking outside the box! Not conforming to Government standardisation. • What Albert said – imagination is more important than knowledge • No boundaries – good to allow children to free up their imagination. • WOW events are a good idea! • Engaging children to think about why they are learning something. • Parents think about how learning has changed since we were at school. • What a challenge? Balance between ‘non negotiables’ and challenge curriculum. • It hit home how many things our children learn in their lifetime and what a difficult job it must be to balance their learning so everything is covered. • Starting with a WOW factor at the start of a topic!