School Curriculum - An Introduction

The Primary National Curriculum is taught to all our children in Year 1 and Year 2.

Our Nursery and Reception children follow the statutory framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage.

Intent

Our curriculum is designed to:

Provide pupils with strong basic skills and knowledge in speaking, phonics, reading, writing and mathematics, which form the cornerstone of lifelong learning.
Be pitched at an appropriate level for pupils, ensuring that new skills and knowledge build on what has been taught before.
Help pupils develop an awareness of how their learning in every subject builds on their prior learning, as they apply what they have learnt to a range of different contexts.
Be broad and balanced at each key stage and delivered in such a way as to promote equality.
Be carefully planned and sequenced, allowing coherent progression towards defined end points and equipping pupils well for the next stages in education.
Be inclusive, meeting the needs of all pupils and taking account of pupils' starting points.
Provide pupils with an appreciation of their diverse multicultural heritage and develop the skills of respect, tolerance, empathy and co-operation.
Enable pupils to develop self-confidence, individuality and self-esteem.
Enable pupils to develop resilience and a positive approach to tackling a challenge and problem solving.
Be rich, vibrant, creative and cross-curricular, stimulating pupils and enabling them to develop and apply the skills learnt in a new and different way.
Be subject to regular review to meet and anticipate the needs of the pupils, the demands of society, the requirements of the National Curriculum, statutory framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage and the wider curriculum.

Through the curriculum, including enrichment activities, all our pupils should:

Develop independence and enjoy opportunities to be curious, to explore, problem solve and be creative.
Develop a love of learning.
Learn to be resilient in the face of difficulties, reflective in celebrating their successes and not afraid to make mistakes and build upon them.
Develop the social skills needed for harmonious, respectful relationships.
Develop an understanding of the world around them and respect for the environment.
Apply themselves to the best of their abilities in all that they do.
Acquire and apply knowledge, skills and practical abilities in new situations.
Develop a sense of community and know their place in the world.
Support each other and develop leadership skills.
Feel aspirational about where their learning could take them, both within school and beyond.

Implementation

In order to realise the curriculum intent we place a strong emphasis on the quality of teaching and assessment. Our curriculum is implemented though a topic-based approach to learning and is taught through the context of an overall topic, which aims to inspire and engage the children within a meaningful context that gives a reason and purpose for their learning. This approach has been developed and refined through whole-school continuing professional development to ensure that all teaching staff have contributed to the development of our approach to the implementation of our curriculum.

To ensure effective implementation of our ambitious curriculum we plan the learning journey in each curriculum area carefully. This is achieved through strong curriculum leadership, secure subject knowledge and detailed curriculum planning. Skills and knowledge are taught progressively, enabling children to remember in the long term the content they have been taught and to apply it in new and varied contexts. Children are able to build upon previously taught skills, developing a cumulative knowledge that can be developed for future learning.

As a three form entry Nursery and Infants' school with a SLCN base, staff collaborate within year group teams to deliver the curriculum, coordinated and monitored by the senior leadership team (SLT), subject leaders and the specialist SLCN team. Subject leaders play an important part in the success of the curriculum by leading a regular programme of training, monitoring, evaluation and review. We take pride in providing a highly inclusive environment, where learners demonstrate high levels of enjoyment in their education and make strong progress in all subjects and areas of learning.

All children are helped to achieve their potential. Those who are most able are challenged and supported through being offered tasks which provide opportunities for greater depth and those who find the curriculum more challenging are given targeted support to learn and embed knowledge and skills, to develop at their own pace and in a style that best suits their individual needs. For pupils in the specialist speech and language base, adaptations to the curriculum are made in consultation with the SLCN team, who also provide staff training, to ensure pupils with EHC plans for speech, language and communication needs are able to access the curriculum appropriately.

Enjoyment of the curriculum promotes achievement, confidence and strong behaviour for learning. Children feel safe to try new things and relish challenges. The rich learning environment, full range of available resources, educational visits, visitors, workshops, theatre performances, sporting events and themed curriculum weeks enhance the curriculum further and provide first hand experiences for the children to draw on in their work. High quality resources, up-to-date ICT equipment, including new interactive whiteboards and iPads, and a range of teaching strategies, such as the use of Pie-Corbett, visual coding, Makaton signing and STEPs (therapeutic behaviour approach) enable the curriculum to be implemented in an inclusive manner. ensuring quality and equity of opportunity for all pupils. A primary focus of our curriculum is to raise aspirations, develop self-belief, foster pride in personal achievement and provide a purpose and relevance for learning. Disadvantaged pupils are supported to benefit from access to a full range of support, resources and extra-curricular opportunities through effective use of the PPG funding, including pastoral support, educational visits and clubs.

Throughout the school, pupils are taught using a mastery approach in mathematics and in ability and mixed attainment grouping for English and other curriculum subjects. Pupils are constantly monitored through pupil progress meetings between teachers and the headteacher and/or deputy head. Grouping is highly flexible and pupils are regularly moved within groups to ensure that their needs are being met.

We review the impact of our curriculum through ongoing formative and summative assessment. This enables teachers to identify where each child is in their learning journey, systematically check understanding, identify misconceptions and provide clear feedback to help each child move forward in their learning and make good progress.

The impact of our curriculum is measured in the standards achieved, progress made and personal qualities developed. The impact of our curriculum is seen in:

High standards: results in line with or above national averages.
Strong and consistent progress all year groups and subjects.
Teaching which is inspiring, engaging and tailored to pupils' needs.
Learners who are resilient, curious, creative and reflective.
Individuals who respect one another demonstrate our core values.

Means of measuring impact:

The curriculum is regularly reviewed, developed, monitored and evaluated by the headteacher, school leadership team and governors.
Curriculum leaders take responsibility for ensuring coverage, progression and standards by overseeing planning; monitoring and evaluating learning, teaching and the curriculum; securing high quality resources and attending and delivering training.
Assessment is both formative and summative and feeds into planning matched to pupils' needs.
Attainment and progress are regularly tracked.