Curriculum Information
Vision Statement
Let your light shine.
Access and ambition for all to enjoy life in all its fullness.
Foundational Scripture
Matthew 5: 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.
Our school values of friendship, thankfulness, hope, unity, compassion, forgiveness, justice, endurance and trust are rooted in the Sermon on the Mount and are the basis of all relationships, decisions and direction of our school.
School Values
Our school values are at the heart of our planned curriculum. We aim to provide high quality learning opportunities which help foster these values within children. Our values
friendship
thankfulness
hope
unity
compassion
forgiveness
justice
endurance
trust
Intent
At Hoole CE Primary School, we have designed our curriculum with pupils’ learning at the centre. We recognise that a curriculum has to be broad, balanced and offer pupils opportunities to grow as individuals as well as learners. We want our children to ‘shine’, to celebrate and develop the characteristics, skills and gifts that are within them, not only to achieve well, but to positively impact the world around them. Through our curriculum, we aim to help children become
- Enthusiastic, curious, independent thinkers – motivated, reflective and resilient learners who persevere when faced with challenges and who celebrate their achievements and those of their friends;
- Respectful, compassionate and kind friends who are able to work with others, forgive, trust, support and communicate with others;
- Confident, thankful individuals who understand their own worth; how to stay safe and healthy and how to manage feelings and relationships;
- Tolerant and responsible citizens who show respect for others, and a commitment to appreciate and contribute positively to the world around them. All learning activities are planned with these outcomes in mind and children are encouraged to reflect on how their learning has helped them achieve these.
In addition to this, we offer a wide range of extra-curricular opportunities for the children to develop skills and learn new ones as well as to build relationships with one another and learn skills for life beyond school.
Aims
Our whole school curriculum is planned and delivered through our BEAMS approach. In order that all learners grow and reach their full potential, we want our curriculum to:
Encourage all members of our school family to be Brave to try new things, or to challenge themselves to do something differently. We want to develop curiosity and interests to that we are able to grow. We want to encourage a climate where mistakes are seen as opportunities for growth.
Be Engaging, both in terms of learning things that are exciting and grab our attention and interest, but also engaging in that we connect with the world around us, and further afield. We recognise the uniqueness of each child and the truth that God works through people so we want our curriculum to ensure children connect with the world around them. This also involves making use of technology to teach and to support children in accessing a rich curriculum.
Be Ambitious. We want all our children to shine their lights, to discover their light within them and to take pride in letting it shine. We know that all children deserve the best education and plan lessons so that all children can access key learning. Our curriculum is structured in such a way that all children can access learning and experience success. We plan different learning opportunities for children including scaffolded tasks to support, and open-ended questions to apply learning in different contexts. Each subject has a clearly defined bank of knowledge and skills that the children need to know, remember and apply in different contexts.
Be Memorable. We aim to provide meaningful, memorable learning opportunities that children want to celebrate and talk about in the future. We are committed to capitalising on the opportunities offered not only by our school grounds, but also our local area and city to enhance learning. We plan a wide range of visits, visitors and learning experiences for the children to make their learning memorable. We also introduce children to a wide range of people who either have reflected our school values by their lives or who have made a significant contribution to the subjects children are learning about.
Nurture Spirituality. Led by our Christian values we aim to nurture the whole child by developing their social, moral, spiritual and cultural well-being. We recognise spirituality as being part of something bigger than ourselves, but also that we are more than what we say, do or feel. In designing our curriculum, each subject seeks to ensure that not only do children learn the key knowledge, but that we provide opportunities for children to develop their understanding of our values within these subjects and their attitudes towards them.
As a result of the aims outlined above, children will
- Learn how to lead safe, healthy and fulfilling lives.
• Understand that failure is part of the road to success.
• Be recognised for academic successes.
• Be supported with their next stages in education and feeling prepared for life after school.
• Be responsible individuals who contribute to community living and the environment.
• Achieve to the best of their ability.
• Acquire a wealth of knowledge and experience.
• Be critical thinkers.
• Find a sense of belonging to the school and its community.
• Learn how to cooperate with their peers and respect one another inside and outside the classroom.
Planning & organisation
Planning provides a clear structure, often linked to high-quality texts and resources to ensure engaging and purposeful lessons. Progressive and adaptive teaching takes a revisit, teach, practise and apply approach. Knowledge and skills are built upon to ensure children’s learning is embedded in the long term, providing memorable experiences that the children can draw upon to further develop in the future. Lessons and activities are adapted based on the needs and starting points of the children.
Adapted teaching sessions may be provided for children identified as needing additional support which can be either individually focused or group based. Staff also carry out interventions for small groups with Teachers or Teaching Assistants. These may be run as part of our ‘Early Bird’ sessions at 8:30 in the morning or during the school day. Within these interventions, Teachers and Teaching Assistants break down the content of the lesson in a more digestible way. The sessions can last between 20 minutes to one hour (depending upon the age and ability of the child) and groups are generally no larger than six children to every adult. This allows them to access dedicated time with the adult, ensuring any questions that they may have get answered in a way they understand. It is important to note that these interventions supplement the work of the teacher and do not replace it.
Assessment
Our primary form of assessment is teacher assessment. During lessons, teachers check that the children have learnt the necessary knowledge and have the skills required to complete the key learning tasks – this is demonstrated through discussion, hot marking and via short quizzes at the start or end of lessons. Teachers also use this assessment in a timely manner to identify common misconceptions and feedback which informs planning and adjustments to their teaching.
In addition to this, for reading and mathematics, we make use of standardised tests each term in Key Stage 2 to help identify gaps in learning and trends. Statutory testing is completed in Years Reception, 1, 4 and 6. Termly Pupil Progress meetings take place for all year groups with the senior leadership team to discuss progress being made and next steps to facilitate further progress. Assessment information is shared with parents and children regularly through the year at Parent Consultation and annual reports. All subjects are monitored closely by Subject Leaders.
All children are set termly targets on Individual Learning Plans, identifying their next steps in reading, writing and maths. In EYFS, these targets are based on Word Reading, Comprehension and Writing and on Number and Numerical Patterns. These targets are shared with parents and carers along with how parents and carers can support their child at home in achieving these. The targets are then assessed termly with the children to evaluate and celebrate progress.
All staff are involved with cross school moderation to ensure accuracy of judgements, particularly in the core subjects. We also engage with The Literacy Company for writing moderation for all year groups twice per year. Staff also engage with Local Authority support, training and moderation.
Parent Workshops and Information Sessions
We are committed to building positive and productive relationships with parents and carers in order to support children’s learning and development.
Across the academic year, we hold a programme of workshops and information sessions to help build families’ skills and confidence in supporting their children at home.
Workshops may be about our general approach to teaching and learning, while others will offer an insight into specific curriculum subjects or areas of learning.
We aim to help parents understand the rationale for our approach, while also offering practical advice for ways they can support their children at home.
Our schedule for workshops and learning events this academic year is shown below.
We contact parents via email with instructions of how to book on to upcoming workshops well in advance.
If you are interested in a workshop but cannot make the date, we will upload the documents and presentations below.
We have had some brilliant parent feedback already - "Thank you for inviting me to come along. I think that the sessions are really going to help us to support our child at home as he goes through school.”
If you have a suggestion for a workshop you feel would be beneficial to parents/carers, please email this to us at [email protected]
