Netherthong

Introduction

Through our curriculum we are committed to developing the whole child.  Our children have the opportunity to be creative, to be physically active and to be academically challenged. We are continually reviewing and improving the curriculum we offer to our children according to the needs of our children and community.

School Values

We believe that working in partnership with parents, carers, governors and the community, we offer a learning community, where we strive for quality, enjoyment and success for all, by fostering enquiring minds in a stimulating, caring environment, where everyone is valued.

We encourage the development of mutual respect and tolerance within a happy, hard-working atmosphere. We prepare pupils for challenges, opportunities and responsibilities for life within the context of our British Values.

Our intention is for all pupils to achieve their full potential – we strive for excellence. We recognise and are constantly aware of the needs of each individual.

This is summed up in our motto:      Nurture          Progress          Succeed

School Aims: -

• To help children develop self- respect and respect of society’s shared values


• To develop the whole child, recognizing and valuing their individuality


• To have fun, encourage a sense of humour and engender a life - long love of learning


• To help pupils develop independence and confidence to meet opportunities, responsibilities and experience of their future lives


• To contribute to the individual pupils understanding of themselves society and the diverse world they live in.


• To encourage value and respect for the environment both globally and locally and to appreciate our privileged opportunity to utilize our special surroundings for learning and enjoyment.


• To nurture high self- esteem in a culture that celebrates self- worth so that pupils are able to make positive, well informed decisions about all aspects of their lives.


• To help pupils to understand that they will always have more to learn, that they can always learn from others and that others can learn from them.


• To ensure all pupils know how to keep themselves safe and secure


• To encourage parents and children to be resilient.

The aims of our school curriculum are:

• To promote the spiritual, moral, cultural, mental and physical development of pupils


• To prepare pupils at the school for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of later life


• To enable all children to understand that they are all successful learners.


• To enable children to understand the skills and attributes needed to be a successful learner.


• To enable children to develop their own personal interests.


• To promote a positive attitude towards learning, so that children enjoy coming to school, and acquire a solid basis for lifelong learning;


• To teach children the basic skills of literacy, numeracy and computing;


• To enable children to be creative through art, dance, music, drama and design technology;


• To enable children to be healthy individuals who enjoy sport and appreciate the importance of a healthy life style.


• To teach children about their developing world, including how their environment and society have changed over time;


• To help children understand Britain’s cultural heritage;


• To enable children to be positive citizens in society and to feel that they can make a difference;


• To enable children to understand and respect other cultures;


• To fulfil all the requirements of the National Curriculum and the Locally Agreed syllabus for Religious Education;


• To teach children to have an awareness of their own spiritual development, and to understand right from wrong;


• To help children understand the importance of truth and fairness, so that they grow up committed to equal opportunities for all;


• To enable children to have respect for themselves and high self-esteem, and to be able to live and work co-operatively with others;


• To enable children to be active and take responsibility for their own health;


• To offer a child the opportunity to play a musical instrument;


• To enable children to be passionate about what they believe in and to develop their own thinking;


• To enable children to ask questions and take risks.


• To enable children to develop their intellect including their emotional development.

Vision of our curriculum

At Netherthong Primary School, we strive to give our children the opportunity to satisfy their curiosity for the world around them. Each child is valued as an individual who can reach their full potential. Our curriculum nurtures their curiosity by being ambitious, eclectic and interconnected. We aim to build their learning sequentially throughout their time at Netherthong to allow them to develop a deep-rooted body of knowledge. Ultimately, we aim to prepare the children academically, socially, culturally and morally for life beyond Netherthong. Barriers to learning are overcome through high aspirations and a strong belief in equity for all children to ensure they thrive. We aim to help our children become important contributors to society.

Curriculum Design

Our curriculum comprises of highly connected schemata which takes into consideration the needs and interests of our children; their prior learning and experiences; and the statutory national curriculum. We take into consideration three factors in our children’s learning journey at Netherthong:

• Curriculum – What is taught to the children.


• Pedagogy – How the children are taught.


• Assessment – How we know the children have achieved the desired outcomes.

When designing the curriculum, we take into consideration the following factors:

• Ensuring there is a coherent and sequential approach to teaching and learning, so that as they progress through the school, the children enrich and build on what they have learnt before.


• The opportunity to make genuine and meaningful connections between subject areas to help children find meaning in their learning.


• Knowledge and skills are taught by looking at the individual components and building them towards the desired outcome(s).


• Giving the children a wide range of academic, technical, creative and sporting experiences.


• Helping children to build up their resilience and mental well-being.


• Promoting children’s spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.


• Equipping the children with cultural capital to enable their future success.


• Nurturing a love of learning and an opportunity for children to understand their own learning profile.

How Our Curriculum is Implemented

At Netherthong Primary School, we recognise that knowledge and skills are intertwined. We understand that a skill is a capacity to perform by drawing on knowledge. Skills and knowledge are taught side-by-side, through a cross-curricular approach. We ensure we are embedding knowledge and drawing on connections no matter what subject is taught.

The EYFS Statutory Framework and the National Curriculum are our starting point for curriculum design. We have mapped out age-appropriate knowledge and skills that are built on in subsequent years.

The curriculum that we teach in the Reception class meets the requirements set out in the revised National Curriculum at Foundation Stage. Our curriculum planning focuses on the seven areas of learning and development:

Communication & Language;

Physical Development; personal,

 social and emotional

development;

Literacy; Mathematics;

Understanding the world; 

Expressive arts and design.

Our school fully supports the principle that young children learn through play, and by engaging in well- planned structured activities. Teaching in the Foundation class builds on the experiences of the children in their pre-school learning. We do all we can to build positive partnerships with the variety of nurseries and other pre-school providers in the area.

During the children’s first term in school, their teacher begins to assess each child. This assessment forms an important part of the future curriculum planning for each child.

We are well aware that all children need the support of parents and teachers to make good progress in school. We strive to build positive links with the parents of each child by having a planned induction process including setting visits. This relationship is nurtured throughout their time in Foundation Stage and throughout their time at school.

At Netherthong Primary School we use Read, Write Inc. as our main phonics scheme to support our teaching.

Each year group has a bespoke curriculum that endeavours to connect areas of the curriculum to add further understanding. Teachers know what children have learnt in previous year groups and know what they will learn in subsequent years. We ensure our topics have significance to our locality to further embed their knowledge.

Our topics encompass different areas of the curriculum and are usually centred on science, geography and history. We then teach the children their art and DT knowledge with meaningful connections to the topic. In addition to teaching English and maths discreetly, we also ensure we bring in opportunities to develop their writing, reading and mathematical knowledge and skills through topic-based learning. In our English planning, we often include books that have a connection to our topic.  In order to ensure that progression and balance in maintained, the topics are developed into medium-term plans that clearly show the intended outcomes and the learning activities to help achieve these outcomes. Some of our topics include: War Across the Ages (Year 6); Out of this World (Year 5); Animals and Our World (Year 4); Rockin’ & Rollin’ (Year 3); Fire! Fire! (Year 2); Big Country (Year 1) and Getting to Know Me! (Reception). Computing, RE, PE, PSHE which includes RSE and Health education are often taught as discreet subjects to ensure coverage of the main objectives and age-appropriate knowledge and skill development. However, at every opportunity, we find connections between these subjects and our main topic.

 Extra-Curricular Activities

We are committed to developing the whole child. We extend the curriculum by offering a range of extracurricular activities, including: Football, computing, Sports Coaching, Sewing Club, Ukulele and singing.

Children with Special Needs

The curriculum in our school is designed to provide access and opportunity for all children who attend the school.

If a child has a special need, our school does all it can to meet their individual needs. We comply with the requirements set out in the SEND Code of Practice in providing for children with special needs. If a child displays signs of having special needs, his/her teacher makes an assessment of this need. In most instances the teacher is able to provide resources and educational opportunities which meet the child’s needs within the normal class organisation. If a child’s need is more severe, we involve the appropriate external agencies and consider if there is a need for Education, Care and Health Plan (ECHP) when making this assessment.

We provide additional resources and support for children with special needs.

The Role of the Subject Leader

The role of the subject leader is to:

• Provide a strategic lead and direction for the subject;


• Review and deliver own subject policy;


• Support and offer advice to colleagues on issues related to the subject;


• Monitor pupil progress in that subject area;


• Provide efficient resource management for the subject.

It is the role of each subject leader to keep up to date with developments in their subject, at both national and local level. They review the way the subject is taught in the school and plan for improvement. This development planning links to whole-school objectives. Each subject leader reviews the curriculum plans for their subject, ensures that there is full coverage of the National Curriculum and that progression is planned into schemes of work. Subject leaders have responsibility for monitoring standards and ensuring that teachers have the skills and resources they need.

The Impact of Our Curriculum

At Netherthong Primary School, pupils make rapid progress from their entry point into school. By the end of Key Stage Two, children perform well compared to national and local results across all subjects. Our children have the core skills in English and maths whilst also maintaining a depth and breadth across the entire curriculum.

Our curriculum gives all children the opportunity to collaborate with their peers through group and pair work. There are regular opportunities for children to learn in our expansive school grounds through our bespoke ‘Learning Outside the Classroom’ initiative, which is tied to our topics. High quality first teaching, supported by targeted interventions help all our children achieve and the needs of all groups are met.

To ensure children’s long-term memory is being developed, we define their progress as ‘knowing and remembering more’. Many of our lessons start with ‘quizzes’ that draw on their prior learning, tailored to suit the outcome of the lesson they are in. We also include vocabulary maps to ensure children are learning age-appropriate and topic-specific language which they can take forward with them when they leave Netherthong.

Monitoring the Impact of Our Curriculum

Whilst we see the class teacher as responsible for the day-to-day delivery of the curriculum, the teaching staff strive to ensure they know the curriculum of other year groups to ensure children make a smooth journey when acquiring new knowledge and skills. We gather assessment data at the end of topics, which helps inform our end-of-year assessment of children in each subject area. Progress is monitored by the Senior Leadership Team, the subject leaders and the curriculum coordinator.

The curriculum leader monitors planning, work and lessons to ensure that all classes are taught the full requirements of the curriculum for their year group and that children are being given the opportunity to build on their previous learning.

Our team of subject leaders play an important part in the successful delivery of our curriculum by regularly monitoring and evaluating their appointed subject area. They are the ‘cheerleaders’ of their subject and ensure it is covered in the appropriate amount of depth and breadth.

All staff involved in curriculum design and provision ensure that they are keeping updated on local and national developments. The curriculum is reviewed regularly and opportunities for current affairs are brought in as they arise.

Our governing body’s Standards and Effectiveness Committee is responsible for monitoring the way the school curriculum is implemented.

Through the S&E committee governors liaise with the subject leaders, and monitor the way the school teaches these subjects through governor visits to school, reports and presentations.

The Headteacher is responsible for the day to day organisation of the curriculum.

The Headteacher monitors the curriculum through planning, classroom observation, liaising with the Subject Leaders and Curriculum leader