Intent

The breadth of our curriculum is designed with two goals:

• To provide a coherent, structured academic curriculum that leads to the mastery of knowledge and skills learnt.
• To give all pupils a wide range of experiences to develop as a confident, resilient, respectful and motivated individuals prepared to be global citizens of the future.

Design

Our curriculum is ambitious. It is knowledge based with regular opportunity for retention whilst also securing the necessary skills to become successful independent and expert learners. It builds on the school’s strengths including well developed SMSC provision, embedded school and British values, outdoor learning and enrichment. Children are developed as valued individuals with an emphasis on health and wellbeing both physically and mentally. Subject Leaders have designed the curriculum to ensure that it is relevant and contextual both locally and globally to develop a deep understanding of the changing world and community that we live in.

Themes

We have developed six main curriculum themes that fundamentally underpin our curriculum aims and design. These themes encompass our values based ethos, reflect the strengths of the school and are responsive to the needs of our community and the ever changing wider world around us:

1. Communication
2. Expertise
3. Innovation
4. Individuality
5. Real World Engagement
6. Wellbeing

Implementation

Our coherently planned academic curriculum is underpinned by our curriculum themes and uses the EYFS or National Curriculum (DfE 2014) as the basis for content and expectations. We have structured this as follows:

• All year groups have curriculum maps for each Term including key expectations for each subject, values covered, community links, life skills and PSHE focus.
• Foundation subjects have a knowledge organiser consisting of Tier 2 vocabulary and powerful knowledge.
• Retrieval practise and precision teaching is used daily in maths, spelling, punctuation and grammar and foundation subjects to retain knowledge.
• Reading, phonics, vocabulary and spelling are taught systematically to master fluency, comprehension, language and prosody.
• The learning sequence over a term follows our curriculum model (MAKS) Mastering the Application of Knowledge and Skills.
• Learners complete an assessment question to analyse mastery of skills and knowledge learnt in the foundation subjects. Assessment is also ongoing through retrieval practice, low stake quizzes, questioning and feed forward sessions. There is regular feedback between children and teachers. Core subject summative assessment takes place three times a year to inform teacher’s knowledge of gaps in learning.

COMMUNICATION

Our pupils are secondary ready as motivated learners able to communicate to others clearly and articulately. They have a love of reading and literature with a well-developed vocabulary.

EXPERTISE

Our pupils are knowledgeable in a broad range of subjects. They are keen to expand and deepen their learning further with a thirst for learning. The majority of children will have achieved key expectations in all programmes of study and some will have exceeded expectations by making deeper links across subjects.

INNOVATION

Our pupils have well developed enquiry and investigative skills. They are creative, imaginative and resourceful. They embrace new technologies and show competencies such as problem solving, risk taking, planning, leadership and team working ensuring that they are well placed to be entrepreneurs of the future.

INDIVIDUALITY

Our pupils are self-confident individuals with a strong moral compass ensuring respect and understanding of equality, fairness and diversity. The values of responsibility, kindness, courage, cooperation, resilience and respect are deeply embedded.

REAL WORLD ENGAGEMENT

Our pupils are global citizens with a well-informed understanding of the world around them, the importance of community and topical issues that affect everyone’s lives such as climate change. They have an appreciation of the outdoors and an ability to be self-sufficient young adults.

WELLBEING

Our pupils integrate health and wellbeing into their daily lives. They are physically active and are resilient to set backs with a positive mind-set. They develop healthy relationships and are respectful to themselves and others online.