Braiswick Primary curriculum:
- aligns with the vision of the Learning Pathways Trust and the school;
- sets out the knowledge and skills that pupils will gain at each stage but there is sufficient flexibility to be responsive to the needs of the community, local, national and international events and the interests of the children;
- provides rich and meaningful experiences and makes effective use of the outdoors, other environments beyond the classroom and visitors to the school.
- is designed to ensure the children learn about their locality, its history, geography, ecology and community;
- is coherently planned and sequenced towards sufficient knowledge and skills for future learning and employment and to ensure pupils are able to take advantage of the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of later life;
- is explicitly connected by Big Ideas or schemas that make learning meaningful over time; the Big Ideas are: Human Impact, Physical Impact, Chronology, Legacy, Technology, Universe, Living Things, Human Expression and Beliefs.
- sets out for each year group ambitious technical and academic vocabulary that the children will be taught to read, understand;
- provides 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;
- weaves metacognition (thinking about thinking) and meta learning (learning about learning) throughout so that children can become effective and motivated, lifelong learners*;
- is precisely adapted, designed or developed to be ambitious and meet the needs of pupils with SEND, developing their knowledge, skills and abilities to apply what they know and can do with increasing fluency and independence;
- is broad and balanced throughout the school and this ambition runs alongside the development of knowledge and skills in reading, writing and mathematics. Phonics and reading are given high priority, particularly at Key Stage 1 to ensure the children are able to access the curriculum ;
- is designed to be a powerful tool for addressing social disadvantage and for promoting social mobility;
- provides pupils with meaningful opportunities to understand how to be responsible, respectful, active citizens, who contribute positively to society;
- cultivates respect for different faiths and celebrates cultural diversity and the things we share in common;
- supports pupils to develop resilience, confidence and independence and lead a healthy and active lifestyle, helping them to know how to keep physically and mentally healthy.
The curriculum at Braiswick Primary has been developed following these principles:
- The curriculum is predominantly thematic to foster an engaging, immersive and meaningful context and to encourage the transference of skills and vocabulary, however, the integrity of subject knowledge and skills is respected and where subjects cannot be effectively taught in the context of the theme, they will be taught discretely, particularly in upper Key Stage 2.
- PE, Computing, PSHE and RE are usually taught as stand-alone subjects with separate schemes of work but elements may be integrated as appropriate.
- Where possible English units will be linked with thematic work to create a meaningful context and support the application of reading and writing across the curriculum. In addition, some English units may be so inspiring that they can be “grown” to create a whole thematic unit incorporating many other subjects, for example, a whole class book may provide a very rich context for wider learning.
- Maths is largely taught as a stand-alone subject to ensure thorough development of concepts and clear progression but should be applied within thematic units wherever possible to make interesting and real-life contexts for learning. For example, data handling readily lends itself to application within thematic learning.
- Computing is integrated into the curriculum as a learning tool but is also taught explicitly to ensure the progression of computing skills throughout the school. There is also a discrete e-safety unit for each year group as part of our commitment to safeguarding.
- PSHE is integrated into themes where appropriate or taught in stand alone lessons if this is more appropriate.
- All other foundation subjects are integrated into themes with a balance of “driver” subjects (lead subjects) throughout the year. Driver subjects are either Science, History or Geography.
Themes are developed following these principles:
- All year groups have non-negotiable knowledge and skills which they must cover during the course of the year. This ensures coverage of the national curriculum and the progression of skill development over time.
- There are suggested themes provided in the school curriculum but these can be adapted if the teacher believes they do not best meet the learning needs and interests of their class so long as the non-negotiable content and skills are covered.
- Themes should be inspiring with an interesting title and opened with a creative ”key” to draw the children in and open their minds to the possibilities within the them. This may be a book, film, picture, visit or visitor, artefact or any other engaging stimulus. Where possible, at the end of a theme there should be a “lock” which locks in the learning. This could be e.g. a presentation, assembly, a film the children have made, sharing the learning with another year group or a celebration which applies the learning.
- The theme should be translated into engaging, meaningful learning opportunities designed to maximise progress and attainment for all pupils.
- Themes generally last around half a term in EYFS and Year 1 and a full term in Year 2 and above but can be reduced if learning can be condensed while still ensuring appropriate coverage, or “grown” if the theme inspires the children and learning can be deepened.
- Themes should take into account international, national and local events such as the Olympics and the features and history of the locality
- Where possible, themes should include outdoor learning and all children should have the opportunity to learning through visits and visitors.
- Pupils should be involved in planning the theme and the teacher should start from what the children know already and what they would like to know in addition to ensuring any non-negotiable content is covered.
- At some point in each theme (often at the start) the children should explore the big picture and then “zoom in” e.g. start with the chronology and how it fits in over the history of man, learn about the features and chronology of a specific period and then the features and chronology of a specific event within that period. Over the course of study, teaching is designed to help pupils to remember long term the content they have been taught and to integrate new knowledge into larger ideas.
- Teachers must ensure they have a good knowledge of the subjects they teach. High value is placed on teacher efficacy at Braiswick Primary so systems are in place for teachers to share knowledge and to plan in pairs or teams to ensure the content of the curriculum is accurate and has sufficient depth.
- Teachers must present subject matter clearly, promoting appropriate discussion about the subject matter being taught. They check pupils’ understanding systematically, identify misconceptions accurately and provide clear, direct feedback.
Intended impact on outcomes
- Pupils develop detailed knowledge and skills across the curriculum and, as a result, achieve well.
- Pupils are ready for the next stage of education.
- Pupils’ work across the curriculum is of good quality.
- Pupils read widely and often, with fluency and comprehension appropriate to their age and are able to apply mathematical knowledge, concepts and procedures appropriately for their age
Assessment and monitoring of the curriculum
- Each theme will be pre-assessed to determine children’s prior learning and their knowledge of links to previous learning and what they want to know. Aspects of the programmes of study for some subjects may be assessed through cold tasks and re-assessed at the end of a sequence of teaching to determine impact and identify gaps in learning.
- Each core subject is assessed separately and recorded on the school’s tracking system. This information is used by the School Leadership Team to monitor subject standards and progress, to inform planning and identify individual needs and next steps.
- Each foundation subject is assessed as a cohort and recorded on the cohort tracker to identify pupils working below the age-related standard or above the age-related standard.
- Data is used to inform the school development plan for which the Governing Body take responsibility in monitoring. Subject leaders present their action plans, monitoring and outcomes to members of the Governing Body during monitoring opportunities throughout the year.
The wider school curriculum
- The children should have access to a range of extra-curricular activities during their time at Braiswick Primary. These may include clubs provided by the school and private providers. Clubs are monitored to ensure access for all and steps taken to support access for vulnerable groups.
- The children should have access to a range of opportunities to further develop self-knowledge, self-esteem and self-confidence including the experience of roles and responsibilities such as class ambassadors and monitors, leading assemblies, parent guides and leading enterprise activities such as charity sales.