At Kirmington, St Helena’s C of E Primary School, we view the word curriculum in the widest possible definition: All that is experienced in school, whether planned or unplanned. This definition encompasses our ethos and Christian Values, crucial to our definition as a church school, and we hold ourselves accountable for the conscious and unconscious lessons taught to the children in our care. The nature of our school curriculum stems from our school vision ‘"Building on our shared and inclusive Christian values, we will work in unity to unlock the potential of all in our community to enable them to flourish. We will equip all to embrace opportunity and to seek positive transformation in the world." We hope that as our pupils journey through the school they aim to be the best they can be, aspire to great things and treat all people with kindness and respect. 

With this in mind, our curriculum has been constructed in such a way that it recognises that all children are entitled to a broad range of experiences which allow them to thrive in education, foster confidence and resilience, develop positive self-worth and belief and enables them to access future opportunities. 

We have a strong commitment to equal opportunities, providing the best possible chance for all pupils to thrive and to engage in learning both within and beyond the classroom. We have built in to our curriculum experiences such as: additional swimming from Year 1 onwards; opportunities to access specialist music provision; trips to places of interest; visitors to share specialist knowledge; Forest Schools and other outdoor learning; road safety as both pedestrians and cyclists and opportunities for pupils to both observe and participate in performances. These ensure that everyone has as many positive childhood experiences as possible as well as lasting memories. In addition to this, we encourage children to develop their own interests in their own leisure time.  Our school embraces breadth and balance, we are proud to see our pupils progress in all areas of their lives and we enjoy celebrating their success with them.

This commitment to ensuring that all pupils experience a breadth of education is linked to our Christian Values of Trust, Hope, Forgiveness, Peace, Thankfulness, Compassion, Perseverance, Friendship and Love. We strive to ensure that everyone understands the role and purpose of our Christian values, that living through these values will help them to appreciate how to become a successful individual within our community and prepare them for the next stage in their education and future lives. 

Implementation:

How each subject is planned and delivered is led by our subject leaders. Delivery of the core subjects is aligned with the national curriculum requirements and builds resilience as well as developing mastery in key areas.

Humanities draw upon the unique and rich links that can be found in the local and wider local area. To help promote a healthy lifestyle and to combat childhood obesity, Physical Education is given a high profile both within and beyond the timetable.  Our curriculum of the foundation subjects, along with our ‘Focus Weeks’ ensures that there is the opportunity to embed understanding of key transferable concepts and skills, supporting pupils learning as they move between subjects. 

Formative assessment directs the course of pupils’ learning provision and is aspirational throughout and tailored to the needs of the child.  Children’s knowledge and skills are monitored through a range of summative methods such as, quizzes, pupil voice and presentations.

Early Years

Our curriculum follows the Early Years Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage. This document specifies the requirements for learning and development in the EYFS and provides the prime and specific areas of learning we must cover in our curriculum. Through our knowledge of each child and formative assessments the EYFS team plan exciting and engaging activities that will move the children’s learning forward. This may involve following a class theme where we take advantage of cross-curricular links in order to combine transferable skills and develop a wide-ranging vocabulary which underpins the children’s learning. This may also include following individual children’s interests and making the most of those focused moments where the teaching and learning can be maximised in a one-to-one way with practitioner and child. Our unit creates its own unique blend of whole class, guided, adult-directed play and child-initiated play activities dependant on the nature and needs of the class of individuals.  We look forward at the start of a year to see where the class will lead us.

Children in EYFS learn by playing and exploring, being active and thinking critically and creatively and this takes place both indoors and in our outdoor area. Our outdoor area is open all year round and in all but the most challenging weather conditions. Children make their own decisions about where they learn best and teachers ensure that there are opportunities for all areas of learning both inside and outside.

Key Stage 1

Key Stage 1 provides the opportunity to develop children’s independence and love of learning even further.  The curriculum design for this age group is based on two over-riding principles: the embedding and mastery of basic skills coupled with subject-led acquisition of knowledge and skills. The curriculum in KS1 will have a focus on reading (including phonics), writing and maths because we recognise that children require these skills in order to access the increasing challenge of the KS2 curriculum and beyond.  There is a continuing emphasis on first-hand experience and on the use of physical materials to ensure concrete understanding comes before conceptual understanding. The curriculum is broad and balanced and begins to allow pupils to develop interests in specific subject areas such as Science and Geography.

Key Stage 2

In Key Stage 2, children are provided with opportunities to become confident, life-long learners.  Their growing independence provides them with solid grounding for transition into secondary school and beyond.  Our young people will become self-critical, equipped to edit their own work, accepting direction and debate as a way to improve. We foster their courage and confidence and support them to become mature responsible citizens in their community.  In Key Stage 2 the demands upon the children for both stamina and resilience in the quantity and quality of work produced increases and is matched by an expectation of proficiency in all the skills taught in previous years. In addition to the academic, children are prepared for the next stage in their education through developing their ability to cope, their organizational skills, their social skills and their self-awareness.

Impact:

The impact of our curriculum is that pupils leave us with not only skills and knowledge in all areas of the curriculum but also as valued members of society. For all their differences, the pupils know that in our school they are loved, they have understanding of how, living through our Christian Values, they can make a positive contribution to both the local and wider community. Our aim is that every child leaves our school having achieved their full potential and with memories to last a lifetime.  

Curriculum Overview

[pdf 72KB]