Our Curriculum

Curriculum Coverage Overview

Statement of intent – Nurture Grow Succeed

At Sandal Primary School and Nursery, we strive to make our children passionate for learning and make their learning as much fun and as meaningful and relevant as possible. We offer children an excellent education in a safe, calm, creative, inclusive and stimulating environment. Every child is valued as an individual; we aim to nurture well rounded, respectful and confident children who will develop skills for life-long learning. We believe every pupil should be able to participate in all school activities in an enjoyable and safe environment and be protected from harm. We nurture our children on their journey and encourage them to be creative, unique, open-minded and independent individuals, respectful of themselves and of others in our school, our local community and the wider world.

Our curriculum is based on the September 2014 National Curriculum for Key Stages 1 & 2 and the Early Years 2021 framework in Nursery and Reception. Our rigorous, well planned curriculum, combined with high quality teaching, ensures that children are supported to be well rounded, empathetic young people who have a genuine thirst for learning. Children develop a strong sense of moral purpose in addition to a respect for and understanding of people.

 

Curriculum Vision

 In order to have highly effective learning, our curriculum will:-

 

  • help our children become the very best that they can be
  • be inspiring, motivating and challenging for all
  • be dynamic, engaging and responsive to children’s interests
  • relevant for our children, our community and wider society
  • encourage wondering, questioning and independence
  • be purposeful
  • foster a lifelong love of learning
  • encourage both collaborative and independent learning
  • encourage children to take risks, make mistakes and persevere
  • develop the whole child
  • provide a wealth of experiences

The curriculum is all the planned activities that we as a school organise in order to promote learning, personal growth and development. It includes, not only the formal requirements of the National Curriculum and Early Years Framework, but also the range of extra-curricular activities that the school organises in order to enrich the experiences of our children. It also includes the ‘hidden curriculum’, or what the children learn from the way they are treated and expected to behave. We take our responsibility to prepare children for life in modern Britain very seriously and ensure that the fundamental British Values are introduced, discussed and lived out through the ethos and work of our school.

 

Roots of Learning

At the heart of our curriculum are Sandal’s Roots of Learning:

Challenge                           Aiming high – challenge yourself and see what you can do!

Collaboration                   Working together – everybody is important!

Independence                  Thinking for ourselves – you decide!

Reflection                          Looking back – What went well? What could be even better?

Resilience                          Keeping going – believe in yourself!

Risk Taking                         Daring to be different – take a risk; you’re one in a million!

 

These roots support broader learning beyond the curriculum including Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural (SMSC) development of the children making RE and PHSE major components of our whole school curriculum as is the teaching of values to prepare children for life in modern Britain; a broad range of teaching and learning strategies are used to “teach the things you cannot google” and to make learning “3D”.

Please see Preparing Children for Life in Modern Britain for more information about this.  

 

Aims

We aim to offer a balanced and broad based curriculum which enables all pupils to:

  • Enjoy learning
  • Feel successful in their learning and to promote high self esteem
  • Become creative, independent learners
  • Be given significant time to learn new skills and have time to practise those skills
  • Increase their knowledge and understanding across all areas of the National Curriculum
  • Have the flexibility to decide how best to learn in different situations
  • Know what their strengths are and which areas they need to develop
  • Become successful lifelong learners who are able to reach their true potential
  • Be able to evaluate and assess their own learning
  • Develop their critical thinking
  • Understand and value the importance of truth, fairness, right and wrong
  • Nurture positive relationships promoting working co-operatively with one another
  • Understand Britain’s cultural heritage
  • Explore their spiritual, moral, cultural, mental and physical development
  • Make learning more meaningful by putting it into context
  • Challenge themselves and engage in deeper learning

 

Implementation

Organisation and Planning

Our curriculum is based on the September 2014 National Curriculum for Key Stages 1 & 2 and the Early Years 2021 Framework in Reception.

 

2014 National Curriculum for Key Stages 1 & 2

Early Years 2021 Framework in Reception

Our curriculum is delivered using a variety of approaches and resources depending on the nature of the subject being taught and the needs of the children.

The Reception curriculum is planned on a yearly basis linking to the Prime and Specific Areas of Learning in the EYFS and is guided by the children’s interests. In KS1 and 2, our curriculum is all planned on a yearly cycle with an emphasis placed on hook days, cross curricular links and learning supported by quality texts and other quality experiences.

 

All teachers are responsible for planning, evaluating and teaching in their classes. The National Curriculum stipulates the expectations which form the long-term plan from which the teachers write medium term plans to achieve balance and coverage over a term or half term.

 

Medium term plans allow the teachers to structure teaching and learning to ensure not only National Curriculum coverage but that it meets the needs of our children by reflecting on the aims and vision of our school. At this stage, thought will be given to the learning opportunities provided and the desired learning outcomes.

 

Short term plans outline the individual lessons and adaptations made for individual classes and children along with assessment opportunities and expected outcomes. Particular attention is given to clear and appropriate differentiation, progression and attainment at this point in the planning process.

 

Class teachers meet regularly in PPA time, phase meetings and faculty meetings to ensure continuity of provision and moderation in terms of expectations and outcomes across the year groups.

Assessment, Recording, Monitoring and Evaluation

Short and medium term assessment is the responsibility of the class teacher and is in line with the assessment policy. However, teachers will use informal assessment and observation on a daily basis to determine what children can do independently and therefore plan next steps for learning.

Formative assessments take many different forms and are reflected in the pupil’s books/work in the detailed marking and provision of constructive feedback. Feedback follows the school’s policy and identifies areas for children to improve giving focused challenges and expecting children to take ownership of their learning and respond and reflect in order to improve. Summative assessments support teacher assessments in the core subjects and children are presented with these in a relaxed format so as to cause minimal anxiety for pupils. These are used to help prepare children though the year groups for the end of key stage testing as required by law. 

Pupils in EYFS are assessed using the Foundation Stage Profile. Pupil profiles are established for each child in Nursery and Reception and assessments are made against the Foundation Stage Profile Statements.

Children’s progress and attainment in all subjects including foundation subjects will be assessed by their teacher against the learning outcomes and end of year expectations. Pupil progress will be reported to parents at three points in the year either in writing or at an appointment where parents are invited to discuss their child’s progress.

Curriculum Coverage

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