How Riverside Federation Changed Pupils’ Mindsets Around Learning With CENTURY

Riverside Federation brings together two small rural primary schools (less than 70 children in each school), consisting of some excellent teachers who have a commitment to delivering high-quality education across mixed-age classes. This set-up means teachers are continually balancing the needs of different year groups, ensuring that every child receives the right level of challenge and support.

A key priority for the Federation has been helping pupils in Years 5 and 6 build strong foundations as they prepare for the transition to secondary school. Leaders and teachers wanted to find an approach that not only raised attainment but also helped pupils to think differently about themselves as learners.

“Part of our school development plan for this year highlights the need to develop resilience in our pupils and self-reflection, enabling them to have high self-aspiration and a clear understanding of their goals.“

Why CENTURY?

Teachers were looking for a solution that could:

• Provide detailed data to inform weekly planning and interventions
• Give pupils insight into their own learning and progress
• Encourage children to step out of their comfort zones and aim higher

CENTURY’s blend of diagnostics, adaptive learning pathways, and rich reporting stood out. It offered both a teacher tool for planning and a pupil tool for motivation, making it a natural fit for Riverside’s priorities. They are not afraid to remove technology that is not serving them a purpose.

“We chose CENTURY because we liked the individuality of it. Having a tool that allows children to acknowledge and take responsibility for their own learning was a game changer for us.”

Implementation in the classroom

At Riverside, CENTURY is used regularly in the Y5/6 classroom. Teachers often begin the school day with nuggets, creating a focused and purposeful start. Pupils can immediately see how they are doing against their school target of a 70% benchmark, and this has become a powerful tool for peer-to-peer discussion and encouragement.

Because of the mixed-age set-up, CENTURY has helped teachers adapt tasks to the right level for each child. Pupils have also begun to use the platform to monitor their own progress, comparing results over time and supporting each other to improve.

“In the morning, we use CENTURY either as individual learning time, pre-teaching assessment or post-teaching assessment. Our pupils have already benefitted from discussion surrounding targets and goals. We found that pupils didn’t really know if they were doing well or understood something properly, they were relying on their gut instinct. With the use of CENTURY, pupils can see firsthand if they have understood a concept and acknowledge where they might need further support.“

Data that drives planning

The data provided by CENTURY is central to how teachers plan at Riverside:

• It highlights misconceptions and surprising gaps in knowledge, even in areas teachers might assume were secure
• Weekly planning is adapted to revisit these areas, ensuring teaching meets the actual needs of pupils
• The intervention chart typically matches a teacher’s professional instincts, but it also serves as a compelling visual for pupils, especially as they enter Year 6

This evidence helps teachers explain to pupils why certain topics are being prioritised, giving them greater buy-in and ownership.

“The pre and post give us vital insight into how effectively an area has been taught and retained, whilst informing next steps. For example, when I am teaching division in Year 5, I can run a quick and effective recap from Year 4 to address any issues I may face when teaching the current curriculum.“

Shifting mindsets in Year 5

One of the biggest successes at Riverside has been the way CENTURY has changed pupils’ relationship with learning. Rather than treating tasks as a box-ticking exercise, pupils now strive for improvement and challenge:

• Many deliberately choose nuggets they know will stretch them rather than the ones they find easiest
• Pupils who previously scored lower now take pride in seeing their scores improve over time
• The 70% benchmark has become a clear and motivating target, helping pupils set realistic yet ambitious goals

This has created a culture of resilience and ambition in the classroom. Pupils are beginning to see setbacks as part of growth and take ownership of their next steps.

“Our Year 5 children have been our biggest beneficiaries to date. They were very unaware of what success looks like and didn’t know how to set themselves targets. By the end of the first term, pupils were coming to me and speaking about their time on CENTURY reporting that they were confident because they’d got 90% on an area, or that they knew they needed further support because they couldn’t get past 50% after redoing a nugget.“

Teacher reflections

Teachers have found that CENTURY not only confirms what they already know but also sharpens their conversations with pupils:

“I think one thing that our staff like about CENTURY is that it can be useful in different ways to different people. For me, it supports my planning, assessment and my classroom ethos. It plays a vital role in my core curriculum planning and implementation through the year.“

The tool has reduced assumptions in planning, provided strong evidence to revisit key areas, and shifted the responsibility for progress increasingly onto pupils themselves.

Looking ahead

Riverside Federation are constantly exploring how CENTURY can be embedded more widely, ensuring they are gaining the best from the platform. The ambition is to build independence and resilience earlier in pupils’ journeys so that these habits become second nature.

With a clear impact on both teaching and learning, Riverside’s experience demonstrates how technology can support mixed-age classrooms while also changing pupils’ mindsets in a lasting way.

“As we have seen great success so far, we intend to make this an expectation for all teachers in KS2 to enable their pupils to use the platform regularly, rather than on an ad-hoc basis. We also wish to ensure that parents have a clear understanding of their children’s strengths and areas for development by having regular access to their child’s account.“

Learn more about CENTURY’s AI-powered teaching, learning and assessment platform by heading to our Primary schools page, or book a demo today.