Curriculum Vision

 

Our Curriculum Vision

Achievement-Creativity-Endeavour: Our Vision

The ‘values’ of the school community provide the building blocks for our curriculum offer, which is designed to equip the children with the knowledge and skills for future success. 

Curriculum Intent

ACHIEVEMENT

In an ever-changing world, we will equip our children with the skills and qualities needed so they can embrace life’s challenges and opportunities. Our curriculum will open children’s eyes to new possibilities so they can develop aspirational attitudes and understand how to achieve their full potential.

CREATIVITY

Using an inspiring range of quality literature allows our children to broaden their horizons and knowledge of the world; develop their imaginations and use a rich vocabulary so they are able to communicate effectively with confidence and enthusiasm with the world around them both orally and through the written word.

We have an inclusive curriculum that reflects the needs of the individual, so ensuring opportunities to express talents and develop new skills are secured through a sequential approach to learning in all areas of the curriculum.

ENDEAVOUR

We believe that it is important for our children to understand that life is more than a virtual/digital world. We are passionate about their physical wellbeing and will therefore provide opportunities for the children to develop resilience and manage risk and elements of danger, through exploring the world around them.

As citizens of the future, we recognise the importance of our children using their skills, knowledge and beliefs to not only benefit ourselves but also to impact positively on the wider community. Through experiencing challenges and celebrating the rich diversity of modern Britain, we hope our children will positively impact on the world around them.

CHRISTIAN VALUES

Our Christian Values under pin all that we do in school, guiding our daily actions and decisions as we work as a community of unique individuals whom share a common belief and goal, that is our community. 

Curriculum planning makes links to our values so they are embedded in how we teach the curriculum.

 

Research and Pedagogy

‘Pedagogy is defined simply as the method, and practice, of teaching. It encompasses: When people talk about the pedagogy of teaching, they will be referring to the way teachers deliver the content of the curriculum to a class. When a teacher plans a lesson, they will consider different ways to deliver the content.’

Subject Leaders and Classroom Teachers research and use different pedagogical approaches depending on what is being taught but as a school we are especially mindful of considering the following when planning how to deliver lessons and plan the curriculum:

  • Metacognition
  • EEF Summary of recommendations 

The curriculum is a working document reflecting emergent need within cohorts and individuals, but also reflects the staff’s continuous professional development, that uses the fundamental of evidenced based research to strive for best outcomes. 

 

The ‘Core Skills’ of learning

We refer to core skills, as the skills: 

  • in English which enable the children to read and write coherently across the curriculum and apply their knowledge of grammar and punctuation accurately whenever they are writing. We also expect the children to maintain high standards of presentation.
  • In maths, there are core arithmetic skills (e.g. number bonds) and numeracy skills (e.g. using a ruler) which the children use daily and should be used accurately outside of the maths lesson and the children should be able to apply these skills in a variety of contexts.

To ensure core skills continue to be at the forefront, children access Timetable Rockstars (KS2), Doodle (KS1 and KS2) and Lexia (KS1 and 2) computer based programmes that provide continuous opportunities to practice and embed the core skills.

Phonics is taught daily using Read Write Inc in EYFS and KS1 with defined expectations and end points throughout academic years.

 

Reading

Reading and using quality children’s literature is at the heart of everything we do. All areas of study, across all subjects are linked at some point to year group reading curriculums. We are keenly aware that when children have ‘learnt to read’, they are then ‘reading to learn’. We use whole class reading and English lessons to gain knowledge about a subject so the time in subject based lessons can focus on the skills. The children are then able to make rapid gains in knowledge through this cross curriculum approach.

 

Non-negotiables

To ensure a broad and balanced curriculum the school has subject specific non-negotiables across the curriculum, enabling the children to share the high aspirations we have for them in everything they do. 

 

Memorable Moments

We aim to provide interesting, varied and exciting visits and classroom visitors to enhance areas of learning. Visitors and trips are chosen to enhance the curriculum; provide experiences they may not usually have access to and to provide a range of cultural opportunities, often beyond their local community and previous life experiences.

 

Cultural Capital

According to the school inspection handbook, Ofsted’s definition of Cultural Capital is:

As part of making the judgement about the quality of education, inspectors will consider the extent to which schools are equipping pupils with the knowledge and cultural capital they need to succeed in life. Our understanding of ‘knowledge and cultural capital’ is derived from the following wording in the national curriculum: ‘It is the essential knowledge that pupils need to be educated citizens, introducing them to the best that has been thought and said and helping to engender an appreciation of human creativity and achievement.’”

We want all of our children, no matter what their background or experience, to be exposed to the best of the world around them in order to help them reach their potential and make progress in life beyond school. There are many experiences, some small such as a bedtime story and others which are bigger such as a trip to the zoo which many of us take for granted. Our aim is to redress the balance by aiming to provide opportunities and experiences for all. ‘…the accumulation of cultural capital – the acquisition of knowledge – is the key to social mobility”.

Some of the ways in which we think about Cultural Capital within in our curriculum are:

  • a variety of literature is taught (classic and modern authors)
  • across the years, children will be exposed to carefully chosen artists, designers, sculptors, architects and composers
  • learning about significant people of the past and present and their impact on the world today
  • we model respect for each other; use varied and appropriate language and strive to be role models for the children we teach
  • pupil voice allows children to formulate arguments, make plans and work with others and they have opportunities to make decisions for the greater good which will also impact on their moral development
  • daily life in school includes greeting each other at the door or when passing in the corridor; using cutlery appropriately in the dining room and even opening the door for a peer or adult. These life skills are a crucial part of enabling children to be able to adapt to the setting and experiences they are exposed to
  • meta-learning (learning to learn), developing a growth mindset, self esteem, keeping safe and spiritual development are all areas which we think play a part in children’s ability to be prepared for the future and experience the best of what the world has to offer.

 

Curriculum Progression

Knowledge, concepts and skills across subjects is progressive (builds on previous learning and takes account of prior knowledge) and all teachers know what has been taught before and what comes next. Our aim is for the curriculum to be cohesive so children are constantly building on previous learning and provided with a curriculum where connections can be made across areas of study and different subjects. 

We want children to be literate in a subject and become experts. Therefore, we emphasise ‘areas of study’ rather than topics to develop subject specific skills, concepts and language

 

Curriculum Development & Planning

Leaders have develop a curriculum overview for each key stage, that structures each area of study will be taught. The subject leader has based these decisions on progression of knowledge; and to enable tangible and experiential links to be made between areas of study and subjects.

Curriculum Implementation

Aims/Expectations

  • Learning in the classroom is carefully planned so our school pedagogy is apparent and considered to allow the children to make gains in knowledge and make connections between different areas of learning.
  • Areas of study are progressive in skills and knowledge across the school.
  • Areas of study use the local environment, community and places of interest as much as possible.
  • Areas of study are taught in the order and at the time which has been specified on the overall plan.
  • Enquiry based approaches are used to deepen children’s knowledge and create high levels of interest.
  • Subject progression documents will be the basis for planning as will the specific skills which have been identified for each year group to secure learning expectations for agreed end points.
  • Subject non-negotiables will ensure all subjects have clear expectations for teachers and children, therefore are valued within our curriculum structure.
  • The curriculum journey will be fully inclusive reflecting the needs of the individual and cohort.
  • Quality children’s literature is at the heart of the majority of areas of study
  • A variety of experiences are provided for the children which are best suited to help the children remember and recall their learning
  • Curriculum information and pupil achievements are shared regularly with parents through meetings and on-line.  

Curriculum Impact

Monitoring and evaluation is a continuous process and is carried out by class teachers, curriculum leaders, senior leaders and external moderators. Monitoring takes place in a variety of ways – observations, learning walks, conversations with pupils and teachers, collaborative planning, work scrutiny

Classroom learning & Subject Monitoring – ‘drop ins’, team teaching, observations, learning walks, pupil scrutiny & external moderation. During these monitoring visits the following areas will be reviewed to evaluate the teaching and learning experience of the children:

  • Assessment
  • Core Skills
  • Attitude to Learning
  • Progress
  • Pupil voice 
  • Well-being / learning environment

Assessment

  • Assessment should be ongoing and at the end of each area of study
  • Assessment tasks should be used throughout and these can range in a variety of way but they will be independent tasks which ask the children to apply their learning. 
  • For all subjects, there is assessment criteria based on the subject progress document.
  • Assessments are there to be informative and useful.
  • Pupil voice is a key part of assessment and should be used to evaluate how much knowledge has been remembered and which skills have been learnt. This should be carried out by a range of people e.g. subject leaders, class teachers, governors etc.
Over the course of their education, children spend over 7000 hours at Norham St Ceolwulf's First school.  With such a huge amount of time spent in the classroom, school provides an ideal environment for promoting good emotional wellbeing and identifying early behaviour changes and signs of mental distress. The social and emotional skills, knowledge and behaviours that young people learn in the classroom can help them to build resilience and set the pattern for how they will manage their mental health throughout their lives.  Emotional wellbeing is a clear indicator of academic achievement, success and satisfaction in later life. Evidence shows that mental health and wellbeing programmes in schools can lead to significant improvements in children’s mental health, and social and emotional skills. Wellbeing provision in schools can also lead to reductions in classroom misbehaviour and bullying.

At Norham St Ceolwulf's we take emotional health and mental well being very seriously.  Every class provides a range of activities that promote emotional health and mental well-being including the promotion of daily physical literacy, open access to pastoral partners, class and team building activities.  

Inclusive approaches to the curriculum include aspects of the 5 steps for well-being promoted by the NHS, and we used texts within individual classes each half term to discuss specific issues and work out strategies on how best to overcome any issues we identify.

Check out the video below to find out more about the key ideas for supporting mental wellbeing.

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