Ellison Boulters Church of England Academy

Our School Curriculum

Vision

Let Your Light Shine

Matthew 5:16

By valuing who you are and believing in what you can be

In doing so enable others to shine

Mission Statement

Celebrating the diversity within our school family and supporting each other to live well by learning together and contributing wisely to the wider community through Christian values, showing respect for ourselves, for others, for knowledge and for the world around us

Values

Friendship, Respect, Happiness, Honesty, Understanding, Responsibility

Curriculum Drivers - INTENT

At Ellison Boulters our curriculum has 3 drivers, all of which are underpinned by our Church School Value of respect.

Our intention is that our children learn with and through respect for:

· Well-being: this includes self-care, self –respect, positive relationships, mindfulness and balance in order that our children can live fulfilled lives

· Community: here we are encouraging our children to demonstrate care and respect for the people and places in our world -respect for others, other cultures, races and beliefs, for our environment, for learning collaboratively and working together, for positivity and encouraging each other

· Aspiration: this is about respecting learning, what we can learn from others and their experiences, from other cultures, from the past and our various subjects and their disciplines

The golden threads of experiences and values which nourish our children’s learning are also seen in the learning journeys where they mark the progression through each subject during a child’s time in our school from EYFS to flourishing in Year 6 and being Secondary Ready. As a Church School we actively work to develop children’s spirituality by challenging their thinking, drawing on different encounters and events and regularly taking a moment to appreciate our world and those who live in it.

At Ellison Boulters Church of England Primary Academy, our school curriculum is planned to equip children with the knowledge and skills that they will need throughout life to be positive examples of global citizenship in a diverse world.  Through our topics, subject areas and observation of our church school values, British Values and Golden Rules, children learn based upon a foundation of respect for themselves, others and the world around us.

Our thematic topic-based approach encourages the children to make connections within and between subjects in order that a deeper understanding is developed. Children learn about themselves, their school, their local community, the global community and beyond, applying each context to the subject areas within each topic as appropriate.

Learning through a theme/topic ensures that the children are motivated, engaged and enthused by their learning in all areas of the curriculum. It also enables the children to make purposeful links between subjects and reflect upon the importance of each of these within our ever-changing world. Children learn in a variety of ways including independent work, paired work, team activities, debate, talk, investigation, collaboration, drama, dance, exploration and experimentation. We want to see children’s lights shining but we also want them to encourage others to shine. Opportunities for role-play and learning outside the classroom help to embed new thinking and learning and through reviewing and critiquing the children evaluate their learning journey and seek to improve and extend the skills that they develop. To enable our children to reach their full potential, we encourage high standards of work and seek to develop independence through providing opportunities for the children to ask questions about the world and foster their own curiosity.

To ensure breadth and progression, the year groups are split into ‘Mileposts.’ Milepost 1 is taught to Key Stage 1, Milepost 2 is delivered to Lower Key Stage 2, and Milepost 3 to Upper Key Stage 2. (The Early Years Foundation Stage follows the interests of the children within their topics.) Learning is constantly referred back to throughout a child’s time with us so that knowledge and skills are gradually embedded in all areas of learning.

All children in our school experience the same learning and are enabled to access it in different ways. We encourage all children to have a growth mindset. We use adaptive teaching strategies to support individual needs. These include progressive curriculum planning, group work, targeted support, pre-teaching knowledge and vocabulary, formative assessment and effective communication. In order for children to engage in their learning and be successful, a positive and inclusive classroom ethos is essential.

The curriculum is enriched through educational visits and residential trips, visitors to school, and a variety of experiences including those detailed in the Learning Journey for each subject which can be found in the folder below.

Should you require any further information about our curriculum, please contact the school office.