Overview

This 6-week scheme is designed for Year 7 SEND students studying English. It uses The Boy at the Back of the Class by Onjali Q. Rauf to explore themes of Refugees, Friendship, Bullying, Kindness, Courage, Empathy, Family, and Inclusion. It follows the National Curriculum for England’s KS3 English Programme of Study, emphasising reading comprehension, empathy development, speaking and listening skills, and creative writing.

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Week 1: Introduction to Refugees & Characters

National Curriculum Links:

• Understand a range of familiar fiction, including stories and plays (Reading - FC3)
• Participate in discussions, presentations, performances, role play, improvisations and debates (Spoken language - SL1)

Learning Objectives & Differentiation

Level	Objective	Success Criteria	Questions
Secure	I can identify main characters and describe their feelings and backgrounds.	- Name key characters and their traits. - Explain why Shaukat is important. - Use evidence from the text.	1. Who is Shaukat? 2. How does the class react to Shaukat? 3. What do we learn about Amir’s feelings? 4. Why might Shaukat feel lonely?
Developing	I can recognise the concept of a refugee and understand in simple terms what it means.	- Define ‘refugee’ using class discussion. - Link Shaukat’s story to the definition. - Use keywords correctly.	1. What is a refugee? 2. Why has Shaukat come to England? 3. How does he feel in the new school? 4. What can we do to help someone like Shaukat?
Emerging	I can listen carefully and respond to stories about new people.	- Listen to the story and join in at points. - Point to pictures of characters. - Use gestures or one-word answers.	1. Who is in this story? 2. Can you show me Shaukat? 3. Is Shaukat happy or sad? 4. Who can be your friend?

Activities

• Read aloud Chapter 1 with visual aids and short video introduction about refugees.
• Create a simple character map with pictures and keywords.
• Class circle discussion: What is a refugee?
• Role play greetings to practice kindness.

Resources

• Copies of The Boy at the Back of the Class (selected pages)
• Character images/windows for visual support
• Refugee definition poster
• Emotions flashcards

Key Vocabulary

• Refugee, classmate, lonely, kindness, friend, family, new, safe, welcome

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Week 2: Friendship and Inclusion

National Curriculum Links:

• Read and understand a range of texts, identifying themes and conventions (Reading - FC4)
• Use spoken English to articulate ideas and arguments (Spoken language - SL2)

Learning Objectives & Differentiation

Level	Objective	Success Criteria	Questions
Secure	I can explain the importance of friendship using examples from the book.	- Describe Amir and Shaukat’s friendship. - Identify acts of kindness. - Use quotations from text.	1. How does Amir help Shaukat? 2. What does friendship mean in the story? 3. Can you find a kind action in the book? 4. Why is inclusion important?
Developing	I can recognise ways to be kind and include others in school.	- List kind actions. - Relate them to their own lives. - Talk about times they felt included or excluded.	1. What are some kind things you can do at school? 2. How would you help someone new? 3. What happens if someone is left out? 4. What makes a good friend?
Emerging	I can name feelings linked to friendship and kindness.	- Identify happy/sad faces. - Use simple words like ‘friend’, ‘help’, ‘nice’.	1. Is this a happy or sad face? 2. Who can be your friend? 3. Can you say ‘help’ or ‘kind’? 4. Show me a smile or a frown.

Activities

• Read a friendship scene, supported by pictorial storyboards.
• Create ‘Friendship rules’ poster with pictures.
• Paired speaking: Practice kind greetings and compliments.
• Emotions sorting game (happy, sad, lonely, safe).

Resources

• Storyboards/simple scene summaries
• Emotions cards
• Large paper, markers for posters

Key Vocabulary

• Friendship, kind, help, include, welcome, share, smile, feelings

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Week 3: Bullying and Courage

National Curriculum Links:

• Understand how language features affect meaning (Reading - FC5)
• Speak clearly and audibly with appropriate tone (Spoken Language - SL3)

Learning Objectives & Differentiation

Level	Objective	Success Criteria	Questions
Secure	I can identify examples of bullying and recognise courage in the story.	- Define bullying. - Give examples from the book. - Describe how characters show courage.	1. What is bullying? 2. How is Shaukat bullied? 3. Who shows courage to help him? 4. Why is standing up to bullying important?
Developing	I can say what bullying is and recognise brave actions.	- Name bullying behaviours. - Identify brave acts in pictures. - Retell simple bullying scenario.	1. What does bullying mean? 2. Can you say what Shaukat feels? 3. Who helps stop bullying? 4. What would you do if you saw bullying?
Emerging	I can identify emotions linked to bullying and courage.	- Match pictures of bravery and fear. - Use words like ‘scared’ or ‘brave’.	1. Does this picture look scared or brave? 2. Can you say ‘stop’? 3. Who is kind here? 4. Show me brave face.

Activities

• Read passage where bullying happens, with visual support.
• ‘What would you do?’ scenario roleplay with emotion cards.
• Create ‘Courage badges’ to award brave behaviour.
• Class talk about how to be brave.

Resources

• Bullying scenario pictures
• Emotion and courage badges templates
• Roleplay scripts

Key Vocabulary

• Bullying, courage, brave, scared, mean, help, stop, stand up

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Week 4: Empathy and Family

National Curriculum Links:

• Recognise themes and conventions in texts (Reading - FC4)
• Express ideas and feelings in speech and writing (Spoken Language SL2 & Writing - WC2)

Learning Objectives & Differentiation

Level	Objective	Success Criteria	Questions
Secure	I can explain how empathy helps us understand family struggles in the story.	- Explain why Shaukat misses family. - Describe feelings of refugees. - Use examples from text.	1. Why is family important to Shaukat? 2. How might refugees feel being away from home? 3. What is empathy? 4. How can we show empathy to refugees?
Developing	I can name feelings linked to missing family and new places.	- Match feelings to family situations. - Give simple reasons why people miss home.	1. How would you feel if you missed your family? 2. What can you do to help someone missing home? 3. What does empathy mean? 4. Who is in your family?
Emerging	I can identify happy and sad faces related to family.	- Point to faces. - Say ‘happy’ or ‘sad’.	1. Is this face happy or sad? 2. Do you miss your family? 3. Can you say “home”? 4. Show me ‘sad’ face.

Activities

• Read and discuss Shaukat’s family story using picture strips.
• ‘Feelings of home’ drawing task with simple captions.
• Group talk on ways to help people who miss their home.
• Write simple sentences or phrases about family (emerging: draw and label).

Resources

• Picture strips about family and home
• Drawing paper and crayons
• Sentence starters for writing

Key Vocabulary

• Family, home, miss, feelings, empathy, love, help, sad, happy

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Week 5: Inclusion and Kindness in Action

National Curriculum Links:

• Participate in discussions and take turns (Spoken Language SL1)
• Evaluate texts and express opinions (Reading - WC3)

Learning Objectives & Differentiation

Level	Objective	Success Criteria	Questions
Secure	I can describe how inclusion and kindness help build community.	- Define inclusion. - Give examples from story. - Suggest kind actions to take in school.	1. What does inclusion mean? 2. How is Shaukat included? 3. Why is kindness important? 4. How can you be kind to others?
Developing	I can list ways to be kind and include others.	- Name kind actions. - Describe classroom rules for kindness.	1. What are kind things you can do? 2. How do you feel when included? 3. Who needs kindness? 4. Can you say ‘please’ and ‘thank you’?
Emerging	I can recognise kind actions and show inclusion with gestures.	- Point or gesture to kind actions in pictures. - Use simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’.	1. Is this a kind action? 2. Can you wave hello? 3. Who is happy here? 4. Show me ‘happy’.

Activities

• Read kindness scenes and complete ‘Kindness tree’ with positive actions.
• Create ‘Inclusion pledge’ poster – students say and sign it.
• Circle time: share moments of kindness in their lives.
• Paired games focusing on cooperation and inclusion.

Resources

• Kindness tree templates
• Inclusion pledge poster and pens
• Cooperative games equipment

Key Vocabulary

• Inclusion, kindness, share, help, community, friend, welcome, respect

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Week 6: Reflecting and Expressing

National Curriculum Links:

• Write for a range of purposes, including imaginative narratives (Writing - WC3)
• Participate in presentations and performances (Spoken Language SL1 and SL3)

Learning Objectives & Differentiation

Level	Objective	Success Criteria	Questions
Secure	I can write a short story or paragraph about kindness or courage inspired by the book.	- Structure a simple story with a beginning, middle, and end. - Use new vocabulary. - Check spelling.	1. What story do you want to tell? 2. What kind or brave thing happens? 3. Who are the characters? 4. How does your story end?
Developing	I can write simple sentences about kindness or courage.	- Write 3-5 sentences. - Use capital letters and full stops. - Use key vocabulary.	1. Can you write about a kind action? 2. Who is in your story? 3. What happens? 4. How does it make you feel?
Emerging	I can use pictures and labels to tell a story about kindness.	- Draw pictures. - Add simple labels or words. - Tell teacher their story.	1. Show me your picture. 2. Can you say the label? 3. Who is in your picture? 4. What is happening?

Activities

• Plan and write/draw own story/scene inspired by kindness or courage theme.
• Peer-share presentations (supported by classroom adults).
• Create a class gallery or book of stories to celebrate learning.
• Reflect on the learning journey and what they have enjoyed.

Resources

• Writing frames, sentence starters, coloured pencils
• Story planning sheets
• Display boards for gallery

Key Vocabulary

• Story, courage, kindness, help, brave, friend, family, feelings, story

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Cross-Curricular Links

• PSHE: Exploring feelings, empathy, kindness, and bullying prevention.
• History/Geography: Basic awareness of refugees, migration, and global issues (linked to literacy).
• Art: Visual storytelling; emotions drawing and posters.
• Drama: Role-play to develop spoken language and social skills.

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This 6-week scheme is designed to be highly inclusive and flexible to meet all SEND needs, providing scaffolded learning with clear success criteria and vocabulary. The themes chosen from The Boy at the Back of the Class enable pupils to connect emotionally and socially with the content, developing core literacy and life skills simultaneously with adherence to the National Curriculum expectations for Year 7 English.