Our aim at Godstone Primary and Nursery School is to provide a broad and balanced education for all pupils which is coherently planned and sequenced towards cumulative acquisition of knowledge and skills for future learning and employment.  Our aim is for children to experience high quality teaching and learning which enables them to know and remember more of the curriculum, using experiential learning to support them.

The curriculum is directly linked to the EYFS and National Curriculum with the end points clearly identified and the learning organised into sequential steps that enable children to succeed. It is ambitious and rigorous to ensure the children learn the declarative knowledge and procedural knowledge of each subject.  Learning is defined as an alteration to the child’s long-term memory.  We aim for high quality teaching and learning which enables the children to know and remember more of the curriculum, using experiential learning to support them.

The curriculum has been written to enable the children to experience Inspirational Learning for Life and is underpinned by our core values of ambition, respect, responsibility, compassion and pride. 

 

Intent

Our intent at Godstone Primary and Nursery School is to:

• Provide a high-quality, ambitious curriculum for all pupils which is coherently planned and sequenced towards cumulative acquisition of knowledge and skills for future learning and employment.
• Enable pupils to develop knowledge, understand concepts and acquire skills, and be able to apply these in context.
• Ensure equity for all pupils, paying particular regard to disadvantaged children, with high expectations for every pupil and appropriate levels of challenge and support.
• Enable all pupils to make the best possible progress and to achieve the highest possible attainment.
• Promote a love for learning.
• Promote the learning and development of our youngest children in EYFS and ensure they are ready for Key Stage One.
• Develop pupils’ independent learning skills and resilience, to equip them for secondary school.
• Equip pupils with the knowledge and cultural capital they need to succeed in life.
• Support pupils’ wellbeing by developing their spiritual, moral, social and cultural understanding.
• Support pupils’ physical development and responsibility for their own health, and enable them to be active.
• Promote fundamental British values.

 

Implementation

At Godstone Primary and Nursery School, we follow an ambitious, broad and balanced curriculum that contains declarative knowledge (knowledge we want the children to know e.g. that a caterpillar changes into a butterfly or moth); procedural knowledge (knowing how to do something e.g. multiplying two numbers or throwing a ball) and experiential knowledge (first-hand knowledge through experiences e.g. melting ice or visiting a church).

Each subject and year group is carefully mapped out to ensure coverage and progression across all subjects from Nursery to Year Six.  Where links have been made between subjects, these have been done to enable the children to transfer knowledge and skills.  For example, a key text for English may be linked to the learning in science or history.

The curriculum is built on the strong foundations of the early years.  It focuses on communication and language, reading, writing (including spelling and handwriting) and mathematics to ensure the children can access the full curriculum and achieve success.

Vocabulary, oracy and reading are at the heart of our curriculum.  We understand the importance of children being able to understand and use a wide range of vocabulary, which is promoted through the use of high-quality texts within our English curriculum and high-quality books are available for children to read for pleasure.  Vocabulary and oracy are taught as specific skills and through curriculum subjects.  Reading is a focus for all children with keep up and catch-up sessions for children who require them.  Reading is taught in specific lessons and children are heard read regularly.

Where schemes have been chosen to support teachers to deliver the curriculum, they have been chosen to ensure high quality teaching enables the children to learn key information and concepts.  Learning is built upon incrementally and revisited to ensure children transfer key knowledge and acquisition of new skills to their long-term memory.

The curriculum is implemented through high quality, inclusive teaching with knowledgeable and reflective teachers and support staff who are ambitious for all children. 

High quality texts are used to inspire the children, develop their learning and teach them new vocabulary. 

Walkthrus are used as tools to develop whole school approaches to high-quality teaching and learning.  Walkthrus are used that focus on behaviour and relationships; questioning and feedback; and practice and retrieval. All teaching staff (teachers and teaching assistants) receive regular coaching to develop their practice. 

Teachers use assessment to find out what the children have understood and adapt their teaching accordingly.  They use formative and summative assessments to inform future planning and to address any misconceptions that may have arisen.  Teachers ensure the children embed key concepts, use knowledge fluently and develop their understanding across a range of subjects.

The children’s social, emotional, mental health and wellbeing development is woven through all elements of the curriculum and school day.  The school is working towards the nurtureuk accreditation to support the children in developing vital social skills, confidence and self-esteem, enabling them to be ready to learn.  The six principles of nurture are safety, wellbeing, language, behaviour, learning and transitions.

Impact

The impact of the curriculum at Godstone Primary and Nursery School enables the children to know more and remember more through high-quality teaching and learning across a range of curriculum subjects from Nursery to Year Six.

The nutureuk approach, the PSHE and RSE curriculum and the school’s core values enable the children to develop positive social, emotional, mental health and wellbeing.

The school’s core values are embedded throughout the school to ensure the children’s behaviour enables them to learn the curriculum effectively.