We provide a broad and balanced curriculum with carefully planned additional learning opportunities to support the personal and social development of our children. In particular we focus on developing the characteristics of confidence, persistence, getting along. organisation and resilience. We believe that these are the characteristics which lead to the development of successful learners and are incorporated into our rewards system and other activities across school.
As a school community we believe that our curriculum ensures
All children are fluent and effective readers allowing them to read for pleasure and access the wider curriculum.
All children develop efficient mathematical methods and skills to allow them to use and apply these in the real world.
All children are able to speak articulately and with confidence in a range of situations in and out of school.
All children have a secure knowledge of the requirements of the national curriculum equipping them for their lifelong learning journey.
All children know how to keep themselves healthy in mind body and spirit.
All children have respect for beliefs and cultures of others understand the messages from the Bible
We implement our curriculum aims through careful self-evaluation which informs our development priorities and CPD to ensure that we are effective as a whole school community in meeting these aims.
We have curriculum overviews which show both knowledge and skill development across all year groups in every subject. Subject leaders working alongside staff have ensured that purposeful links across subjects are used effectively but also ensure each subject is taught purposefully and to the highest standard.
Teaching and learning is at the heart of all we do and specific team and individual work takes place to review, share good practice and discuss this in school.
Assessment is used to support teaching and learning and ensuring progress for all children. The assessment systems in school are subject specific and inform our classroom practice.
The learning environment supports our curriculum, strong value and ethos. Displays are used to celebrate children’s achievements in addition to supporting immediate learning through working walls. Our distinctive Christian ethos is supported through reflective class worship areas in each classroom.
Our curriculum implementation is supported in the following ways
All children are fluent and effective readers allowing them to read for pleasure and access the wider curriculum.
- Early reading and phonics is given high priority.
- Parents are supported to understand the teaching of reading and phonics in school through workshops and classroom visits.
- Regular class novel reading promotes reading for pleasure and exposes children to high quality texts
- Vocabulary is taught explicitly in whole class reading and in English lessons.
- Reading opportunities are linked to specific subjects throughout the year.
- Let’s read provides individual reading time for every child through high quality texts.
- Reading areas in the class room are engaging.
All children develop efficient mathematical methods and skills to allow them to use and apply these skills in the real world.
- Early bird maths provides daily challenge in fluency and efficient mathematical methods.
- On line resources provide competition and support specific key skills in school and at home
- Awards class and school competitions ensure a high profile for key basic mathematical skills
- Reasoning and problem solving is a key aspect of every maths lesson and promoted through weekly Tuesday Teaser.
- Calculations policies are available for parents on line.
All children are able to communicate articulately and with confidence in a range of situations in school.
- Children have planned opportunities to lead events and collective worship across the year.
- Newsround is used to support classroom discussion and debate around national and global issues.
- School productions in key stage 1 and key stage 2
- A variety of skills are showcased to the whole school regularly eg music concerts, choir performances, sports demonstrations celebrating all children’s talents and building confidence and resilience
- School poetry and performance focus.
- Key stage one use talk for writing in English.
- The development of activities within forest school has a speaking and listening focus.
All children have a secure knowledge of the requirements of the national curriculum equipping them for their lifelong learning journey.
- We have curriculum overviews which show both knowledge and skill development across all year groups in every subject.
- Subject leaders working alongside staff have ensured that purposeful links across subjects are used effectively but also ensure each subject is taught purposefully and to the highest standard.
- Clear guidance is provided to the knowledge children should acquire and apply.
- All classes access a broad and balanced curriculum with specific additional opportunities suited to be particular age groups and needs.
All children know how to keep themselves healthy in mind body and spirit.
- PE and sports have a high priority with a huge variety on offer to engage different children.
- Specific health and well-being lessons are provided to Y2 and Y6 in addition to the aspects covered in the Science curriculum.
- Charnock challenges, Forest School and Commando Jo challenges explicitly provide opportunities to develop the characteristics of confidence, persistence, getting along, organisation and resilience.
- A clear PHSE curriculum provides a variety of resources e.g. heart smart and kidsafe and is linked to our Christian values and ethos.
- Lunchtime play leaders provide a variety of activities to promote active and imaginative play.
Through our distinctly Christian ethos and excellent RE teaching and collective worship all children have respect for beliefs and cultures of others, understand the messages from the Bible and demonstrate these in their day to day life in school.
- RE is considered a core subject and has dedicated weekly timetable.
- Collective worship is well planned and resources provided to all staff to ensure high quality and clear links.
- The Ethos group is led by the Headteacher.
- Cross curricular links with our Christian values are made when appropriate.
- Interactive prayer areas are available in every classroom and in other areas of the school.
- A clear curriculum overview provides time to consider other faiths and ensure we ae outward looking. Teachers are provided with resources from Blackburn Diocese scheme of work and additional sources.
- RE Enrichment days allow a whole day focus on key aspects allowing visitors and trips to enhance the learning for our children.
Our Curriculum has been structured and organised to ensure opportunities for learning are maximised. The organisation of the curriculum is a result of staff discussion, consideration of the needs of children as they move through school, and research on effective teaching and learning.
We believe that children should have opportunities to have access to a curriculum which allows learning to be spaced over time to allow children to retrieve (recall) information previously taught to ensure that children are building their knowledge base throughout their time with us.
In addition we recognised the importance of longer blocked time for some subject in order to provide opportunities for deeper learning within one subject e.g. an afternoon session.