Curriculum Overview
Curriculum Lead - Mr Savage
What are the key aims and values underpinning our curriculum?
At Banks Road Primary School, we believe in providing all children with the very best teaching and learning experience so that our school’s mission statement ‘We can do it!’ becomes a reality.
Underpinned by our school values (Respect, Friendship, Determination, Trust and Positivity), we aim to provide a curriculum that engages, enriches and excites our children as learners, whilst also developing their confidence, curiosity, wellbeing and resilience. We pride ourselves on having happy children who love learning through a variety of mediums and who are prepared to ‘have a go’ at all of the opportunities presented to them.
What principles underpin the delivery of our curriculum?
We firmly believe that our ability to provide our children with a broad, balanced and knowledge rich curriculum, delivered using a themed and topic approach were real-life links between subjects are valued, providing opportunities for deeper learning so that children can achieve their full potential.
Our curriculum fulfils all of the statutory requirements of the National Curriculum 2014, and much more.
We aim to deliver a connected curriculum, which ensures that children make progress throughout their learning journey, making links between and across areas of learning and ultimately between themselves and the world around them.
We ensure that concepts are explored at a deep level and make every effort to give children the language and vocabulary to engage with learning, within the classroom and beyond.
We enrich the curriculum through first-hand experiences such as trips, visits or speakers with the intention of providing knowledge and skills, as well as building aspirations for future life.
How does our curriculum develop the ‘whole child’?
As a school we acknowledge the importance of academic achievements and we want every child to achieve the very best that they are capable of. However, we place importance on the development of the ‘whole child’ and we want to ensure that our children grow as individuals and value their place in our community and in our rapidly changing world.
We promote British Values in all aspects of school life, (Democracy, Rule of Law, Individual Liberty, Mutual Respect and Tolerance). We also ensure that the children are aware of their rights and we promote fairness, empathy and understanding. Through our religious education curriculum, children learn about other religions and how their own faith relates to the world we live in.
Our statutory curriculum is supported by a range of extra-curricular activities, including sport, music, mindfulness and friendship groups, and ‘TT Rockstars’. Our aim is to provide children with opportunities to develop relationships and skills beyond our statutory curriculum.
Within our curriculum and throughout everything we do, we promote our five core values. Our school is a place where children and adults alike are respected and treated fairly.
Curriculum Implementation
In planning our curriculum, we take into account current research to develop a knowledge-based curriculum and to promote cognitive learning.
In Reception, the curriculum meets the requirements of the statutory framework (EYFS) and follows the guidance from Development Matters (2021). Our key stage 1 and 2 curriculum is built on the National Curriculum programmes of study for each subject area. The National Curriculum provides pupils with an introduction to the essential knowledge that they need to be educated citizens.
This curriculum content has been carefully chosen and is organised in a coherent way, ensuring children can build on their knowledge from year to year. Therefore, the knowledge in the curriculum is cumulative, constructing firm foundations from which children can progress and develop deeper conceptual understanding and subject-specific skills over time. This then supports pupils to remember long-term the content of which they have been taught and pupils are encouraged to use what they know and have learnt in other aspects of the curriculum.
A topic- and theme-based curriculum approach has been implemented to ensure coverage and progression in and across a number of curriculum areas. This approach enables learning, which fosters each child’s curiosity and interest throughout each topic and also enables the achievement of depth in knowledge and skills.
Throughout all areas of the curriculum, reading is prioritised. Key vocabulary for all subjects is prominent on working walls and children are given access to a range of age-appropriate texts across all subject areas. There is a sharp focus on phonics for our younger pupils and a programme of support is in place for any older children who may need additional help, including children with diagnosed SEND, pupils who speak English as an additional language and/or who are new to country.
In addition to diverse and rich opportunities, our curriculum aims to provide children with memorable experiences from which children can learn and develop a range of transferable skills. We aim to tailor our curriculum to fulfil every child’s potential, taking into account (and adapting our curriculum) to incorporate local events and exhibitions. The children’s own community is used frequently as a starting point for engaging interest and developing cultural capital. Themes linked to the City of Liverpool, John Lennon Airport, Speke Hall National Trust, local fundraising initiatives and many others have enabled children to engage with the local community and enrich their learning experiences.
Curriculum Impact
We have three main intentions when it comes to measuring the impact of our curriculum.
Intention 1: To develop our learner’s learning.
We strive to ensure that our children’s attainment in core and foundation subjects is in line with or exceeding their age-related expectations when we consider the varied starting points of children. We measure this carefully using a range of materials which is supported by what children have learned and what learning they have retained.
We intend that the impact is that children will be academically and physically prepared for the next phase of their education and that they develop learning behaviours so they don’t give up, are highly motivated to succeed and achieve, and are equipped with all the personal skills to do this.
Intention 2: To develop the child as a ‘whole’.
The impact will be that our learners will have fully rounded individuals with a clear understanding of complex values like respect, equality, friendship, trust and many others.
Only by really learning what these mean will our learners be able to develop a character that prepares them for living in the community, demonstrating tolerance and equality. We measure this not just by the work our children produce, but in the behaviours we see each and every day in all learners on the playground, in the corridor, and in the different roles we give them. The impact of this intention is seen in the daily interaction of all members of our school community.
Intention 3: To develop the moral compass of our learners.
Our aspiration is that our learners will be motivated by a strong personal sense of morality. They will make decisions for the right reasons and in the best interests of their community. They will be able to decide what is right and what is wrong, and will be resilient to the influence of others. They will go out into the world and make a difference in their own life and to others. Our learners will be the owners of their own destinies.