curriculum
Vision for the curriculum
Intent
Our school curriculum allows children to be safe and happy in school and understand how to keep themselves and others safe. It empowers them to take risks without fear of failure, and express and manage their own emotions. It raises the aspirations of our learners by offering a range of experiences, and enables them to cultivate an awareness of and interest in the world around them. We provide children with the subject specific vocabulary and knowledge that allows them to build links and enhance learning. Learners take pride in their work and challenge themselves to do better.
Implementation
There are a number of signature pedagogies to ensure that we meet our curriculum intent:
All learning is underpinned by the theory of Growth Mindset which promotes resilience, determination and effort.
Reading is celebrated on World Book Day and throughout the year, with a specific focus on reading for pleasure. This is promoted through daily reading and story time, access to the school library, author visits and cross-curricular reading opportunities .
Wow starts to topics, mini-hooks within lessons and specific focus weeks, which engage learners.
All writing has a clear purpose and audience
Our Maths curriculum includes opportunities for fluency, reasoning and problem solving – allowing children to ‘grapple’ with difficult concepts and investigate the best strategies and methods to use. There is a hands-on approach through the use of the Concrete-Pictorial-Abstract, throughout the school.
Every child in Year 3 has the opportunity to learn to swim
Every child in Year 5 and Year 6 has the opportunity to play musical instruments
RE is taught using the enquiry approach, so that children experience deep learning. Each class produces an act of Collective Worship for the school and their parents during the school year.
Key Christian celebrations of Harvest, Christmas, Easter and Pentecost are celebrated in school and with St John’s church.
Children are exposed to regular opportunities for global learning in order to understand the world around them and have opportunities to discuss current issues and news in a non-judgemental environment.
We offer a broad range of extra-curricula activities that go beyond the school day (sports, music, creativity, drama, gardening, cooking).
The school participates in a wide range of cluster and district sports competitions and promotes excellence in this field.
We offer a range of enrichment activities that go beyond the classroom (school council, ambassadors, sports leaders, trips, residential trips, visitors, competitions, forest schools, fundraising)
Deliberate practice of key basic skills allows us to strengthen memory and makes information more retrievable
Impact
We will judge the success of our curriculum in the following ways:
Pupil voice – are children telling us that they are happy, engaged, motivated to do well, challenged?
Learning walks with governors and external visitors – can they see evidence of our values in action?
Planning – does it allow for a range of experiences, is it allowing children to gain knowledge and master skills, does it meet the needs of all learners?
Books (English, Maths, Topic, RE) – are all children making at least sufficient progress from their various starting points?
Data – is year group attainment and progress in all key stages in line with National averages, do all groups achieve as well as they should?
Parent surveys – are parents happy with the curriculum we provide, if not – how can we change?
Learning environment – is it rich in language to support children’s learning, does it support independence, does it promote pride in their work and high standards of presentation?
Behaviour logs – are children embodying the school values at break and lunch times?