Curriculum, Teaching and Learning Policy 2026-27 (V4)

1. Curriculum Intent

Co-op Academy Rathbone is an ambitious, welcoming and safe learning community.  Pupils will thrive personally, emotionally and academically, able to successfully move onto their next steps.

Safe, Helpful, Thriving

Striving for excellence, together

At Co-op Academy Rathbone we develop the whole child. We aim to provide an ambitious, inclusive, spiral curriculum that caters to the unique needs of our pupils. Our adaptive curriculum will have the Co-op values and Ways of Being at the centre, and is designed to:

• Do what matters most and develop all-round excellence: Equip pupils with the character, knowledge, skills, and understanding necessary for future success. There is a core focus on literacy and numeracy.
• Allow us to be ourselves always and foster personal growth: Promote pupils' emotional, social, communication, character and moral development and develop them personally and emotionally.
• Show we care, instill a love of learning and consideration for others: Cultivate a positive attitude towards education, lifelong learning, other people and the environment.
• Allow us to succeed together and prepare for next steps: Provide pupils with the foundations for success in secondary-aged learning and beyond

By the end of a pupil’s time at Co-op Academy Rathbone, a pupil will be more:

• Equipped with the necessary skills, knowledge and understanding to progress successfully to their next steps

• Literate and vocabulary-rich
• Able to fluently read and write
• Able to communicate effectively
• Numerate
• An independent learner

• Showing the character and qualities required to thrive in the 21st century

• Emotionally resilient, more able to take responsibility and self-help
• Aware of the needs of others and what it means to be in a community: kind, forgiving, aware of equity and equality
• More aware of the world around them and of the world outside of Liverpool, aware of British Values and democracy

• Ambitious for themselves and their community

• Positive towards learning and their future
• Aware of future learning and earning opportunities
• Able to be be a successful contributor to a community; having the social skills to thrive
• Supporting others at school and in their community, showing solidarity when facing adversity
• Aware of the risks around them, and how to take responsibility and self-help to stay healthy and safe in life and within relationships

2. Legislation and Guidance

Co-op Academy Rathbone adheres to the following legislation and guidance:

• National Curriculum: Ensures that pupils receive a broad and balanced education.
• Education Act 2002: Upholds the statutory requirements for maintained schools.
• Equality Act 2010: Promotes equality and inclusion for all pupils.
• Special Educational Needs and Disability Code of Practice: Provides guidance for supporting pupils with special educational needs.

3. Roles and Responsibilities

• Executive Headteacher: Oversees the curriculum, ensuring it meets the needs of pupils and complies with relevant legislation.
• Head of School: Takes responsibility for the overall implementation of the curriculum.
• Senior Leadership Team: Provides strategic direction and support for curriculum development and delivery.
• Middle Leaders: oversees and mid-term planning and curriculum adaptations being made by classroom teachers and the learning interventions being implemented
• Teachers: Plan, deliver, and assess the curriculum, adapting it to meet the individual needs of pupils.

4. Organisation and Planning

• Curriculum Structure: The curriculum is organised into subject areas, and strives to follow the National Curriculum, with relevant adaptations to meet the complex needs of the pupils on roll.The curriculum is a progressive model which will build on pupils' knowledge and skills through retrieval, sequencing and overlearning to rescue cognitive overload.
• Subjects taught:Phonics, English, Maths, Science, MFL, P.E, R.E, Art, History, Geography, D.T, PSHE, Music
• Schemes of Work: Teachers use Co-op Science, Co-op Humanities, Co-op Art and DT; NCCE, White Rose Maths, Literacy Counts, Charanga, NATRE, Unifrog PSHE and Get Set 4 PE schemes of work to guide their planning.
• Assessment: EHCP outcomes are broken down into termly Learning Goals via the Pupil Passport – teachers track these learning goals using Evidence for Learning, and use their evidence gathering to assess progress termly. Pupils are assessed on entry for phonics, Maths and English and outcomes in these areas are assessed formatively over the year and then termly using NTS exams.

5. Inclusion

Co-op Academy Rathbone is committed to providing a fully inclusive curriculum. We ensure that all pupils have equal access to learning opportunities, regardless of their background or abilities. This includes:

• Adapted Learning / Curriculum: Adapting teaching methods and resources to meet the needs of individual pupils.
• Special Educational Needs Support: Providing additional support for pupils with identified special educational needs, including the use of Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) and Pupil Passports.
• English as an Additional Language (EAL) Support: Offering language support for pupils whose first language is not English.
• Communication strategies: Creating a communication-rich academy and classroom environment, with signs, symbols used as standard, adults being mindful of their use of language and ensuring that personalised per-pupil communication strategies are embedded throughout curriculum implementation
• Trauma-informed and emotion-awareness: adults will understand the impact of trauma and toxic stress on the developing mind and ensure that they are always calm, focus on prevention to dysregulation and mindful of their own use of language, their tone of voice, facial expression and body language. The academy environment will be calming for pupils.

EHCPs, Pupil Passports play a crucial role in adapting our chosen schemes to meet the specific needs of pupils. These plans outline individualised goals, strategies, and support services to help pupils achieve their full potential.

• EHCPs: For pupils with significant and complex special educational needs, EHCPs provide a detailed plan of support, including education, health, and social care services.
• Pupil Passports: For pupils who may require additional support, PSPs outline personalised goals and strategies to help them access the curriculum and achieve their potential.

Teachers work closely with pupils, parents, and other professionals to develop and implement EHCPs and PSPs. These plans are regularly reviewed to ensure they remain relevant and effective.

By effectively utilising EHCPs and PSPs, Co-op Academy Rathbone can tailor the curriculum to meet the individual needs of pupils with special educational needs. This ensures that all pupils have the opportunity to succeed and reach their full potential.

6. The Rathbone Standard

At Rathbone, teachers are expected to demonstrate the seven principles set out in the Rathbone Standard. This is embellished by our TLAC Toolkit that identifies high impact techniques to elevate Teaching and Learning beyond these non-negotiables.

1. Planned and Prepared

Staff demonstrate high fidelity to the planned curriculum. Teachers have used medium term plans to orientate their lesson. They have thoughtfully selected resources, adapted for individual needs and designed an appropriate task for pupils to demonstrate their understanding. Expectations for all pupils are ambitious, with an unwavering focus on driving continuous academic and personal progress.

Start with Retrieval

Teachers facilitate structured recall and retrieval practice at the start of every lesson—utilising dynamic tools such as ‘Throwback Three’ or ‘Sensory Exploration’ to activate knowledge, reinforce key concepts, and ensure long-term retention.

Multisensory Input

Teaching input is enriched through a multi-sensory approach, that uses vehicles such as story, artefacts, mystery, demonstration and experiential role to reinforce spoken, modelled, and written content. Where appropriate, sensory elements such as sounds, smells, and lighting are integrated to bring the curriculum to life, capture pupils' interest and inspire curiosity.

I Do, We Do, You Do

The ‘I Do, We Do, You Do’ model is used to make learning outcomes explicit to all pupils. Direct teacher modelling breaks knowledge down into manageable chunks, focusing pupils swiftly on practical application. Direct exposition is concise, precisely models concepts and facilitates pupils’ active engagement in guided practice.

Build Ratio

Teachers harness pupil participation through techniques, including My Turn, Your Turn to embed key vocabulary; Cold Call for targeted, planned questioning; or Talk to Your Partner to rehearse ideas.

Check Understanding

Pupil understanding is continuously checked through strategies such as Laps, Hinge Point Questions, and Show Me. Adults actively circulate the learning space to identify misconceptions and address them dynamically in real time.

Feed Forward

Teachers use live marking and whole-class feedback to deliver timely, actionable guidance. A supportive culture of error is cultivated, encouraging pupils to actively engage with feedback, reflect on their learning, and make meaningful corrections. Work output consistently demonstrates strong progress — evidencing that pupils recall and apply knowledge, skills, and understanding effectively. Challenge increases over time.

8. Expectations on the classroom environment

• All classrooms will have the following displays in place: Maths, English, Zones of Regulation. If more boards are available foundation curriculum displays will be in class if not these will be displayed in the corridor.

• All classrooms will have the following spaces in place: reading corner, calming area

9.  Monitoring and Evaluation

• Regular Monitoring evaluating and reporting: The curriculum is regularly reviewed to ensure its effectiveness and alignment with school goals through an annual programme of collaborative quality assurance events and activities, such as Trust-wide visits, PPDR observations, targeted pupil-focused deep dives and work-looks.
• Feedback Mechanisms: pupils, parents, and staff provide feedback to inform curriculum development and improvement.
• Data Analysis: Data on student achievement and progress is analysed to identify areas for development.

11. Quality Assurance of the Quality of Education, teaching, learning and assessment

The purpose of quality assurance is to enable professional development and to be a continuously improving academy that aspires to provide children with the absolute best education. This means sharing and celebrating highly effective practice and working together to improve practice that is not of the standard expected.

We have an open-door approach at Co-op Academy Rathbone. We all want the very best for children and this means everyone working cooperatively together to ensure the best climate for learning and the best provision. Leaders’ presence around the academy and in classrooms will be daily and this is not intended to be observation or a learning walk. This presence is designed to be supportive to staff and pupils in securing a calm, orderly, impactful learning and working environment.

10.1 Meeting the needs of PPDR and annual performance reviews:

• Over 2026-27, there will be up to 3 lesson observations, complemented by learning walks and informal learning walks.
• Staff are made aware of the week a lesson observation / learning walk will take place, but not the exact day - should a lesson observation not go well, a further observation will be planned. A tailored Support Plan will be put in place for any colleague where a second observation indicates a range of development areas.
• A holistic approach is taken to lesson observation and learning walks to gain an all-rounded assessment of the quality of education:

• Look at classroom practice
• Look at curriculum planning
• Look at pupil work output and any available data
• Look at whether pupil passports are being implemented as intended
• Talk to pupils to gage their feelings and opinions on their progress

10.2 Summative snap-shots of the quality of education, teaching, learning and assessment

• In 2026-2027 Co-op Academy Rathbone will continue to use informal learning walks and lesson visits, and complement these with 5-6 Regional Director visits, where a senior leader or middle leader will partner with the Regional Director to do a learning walk or planned lesson observations.
• Lesson observations and learning walks allow leaders and the Trust to assess the global strengths and areas for improvement, allowing dynamic CPD plans to be created, as well as supporting individual teachers understand their strengths and areas for development.
• Each year, in line with the 6 Trust Teaching and Learning Visits by the Regional Director, there will be an opportunity for leaders to regularly check on the quality of education throughout the school week. Some of these visits will be learning walks and will focus on themes and targeting specific areas previously identified for whole-academy attention and improvement. There are no lesson-by-lesson notes taken and no feedback is offered to staff as it is to gain a whole-academy snapshot, not assess individual teacher performance.
• A holistic approach is taken to lesson observation and learning walks to gain an all-rounded assessment of the quality of education:

• Look at classroom practice
• Talk to pupils to gage their feelings and opinions on their progress

            In collaboration and in conversation with staff:

• Look at curriculum planning
• Look at pupil work output and any available data
• Look at whether pupil passports are being implemented as intended

10.3 Data Analysis, Pupil Progress Meetings and Targeted Pupil Reviews:

• Throughout the academy year, there will be a range of QA activities that will not require any lesson visits or observation. These activities will support leaders in ensuring that pupils are receiving the best offer possible and are making the progress they deserve:

• 3 yearly academy data analysis meetings with agreed actions and interventions
• Termly Pupil Progress Meetings with classroom teachers and their teams to look at EHCP outcomes and pupil work output, with agreed actions and interventions
• At least once per half-term, 1-3 pupils will be selected for a deep dive approach into their wellbeing and personal progress - these deep dives will enable leaders to deeply understand whether children are receiving the support they require and are on track. Usually parents and carers will be contacted and spoken to about their perceptions. It will put the focus purely on how curriculum implementation is impacting on a specific child; through the lens of the child.
• Book-looks
• Pupil Voice sessions

11. Links with Other Policies

The curriculum policy aligns with other school policies, including:

• Behaviour Policy: Ensures a positive and supportive learning environment.
• Equality and Diversity Policy: Promotes equality and inclusion for all pupils.
• Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Policy: Outlines provision for pupils with special needs.

By following these guidelines, Co-op Academy Rathbone aims to provide a high-quality curriculum that empowers pupils to reach their full potential.