Curiosity, Courage, Compassion

Curriculum

 

Thundridge Church of England Primary School Curriculum

The National Requirements of our Curriculum

The Primary National Curriculum in England 2013/14 sets out the statutory requirements for what children in Years 1 to 6 should be taught:

 https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-curriculum-in-england-primary-curriculum 

Children in Nursery and Reception are taught the statutory Framework for Early Years Foundation Stage. This is a set of standards which all Early Years providers must meet to make sure children are given the optimum opportunity to progress and develop, in a safe and healthy environment. It is used to provide the foundation for effective future education, through teaching and learning, and to help ease the transition between Early Years and school. (this link is for the new framework for September 2021)

Statutory framework for the early years foundation stage (publishing.service.gov.uk)

How we have designed our ‘broad and balanced’ curriculum at Thundridge Church of England Primary School

These two national frameworks set out the expected standards of pupils’ performance, and we are permitted to choose how we organise our school curriculum to cover the programmes of study.

As a Church of England School our curriculum is also based around the Church of England Statement of Entitlement (February 2019), County and Diocesan guidance and the Locally Agreed Syllabus for Religious Education. Our curriculum is led by our School Ethos and our School Vision. These permeate all aspects of school life and aim to help every child achieve their full potential by equipping them with a feeling of self-worth, a respectful attitude towards others, an excitement for learning, an enthusiasm for life and an understanding of God.

British Values are also very much part of our curriculum. We actively promote British values of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty, mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs to prepare our pupils for life in modern day Britain.

In addition to acquiring skills and knowledge, we aim to help the children to grow in confidence and maturity as learners so that they can enter secondary school, and later, adulthood with the ability to pursue wholeheartedly, academic, social and cultural activities.

 

Our rolling programme

As all four of our classes comprise two year groups, the planning of our curriculum is based around a rolling programme to ensure coverage of selected topics by all children who progress through the school. The rolling programmes make use of our local environment and resources. We also study other localities so that children gain an understanding of Britain as a diverse society. We seek to create opportunities for children to experience and excel in a range of activities that enhance and extend the statutory frameworks. Children have opportunities both inside and outside the classroom such as residential trips, a variety of sporting events, visiting theatre companies and art projects. We also have after school clubs and value the role of modern foreign languages in the curriculum. Spanish is taught to Key Stage 2 by one of our class teachers who is fluent in this language.

This programme is regularly reviewed to ensure compatibility with new directives or to make necessary improvements to the existing programme of work.