Intent
At Walmsley CE Primary we have designed our curriculum with pupils’ learning at the centre. We recognise that a curriculum has to be broad, balanced and offer pupils opportunities to grow as individuals as well as learners.
We believe that children should experience excellent teaching and develop a deep love of learning. Our curriculum is diverse, thought-provoking, creative, inspirational and soaked with memorable moments.
Through a combination of learning techniques, we aim to ensure pupils enjoy learning and feel prepared for life after school. We provide our children with cultural capital through an array of cultural, religious, geographical, aspirational and activity based opportunities. We also intend to offer our pupils new and exciting experiences through extra-curricular activities that are designed to build resilience, confidence and self-esteem.
We recognise that pupils should be challenged in their schooling; learning from failures and celebrating successes. We intend for our curriculum to be empowering, enabling pupils to develop their interpersonal skills, creativity and independence. In delivering our curriculum we aim to remove any barriers to learning so that ALL children are able to make progress across the whole school.
We want all our children to develop an ‘I can’ attitude towards their learning and a strong resilience to challenge and the value of making mistakes. We aim to ensure that all children have a secure understanding of Fundamental British Values, gain an understanding of equal opportunity, and are able to celebrate the richness and diversity of the society in which they live and are fully prepared for life as a global citizen.
Implementation
We intend to deliver the curriculum through a variety of methods that are both classroom-based and extra-curricular. Below, we have outlined how we intend to deliver this promise. We promote equal opportunities to all of our pupils in line with the Equality Act 2010 throughout our practices.
Ensuring the teachers have sound subject knowledge is a priority and the CPD programme at Walmsley has been developed to ensure all staff needs are identified and the teachers attend high quality training.
All policies relating to the curriculum support the ethos of the school and ensure that all learning is effective and well planned. We aim to develop a love of reading while ensuring the children are able to read with fluency and understanding, so they are able to access all subject areas.
Subject knowledge, skills and concepts are taught as individual disciplines and English and mathematical skills are effectively promoted across all subjects. The progress of all children (including those with SEND and those in recent of pupil premium funding) is closely monitored and the curriculum is designed to ensure that any gaps are closed.
Classroom-based learning: Our staff value the different ways in which pupils learn and plan lessons to account for these differences, this includes the use of PSHE. We encourage teachers to make cross-curricular links where possible within their lesson plans, so that pupils can draw upon knowledge from different subjects and understand how each topic plays a part in everyday life.
Teachers use different learning resources to teach core content, e.g. educational videos, guest speakers and ICT lessons. By using different techniques, we intend on keeping pupils engaged with learning and accommodate pupils who learn differently to their peers.
Extra-curricular activities: We provide a variety of extra-curricular activities for pupils that enhance their learning experience. The activities range from after-school clubs, to educational trips and visits – a list of the extra-curricular activities available for each year group is available below. Extra-curricular activities are designed to enhance pupils’ learning experience, form personal connections between pupils and their peers, and teach skills essential for life after school.
How the school involves parents, pupils and the local community in curriculum planning and delivery
Our school values the input of its pupils, parents and the local community with regards to the planning and delivery of the curriculum. We believe pupils get a well-rounded education if everyone is involved in shaping it.
We engage with the wider community by ensuring there are opportunities for pupils to participate in community projects, e.g. Luncheon Club. We embed each project within the curriculum into the relevant subjects, e.g. creating art out of litter and investigating the effects litter has on the environment. This shows pupils the value of protecting and being involved in their community and establishes a link between the theories they learn in the classroom to practical examples in real life.
Impact
Our curriculum has been designed for a range of learners, providing equal opportunities for all – by doing this, pupils will benefit in the following ways:
- Learning how to lead safe, healthy and fulfilling lives
- Understanding that failure is part of the road to success
- Being rewarded for academic successes
- Being supported with their next stages in education or training and feeling prepared for life after school
- Becoming responsible individuals who contribute to community living and the environment
- Achieving to the best of their ability
- Acquiring a wealth of knowledge and experience
- Becoming critical thinkers
- Finding a sense of belonging to the school and its community
- Learning how to cooperate with their peers and respect one another inside and outside the classroom.
The impact of our curriculum is that by the end of each topic/theme, the vast majority of children have sustained a mastery of content, that is, they remember it all and are fluent in it and some children have a greater depth of understanding. We track carefully to ensure children are on track to reach the expectations of our curriculum.