A curriculum for Richard Lee Primary School
Our intention is to provide our pupils with a broad and balanced curriculum which equips them with the skills, knowledge and understanding to be successful in life. Our children deserve to have high aspirations for themselves and to be proud of themselves, who they are and all that they have achieved. We value the importance of providing our pupils with a rich curriculum which makes cross curricular links, where appropriate, and provides pupils with fun and engaging lessons using strategies that ensure they know, learn and remember more. In order to achieve this, we have built and developed an ambitious curriculum which is designed for all, despite different starting points. We recognise the importance of core curriculum skills throughout our foundation curriculum and where possible we teach lessons in a cross-curricular way. We have key subject drivers for all of our half termly topics – Science, History and geography. All other foundation subject areas may link into these topic areas or stand alone as discrete subjects. Each half term is designed exclusively and there is no ‘one size fits all’.
Reading and Oracy are two of our six Trust wide ambitions and these are critical skills that we put considerable focus on. Every child should be able to read fluently by the time they leave Key Stage One and we want all of our children are at age related expectations so that they can access all other curriculum areas. Through our oracy ambition – every child will develop their vocabulary and their ability to articulate themselves. They will speak clearly and confidently in full sentences and fully engage in conversation and discussion both inside and outside of their learning time. Throughout all subject areas and in all aspects of the curriculum we provide plentiful opportunities for the development of both of these vital skills.
Throughout our curriculum, we make best use of assessment information to enable our pupils to develop key skills and reach their goals and beyond through challenge from adults, their peers and themselves. Our world is a technological one – and our curriculum seeks to both use technology in the service of learning and to ensure children have skills and capacity to deal with this rapidly changing world.
Subject content and progression maps help staff to implement a curriculum rich in knowledge that builds on and deepens previous learning. These are used to sequence and structure learning, and to ensure children’s understanding develops over time. Consideration is given to the spacing and interleaving of knowledge to allow opportunities for children to reflect, compare and make meaning from new knowledge. Within this cumulative learning journey, staff consider the different starting points and needs of all learners.
The design of our curriculum also ensures that children have high aspirations and are given the opportunity to take part in a variety of ‘wider horizons’ experiences such as trips and visits, sporting, cultural and outdoor/forest school activities. These are built into the curriculum as an ‘enrichment map’ and provide children with opportunities and expose them to a range of activities they might not normally experience.
Coventry and Warwickshire are rich in local history, as well as areas of geographical interest, and as a school we strongly believe that our children should both contribute to and understand their local community. Therefore, in each year group there are aspects within the topics, that look at what is local to us, and then develop insights into the wider UK and explore our links across the world. Our grounds allow us to develop outdoor learning through our forest school in our ‘Spinney’, Eco club and allotment work.
Topic Titles Overview Map
yearly-curriculum-overview-map-topic-titles-only