Recovery Curriculum

2020

Aims for the Wyke Primary Academy Recovery Curriculum:

To build trust and relationships

To learn how to socially interact with adults and peers

To begin to follow a structure and routine

To learn how to co-regulate or self-regulate emotions and behaviours

To engage in learning

A Recovery Curriculum: loss and life for our children and school post pandemic

Wyke Primary Academy have put the child’s well-being at the centre of our thinking. We acknowledge that the children will have had different experiences during this time. However, the common thread running through all is the loss of routine, structure, friendship, opportunity and freedom. These losses can trigger anxiety in any child. Some of you may have experienced this with your own children.
We know that an anxious child is not in a place to learn effectively. So, with this in mind, the school community has thought about the most effective way to support your child’s ability to learn. This approach will encompass and support the academic expectations for your child.

What is it?
Professor Barry Carpenter has developed the Recovery Curriculum, as a response to the losses described above. It is a way for school to help children come back into school life, acknowledging the experiences the children have had. We want children to be happy, feel safe and able to be engaged in their learning. We have decided that a way to achieve this for the children is to acknowledge the importance of helping them lever back into school life using the following 5 levers.

And the following 5 levers of recovery, which form the basis of our Recovery Curriculum:

Lever 1: Relationships – As always at Wyke Primary, relationship building will form a significant part of what we do and an element that has remained strong throughout lockdown. During the first stages of pupils’ recovery, reaching out and reconnection with pupils will be critical. Consistency of staff and approach will then continue to rebuild reconnections once in school.

Lever 2: Community – Discussions with pupils and families will contribute significantly to initial planning for each pupil’s return to routine. Continuity of approaches to learning used at home will be talked about and considered in school where appropriate to support this transition.

Lever 3: Transparent Curriculum – Staff teams will plan their reintegration, taking into account pupil views and what is important to each individual. Learning expectations, content and intentions will be shared with pupils to offer that ‘transparent curriculum’ that pupils need.

Lever 4: Metacognition - Wyke Primary’s Recovery Curriculum has been specifically designed to focus on and support the development of key learning skills that are likely to have been impacted in recent months, e.g. listening, maintaining their attention, sensory regulation and social communication and interaction. The Recovery Curriculum will be key to developing students’ confidence, self-esteem and resilience.

Lever 5: Space – Involving students in discussions and identifying students’ engagement factors will be key. Space will also be a central element for our pupils, including outside learning, break out spaces, as well as other creative elements of the curriculum such as creative arts and sport.

Below is a link to his podcast on the Recovery Curriculum.

http://www.evidenceforlearning.net/recoverycurriculum/#mentalhealth