The Crucial Learning Approach
Each unit within the wider curriculum subjects will outline the crucial learning needed as identified by subject champions and teachers. This crucial learning is the key knowledge, concepts and skills that the pupils need to have gained from the unit. Assessment for each unit will be against this crucial learning to ensure any gaps can be addressed. The sequence of planned lessons will teach the crucial learning and build in opportunities to revisit and consolidate this through the unit. The expectation is that all pupils meet the crucial learning by the end of the unit and post teaching should take place within units when formative assessment indicates this may not be the case. Assessment will also provide feedback to the subject champions to enable them to assess the impact and will be used to track an individual pupil’s learning journey.
Individual medium term plans will be annotated by the class teacher to indicate if each child has met, has not met or has exceeded the crucial learning. Notes will be made on any gaps that need addressing on an individual pupil level to ensure teaching can focus on closing these gaps for the individual.
Capturing the Learning Journey and Assessment Approaches
Due to the different methods of teaching and learning used in each wider curriculum subject, the capture of pupils learning journeys through a unit and the assessment approaches used to assess against the identified crucial learning will be subject specific. This is defined in the Assessment Policy. For example, in science, work in books, observations from scientific investigations and the completion of end of unit quizzes can all be used to gain a picture of a pupils crucial learning in a unit. In contrast, in a subject such as music, assessment against crucial learning will be from observations, performances and video evidence captured on the school’s Your Tube channel.