Curriculum Statement: Inspire - Create - Achieve
Intent:
We aim to provide a safe, happy and healthy environment in which all children are encouraged to be creative, confident and enquiring individuals in an atmosphere of mutual trust, respect and support.
We therefore offer a curriculum that gives pupils the best possible start to their education by developing their independence, curiosity, imagination and desire to learn. We want our children to love learning and to develop as successful learners with high aspirations, and who know how to make a positive contribution to their community and wider society.
Leaving our school with a memorable collection of learning experiences, pupils from Orchard will move onto secondary school with the skills, knowledge and understanding that will enable them to thrive.
Our Curriculum Aims:
- The underpinning principles of our curriculum are committed to providing quality and excellence through an exciting, stimulating environment that stretches and develops the child as a whole.
- To provide a broad and balanced curriculum that includes our statutory obligations within the Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum and the National Curriculum.
- To enhance pupils’ individual capabilities, encouraging individuals to become independent, self-motivated and self-disciplined learners and members of the school and the community.
- To encourage lively, enquiring minds and enthusiasm towards school and education.
- To build confidence, self-respect, self-esteem and a sense of responsibility in each child; to help pupils to work co-operatively with consideration for others; to encourage pride in our school and community and to establish high standards in work and behaviour.
- To ensure that our pupils become literate and numerate.
- To develop enquiry, problem-solving and creative skills and IT capability in line with the aims of the National Curriculum.
- To enable each pupil to develop physical awareness, stressing the values of healthy living and an understanding of the workings of the human body.
- To develop in pupils respect for other people’s cultures and origins, and to reject biased attitudes towards sexism, racism and disability.
- To provide opportunities for spiritual growth. To help children to consider their own beliefs and those of others.
- To develop an understanding of an ever-changing world concerning work, leisure and the environment.
Implementation - Creative Curriculum Design:
Our ‘Creative Curriculum’, which is taught in a two-year rolling programme, has been designed to foster a life-long love of learning, through adopting a practical, and thematic, cross-curricular approach to learning.
At every opportunity, we aim to connect learning, and give children first-hand experiences that they can relate their learning to. We rigorously drive home knowledge (facts and information) which underpins pupils’ learning and enables the progressive application of skills in a range of contexts so that our children will have the tools needed to be successful independent learners for life.
We work hard to include the 'wow' factor to motivate and inspire our learners and free up additional time in the school week to enrich our children’s learning – our teachers have real freedom to own the curriculum and be truly creative with the learning experiences they give their children. We also offer additional opportunities such as Discovery Days, Themed Days, specialist workshops, French teaching in KS2, residential visits, outdoor learning, trips and visits and whole class instrumental lessons.
Our Curriculum has been designed to ensure that each and every child can ' live life in all its fullness' by offering stimulating and awe-inspiring learning experiences with values, wellbeing and character education at its heart. Effective learning characteristics, including being ambitious, reflective and imaginative drive teaching and learning.
It is bespoke to the needs of the pupils at Orchard, not only by focusing on appropriate subject-specific knowledge, skills and understanding as set out in the National Curriculum, but by developing individual and collaborative learning experiences, a positive growth-mind set, a sense of responsibility and challenges that take them beyond the classroom.
A primary focus of our curriculum is to raise aspirations, engender a sense of personal pride in achievement, and providing a purpose and relevance for learning. It includes not only the formal requirements of the National Curriculum, but also the range of extra-curricular activities that the school organises in order to enrich the experience of our children.
We provide a highly inclusive environment where all learners enjoy their education and pupils at all levels are helped to achieve their potential.
There is a high focus on developing children’s moral, spiritual, social and cultural understanding and in ensuring that children are well-prepared for life in modern Britain. Thus, we aim to develop outward looking pupils who are able to engage in learning about themselves and have an understanding of the wider world and its complex cultures.
Impact:
Whilst the impact of our curriculum will be measured by standardised assessment procedures that allow us to evaluate outcomes against all schools nationally, for example:
- Percentage of EYFS pupils achieving a ‘Good level of development’ (GLD)
- End of Y1 Phonics Screening Test
- Percentage of end of KS1/KS2 pupils working towards or at the expected standard and at Greater depth in reading, writing and maths
Its impact will be more greatly arbitrated by how effectively it helps our pupils develop into well rounded individuals who embody our values and carry with them the knowledge, skills and attitudes which will make them lifelong learners and valuable future citizens.
Please click on the link below to view our 'Teaching & Learning Policy': https://www.orchardprimary.org/policy/teaching-and-learning-policy
Developing Pupils' Cultural Capital
What is Cultural Capital?
Cultural capital is the accumulation of knowledge, behaviours, and skills that a pupil can draw upon and which demonstrates their cultural awareness, knowledge and competence; it is one of the key ingredients a student will draw upon to be successful in society, their career and the world of work.
At Orchard Primary School, we recognise that for pupils to aspire and be successful academically and in the wider areas of their lives, they need to be given rich and sustained opportunities to develop their cultural capital.
Please follow the link below to see an overview of how we give pupils opportunities to enhance their lives through a broad and diverse range of exciting experiences.
