Our Curriculum Overview
Please click on the icon below to view our broad curriculum overview / map. This is organised into Year One & Two (topic themes apply to Reception children), Year Three & Four, Year 5 & 6
| thematic_curriculum_overview_linked_to_cornerstones_-_website.pdf |
Curriculum Statement
"From little acorns....mighty oaks do grow"
Our curriculum is all the planned activities that we, as a school, organise in order to promote and support learning and personal development, in the widest sense. Whilst our school curriculum incorporates the formal requirements and expectations of the National Curriculum Programmes of Study, it extends well beyond this to include things like Forest School and Protective Behaviours, as well as the broad range of curriculum-linked and extra-curricular activities that the enrich the experience of our children. We are committed to providing a broad and stimulating curriculum for all our pupils, rich in opportunities to work in practical and creative ways both indoors and outside and with planned links to the local and wider community.
Children need firm foundations on which to develop as learners. We believe that our curriculum supports all of our pupils to develop as interested and engaged, confident and able communicators and learners regardless of their prior experiences and opportunities.
Basic Principles underpinning our curriculum
1. Learning is a change to long-term memory.
2. Our aims are to ensure that our students experience a wide breadth of study and have, by the end of each key stage, long-term memory of an ambitious body of procedural (skills) and semantic (content) knowledge.
Intent
Curriculum drivers shape our curriculum breadth. They are derived from an exploration of the backgrounds of our students, our beliefs about high quality education and our values. They are used to ensure we give our students appropriate and ambitious curriculum opportunities.
Our curriculum drivers raise the cultural capital of our students giving them the vital background knowledge and qualities required to be articulate informed, thoughtful and fully participating members of our community who understand and believe in societal values.
Curriculum breadth is shaped by our curriculum drivers, cultural capital, subject topics and our ambition for pupils, as described in the National Curriculum document, “to study the best of what has been thought and said by many generations of academics and scholars”.
Implementation
Cognitive science tell us that working memory is limited and that cognitive load is too high if students are rushed through content. This limits the acquisition of long-term memory. Cognitive science also tells us that in order for students to become creative thinkers, or have a greater depth of understanding they must first master the basics, which takes time.
Our curriculum has been designed to reflect our view that the acquisition of procedural and semantic knowledge are closely linked, and that both are essential to developing our pupils as effective, engaged and inquisitive learners who are well-equipped for the next stage in their learning journey as they move on from us.
Our curriculum is framed to reflect the Purpose and Aims of the NC and so support the children’s progress towards understanding the threshold concepts* contained within them. Threshold concepts tie together the subject topics into meaningful schema. The same concepts are explored in a wide breadth of topics and pupils return to them repeatedly, gradually building an understanding of them.
Our curriculum map is organised through two-year rolling programmes linked to each curriculum phase, which reflect our school structure of mixed-age classes. It has been mapped to ensure that we fully cover all requirements of the National Curriculum (NC) within each phase in terms of procedural and semantic knowledge in each subject discipline, and that current learning builds upon pupil’s prior learning in approach, subject content and vocabulary.
This progression model is structured, as far as is practicable, under cross-curricular topic headings with linked thematic content. This enables us to engage and inspire pupils by immersing them in a theme through subject content, learning environment and linked ‘events’, visits and visitors, many of which are tailored to our local context.
Learning within each topic, though linked by content theme, is structured to develop the children as learners within each separate curriculum subject, i.e. focusing on the characteristics of an effective scientist, an effective historian and so on, alongside content knowledge.
While our content is subject specific, our thematic approach enables us to make intra-curricular links to strengthen schema. This approach enables pupils over time to develop an understanding of the distinct nature of different learning ‘disciplines’ whilst creating a knowledge network which enables them to make connections between different subjects and thus enrich their understanding of both. For example, whilst we study art history as part of our Art & Design curriculum, we also understand how some works of art can be a rich source of evidence for the historian.
Where a particular subject does not fit neatly within a particular topic, that subject is taught discretely with our curriculum map, ensuring that the connections to prior learning in that subject can be made.
Continuous provision, in the form of daily routines, replaces the teaching of some aspects of the curriculum and, in other cases, provides retrieval practise for previously learned content. Retrieval practise is also organised through the provision of subjected related ‘quizzes’.
*Threshold Concept: A fundamental concept that allows students to “make sense” and integrate many previously unrelated ideas within a certain discipline, as well as enhance the individuals’ communication of specific terminology.
In addition to the planned curriculum, we embrace opportunities to further broaden our pupils’ experiences. This takes many forms including things like:
Through the prism of our RESPECT Code, we focus on qualities such integrity, honesty, empathy, interest in others and acceptance of difference and a strong team spirit. The nurturing ethos within the school supports the development of a ‘confidence to contribute’ in our pupils which they take with them as they move on to secondary education.
Impact
To measure impact in terms of educational outcomes, we use a variety of monitoring approaches including lesson observations, book scrutiny, pupil interview and peer review to see if pedagogical style matches our depth expectations and to bench mark and compare progress over time.
Because learning is a change to long-term memory it is impossible to see impact in the short term. We do, however use probabilistic assessment based on deliberate practise within the classroom and pupils responses and approach within lessons. This ongoing assessment is used to inform termly teacher judgements as to whether we consider a pupil to be ‘on track’ to attain end of year expectations in each subject.
We use comparative judgement in a number of ways. We use it in the tasks we set within the classroom to assess learning which are sufficiently open-ended to allow pupils to show the depth and security of their understanding, in comparing an individual pupil’s work over time, and in comparing and bench marking pupil’s work with that of their peers, e.g through distance moderation of writing outcomes.
We formally assess attainment in maths and reading through termly tests; reading (PIRA) and mathematics (PUMA). Test outcomes are used to generate gap analyses, which then inform future planning in aspects of these subjects.
We also complete formal assessments of pupil attainment against the Early Learning Goals, in phonics, mathematics, reading and writing, in line with statutory requirements.
Children need firm foundations on which to develop as learners. We believe that our curriculum supports all of our pupils to develop as interested and engaged, confident and able communicators and learners regardless of their prior experiences and opportunities.
Basic Principles underpinning our curriculum
1. Learning is a change to long-term memory.
2. Our aims are to ensure that our students experience a wide breadth of study and have, by the end of each key stage, long-term memory of an ambitious body of procedural (skills) and semantic (content) knowledge.
Intent
Curriculum drivers shape our curriculum breadth. They are derived from an exploration of the backgrounds of our students, our beliefs about high quality education and our values. They are used to ensure we give our students appropriate and ambitious curriculum opportunities.
Our curriculum drivers raise the cultural capital of our students giving them the vital background knowledge and qualities required to be articulate informed, thoughtful and fully participating members of our community who understand and believe in societal values.
Curriculum breadth is shaped by our curriculum drivers, cultural capital, subject topics and our ambition for pupils, as described in the National Curriculum document, “to study the best of what has been thought and said by many generations of academics and scholars”.
Implementation
Cognitive science tell us that working memory is limited and that cognitive load is too high if students are rushed through content. This limits the acquisition of long-term memory. Cognitive science also tells us that in order for students to become creative thinkers, or have a greater depth of understanding they must first master the basics, which takes time.
Our curriculum has been designed to reflect our view that the acquisition of procedural and semantic knowledge are closely linked, and that both are essential to developing our pupils as effective, engaged and inquisitive learners who are well-equipped for the next stage in their learning journey as they move on from us.
Our curriculum is framed to reflect the Purpose and Aims of the NC and so support the children’s progress towards understanding the threshold concepts* contained within them. Threshold concepts tie together the subject topics into meaningful schema. The same concepts are explored in a wide breadth of topics and pupils return to them repeatedly, gradually building an understanding of them.
Our curriculum map is organised through two-year rolling programmes linked to each curriculum phase, which reflect our school structure of mixed-age classes. It has been mapped to ensure that we fully cover all requirements of the National Curriculum (NC) within each phase in terms of procedural and semantic knowledge in each subject discipline, and that current learning builds upon pupil’s prior learning in approach, subject content and vocabulary.
This progression model is structured, as far as is practicable, under cross-curricular topic headings with linked thematic content. This enables us to engage and inspire pupils by immersing them in a theme through subject content, learning environment and linked ‘events’, visits and visitors, many of which are tailored to our local context.
Learning within each topic, though linked by content theme, is structured to develop the children as learners within each separate curriculum subject, i.e. focusing on the characteristics of an effective scientist, an effective historian and so on, alongside content knowledge.
While our content is subject specific, our thematic approach enables us to make intra-curricular links to strengthen schema. This approach enables pupils over time to develop an understanding of the distinct nature of different learning ‘disciplines’ whilst creating a knowledge network which enables them to make connections between different subjects and thus enrich their understanding of both. For example, whilst we study art history as part of our Art & Design curriculum, we also understand how some works of art can be a rich source of evidence for the historian.
Where a particular subject does not fit neatly within a particular topic, that subject is taught discretely with our curriculum map, ensuring that the connections to prior learning in that subject can be made.
Continuous provision, in the form of daily routines, replaces the teaching of some aspects of the curriculum and, in other cases, provides retrieval practise for previously learned content. Retrieval practise is also organised through the provision of subjected related ‘quizzes’.
*Threshold Concept: A fundamental concept that allows students to “make sense” and integrate many previously unrelated ideas within a certain discipline, as well as enhance the individuals’ communication of specific terminology.
In addition to the planned curriculum, we embrace opportunities to further broaden our pupils’ experiences. This takes many forms including things like:
- whole School themed topic days and weeks, e.g Space week, Colours Week, Egg Week, where children have the opportunity to work collaboratively across phases
- celebration/special days such as Bastille Day, International Women’s Day, Internet Safety Day, World Book Day
- participation in inter-school sporting events and competitions
- pupil Leadership roles within school e.g. sports leaders, mental health ambassadors, pupil school council
- a planned schedule of wide-ranging assemblies, whole school and Key Stage, focusing on issues from the local to the global, pupil pedagogy, well-being, Greek myths and their continuing influence, singing and music
- cultural community events such as ‘Sibford Gower’s Got Talent’ where children can publicly perform in a supportive environment
- global Learning activities, including exploration of current affairs and global issues through lessons, regular assemblies and events days
- making full use of our extensive grounds to promote outdoor learning with outdoor learning areas linked to each classroom and regular Forest School sessions for all age groups across the site, as well as for identified groups of children who we feel will gain additional benefit from this. We have have trained Forest School Leaders within our permanent staff.
- an annual Protective Behaviours programme for all of our pupils from Reception to Year 6 with a focus on keeping safe and respecting ourselves and others
- after-school clubs such as karate, Spanish, football, netball, hockey, chess and so on.
- peripatetic music teachers for singing, flute, saxophone and clarinet.
- Whole school healthy week
- An Enterprise Fair for which children have to plan, cost, make, market and make a profit
Through the prism of our RESPECT Code, we focus on qualities such integrity, honesty, empathy, interest in others and acceptance of difference and a strong team spirit. The nurturing ethos within the school supports the development of a ‘confidence to contribute’ in our pupils which they take with them as they move on to secondary education.
Impact
To measure impact in terms of educational outcomes, we use a variety of monitoring approaches including lesson observations, book scrutiny, pupil interview and peer review to see if pedagogical style matches our depth expectations and to bench mark and compare progress over time.
Because learning is a change to long-term memory it is impossible to see impact in the short term. We do, however use probabilistic assessment based on deliberate practise within the classroom and pupils responses and approach within lessons. This ongoing assessment is used to inform termly teacher judgements as to whether we consider a pupil to be ‘on track’ to attain end of year expectations in each subject.
We use comparative judgement in a number of ways. We use it in the tasks we set within the classroom to assess learning which are sufficiently open-ended to allow pupils to show the depth and security of their understanding, in comparing an individual pupil’s work over time, and in comparing and bench marking pupil’s work with that of their peers, e.g through distance moderation of writing outcomes.
We formally assess attainment in maths and reading through termly tests; reading (PIRA) and mathematics (PUMA). Test outcomes are used to generate gap analyses, which then inform future planning in aspects of these subjects.
We also complete formal assessments of pupil attainment against the Early Learning Goals, in phonics, mathematics, reading and writing, in line with statutory requirements.
| sgeps_curriculum_statement.pdf |
Please click on the icon to view our Curriculum (teaching & learning) Policy
| sgeps_curriculum_policy_2020.pdf |
| principles_of_assessment.pdf |
Our Curriculum Drivers
Despite our leafy rural location, we have a varied socio-economic demographic within our pupil body. We recognise that, for a number of reasons, our children have widely varying levels of access to cultural, sporting and other opportunities in their home lives and that this can have an impact on things such as language, social and creative development as well as well-being, self-esteem, resilience and self-confidence. These things can in turn affect all aspects of children's learning. We believe that as educators we have a responsibility to ensure that all our pupils have access to a wide range of curriculum enrichment and extra-curricular activities to increase their 'cultural capital', develop creativity, raise their aspirations and realise their potential. We want all our children to become life-long learners who recognise that education does not have limits and that school is not just a building.
Communication: The cultural capital obtained through becoming a confident and articulate user of a wide and rich range of vocabulary is one of the key drivers underpinning our wider curriculum. It is a core aim of our curriculum that our children develop as articulate communicators who are able to formulate and communicate their thoughts, ideas and feelings successfully, in a wide range of different formats and contexts. We focus on developing high levels of articulacy through the explicit teaching of vocabulary and high expectations in spoken and written language developed through opportunities to talk, listen, write and read in a wide range of formal and informal contexts, and a curriculum enriched by the use of high quality, vocabulary rich texts.
Community: We believe our children need to develop a sense of community, local, national and international; to understand what it means to belong to a community and the importance of making a positive contribution, and to recognise the value of diversity and what we can learn from each other.
Possibilities: Children cannot aspire to things they have never encountered. Through our wider curriculum, we work to broaden pupils’ horizons by expanding their knowledge of the world and its opportunities, social, economic and cultural. Regardless of their background, we support our children to aim high and develop the confidence and ability to make informed, responsible choices. Through strategies such as Building Learning Power, My Personal Best and Taking Care, our curriculum promotes the development of character attributes such as a growth mindset, self- belief, resilience, integrity, respect for self and others, and confidence to contribute.
Environment: A knowledge and understanding of the world and our relationship with it underpins almost every aspect of our wider curriculum. We believe developing an awareness of the environment in all its rich diversity and complexity is an essential part of our children’s education. Through our dual focus on learning in the environment and about the environment, locally by maximising the use of our extensive school site with its varying habitats as a learning space, and globally, our pupils develop an interest in, and sense of respect and responsibility for, the environment.
Being Healthy/Active learning: There is clear evidence that daily physical activity has a positive impact on learning. It promotes mental and physical health and well-being, improving levels of concentration and engagement. We believe that understanding how to be healthy is a basic educational right and that involvement in active learning opportunities such as Forest School and sport develops important transferable attributes such as teamwork, responsibility and leadership.
| curriculum_drivers.pdf |
How do I know what the learning targets and curriculum coverage are for each subject in each year group at Sibford Gower Endowed Primary School?
If you 'hover' over the 'CURRICULUM' heading on the drop down bar at the top of the page, you will be able to see a page heading for each curriculum subject. If you click on a specific subject heading it will take you to information about the subject, including the end of year targets for each year group, a copy of the skills progression for that subject from Year 1 to Year 6, as well as helpful hints to support your child and further information about ways in which we deliver that subject at our school.