Curriculum Overview

At  Littleham C of E Primary School, the purpose of our curriculum is to provide learning experiences that are INSPIRING, CHALLENGING and REWARDING for every child. We are committed to ensuring that we provide children with the core knowledge they need for success in education and later life to maximise their cognitive development and develop as a whole person.

Our approach to teaching and learning ensures that lessons are planned to build on prior knowledge. Children are given opportunities to practise their learning in guided and independent sessions.

This approach is based on Rosenshine’s principles which are:

• Demonstration (explanation and modelling) of new material in small steps
• Guided practice with prompts and scaffolds
• Independent practice with monitoring and feedback from teacher

Lessons often begin with pupils retrieving prior learning from long term memory. We refer to this part of the lesson as a 'Flashback'. This is done through discussion, through the use of knowledge organisers, through quizzing and through targeted questioning.   When prior learning is committed to long term memory, it becomes ‘fluent’ or automatic which then allows the working memory to be applied to comprehending, applying and problem solving.

During all points of the lesson, teachers use effective probing and exploratory questioning to check understanding and ensure that the lesson is effectively meeting the needs of all learners in the class.

We are proud of the broad and balanced curriculum which builds on the knowledge, skills and understanding of all children.  Through a positive and caring environment, we provide the opportunity for every child to achieve and succeed.

Our curriculum covers all the statutory requirements of the National  Curriculum 2014 and incorporates other experiences and opportunities which best meet the learning and developmental needs of the pupils in our schools.

Children who find aspects of their learning more difficult are appropriately supported so that they are enabled to achieve success. Our children are challenged according to their strengths and are encouraged to problem solve and apply their learning in more creative ways.  We aim to create independent and motivated learners that are ready for the next stage of their education.

Our curriculum develops the whole child and promotes a Growth Mindset. It aims to develop strong characters that are resilient and care about their learning. Pupils are encouraged to have high aspirations and are encouraged to take risks and make mistakes. We aim to develop creative individuals who collaborate and co-operate and can solve problems seeing failure as an opportunity to learn.

Our curriculum is underpinned by the fundamental British Values of Democracy, Rule of Law, Individual Liberty, Mutual Respect and Tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs.  The spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of our pupils is woven throughout the curriculum and explicitly taught alongside mental Health.

We recognise the importance of English and Maths teaching in order to open up other areas of the curriculum. In addition to regular English and Maths teaching, we try to make as many cross-curricular links as possible in order to utilise these skills in a range of contexts.

Our Reading curriculum begins in Reception and Key Stage 1 where children are taught phonics through the Bug Club systematic phonics program. This teaching is supported by the use of phonetically decodable books which link to the phonics that have been taught. The children have three reading practise sessions each week to decode the text, develop prosody and engage with the  comprehension of the text.

Every aspect of the curriculum is underpinned by a range of texts. This provides a vocabulary rich environment to support the increasing communication needs of the children in our school. Books are selected to support learning throughout the curriculum, alongside developing reading comprehension and vocabulary. Displays in all classes are designed to promote a wider variety of vocabulary and subject specific language.

We value the crucial role that parents have in promoting learning beyond the school gate and ensuring children make the best possible progress.  We pride ourselves on being an open, friendly and approachable school that encourages parents to be actively involved in children’s learning.  As well as Parents Evenings, we hold events and provide information to inform parents how they can support their child’s learning.

Pupils are able to share their learning with each other and their parents and carers through open days, performances, parent consultations, newsletter, celebration assemblies and competitions and events involving other schools.

Our curriculum works alongside our personal development curriculum which is planned to enrich the school experience for all children through local community visits and projects, school trips, visiting speakers and residential trips.  We firmly believe that real life experiences like these create lasting memories and strengthen the learning happening in school.

We value our outdoor environment and provide Forest School sessions for all our children. Our school grounds are used for active learning for all of our pupils where appropriate to enhance the curriculum.