We believe in a skills based, fully cross-curricular curriculum, which is enriched by the creative arts. Our aim is to create a rich and varied curriculum, meeting national requirements but uniquely developed by us. Teachers are encouraged to think creatively when planning a term’s work in all subjects to make connections between subjects, to take risks, and to be innovative.
We place importance on engaging pupils, listening to their interests and opinions. Every class, every year-group has it’s own uniqueness and diversity and we therefore have a curriculum which constantly evolves and may look different from classroom to classroom, as we encourage teachers to celebrate and embrace their own strengths as well as respond to the individual aspects of their class.
We make meaningful links between subjects under a termly (or half-termly) theme such as: Invaders ™, Explorers ™ or The Seaside ™.
Each termly topic is structured as a learning journey. We start with a hook of something to engage pupils and get them thinking about the theme. We encourage teachers to be as creative as possible with this, keeping to things, which are believable, using high quality resources or inviting visitors/ going on educational visits. We then draw out any existing knowledge from the pupils, set an end of topic outcome to give the topic purpose.
The pupils then build skills to use and apply, as well as building knowledge on their theme. The end of topic outcomes should vary across the school year, providing our pupils with the opportunities to perform in front of a range of audience, exhibit and work with people outside of school.
Motivation is the most important factor in determining whether you succeed in the long run. What I mean by motivation is not only the desire to achieve, but also the love of learning, the love of challenge, and the ability to thrive on obstacles. These are the greatest gifts we can give our students.
Carol Dweck
We believe:
- Pupils who are engaged learn. Our curriculum must feel relevant and excite our pupils.
- For a child to really succeed they must be happy, healthy and able to express their needs, desires and inner feelings to those trusted people around them.
- We have a Growth-Mindset culture, as children are more likely to learn well if they develop a Growth rather than Fixed Mindset.
- To be a successful learner, all pupils must be challenged.
- As well as being taught as important, skills based subjects in their own right, the creative arts are used to better access challenging learning, deepen understanding and celebrate learning.