Curriculum Overview

Curriculum Intent:

At Pyrcroft Grange Primary School leaders have thoughtfully designed an inclusive curriculum that is ambitious and planned to give all pupils the knowledge and cultural capital they need to succeed in life. We have planned a curriculum which values both skills and knowledge in a progressive way to ensure our pupils know more and remember more over time. We believe it is important that learning helps pupils make sense of the increasingly complex and rapidly changing world in which they live.

Our curriculum not only meets the requirements of The National Curriculum but also the needs of our pupils in our school. We promote pupil’s growth mindset and collaborative learning, to build resilient and ambitious learners. Pupils learn best when they are engaged in their learning, can see links across the curriculum and take ownership of their learning. Our curriculum promotes enjoyment of learning through creativity, purpose, and relevance. It is underpinned by our school key values that are embedded within the school culture and play a key part in developing our pupils into caring, respectful citizens.

Reading is prioritised within all areas of the curriculum with the ethos being We learn to read; we read to learn. Our reading curriculum is steeped in the development of fluency and the use of high-quality vocabulary, with the aim that every child becomes a confident, fluent reader.

Our aim is to create:

• Happy, confident pupils who strive to be the best they can be.
• Pupils who enjoy reading and are confident, fluent readers.
• Learners who are exposed to a language-rich school environment and given the opportunity to articulate their thinking using high-quality vocabulary.
• Learners who understand the role that personal responsibility and effort play in success.
• Resilient learners who persist in the face of obstacles
• Learners who are curious and ask questions about the world around them and want to make a positive contribution beyond the school community.
• Learners who develop transferrable sustained knowledge for their continuous learning journeys.

Curriculum Implementation:

Our expectation is that every child receives the same high-quality curriculum regardless of ability or specific educational need.

At Pyrcroft Grange we provide a creative curriculum which exceeds the requirements of the National Curriculum. The core subjects of Maths, English and Science along with History, Geography Computing, PSHE, RE, PE, Art, Design and Technology, Music, are taught discreetly through carefully sequenced schemes of work. Links within subjects are secure and pupils develop sustainable, transferrable skills and knowledge. Leaders have skilfully designed, planned, and implemented a curriculum that provides breadth, depth, and balance.

Breadth

• Using careful analysis and discussion about our pupils’ backgrounds, life experiences and culture we offer a range of experiences which contribute to every child receiving a full and rich curriculum. This includes aspirational and inclusive opportunities to enrich their lives and those of our whole school community.

Depth

• We have designed, organised, and planned our curriculum to ensure that children are not merely covering content but achieving a depth to their learning which enables them to use their knowledge, skills and understanding in all areas of the curriculum. We ensure this by building in many opportunities for repetition and practise in every subject.

Balance

• To ensure every child receives an appropriate mix of academic and personal development, our curriculum places equal importance on core and foundation subjects. We understand that children will not be successful learners unless they are emotionally secure. Children’s physical and mental wellbeing are as valued and important as academic development.

Our curriculum provides parity for all groups of pupils:

• Delivery of our curriculum is through quality first teaching. The use of technology and creative teaching approaches is continually refining to remove any barriers to learning and pupil’s knowledge in a specific subject is captured Enriching experiences foster in the pupils a love of learning and a passion for enquiry.
• The development and application of high-quality language and vocabulary is embedded across the curriculum, whilst the teaching of reading is also taught explicitly to all children daily using high quality texts. In addition, the school promotes a love of reading with a daily class story and other reading initiatives to ensure that children leave school as competent, confident, and passionate readers.
• Lessons are planned to include modelling and enough time is given to retrieve prior knowledge, explore and deepen key learning, knowledge and skills.
• Our curriculum is planned and sequenced, so that new knowledge and skills build on what has been taught before, towards clearly defined end points in every subject.
• Through continuous professional development our teachers’ subject content knowledge consistently builds and develop over time.
• Assessment for learning drives teaching of the curriculum. Assessment is designed to thoughtfully shape future learning. Interventions are promptly put in place to narrow gaps in learning.
• Live marking is used in every lesson to assess against the learning objective and allow children to edit and improve their work. Misconceptions are addressed in lessons or in a same day intervention.
• Challenge and high order questioning are constant features of a lesson.
• Subject leaders have the knowledge, expertise, and practical skill to take ownership of their specific subject with passion, ensuring that no child slips through the net.
• Curriculum resources have been carefully selected (including opportunities for first hands experiences) to enhance our inclusive curriculum.
• Strong links with local secondary schools and professional collaborative learning on the KS2/KS3 curriculum is in place.

Curriculum Intent:

At all levels of leadership across the school, leaders monitor and review the curriculum to gauge the impact of our curriculum design as well as to develop and refine this further.

Our aim is for children to leave Pyrcroft Grange Primary School equipped to face challenges and with the skills and desire to achieve their full potential whatever path they choose.

• The rationale and aims are shared by all stakeholders.
• There is model of curriculum progression for every subject.
• Secure academic and personal outcomes are a result of an ambitious, carefully sequenced curriculum.
• Our curriculum reaches ALL pupils regardless of their starting points, culture, background, or disability.
• The curriculum challenges more able pupils and provides opportunities for them to apply their knowledge and skills in a range of contexts.
• Subject leaders have clear roles and responsibilities to carry out their role in curriculum adaption and delivery.
• Our curriculum has raised aspirations and improved pupils’ confidence.
• Our curriculum develops curious pupils who will continue to strive forward with a thirst for knowledge.
• Our curriculum has developed positive attitudes to learning.
• Pupils are highly motivated to succeed, and they display learning collaboratively in a respectful way.
• Pupils read widely and often with fluency and comprehension appropriate to their age/ability.
• Pupils are secondary school ready.

Curriculum Policy