Westonzoyland Primary School ‘Embrace Opportunities, Choose Kindness, Value Everyone’
Curriculum
Information about our curriculum:
Curriculum Statement: Westonzoyland Primary School
At Westonzoyland Community Primary the curriculum is central to all that we do. Our curriculum is purposeful and relevant to our children and their lives. Our aim is to engage our children in enjoyable learning experiences which will enable them to develop the skills that they will need to succeed in a rapidly changing world. We hope to instil in them a lifelong love of learning which will motivate them to flourish.
The curriculum at Westonzoyland Community Primary School provides a broad balanced and enriched education, which places a high importance on English, including grammar and oracy, Mathematics and an understanding of the wider world and our local community. We value creativity and are proud to provide opportunities through our wider-curriculum for children to experience specialist Music and Art teaching, as well as an all-year round Forest School programme that enables our children to learn new skills, and to work together towards common goals. Throughout their time with us at Westonzoyland Community Primary School, children are encouraged and helped to develop their own set of personal skills and talents.
Ofsted’s quality of education is synonymous with the curriculum. Ofsted view the quality of education, the curriculum, as three interrelated areas of intent, implementation and impact. These are referred to as the three ‘I’s.
Intent:
At Westonzoyland Primary, we intend to provide an ambitious, broad, balanced and creative curriculum which enables all groups of pupils, including disadvantaged and those with SEND, to achieve as well as they can in their academic and personal development.
Aims
Our curriculum has the following aims:
- To ensure that our children leave Westonzoyland Community Primary with a broad knowledge base embodied in the National Curriculum as a basis for the educational development of children.
- To provide a broad range of exciting learning activities which are coherently planned and sequenced towards the acquisition of knowledge and skills for future learning and employment.
- To teach our children subject specific skills to ensure that our children are learning, for example, how to become historians, geographers, scientists, musicians and artists of the future.
- To assist all pupils to develop to their full potential by striving to cater for their different strengths, abilities and interests.
- To ensure that pupils enjoy reading and become confident and fluent readers.
- To provide cross curricular links to ensure that pupils’ learning has even greater coherence.
- To provide an attractive, stimulating and safe environment where all pupils can learn and flourish.
- To foster a range of attitudes, learning behaviours and values to support pupils’ learning and personal development.
- To promote pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.
- To promote physical development and a healthy lifestyle.
- To forge positive and productive partnerships with parents and the community.
At Westonzoyland Community Primary, children are supported to develop interests, knowledge and understanding across all curriculum subjects. We put a great emphasis on English, Mathematics, Computing, Science, Sport and the Performing Arts. Music, PE and Art are taught by specialist teachers.
We strive to ensure that our children leave Westonzoyland Community Primary School with a broad knowledge base; what we teach is taken from the National Curriculum. All of the National Curriculum objectives are covered cohesively within a thematic approach that accounts for some of our classes being mixed in different aged classes. We focus on the skills and knowledge being taught. We have created a clear progression of skills and knowledge to enable teachers to ensure they are meeting the needs of the different ages of learning in our classes. This also ensures that children within the same year group are receiving the same focus of teaching regardless of which class they are in.
The curriculum for learning at Westonzoyland Community Primary offers a traditional, but creative and inspiring curriculum that is personal and relevant to the community of Westonzoyland and beyond, providing a well thought through experience, with meaningful connections across all primary subjects where appropriate.
Different types of knowledge
For most educational practitioners, different types of knowledge are recent.
Substantive knowledge: These are established facts. These are often taken from National Curriculum knowledge statements.
Disciplinary knowledge: The methods of thinking and working that establish substantive knowledge.
Conceptual knowledge: Things pupils need to understand.
Procedural knowledge: Things pupils need to be able to do.
Levels of curriculum planning
There are numerous levels of planning to help ensure that key knowledge and skills are carefully organised and sequenced.
Our long-term planning provides an overview of the units of study for each subject that pupils are taught in each year group. Subject long-term plans set out the units to be taught in the subject from early years to Year 6.
Progression maps set out the key knowledge and skills that pupils should acquire in each subject as they progress through the years from Reception to Year 6. The knowledge and skills are carefully sequenced so new learning builds on what was taught before.
Our medium-term plans provide the detail for each unit of study. The plan usually covers half a term. Key questions to be explored and answered are identified or specific learning objectives with attitudes, knowledge and skills are set out. Learning activities, vocabulary, learning resources and assessment opportunities are identified. Some medium term plans are set out as a sequence of around six lessons.
The planning of the early years curriculum takes full account of the Statutory framework for the early year’s foundation stage (DfE, July 2023) and Development Matters (DfE, September 2023). The curriculum covers all seven areas of learning and development.
Reading is essential to powerful learning
The teaching of reading is a high priority. We use 'Twinkl Phonics' to build a strong foundation in reading and writing skills for all pupils through a structured and systematic approach that develops phonic knowledge effectively and is validated by the DfE. During KS1, reading books follow a clear progression of banding, ensuring fluency and accuracy is developed, and that all children have the best start possible in learning to read.
‘Reading is at the heart of our curriculum.’ Andy Clark- Headteacher
Hamilton Brookes is used as a basis for the planning of the mathematics curriculum. This is a highly regarded scheme which meets all National Curriculum requirements and caters for our mixed age classes. We have adapted this to ensure that the maths curriculum focusses on the development of pupils’ fluency, problem solving and reasoning skills. We have also placed particular emphasis on children’s arithmetic skills and have provided further opportunities for children to practice and embed these skills.
Pupils have good opportunities to apply and develop literacy and numeracy skills across the curriculum.
For RE, the school has adopted Somerset’s agreed syllabus ‘Awareness, Mystery and Value’. This syllabus provides a clear overview of units that are covered by children from the EYFS-Year 6, including long and medium-term planning and assessment opportunities.
Our wider curriculum has been adapted from the ‘Kapow’ scheme of learning. We teach our children subject specific skills to ensure that our children are learning how to become historians, geographers, scientists, musicians and artists of the future. Skills are used as a vehicle for developing subject knowledge.
Maths and English skills are practised and reinforced whenever appropriate; children are required to record in books for non-core subjects at least fortnightly.
Our curriculum is enriched by a wide range of educational visits, specialist visitors, activities and clubs.
Attitudes, learning behaviours and values
Through our curriculum and the school’s positive ethos, we aim to teach and promote a range of attitudes, behaviours for learning and values. These are as follows:
- Fundamental British values: democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty, mutual respect and tolerance.
- Other values promoted include: cooperation, courage, equalities, empathy, forgiveness, integrity, honesty, kindness, respect and responsibility.
- Attitudes and behaviours for learning include: aspiration, concentration, creativity, curiosity, determination, engagement, independence, open mindedness, perseverance, positivity, reflection, resilience, resourcefulness, taking pride in our work and teamwork.
- Cultural capital: Cultural capital is providing pupils with the knowledge and skills needed to be successful citizens in a modern global world.
The school has adopted the Kapow programme for PSHE lesson planning. It brings together PSHE Education, emotional literacy, social skills and spiritual development in a comprehensive scheme of learning. We believe that wellbeing and PSHE or 'Wider World Education' are best delivered when integrated through the curriculum - as well as in discrete lessons. We believe that this is vital to create well rounded learners and meaningful, lasting learning experiences. We also use the ‘No Outsiders’ ethos of ‘All Different, All Welcome’ as a cohesive approach to wellbeing and cohesivity on a whole school level.
At Westonzoyland Community Primary school, we take pride in the social and academic achievements of all children and the enriched curriculum that we offer. We appreciate that a remarkable education is more than excellent teaching, but is learning through a variety of opportunities, life skills and experiences and some of this may solely be opportunities to ‘simply have fun’!
Implementation:
High quality teaching is the key to the successful implementation of our curriculum. Teachers have a secure knowledge of the subjects they teach. High quality professional development keeps all staff up to date with educational changes and initiatives. Teachers present subject matter clearly through effective explanation, demonstration and instruction. Teachers use questioning skilfully to challenge pupils’ thinking and to check they have understood new learning.
Our teachers’ have high expectations of learning. Their strong subject knowledge and enthusiasm successfully engage, inspires and motivate pupils. Our well-trained teaching assistants effectively support pupils and make a valuable contribution to their learning.
Our teachers are particularly skilled in promoting classroom discussion and developing pupils’ vocabulary. We want our pupils to talk articulately and with enthusiasm about their learning. Teachers are first rate role models for speaking, reading and writing.
We place a high emphasis on the teaching of reading so that pupils have full access to the exciting curriculum on offer. Our well-planned approach to reading develops pupils’ confidence and fluency.
Through high quality teaching, our pupils acquire a deep knowledge of the units of study in each subject. We expect pupils to remember knowledge, retrieve it and apply it to new situations.
Our teachers create an attractive and stimulating environment for pupils to learn. We use high quality textbooks, apparatus and learning resources to support pupils’ learning. Attractive displays of pupils’ high-quality work reflect current and recent learning. We are extremely proud of the high-quality work on display.
We have established a system for assessing pupils’ attainment in all core and foundation subjects. Teachers use assessment effectively. Pupils’ attainment and needs are regularly assessed. Any gaps in pupils’ learning are identified and assessment is used well to plan the next steps of pupils’ learning. Our feedback and marking procedures recognise good learning and guide improvement.
Impact:
Through our well-planned curriculum and high-quality teaching, pupils are expected to acquire an in-depth knowledge of the units of study and a range of skills across all subjects. Pupils’ successful learning is reflected by the high-quality work they produce.
In national tests, our pupils have performed broadly in line with National expectations in assessments of reading, writing and mathematics. We expect our pupils to make good and better progress in all areas of the curriculum. In most year groups, a high proportion of pupils attain the standards expected for their age in science and the foundation subjects.
Disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND have full access to the curriculum and receive high quality teaching. Specific guidance and support are provided where needed so most pupils make good progress.
We are confident that our pupils have the attitudes, knowledge and skills which prepare them well for the next stage of their education and for the future.
Our Characteristics of Effective Learners:
Our Subject Leaders:
For more information about any areas of our curriculum, please speak to your child's class teacher or the below subject leaders for subject specific information.
British Values:
At Westonzoyland we want British values to be incorporated through our curriculum, so we have taken these themes and incorporated them through or RSHE curriculum. They are also present in our assembly themes.
