Curriculum

An ambitious curriculum

We want to see all our pupils thrive as successful learners socially and academically through high quality teaching and an enriched, knowledge led curriculum matched to individual needs. We wish for our learners to have characteristics required to be independent, happy and well-rounded citizens who are life-long learners.

We aim to develop the whole child to become an independent thinker who is ambitious, emotionally equipped and confident to make good life choices. Positivity and a can do attitude is important to us and the key for all children in reaching their aspirations.

Our curriculum enables pupils to build on their prior knowledge and understanding to then be able to confidently attain new and valuable next steps in their learning. Our pupils are taught to make learning connections, be reflective, embrace challenges, think critically in order to be able to increase their life chances.

Our curriculum principles

  • Balanced with a clear sequence of concepts and progression of knowledge
  • Connections to real life experiences and the cultural diversity of our school
  • High quality texts beyond English
  • Reading first and foremost
  • Knowledge Organisers to support the retrieval of prior learning, knowledge and skills so that the learning is meaningful, has context and connections are made.
  • Closing the vocabulary gap
  • Promote the ‘child’s voice’ to develop children to become confident communicators who can share their ideas, thinking and reasoning coherently whilst responding and valuing the ideas of others sensitively.
  • Nurture, develop and support children to be emotionally secure humans who believe in and can stand up for themselves, their beliefs and their opinions in appropriate ways.
  • Developing the whole child
  • Celebrating beyond school achievements

Our Provision

Our inclusive provision is informed by educational research into effective teaching practices, cognition and how knowledge and understanding develops. These act as a guide for the consistency and distinctiveness of our curriculum.

  • Teaching is based on a clear understanding of cognition and learning.
  • Teachers have deep knowledge of the subjects they teach and develop in pupils well connected networks of ideas (schema).
  • Unconscious Competence. Connecting new knowledge with existing knowledge so they have fluency and can unconsciously apply their knowledge as skills.
  • Teachers assess learning and provide timely feedback, reshape learning and adapt teaching as needed.
  • Pupil groupings are flexible, changed regularly and not driven by perceived “ability” or prior attainment.
  • The classroom climate and culture is calm, expects all to excel and enables the learning values.
  • Questioning ALL pupils – cold calling, checking understanding or process, probing, say it again better, think/pair/share.
  • Developing strong partnership with parents and carers that influence good attitudes to learning at home and school.

Our Teaching Intentions

  • Purpose of the learning is made explicit. We are learning X. It is important to know this because Y and it will help us to Z.
  • Direct instruction. I do / We do / You do.
  • Guided practice – modelling and exposition.
  • “Room at the top” lessons pitched high.
  • Desirable Difficulty – 80 % success rate.
  • Spaced learning to combat the forgetting curve.
  • Masterclass to scaffold.
  • Continuous formative assessment to improve not prove.
  • At the start of each lesson quizzing also known as retrieval practise.
  • Pupils knowing more and remembering more.

Our wider curriculum

  • Every child learns to play the ukulele and the samba drum
  • Every child has the opportunity to take part in leadership responsibilities
  • Educational visits including residential opportunities
  • Pupil led lunch time ambassadors  
  • Assemblies and performances
  • Visitors
  • Learning outside the classroom
  • Responding to events in the news
  • Charity events led by pupils
  • Promotes SMSC
  • Every child enjoys the thrill of competitive sport
  • Every child participates in co-curricular activities
  • Every child visits sites of historic, spiritual and cultural importance