Curriculum Statement 2023-2024
Intent
What do we want to achieve?
At Tilston Parochial Primary School we aim to provide a high quality, inclusive, broad education that all our children will find interesting, engaging and fun. We use the Early Years Statutory Framework, 2017 and the 2014 National Curriculum as the basis of our planning of all subjects.
Our aim is to equip our children with the knowledge, skills and an extensive vocabulary to grow as independent learners and cultivate a love of learning. Our curriculum guides children to become skilled mathematicians, fluent readers and confident writers and who can apply these skills in all subject areas. Our curriculum encourages all children to strive for the highest levels of attainment and achieve great progress for their individual starting points. Each day is filled with exciting and challenging activities that enable children to achieve and leave school knowing more today than yesterday, and less than tomorrow.
We believe that our school is a special place because of the other things we do that complement the subjects. Our Steps to Success encourage our children to:
- Push Yourself
- Imagine
- Improve
- Don’t Give Up
- Try New Things
- Work Hard
- Understand Others
- Concentrate
Each day we work hard to ensure our core values underpin everything we do- Respect, Trust, Courage, Joy, Friendship and Community
At the heart of everything we do, we all share the vision:
‘Bringing out the best in everyone.’
‘Encourage one another and build each other up.’ Thessalonians 5.11
Implementation
How do we do this?
We believe high quality teaching and learning in English and Maths are fundamental to children accessing a broad curriculum. As the National Curriculum have afforded high priority to these subjects, as have we. We believe the high priority of time allocated for the teaching of Maths and English enables our pupils at Tilston Primary School, to become numerate and literate.
Through accurate assessments, we ensure the children’s work is appropriate, with an element of challenge to their stage of development and ability. We strive to be an inclusive school, where all children are valued. Work is differentiated and specific intervention programmes are implemented and led by high quality and experienced teaching assistants.
In the Early Years Foundation Stage, we believe high quality provision during the foundation years has a lasting impact on children's outcomes, future learning and life chances. Our curriculum provides a balance of adult led and child-initiated activities based on play.
‘Play is the highest form of research.’ Albert Einstein
The EYFS curriculum is broad, with equal coverage of all areas of learning. We encourage independence through a considered, well organised and high-quality learning environment, both indoors and outdoors. Observations form assessments and next step targets are planned by experienced and confident practitioners.
We want our children to be excited coming to school. We want them to be curious learners who find education enjoyable and rewarding. We believe our rich and broad curriculum provides variety which encourages learning.
Our curriculum is based on skills and knowledge. We believe knowledge and skills are intertwined – being able to effectively use knowledge matters more than just the acquisition of it, which is why skills are equally important. Children learn more effectively and remember more when they can use skills to access, process and express their knowledge. Our skills-based learning creates classroom environments where independence, thinking skills, collaboration and active learning are developed at the same time as knowledge is acquired.
Each subject gives pupils a specific skill that can used later in life.
Maths- problem solving, enabling pupils to approach situations from many different angles.
Science- understand and reason and comprehend why things happen.
PSHE- ability to understand other people and become more empathetic.
English- communication and writing skills, enabling children to communicate and express themselves.
Art- creativity.
Music- co-ordination and precision. At Tilston School, music is a shared passion.
PE- Physical limits and how to be healthy.
Teaching and learning at Tilston Parochial Primary School is through a topic-based curriculum, where links are made between subjects, so that children develop a broad and coherent understanding of a topic. Topics change on a biennial cycle from KS1 to KS2.
We strive to make good quality cross curricular links whilst maintaining the distinctive nature of all subject.
We consistently review our curriculum so that it is relevant for current pupils. This academic year, we have broadened our curriculum to show greater value of foundation subjects and develop curiosity and creativity. We know we are preparing our children for an unknown world; therefore, our curriculum must enable them to take risks and push boundaries fearlessly!
Recording children’s work
In EYFS, the team use Evidence Me to record observations of the children’s learning. In addition, each child has an Early writing and maths book. All work is dated and marked according to the EYFS Marking Code
KS1 & KS2
English Books- Blue (Blue border to frame English Working Walls)
Maths Books- Yellow (Yellow border to frame Maths Working Walls)
Science- Green Books (Green border to frame Science displays)
RE Purple books for individual work to be used in addition to the whole class floor book.
Topic Books to be used to show all foundation subjects.
Impact
What is the impact of our curriculum on children’s learning?
‘Every child deserves the best possible start in life and the support that enables them to fulfil their potential. Children develop quickly in the early years and a child’s experiences between birth and age five have a major impact on their future life chances. A secure, safe and happy childhood is important in its own right. Good parenting and high-quality early learning together provide the foundation children need to make the most of their abilities and talents as they grow up.’ Statutory Framework for the early years foundation stage. 2017
Our children have the best start to their education in our high-quality early years setting. High priority is given at the start of the year to ensure children, and parents, feel safe and secure and relationships are formed. Once we have achieved this, we work hard to set personal targets for each child to enable them to succeed in all areas through a play-based curriculum. Our curriculum is based on the knowledge and skills acquired in the early years setting. We value this phase in education.
ALL our children are happy, their relationships with staff and each other are strong and they love learning and being in school together. Our children make excellent progress and work together, sharing our core values and vision statement. We value our children as a whole and encourage healthy bodies and healthy minds as well as academic achievement.
When children face personal challenges in school and in life, we offer high quality emotional support.
Our children are physically and mentally fit, enthusiastic, confident and resilient and well prepared for their next steps when moving through the school and into the next phase of education.