Our curriculum
Our Ethos and Values (Intent)
At Baldwins Gate Primary School we have carefully designed our bespoke curriculum to ensure that each child has a broad and balanced curriculum which develops each child holistically. Through our ethos and values, we aim to set our children on their journey to fulfilling their potential in all aspects of their lives – physically, academically, socially, morally and spiritually (valuing all God’s children).
We aim, through our ethos and values, to create an inclusive environment where all feel valued, welcomed and can flourish.
Our work is underpinned by our Christian Vision and Values and our motto; “Everyone learning together in faith, truth and love.”
It is our aim that our curriculum will:
Our curriculum design: (Implementation)
Our curriculum defines what we want our children to know and be able to do by the time they leave the school. The national curriculum is the skeleton on which we build our school curriculum. We implement our curriculum through a subject specific approach, making meaningful links to other areas of the curriculum where appropriate. We use elements of a range of published schemes that are adapted in-house to meet the needs of our children and context.
Our curriculum will:
Progression and sequencing
During 2018-19 we created a curriculum map that provides a progression model for the school. In this academic year, 2021-2022, our focus is on clarifying our curriculum intent (vision) and implementation for each subject by reviewing our planning. We recognise that deep learning takes place when we build upon prior knowledge and there is a sequential repetition of content to consolidate learning. An example in science would be the topic of ‘Plants’ where in Y1 pupils learn to identify and name common flowering plants, in Y3 they build on this to explore the different parts of a flowering plant and the role they play in the life cycle of flowering plants, to finally in Y6 applying their knowledge of plants to classify them according to their characteristics. We understand that sequencing is about teaching things in the right order to enable children to acquire and retain knowledge in order to demonstrate skills.
Assessment of the curriculum
We use formative and summative assessment processes to enable us to make accurate judgements of both attainment and progress. We record our assessments using Classroom Monitor. This enables us to identify any gaps in knowledge or skills and to adapt our planning to fill these gaps. Knowledge gained by regularly reviewing our assessment processes and outcomes, enable us to continue to develop our curriculum to inform and improve on future curriculum design.
Impact
The impact of our school curriculum is that we develop well-rounded, confident children who achieve their personal best. The success of our curriculum can be measured in the feedback that we receive from our children, parents and our secondary schools about how well our children settle into the next stage of their formal education and continue to thrive.
At Baldwins Gate Primary School we have carefully designed our bespoke curriculum to ensure that each child has a broad and balanced curriculum which develops each child holistically. Through our ethos and values, we aim to set our children on their journey to fulfilling their potential in all aspects of their lives – physically, academically, socially, morally and spiritually (valuing all God’s children).
We aim, through our ethos and values, to create an inclusive environment where all feel valued, welcomed and can flourish.
Our work is underpinned by our Christian Vision and Values and our motto; “Everyone learning together in faith, truth and love.”
It is our aim that our curriculum will:
- develop a spiritual awareness and Christian values of what is right and wrong, honest and true.
- enable pupils to understand the importance of respecting all and valuing all as equals.
- ensure our pupils value and have respect for themselves as individuals, recognising their uniqueness.
- help children understand their Christian and cultural heritage, their British heritage and respect for the cultural heritage and beliefs of others.
- enable pupils to understand the importance of community, (both local and global) and the responsibility therein.
- provide an environment where children feel safe to explore, experiment, make mistakes and develop their own interests.
Our curriculum design: (Implementation)
Our curriculum defines what we want our children to know and be able to do by the time they leave the school. The national curriculum is the skeleton on which we build our school curriculum. We implement our curriculum through a subject specific approach, making meaningful links to other areas of the curriculum where appropriate. We use elements of a range of published schemes that are adapted in-house to meet the needs of our children and context.
Our curriculum will:
- provide opportunities for awe and wonder.
- ensure quality first teaching for all our learners.
- ensure the children are taught the national curriculum requirement so fulfilling their legal entitlement.
- ensure children are taught the functional skills of literacy and numeracy so they are both literate and numerate relevant to their age/ability.
- be relevant and holistic and has within it progression, continuity and challenge.
- develop skills and knowledge across all subjects.
- teach the agreed local syllabus for religious education.
- promote, through all our curriculum, a healthy lifestyle and the importance of being active.
Progression and sequencing
During 2018-19 we created a curriculum map that provides a progression model for the school. In this academic year, 2021-2022, our focus is on clarifying our curriculum intent (vision) and implementation for each subject by reviewing our planning. We recognise that deep learning takes place when we build upon prior knowledge and there is a sequential repetition of content to consolidate learning. An example in science would be the topic of ‘Plants’ where in Y1 pupils learn to identify and name common flowering plants, in Y3 they build on this to explore the different parts of a flowering plant and the role they play in the life cycle of flowering plants, to finally in Y6 applying their knowledge of plants to classify them according to their characteristics. We understand that sequencing is about teaching things in the right order to enable children to acquire and retain knowledge in order to demonstrate skills.
Assessment of the curriculum
We use formative and summative assessment processes to enable us to make accurate judgements of both attainment and progress. We record our assessments using Classroom Monitor. This enables us to identify any gaps in knowledge or skills and to adapt our planning to fill these gaps. Knowledge gained by regularly reviewing our assessment processes and outcomes, enable us to continue to develop our curriculum to inform and improve on future curriculum design.
Impact
The impact of our school curriculum is that we develop well-rounded, confident children who achieve their personal best. The success of our curriculum can be measured in the feedback that we receive from our children, parents and our secondary schools about how well our children settle into the next stage of their formal education and continue to thrive.
