Our Curriculum
Our Year 6/7 Nurture curriculum is designed for pupils who may have experienced disruption to their education and require additional support to re-engage with learning. Through a nurturing, relationship-based approach, we provide a safe and structured environment where pupils develop confidence, emotional regulation and positive attitudes towards learning. The curriculum follows a primary-style model that prioritises literacy, numeracy and communication skills while addressing gaps in prior learning through explicit teaching and carefully scaffolded support. Engaging cross-curricular themes, life skills education and outdoor learning opportunities help pupils develop resilience, independence and social skills. Our intent is to ensure pupils build secure academic and personal foundations, enabling them to become successful learners who are prepared for the next stage of Key Stage 3.
What We Teach
Autumn Term: Space and Romans
Pupils explore Space and the Solar System developing descriptive writing from simple to complex sentences, place value and number operations, states of matter through practical investigations, and creating art inspired by Holst's "The Planets." Life Skills focuses on friendships and Black History Month through Mary Seacole. The second half-term covers Romans and Human Body Systems with newspaper writing, whole number operations, respiratory/circulatory/skeletal systems through dissections, Roman pottery, and Growth Mindset development. Weekly Forest School provides outdoor learning throughout.
Spring Term: Macbeth and Tudors
Pupils study Shakespeare's Macbeth including character analysis, play script features, and creative writing, alongside ratio, measurement and time in mathematics, practical laboratory skills including Bunsen burner safety in science, and atlas work exploring extreme earth in geography. The second half-term focuses on Tudors with non-chronological reports and persuasive writing, decimals and statistics, the periodic table and atomic structure, Tudor history including visits to Tilbury Fort, and first aid skills.
Summer Term: WW2, Rivers and Transition
Pupils create persuasive leaflets collaboratively, then write recounts reflecting on their year. Mathematics covers shape, angles, coordinates and unit conversion. Science explores electricity through practical investigations and plant reproduction including dissections. Topics include World War 2 with local visits and Rivers with field trip to River Blackwater. Life Skills develops first aid and water safety with RNLI input, alongside sustained transition preparation exploring fears, differences, and coping strategies.
How We Teach
Primary Model with Nurturing Approach
Pupils follow a primary model of delivery with explicit teaching of classroom routines and expectations. Core knowledge and vocabulary are repeatedly taught and reinforced through structured, scaffolded learning sequences. Topic-based learning delivers history, geography, religious studies and ICT in meaningful, integrated contexts. One main teacher and LSA deliver most subjects in a consistent classroom base, providing the predictability and strong relationships pupils need to feel safe and re-engage with learning.
Differentiated Support
All pupils work at their developmental stage using a three-tier model: CB (Challenge Below) for pupils needing concrete materials, simplified tasks and high support; S (Secure) for pupils working closer to age-expectations needing some scaffolding; F (Further) for pupils working at or above expectations needing extension and leadership opportunities. Targeted interventions address literacy, attendance, and emotional regulation needs through daily "ninja maths" starters, weekly spelling tests, and regular low-stakes assessment.
Trauma-Informed Practice
Small group sizes (typically 10-12) enable individual attention and consistent relationships. We respond to challenging behaviour with curiosity not judgment, using restorative approaches and providing regulation breaks without shame. The calm, organised environment features visual timetables, consistent routines, designated calm spaces, and sensory resources. Explicit teaching of classroom expectations reduces anxiety and enables focus on learning. Pupils have significant choice within structured frameworks, maintaining agency over their learning journey.
Gradual Access to Specialist Teaching
As pupils become secure and confident, they gradually access specialist rooms/teaching (e.g., Food Tech/DT/PE) with LSA support. This prepares pupils for the next stage of Key Stage 3 where they will face increased demands whilst maintaining the security of their nurture base and key relationships. LSA support during specialist lessons provides continuity, emotional regulation support, and scaffolding of learning.
Curriculum Impact
Our curriculum is designed to be flexible enough to ensure staff are aware of pupils' SEMH needs and can plan responsively, whilst ensuring essential literacy and numeracy knowledge is secure through structured, explicit teaching approaches. Many pupils arrive with considerable gaps in their primary education, so we focus on these core skills in KS3, using scaffolded literacy strategies to build confidence and competence.
Pupils progress from their individual baselines, closing considerable gaps in literacy, numeracy and communication skills. They develop confidence, emotional regulation and positive attitudes towards learning through safe, supportive environments where mistakes are valued as learning opportunities and relationships are built on trust. Pupils build resilience, independence and social skills through engaging cross-curricular themes, life skills education and outdoor learning opportunities, progressing from struggling with relationships to building positive friendships and working collaboratively.
Pupils build secure academic and personal foundations, enabling them to become successful learners who are prepared for the next stage of Key Stage 3. Evidence shows pupils successfully transition to Key Stage 4, maintain progress, use regulation strategies independently, build positive relationships with new teachers, and continue to engage positively with learning, demonstrating the lasting impact of Ready to Learn provision.
