Our Curriculum Implementation

​We deliver our curriculum by providing consistently high quality teaching and learning, which will equip our pupils with the skills needed to reach their full potential. We acknowledge that children learn in different ways and recognise the need to provide pupils with a wide range of activities, environments and approaches to learning. 

Talk

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​We believe that, “talk is the sea upon which all else floats” (James Britton 1970) and Professor Frank Hardman reinforces this when he states “[Talk is] the most powerful tool of communication in the classroom and it’s fundamentally central to the acts of teaching and learning.”
  • Staff explicitly teach talk using progressive language structures which are displayed in all classrooms.
  • Classroom discussion is structured around an ABC model that invites children to agree, build or challenge. This moves the emphasis away from ‘teacher talk’ and towards a more pupil-directed discussion model.
  • Talk underpins all written work. We believe that if a pupil can articulate thinking verbally, then they will be able to expand and develop learning.
  • We want classroom talk to be preparation for the social, educational and employment settings they may encounter in the future.

Growth Mindset

​We have incorporated within the PSHCE curriculum a series of lessons demonstrating the principles of and strategies for having a growth mindset, which are explicitly taught to ensure that we embed the growth mindset principles within our classroom culture.
  • Teachers use growth mindset language to provide specific and supportive feedback that helps pupils understand that learning is a process.
  • Weekly assemblies help to promote and reinforce Growth Mindset attitudes; pupils are taught that they can utilise practical strategies to improve their learning outcomes.
  • In the Pupil Attitude Survey 2018-2019, a pupil can be quotes as saying, “I love using growth mindset. Growth mindset helps me with all my learning. When I see other people win, I know that they’ve been trying very hard which will make me more determined. Growth mindset is a great thing it helps everyone with their learning.”

Memory and Recall

​Our teachers teach lessons that are responsive to the learning needs of the pupils. Pupils are taught that forgetting is part of learning; they are given strategies to support memory. Teachers plan and structure lessons with an understanding of researched-based principles of instruction (Barak Rosenshine 2012) to enable pupils to ‘hold onto’ their learning through retrieval practice, modelled working, low stakes testing and an avoidance of dual coding.

Curriculum Areas and Planning

​Although the objectives for teaching and learning remain constant and in line with the National Curriculum, planning is not static. It evolves according to the needs of particular cohorts of children, as opportunity arises and as a result of reviews for improvement.