Curriculum Statement

 Intent

The purpose of the curriculum at Tottenhall Infant School is to provide all our pupils with the best start in life. Our aim is for pupils to have the communication skills and knowledge to become successful lifelong learners, skilled independent caring citizens of their community and the wider world. We want all our pupils to be inquisitive, creative thinkers and to develop the independence and confidence to be the best they can be. We will do this through offering a broad and balanced curriculum including a range of rich learning experiences in school and the wider community. Learning in our school is deep and meaningful. The experiences and knowledge that the children gain in lessons will be fully embedded. We expect the children to recognise the importance of taking pride in presentation and developing positive personal standards.

Our curriculum aims to:

• Provide a broad and balanced education for all pupils that’s coherently planned and sequenced towards cumulatively sufficient knowledge for skills and future learning and employment
• Enable pupils to develop knowledge, understand concepts and acquire skills, and be able to choose and apply these in relevant situations
• Support pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development
• Support pupils’ physical development and to take responsibility for their own health, and enable them to be active
• Promote a positive attitude towards learning
• Ensure equal access to learning for all pupils, with high expectations for every pupil and appropriate levels of challenge and support
• Equip pupils with the knowledge and cultural capital they need to succeed in life
• Provide a school day that excites, challenges and motivates each child
• To encourage children to become independent learners
• For all children to reach their full potential academically, socially and physically
• To ensure children acquire a sense of personal and social responsibility as well as spiritual and moral awareness
• To ensure children develop confidence, high self-esteem and tolerance of and respect for other people including those of other cultures and races
• To develop lively enquiring minds that will enable children to reason, question and participate in discussions
• To provide our children with an enthusiasm to be life-long learners and confident citizens of the future

 

The following 3 Key Curriculum Drivers underpin the curriculum at Tottenhall Infant School.

They have been carefully chosen to reflect our community. 

 Our Vision and Values Language and Communication Enrichment

In the Early Years Foundation Stage, we ensure requirements from the Early Years Framework are met. Planning, teaching and learning is based on the early year’s outcomes. In KS1 we follow the National Curriculum and the school’s progression of skills maps to plan for the different subjects.

The curriculum is designed around topics and key texts. These topics are enriched by educational visits, in school workshops led by experts, high quality resources and artefacts. Yearly Overviews are in place for each year group and are carefully designed to reflect the Early Years Outcomes, National Curriculum, School Improvement Plan, school progression maps, pupils’ language development and our inclusive ethos. Yearly overviews are then broken down in to medium term plans, weekly plans and daily lessons. Planning and teaching ensures there is a clear sequence of teaching and learning, taking in to account pupils’ prior knowledge and building on this to ensure they develop the necessary skills and concepts for future success. Previously learned content is revisited and concepts are often linked to allow for deeper learning to take place.

The school has a range of resources to support the delivery of the curriculum.  The school sensory room provides physical and mental stimulus for children with physical disabilities, developmental delays and sensory impairments. For children with physical disabilities, interaction with sensory stimuli can help them to develop their sight, sound, touch and hearing, as well as encouraging independence.

The school library has range of books and is a haven for all pupils to think, create, share, and grow. Curriculum resources are high quality and support the delivery of the curriculum. Laptops and iPads are available to support all areas of the curriculum as well as the computing curriculum.

Continued Professional Development (CPD) on the content and delivery of different subject areas is planned within the academic calendar. Subject leaders and the Senior Leadership Team identify additional training needs through their monitoring and evaluation. At Tottenhall we actively encourage and facilitate the sharing of good practice and provide regular CPD for all staff based on our school priorities.

Teachers use both formative and summative assessment to assess how well pupils have mastered learning objectives. Formative assessment is assessment for learning which is ongoing and happens daily. Summative assessment is assessment of learning and involves more formal assessment, which may include testing.

 Impact 

Our approach to education across the school provides strong foundations and opportunities for children to develop the skills needed to access learning and prepare them for the next steps. Our children develop confidence, resilience, positive relationships, persistence and organisation.  This supports them to work independently and collaboratively with their peers and motivates them to excel in all areas of learning. They take pride in their learning, including their written and creative outcomes. Children’s written, creative and oral work captures their increasing understanding of key concepts within each subject. Children can talk about what they are learning both currently and what they have previously learnt, including the skills they have gained and the experiences they have had. They make progress in their learning, regardless of their starting point and demonstrate good learning behaviours in lessons. Children achieve above national averages in Early years and phonics.

Parents and carers provide us with positive feedback about their child’s attitude towards school. They share examples and talk to teachers about learning experiences their child has enjoyed or is looking forward to. The staff in our school demonstrate clear pedagogical understanding in all lessons and seek ways to improve their knowledge. They are confident in their planning, teaching and assessment of learning. Governors and visitors give purposeful feedback to subject and senior leaders on curriculum areas.

We assess the effectiveness of the curriculum by measuring its impact against a variety of outcomes. This evaluation process includes gathering information on children’s performance, engagement levels, outcomes, teaching and learning and feedback from educators, learners, stakeholders and external partners.

To find out further information about the school curriculum, please contact the school office.