Intent

At Woodfield Academy, we value each individual and encourage pupils to work towards their goals and aspiring to achieve, being the best, we can be together. We have an inclusive culture and passionately believe that education has the power to open doors and change lives for all. We aim for our pupils to not only stand together, shoulder to shoulder with their peers but also exceed expectations because fundamentally – anything is possible!

The curriculum at Woodfield Academy has been developed to teach pupils the most powerful knowledge in each subject area. Our pupils also learn a wide variety of skills, honing their expertise and talents in practical, vocal and written subject areas. Through a carefully constructed curriculum our pupils are given the maximum opportunity to internalise knowledge and skills across all subjects.

We have high expectations of what the pupils at Woodfield Academy can achieve and everyone is challenged to meet their potential. In order to achieve this, the most powerful substantive and procedural knowledge is carefully selected to ensure that the curriculum is knowledge rich and ambitious. We encourage our pupils to be curious about their learning and make connections within each subject and across others.

Our philosophy is centralised around our four core values of – Compassion, Respect, Resilience and Responsibility

Through promoting these values, we believe our pupils should develop as:

• Healthy, confident individuals, ready to lead fulfilling lives as valued members of society with compassion for self and others.
• Ethically informed citizens at a local, national and global level with an ability to show respect to all individuals and the environment.
• Ambitious, capable lifelong learners who persevere and show resilience.
• Enterprising, creative contributors who are empowered and ready to play a full-part in life and take responsibility.

Implementation

Our curriculum delivers the support, knowledge and skills that means pupils feel they belong and are motivated to succeed. Transition links with partner schools provide our pupils with an effective learning journey through their education. Liaison between schools takes place throughout the year with departments working together, sharing good practice and ensuring a broad and balanced curriculum coverage for our pupils. Staff work together across the phases to share curriculum expertise and develop relationships with pupils prior to transition.

Impact

Quality assurance for our curriculum also includes a combination of the following activities. Focused faculty weeks include; work scrutiny, Learning walks, Stakeholder voice, Assessment data and Line management meetings.

The impact of the school’s curriculum is measured and validated through in a wide range of ways including;

Outcomes for students at Y6 SATS:-

• Internal progress and attainment data for current year groups.
• Attendance data.
• Behaviour logs.
• Engagement in enrichment activities.
• Student voice

Subject Vison
Woodfield academy is a place where our day to day mission is to ignite a passion to learn and a desire to succeed in an environment that nurtures all.’

It is a place where learners are taught through our curriculum, to make informed choices and to be responsible for their own actions, through the teaching of four core values; Compassion, Respect, Resilience and Responsibility.

Driven by our ethos and school values, Art enhances and provides pupils with essential knowledge they need to be educated citizens. It allows pupils to engender an appreciation of human creativity and achievement. Art refines motor skills, hand-eye coordination, problem solving skills, lateral thinking, complex analysis and critical thinking skills. No matter what career you choose, those who can arrange, present and display material in a way that is aesthetically pleasing have an advantage.

Arts subjects encourage self-expression and creativity and can build confidence as well as a sense of individual identity. Creativity can also help with wellbeing and improving health and happiness, art can be used as an outlet for releasing the pressures of studying as well as those of everyday life and is used by many pupils during periods of isolation as a means of self- expression and communication.

Art topics promote positive attitudes and address issues of difference. Topics such as “Sarah Beetson portraits” challenge stereotypes and explores identity using “themselves” as a starting point.

Pupil’s work is displayed throughout the Academy and exciting and interactive installations showcase the creativity of our pupils.

Enrichment activities such as Art clubs and visits are accessible to all pupils and offers them the opportunity to experience art in different settings such as working outdoors, observing and creating site specific artwork.

Learning through and about the arts enriches the experience of studying while at school, as well as preparing pupils for life after Woodfield Academy.

“Every artist was first an amateur” Ralph Waldo Emerson

Subject Vison

“Coding is today’s language of creativity. All our children deserve a chance to become creators instead of consumers of computer science.”

– Maria Klawe

The core purpose of studying Computing and ICT at Woodfield, and what we want students to gain from it, can be summarised in two statements:

Computing and the use of ICT is central to the education of all children because they will be required to use technology, throughout their education and on into work. In a middle school setting we aim to consolidate learning as soon as possible.  It is essential that students have opportunity to build skills quickly in Year 5. With a wider range of feeder schools, it is clear that pupils join Woodfield with very contrasting experiences in ICT.  Students should have the opportunity to apply and develop their technological understanding and skills across a wide range of digital contexts, to allow them to feel empowered to manage issues with technology outside of education, and make positive contributions in their local and global communities.

A high-quality computing education equips students to use computational thinking and creativity to understand and change the world. Computing has deep links with mathematics, science, and design and technology, and provides insights into computer systems and how technology is used around them.

The core of computing is computer science, in which students are taught the principles of information and computation, we begin our journey by using block driven coding platforms to teach the fundamentals of computational thing and examine the constructs behind computer programming.  Students are being equipped to use information technology to safely create programs, systems and a range of content.

It is also essential to prepare our students for vastly different futures. It is vital that all students are taught the required skills to become digitally literate – able to use, and express themselves and develop their ideas through, information and communication technology – at a level suitable for use in their next steps of education.  As part of their study in digital literacy, students will learn how to be responsible digital citizens, safe and effective users of technology and understand the impact that their digital footprints leave.

Our curriculum follows a modular design with 4 – 5 modules per year, split between 3 key progression areas. As our pupils are learning in mixed ability groups the level of demand or support varies in each module. Due to the changes in curriculum, our schemes of work are under constant redevelopment to ensure they provide ample opportunities for development and extension that are applicable outside of education.

By the time our pupils leave us for high school they will have the necessary skills to support their pathways through an ICT or Computing GCSE. We provide a solid grounding to ensure they will have the necessary transferable skills to contribute to any of their future learning and employment.

Implementation:

The computing curriculum at Woodfield has been created using a combination of the Teach Computing Curriculum as well as relevant units from other curriculums that work towards the same learning outcomes. This design has been chosen to best support the learners at Woodfield Academy. As learners arrive at Woodfield in Year 5 with vastly different start points and exposures to computing, it is not feasible to only follow the Teach Computing Curriculum. Common gaps that appear on entry have been identified and accounted for in the curriculum plan. The Teach Computing Curriculum provides the foundation for our teaching, we have then used the subject knowledge expertise of the teaching staff to develop other modules that build on the foundational skills necessary for pupils to progress against the national curriculum. Code.Org has been chosen by the school for the majority of programming lessons, this is due to the accessibility features. Code.Org provides a structured and accessible way to introduce programming fundamentals to pupils, fostering creativity and critical thinking skills.

Coherence and Flexibility-
Curriculum is structured into units, where the lessons in each unit must be taught in order. However, across a year group, units do not need to be taught in order, apart from Programming, where concepts and skills rely on prior learning and experiences.
Knowledge Organization-
Uses NCCE computing taxonomy to ensure comprehensive coverage of the subject. All learning outcomes can be described through a high-level taxonomy of ten strands:
Spiral Curriculum-
KS2 based on spiral curriculum, themes are revisited regularly, and pupils revisit the themes through a new unit that builds on prior learning within that theme. This reduces the amount of knowledge lost through forgetting as topics are revisited. It also ensures that connections are made even if different teachers are teaching the units withing a theme in consecutive years.
Physical Computing–
Is a key role in modern pedagogical approaches in computing. This is offered to pupils in KS2 through teaching MicroBits. Physical computing is also offered through extra-curricular activities.

Core principles:
Inclusive and ambitious- Teach Computing Curriculum written to support all pupils. Each lesson is sequenced so that it builds on learning from earlier lessons, and activities are scaffolded so that all pupils can succeed and thrive. Scaffolded activities provide pupils with extra resources, such as visual prompts, to reach the same learning goals as the rest of the class. A range of pedagogical strategies are also embedded within lessons, which support making computing topics more accessible.

 

Structure of Units of work:

Where work has been created by subject staff, it has been made to build upon the NC objectives with a focus on transferable skills. These are in line with the NCCE Teach Computing Framework.

National Curriculum Coverage- KS2

Pedagogical Approaches:

As computing is a relatively new discipline, evidence of effective teaching approaches continues to emerge and evolve. We follow the NCCE 12 principles of Computing Pedagogy. These materials were created by the Raspberry Pi Foundation as part of the National Centre and are licensed under the Open Government License v3.0 (correct as of May 2024). Each of the twelve principles has been shown by research to contribute to the effective teaching and learning in computing.

Pedagogy-principles.pdf (teachcomputing.org)

Assessment:

Assessment in computing should focus on determining whether pupils can remember what they have been taught and can apply their knowledge as intended. Accurate assessment is used to inform adapted teaching, allowing teachers to build on previous learning and support development of ideas and skills through the whole computing curriculum.

Through a range of formative and summative assessment approaches learning is evaluated at every strand of the curriculum. Assessment is monitored using assessment frameworks (rubrics) for each year group whereby each unit is broken down into development stages (EDSM).

In most lessons, formative assessment opportunities are used by teachers to ensure that misconceptions are recognised and addressed if they occur. These can vary from observation, questioning or marked activities. These assessments are vital to ensure adaptive teaching takes place to suit the needs of the pupil’s teacher are working with. Lessons may be changed in response for formative assessment.

Formative Assessment:

Starter activities

These are examples of formative tasks in the form of retrieval practice. These tasks allow pupils to recall and rehearse their learning from the previous lesson(s) these do not introduce new topics and are used to monitor what has been remembered and what may need re-visiting.

Plenary activities:

These formative assessment tasks are placed at the end of lessons, these are used to assess learning from a lesson and identify misconceptions to inform future planning. These may take the place of Multiple-Choice Quiz’s (MCQs)

Hinge Questions:

Are used within MCQs but may also be placed within a lesson to formatively assess learning and find and address misconceptions.

Summative Assessment:

While written testing is not used for each unit, work will be assessed through the assessment framework documents. All units are designed to cover both skills and concepts across the computing national curriculum. Units that focus more on conceptual development may use MCQs as a summative assessment of knowledge. Project based work may be assessed through use of the assessment framework (rubric).

Multiple Choice Quiz (MCQ):

MCQs have been written for some units to represent the learning that should have been achieved within the unit. These have been taken from the NCCE as well as created in-house for specific units of work. The diagnostic assessment approach has been followed to ensure the assessment of the unit is useful. Hinge Questions are used in these to determine how well the pupils have understood the content and identify common misconceptions. These may also be used for summative assessment.

Assessment Frameworks:

Rubric tool to help teachers assess project-based work. Each assessment framework covers the application of skills that have been directly taught. Guidelines for conceptual based units are included on the rubrics to ensure that assessment is made fairly, and not just against a summative assessment result.

­2024-2025 Academic Year:

Progression:

The First Schools that feed to Woodfield Academy are familiar with and use the Teach Computing Curriculum. This is a benefit to our pupils coming into Year 5 as foundational concepts have been previously introduced (for example, computational thinking). However, it has been suggested that Primary Schools may find issues with scheduling sufficient time and expertise for the “gold standard” of computing. (The crisis with Computing in Primary schools (computingatschool.org.uk))
As well as this, digital literacy is an important element of computing in the national curriculum, with the access to devices at home often being limited it is important all pupils at Woodfield Academy get the opportunity to use a variety of devices to  become digitally literate to best prepare them for life. Therefore, it remains a priority of Woodfield Academy to allow time to re-visit concepts and skills taught at lower Key Stage 2 and apply and use these skills across different hardware and software. We continue to place significant emphasis on building competent and confident digital citizens using Teach Computing across this Key Stage through the implementation of a spiral curriculum.

As the pupil’s progress through Key Stage 2 and into Key Stage 3, the effective delivery of our computing curriculum prepares pupils for the transition into high school by instilling them with a robust set of computational skills and an understanding of fundamental computing concepts. Computing in KS3 must prepare pupils for two pathways, those that choose to work in Information Technology and those that go on to study Computer science. The computing curriculum at Woodfield Academy ultimately provides a foundation of substantive and procedural knowledge for pupils to build on when entering Year 9.

Resources

Computing is intrinsically linked to technology and therefore requires that pupils experience and use a range of digital tools and devices. To ensure work is accessible to all pupils the school provides access to the following hardware and software:

• Desktop Computer
• Headphones/Headsets
• Presentation Software
• Various Websites
• Spreadsheet Software
• Word Processing Software
• Desktop Publishing Software
• Canva *
• Software to create a blog- Microsoft Sway*
• Online Form Creator*
• Plain text editor – (Windows Notepad)
• Edublocks (website)
• org (website)
• Python Mu IDE*
• MicroBit and MakeCode
• Windows Movie Maker
• Kodu Game Lab
• Scratch*
• Minecraft Education*
• Accessible keyboards and mice (SEN)

*non-essential, pupil group dependent.

Further Information:

Further information about the Teach Computing Curriculum can be found here: Curriculum teaching resources (teachcomputing.org)

 

Subject Vison

‘Woodfield academy is a place where our day to day mission is to ignite a passion to learn and a desire to succeed in an environment that nurtures all.’

It is a place where learners are taught through our curriculum, to make informed choices and to be responsible for their own actions, through the teaching of four core values; Compassion, Respect, Resilience and Responsibility.

Driven by our ethos and school values, Design and Technology is an inspiring, rigorous and practical subject. Our curriculum provides our pupils with opportunities to: develop their creativity in designing products for the betterment of society that are ethical and functional; improves their knowledge of the design process across a range of disciplines; and focuses on the use of specialist technology in order to function effectively in an ever-changing world.

Across the curriculum our pupils are able to make connections between Food Technology, Resistant Materials, Electronics, CAD/CAM and Textiles by studying the thinking process involved in product creation. Pupils design, make and evaluate products that solve real and relevant problems within a variety of contexts.

Pupils draw on wider curriculum areas such as mathematics, science, engineering, computing and art, learning how to take risks, becoming resourceful, innovative, enterprising and capable citizens.

In KS2, pupils experience the wood workshop and food technology room. Safe work practice is our top priority and pupils will often revisit these valuable lessons as they move into KS3.In KS3, pupils build on prior knowledge and skills with an increasing focus on independence and responsibility throughout each of the disciplines.

We seek to provide opportunities for pupils to reach the highest academic outcomes by building on foundational knowledge through KS3 and readying pupils for High School transitions, examinations and by encouraging pupils to see Design and Technology as a vehicle for future employability.

Enrichment events and activities such as, Chef of the Year and the IET Faraday challenge all serve to inspire and raise the aspirations of our pupils by enabling them to experience the opportunites Design and Technology can offer them.

Design and Technology makes an essential contribution to the ability of individuals to contribute to the prosperity of the nation.

“Design and Technology should be the subject where mathematical brainboxes and science whizzkids turn their bright ideas into useful products”. James Dyson

Click here to view/download – Home Learning Homework

Subject Vison

‘Woodfield academy is a place where our day-to-day mission is to ignite a passion to learn and a desire to succeed in an environment that nurtures all.’

It is a place where learners are taught through our curriculum, to make informed choices and to be responsible for their own actions, through the teaching of four core values; Compassion, Respect, Resilience and Responsibility.

At Woodfield Academy, we believe that the ability to read well is a vital skill for all learning across the curriculum. We aim for all pupils to leave us as fluent, well-informed, and engaged readers, who are well-prepared for their next steps.

Our curriculum is planned around carefully chosen texts which expose pupils to a range of cultures, time periods, vocabulary, and sentence structures. These rich texts enable pupils to develop their reading skills as well as becoming skilled writers themselves.

We aim to develop a love of reading so that our pupils are readers for life. All pupils spend at least an hour every week in our well-resourced library, using our online reading programme, Reading Plus, and reading independently or in small groups. Furthermore, all pupils have the opportunity to be involved in author visits, book clubs and World Book Day activities.

We value speaking and listening skills and promote these through lessons. All our pupils take part in yearly speaking and listening competitions; the topics of which range from performance poetry to giving persuasive speeches.

‘He that loves reading has everything within his reach.’ William Godwin

Click on below links to view/download documents.

Home Learning Homework

Key-Stage-2-home-learning-grid
Book-review-writing-template-1
Book-review-writing-template-option-2
Author-fact-file-sheet
Example-author-fact-file-Dick-King-Smith
Graphic-novel-template
Features-of-a-newspaper-report-checklist
Example-newspaper-report

Key-Stage-3-home-learning-grid
Newspaper-writing-frame
Story-mountain-planning-sheets-choose-one
Example-author-biography
Websites-for-support-and-ideas

Subject Vision

‘Woodfield academy is a place where our day to day mission is to ignite a passion to learn and a desire to succeed in an environment that nurtures all.’

It is a place where learners are taught through our curriculum, to make informed choices and to be responsible for their own actions, through the teaching of four core values; Compassion, Respect, Resilience and Responsibility.

Our geography curriculum aims to engender excitement, creativity and critical thinking about the world. Ultimately, we want our students to enjoy and love learning about geography by gaining the knowledge and skills to understand and make sense of the world, by organising and connecting information and ideas about people, places, processes and environments; To be able to explain how the earth’s significant features and places, at different scales, are interconnected and change over time is at the core of our curriculum. Therefore, our geography curriculum is underpinned not just by key concepts such as: place and space, but interdependence and sustainability – the interdependence between human and physical geography.

In Key Stage 3 particularly, the programme of study is thematic; focusing on current affairs such as weather and climate, population and energy; facilitating our students to expand their understanding of what it means to be a ‘global citizen.’

Geography is taught as part of a half termly carousel focusing on the knowledge and skills outlined in the National Curriculum and is designed to build upon prior geographical knowledge. The emphasis is very much on equipping our students with the skills to unpick and question previously unfamiliar terms, processes and concepts. It enables our students to gain ‘real life’ experiences e.g. from using digital maps of the local area in KS2 to comparing the similarities and differences in environments and communities through to debating world issues in KS3 such as: China’s One Child Policy and the Antarctic Treaty.

We ensure both literacy and numeracy are a focus by exposing the students to a range of data and articles. To develop our students’ cultural capital, we explore a range of issues from different countries and cultures with the aim of developing our students’ understanding and respect for the experiences of people living in a variety of countries and situations around the world.

“Geography is a subject which holds the key to our future”. Michael Palin

Click on below links to view/download documents.

Home Learning Homework

Y5 Spring Humanities
Y6 Spring Humanities
Y7 Spring Humanities
Y8 Spring Humanities

 

Subject Vison

‘Woodfield academy is a place where our day to day mission is to ignite a passion to learn and a desire to succeed in an environment that nurtures all.’

It is a place where learners are taught through our curriculum, to make informed choices and to be responsible for their own actions, through the teaching of four core values; Compassion, Respect, Resilience and Responsibility.

Our history curriculum fires students’ curiosity to ask questions and find out more about Britain’s past and that of the wider world. It equips our students with knowledge about the history of Britain and how it has influenced and been influenced by the wider world and a chronological framework that will enable them to make sense of new knowledge they acquire. We want our students to develop a historical perspective of the world around them; to realise that the past is gone and history is constructed and contested. We aim to inspire, not just through experiences in the classroom but with educational visits and fieldwork.

Our history curriculum is underpinned not just by key concepts such as: change and continuity, cause and consequence and significance but by examining, in detail, how the exercise of power has changed through history and its impact on the population; from the Romans in Key Stage 2 to the English Civil War in Key Stage 3. This in turn informs the types of questions we encourage our students, as independent enquirers, to ask about past events and people. The curriculum allows our students to understand the concept of change, to see how we arrived ‘here’ and help them make sense of the present.

Chronology and sequencing are at the heart of our curriculum in both ks2 and ks3. The units of work are chosen to provide our students with the skills and knowledge for the next stage of learning be it ks2 or GCSEs. We ensure that both reading and writing is a focus by exposing the students to a range of historical tests, extracts and imagery relevant to the topic for a range of purposes. Our lessons and assessments are designed to show our students that expression is choice and not pre-determined whereby opportunities to given to discuss, present and role play ideas.

Our curriculum enables our students to gain ‘real life’ experiences e.g. from using written sources and artefactual evidence from the local area to look at how Britain has changed over time from the Industrial Revolution in KS2, to residential trips to Yorkshire and London in KS3. Students compare and contrast the nature of ancient civilisations to gain a greater understanding of the past and how it has shaped our world. History’s unique concepts and our curriculum helps our students to construct arguments and support them to become analytical in their approach to history; questioning human motivation and society with skill and confidence; expressing opinions and offering justifications.

“We are not makers of history, we are made by history” Martin Luther King, Jr.

Click on below links to view/download documents.

Home Learning Homework

Y5 Spring Humanities
Y6 Spring Humanities
Y7 Spring Humanities
Y8 Spring Humanities

Subject Vison

‘Woodfield academy is a place where our day to day mission is to ignite a passion to learn and a desire to succeed in an environment that nurtures all.’

It is a place where learners are taught through our curriculum, to make informed choices and to be responsible for their own actions, through the teaching of four core values; Compassion, Respect, Resilience and Responsibility.

Mathematics is central to everyday life, unlocking the world around us. From the concrete to the abstract, pupils will understand the necessity of mathematics to not only their everyday learning, but how the subject unlocks understanding and answers in practical subjects and is crucial to being financially literate.

At Woodfield Academy, the mathematics curriculum is broad, ambitious and rigorous and covers each of the major topic areas (Number, Algebra, Geometry, Measures and Data Handling). This pitch and pace at which pupils work is sensitive to the rate at which pupils learn and enables pupils to have a deep understanding of the content. Expectations are kept high and progress is made by all pupils.

Our aim is to ensure that all pupils continuously develop their numerical skills, knowledge and vocabulary in order to become confident mathematicians, fluent in mathematical reasoning and problem solving. Pupils will be consistently challenged by exploring a full range of mathematical processes and concepts, to ensure that they are not only SATs and High School ready, but so they can independently transfer key knowledge across the curriculum, particularly into STEM subjects.

Lessons at both KS2 and KS3 are taught using the same lesson structure, to ensure consistency throughout the school. These consist of:

· Retrieval – Used to revisit subject knowledge previously taught

· Key Instant Recall Facts (KIRFs) – Used to practise a core skill for a few minutes

· Anchor – Used to assess knowledge of a new concept/ subject content

· Main teaching input – Teach a new skill/ further develop a known skill

· Do it – Fluency activities

· Twist it – Fluency activities presented in an alternative way

· Deepen it – Reasoning and problem solving involving the skill being taught

Our well planned and sequenced curriculum, built on a clear sense of progression, will enable all pupils to appreciate the power of mathematics, readying them for further education and the wider world.

“The only way to learn mathematics is to do mathematics”. Paul Holmes

Subject Vison

‘Woodfield academy is a place where our day to day mission is to ignite a passion to learn and a desire to succeed in an environment that nurtures all.’

It is a place where learners are taught through our curriculum, to make informed choices and to be responsible for their own actions, through the teaching of four core values; Compassion, Respect, Resilience and Responsibility.

Through the teaching of French and German at Woodfield Academy, we aim to engender a love of learning a language and to equip our pupils with the skills, knowledge and understanding to underpin future studies. We seek to challenge and inspire, nurture a linguistic curiosity, and increase our pupils’ cultural capital.

Our purpose is to enable pupils to communicate in written and spoken form with increasing confidence, fluency, accuracy, and spontaneity. We seek to deepen their understanding of the world and their place within it so that they are more open and adaptable to new experiences.

Teaching develops the breadth and depth of pupils’ competence in listening, speaking, reading and writing based on a sound foundation of phonetics, core grammar and vocabulary. We adapt our curriculum to include pupils of all abilities, and activities are tailored to support and extend so that all pupils can realise their potential. Topics are chosen to reflect pupils’ interest, as well as providing them with the requirements needed for the next stage in their learning. The department endeavours to make learning languages fun and meaningful, providing students with opportunities for both collaboration and independent work in each lesson. Games, quizzes and competitions keep motivation high in lessons and a range of strategies, such as group talk, think-pair-share, role plays etc. are employed to create a classroom culture where learning from others is valued.

Pupils will also develop transferable skills in listening, speaking, reading, and writing as well as a growing appreciation and knowledge of another culture.

At KS3, they will be able to manipulate language for their own purposes, encouraging independent, enquiring linguists. Pupils will learn different tenses and will be introduced to the skills required at GCSE such as translation into German and English. We emphasise that mistakes are part of the learning journey, and work on building our pupils’ resilience by encouraging them to take risks. Use of the target language ensures that pupils are hearing authentic language each time they are in the MFL classroom. We are passionate about the joy and value language learning can bring to our pupils.

At KS3 we endeavour to provide additional learning opportunities through international visits. A trip to Germany is offered every 2 years, where a range of cultural activities are planned including a visit to our partner school.

Subject Vison

‘Woodfield academy is a place where our day to day mission is to ignite a passion to learn and a desire to succeed in an environment that nurtures all.’

It is a place where learners are taught through our curriculum, to make informed choices and to be responsible for their own actions, through the teaching of four core values: Compassion, Respect, Resilience and Responsibility.

Music is vitally important for pupils today. Pupils are busy trying to understand the world around them and their place in it. Studying Music equips pupils with not just musical skills (performing, composing, listening, analysis,) but also, it helps them become well rounded, confident young people. Music lessons enable pupils to interact with their peers and build relationships, to be creative, devise techniques and processes, and showcase their ideas. It allows them to adopt a hobby and fall in love with something that will travel with them through their whole life. They are given the freedom to express themselves and make decisions, refining and adapting their work, becoming independent learners.

The Music curriculum at Woodfield Academy is designed to engage and inspire our pupils and to promote a love of the subject, teaching them the fundamentals and a respect for the traditional, while also providing the background to styles and genres that are relevant today. It has many cross-curricular links and considers the diverse backgrounds of our children, supporting the need for equality and highlighting prejudice. Music provides ample opportunity to develop pupils’ personal and social skills through developing their communication, listening skills, problem solving and the ability to work as part of a team through ensemble work. By studying Music pupils will be provided a set of skills that they can transfer to other areas of their school and home life.

Outside of the classroom pupils can take part in extra-curricular activities such as singing, musical theatre and ukulele groups.

Pupils also have the opportunity to learn an instrument through ‘Seven Arts’ in Worcester, where they receive a weekly lesson with a peripatetic instrumental teacher and have the chance to progress through music grades. Concerts and performances include a Christmas show, Woodfield’s Got Talent and a musical. These are scheduled into the school calendar each year and all pupils are welcome to join in and take part, not only on stage but behind the scenes. We are dedicated to building links within the local community and find opportunities to visit and perform outside of school. Our singing group perform in local care homes each year at Christmas, at trinity High school as part of the Pyramid concert and as part of ‘Redditch Gotta Sing’ at the Palace Theatre.

Music is a practical and engaging subject with something for everyone; whether you are a virtuosic performer, an imaginative composer or an avid reviewer. Music gives wings to the soul and allows children to fly in whichever direction they wish.

‘I would teach children music, physics and philosophy; but most importantly music, for the patterns in music are the keys to learning.’ – Plato

Subject Vison

‘Woodfield academy is a place where our day to day mission is to ignite a passion to learn and a desire to succeed in an environment that nurtures all.’

It is a place where learners are taught through our curriculum, to make informed choices and to be responsible for their own actions, through the teaching of four core values; Compassion, Respect, Resilience and Responsibility.

PSHRE at WoodfieldAcademy holds children at its heart, and its cohesive vision helps children understand and value how they fit into and contribute to the world. With strong emphasis on emotional literacy, building resilience and nurturing mental and physical health, we deliver engaging and relevant PSHRE within a whole-school approach. Our lessons also include mindfulness allowing children to advance their emotional awareness, concentration, and focus.

Woodfield works together with Jigsaw to offer a comprehensive Programme for PSHRE including statutory Relationships and Health Education, in a spiral, progressive and fully planned scheme of work, giving children relevant learning experiences to help them navigate their world and to develop positive relationships with themselves and others.

Our curriculum consists of six half-term units of work, each containing six lessons covering each academic year.

• Term 1: Being Me in My World
• Term 2: Celebrating Difference (including anti-bullying)
• Term 3: Dreams and Goals
• Term 4: Healthy Me
• Term 5: Relationships
• Term 6: Changing Me (including Sex Education)

Every Piece has two Learning Intentions, one specific to Relationships and Health Education (RSHE) and the other designed to develop emotional literacy and social skills.As well as this we also ensure that we focus on children as individuals, allowing them to broaden their thinking and express their talents, individuality, and opinions in a safe and respectful environment.

How do we deliver PSHRE at Woodfield Academy?

• All pupils have a weekly PSHRE lesson.
• Medium term planning has been developed by the PSHRE lead in guidance with Jigsaw to meet the needs of our pupils.
• Medium term planning incorporates PSHE lessons and RSE lessons
• All year groups access LGBT+ issues and equal opportunities at an age-appropriate level.
• Assemblies are planned to cover any additional sessions that would benefit the whole school, Key Stage or year group.
• Additional themed weeks and activities are planned throughout the year in order to engage our students with the subject and to highlight important issues.
• Our aim is that by the time children leave our school they will have a ready willingness and ability to try new things, push them and persevere. Along with a good understanding of how to stay safe, healthy and develop good relationships.

Furthermore, they will have an appreciation of what it means to be a positive member of a diverse, multicultural society and a strong self-awareness, interlinked with compassion of others.

Click on link to view/download document.

Home Learning Homework

‘Woodfield academy is a place where our day-to-day mission is to ignite a passion to learn and a desire to succeed in an environment that nurtures all.’

It is a place where learners are taught, to make informed choices and to be responsible for their own actions, through the teaching of our curriculum and four core values: Compassion, Respect, Resilience and Responsibility.

At Woodfield Academy, we recognise the importance of PE and the role it must play in promoting long term, healthy lifestyles and making a positive impact on physical, mental and social health. Our high-quality Physical Education curriculum aims to inspire all pupils to develop a love of movement and to be physically active. The curriculum is specifically planned to provide opportunities for all pupils to succeed and excel in competitive sport and other physically demanding activities. It is structured to provide developmental opportunities for pupils to become physically confident in a way which supports their health and fitness. The curriculum enables pupils to reflect on their learning and provides opportunities to improve themselves and provide feedback to their peers.

We believe that sport and other physical activities build character and help to develop and promote our school rules and values: compassion, respect, resilience, and responsibility.

During the four years pupils are with us, we strive to ensure that pupils develop their competence to excel in a broad range of physical activities as well as developing their ability to be physically active for sustained periods of time. We engage all pupils in competitive sports and activities and encourage our pupils to lead healthy, active lives both in and out of school, as well as equipping pupils with the knowledge of the long-term health benefits surrounding physical activity.

Our curriculum is entwined with intellectual and physical challenges which provide opportunities for our pupils to work as a team, build trust and develop their problem-solving skills. We provide enrichment events and activities which help develop the child as a whole and inspires students to share social and physical challenges with peers and staff. The events have cross curricular links which utilises PE and sport as a vehicle to encourage enthusiasm of learning in different subjects.

We encourage and offer opportunities that are cross curricular throughout our curriculum. We have various initiatives throughout the academic year that focus on improving literacy and numeracy in PE.

Our extra-curricular programme is available for all pupils to attend on a competitive and social basis. There are local competitions and tournaments in a wide range of sports and activities which our academy attends and competes. Pupils represent the school locally, regionally, and nationally in various sporting activities. Woodfield Academy provides opportunities through links and contacts for pupils to develop into local clubs and teams.

Woodfield Academy’s Sports Leadership award allows Year 8 pupils to lead events and activities in and out of school. Sports leaders organise and facilitate KS2 events and activities in school. They also lead and support local first school children to participate in events, activities and competitions. They coach and facilitate Woodfield Academy pupils who attend the PESSCO events. The award develops our older pupils to coach, organise, manage, care for, be responsible, be respectful and have a sense of belonging.

At Woodfield we invest time into PESSCO events which offers opportunities to pupils with SEND and pupils with low self confidence and self-esteem. The pupils attend events, competitions, sporting workshops and enrichment opportunities to support their physical, mental, and social development.

We are lucky to be able to offer identified SEND students and those with low confidence an opportunity to work within additional Sports sessions. This helps to increase their confidence and ability in Sport which then benefits them greatly in their timetabled PE lessons.

Through both key stages we offer a wide range of opportunities to visit outdoor educational centres. The pupils will face challenges and experiences that would not be obtainable in school. They take part in a wide variety of outdoor activities that focus on building confidence, skills, teamwork, communication, good health, and independence.

We also provide opportunities for our most socially and emotionally challenged and vulnerable children to work with the police and local authorities through sport and PE.

“The more difficult the victory, the greater the winning”. Pele

‘Woodfield academy is a place where our day to day mission is to ignite a passion to learn and a desire to succeed in an environment that nurtures all.’

It is a place where learners are taught through our curriculum, to make informed choices and to be responsible for their own actions, through the teaching of four core values; Compassion, Respect, Resilience and Responsibility.

Our curriculum shows a clear progression in both knowledge and skills that our pupils will gain at both key stages in RE, but also how its content contributes to the wider school intent and ethos.

The principal aim for RE is:

To engage pupils in systematic enquiry into significant human questions which religions and worldviews address, so that they can develop the understanding and skills needed to appreciate and appraise varied responses to these questions, as well as developing responses of their own.

Beyond this, RE will contribute to ‘the knowledge and skills that our pupils need in order to take advantage of opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of later life’. The contribution that RE can make to preparing pupils for life in modern Britain will be significant.

Our curriculum consists of a planned sequence of enquiries to make sure pupils build effectively on prior learning and can see the relevance of their investigations. Offering a clear structure for learning: units of work are based around the three strands of: Believing, Expressing and Living.

In KS2, we use a good grounding of systematic study of individual religions to prepare pupils for thematic study in KS3, where they compare religions and explore key ideas from different perspectives to enrich understanding.

We follow the Agreed Syllabus for Religious Education produced by Worcestershire whereby our teaching promotes the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of our students. It reflects the fact that the religious traditions in Great Britain are in the main, Christian whilst taking account of the teaching and practices of other principal religions represented in Great Britain. Our teaching enables pupils to acquire knowledge and understanding of religious beliefs, attitudes, practices and rituals. They will also develop their own beliefs and values. We do not convert or steer pupils towards a particular religious’ belief. They will also be aware that some people have no attachment to religious beliefs and follow secular philosophies.

Driven by our school and British values, the RE curriculum enables our students to understand themselves in relation to others and develop the skills, qualities and attributes they will need to shape them as citizens ready for a prosperous future in a modern Britain or globally.

“Religions are different roads converging to the same point. What does it matter that we take different roads as long as we reach the same goal? In reality, there are as many different religions as there are individuals”. Mahatma Ghandi

Subject Vision

‘Woodfield academy is a place where our day to day mission is to ignite a passion to learn and a desire to succeed in an environment that nurtures all.’

It is a place where learners are taught through our curriculum, to make informed choices and to be responsible for their own actions, through the teaching of four core values; Compassion, Respect, Resilience and Responsibility.

What will the world look like in 2050? It’s a huge question to which we don’t really know the answer to. What we do know is that 65% of pupils could work in a career which has yet to be invented, and science will play a huge role in this. At Woodfield academy we believe there is a scientist in everyone just waiting to make the next big discovery. Teaching science at Woodfield aims to provide the skills to scrutinise information, challenge preconceptions and promote a love for discovering how the world around us works. Over our four-year course the pupils will develop an essential skillset to help them in whichever career they choose, science related or not!

Our curriculum is designed to allow the students to incrementally increase their knowledge, skills and develop independent thinking and learning. Science is taught throughout the school as a series of topics delivered at KS2 by the class teachers and science specialists, and by these science specialists in laboratories at KS3. Practical work is encouraged across all years at Woodfield which gradually increases in complexity in preparation for KS4. Our students will learn a broad range of topics designed to meet the requirements of the national curriculum. From topics as big as space and as small as cells, our pupils will learn about a diverse range of topics to understand how our world works around us and a diverse range of scientists who have helped us change the way we see our planet.

Our subject specialist teachers at Woodfield will develop their skills, nurture their curiosity and develop a love of science. Science helps us understand and explain the world around us. The advances in science and technology are everywhere from revolutionary gene therapy, creating clean energy to putting humans into space. All of the things that enhance our daily lives such as mobile devices, motor vehicles, televisions, medications owe their origins to classroom science. Science is not just men in white coats, through our curriculum the students learn that a future in STEM is more exciting than they thought, and that it could be theirs.

“Science knows no country, because knowledge belongs to humanity, and it is the torch which illuminates the world”. Louis Pasteur

Click on below links to view/download documents.

Home Learning Homework 

Year-5-Spring-Lifecycles-and-Reproduction
Year-5-Spring-Simple-Chemical-Reactions
Year-5-Summer-Earth-Space
Year-5-Summer-Human-Development

Year-6-Spring-Health-And-Heart-Independent-Study
Year-6-Summer-Electricity-And-Circuits-Independant-Study

Year-7-Autumn-Project-Famous-Scientists
Year-7-Spring-Project-Ecosystems-and-Animals
Year-7-Summer-Project-Health-and-Human-Body

Year-8-Autumn-Project-Science-in-the-UK-v2
Year-8-Autumn-Science-LPA
Year-8-Spring-Project-Insects
Year-8-Summer-Project-Exploring-Space
Year-8-Summer-Exploring-Space-Help-Sheet