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Our Curriculum at Spaxton

Our school vision – Together we Flourish and Achieve - is built on the teachings of St Paul around love and compassionate care.  We believe that through this culture and ethos, all members of our school community can flourish and achieve.  We also believe that our pupils can develop their character in our Christian setting through the driver of 'knowing more and remembering more'.   In essence, our curriculum reflects the vision and ambition for our school.

 With this in mind, our curriculum at Spaxton CofE Primary School is based on three core principles:

  • Reading is at the heart of everything we do. It is the foundation of all learning.
  • The purpose of our curriculum is for children to develop a deep body of knowledge and build 'cultural capital' so they do well in the education system and in life.
  • Our curriculum exceeds the ambition of the National Curriculum by meeting the specific needs of our community to help children to flourish and achieve.

Our school curriculum is bespoke and designed to meet the needs of the children in our school. It is underpinned by the Quantock Education Trust curriculum principles (SMART) which guide the development and review of the curriculum in all schools in the Trust:

  • A strong and carefully Sequenced curriculum, so that children and young people’s learning progresses in a way that builds knowledge intentionally and cumulatively
  • A curriculum that Motivates children and young people so they can value and experience joy in learning whilst developing their own unique voice.
  • An Ambitious curriculum, so that children and young people are challenged and empowered to think deeply and critically and grapple with complexity, challenge assumptions, question accepted authorities and embrace curiosity.
  • A curriculum that is Responsive, so that it meets the needs of children and young people in our local community as well as opening doors to the wider world.
  • A curriculum that is Transformative, so that children and young people can put their learning to use as active citizens, working for social justice, environmental stewardship and a healthy, equitable world, enabling them to build character and shape their future.

What is our curriculum intent?

At Spaxton, we deliver a broad and balanced curriculum to all our pupils. Through our ambitious curriculum offer, that has been carefully designed to ensure it is sequential and progressive through each stage, we believe it allows:

  1. Holistic Development: It supports the overall development of our children, addressing their academic, social, emotional, and physical needs. This approach ensures that our pupils at Spaxton are well-rounded and prepared for next stage of learning and any other future challenges.
  2. Engagement and Motivation: A varied curriculum keeps our pupils engaged and motivated by offering a range of subjects and activities. Our broad and balanced curriculum offer helps cater to different interests and learning styles, making education more enjoyable and effective for all.
  3. Critical Thinking and Problem-Solving: Exposure to a wide range of subjects encourages critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Our pupils learn to make connections between different areas of knowledge, enhancing their cognitive abilities.
  4. Cultural Awareness and Respect: Our broad curriculum includes subjects like history, geography, and the arts, which help our pupils understand and appreciate different cultures and perspectives. This fosters respect and empathy for others. This is particularly important due to our village rural location.
  5. Preparation for Future Learning: Our balanced curriculum provides a strong foundation in core subjects like English and maths while also introducing pupils to other areas of knowledge. This prepares them for more specialised learning in secondary education and beyond.
  6. Personal Growth and Well-being: Subjects like physical education, music, and art contribute to pupils’ physical and emotional well-being. They provide opportunities for self-expression, creativity, and physical activity, which are crucial for healthy development.

Leaders in our school have set out powerful knowledge to be gained by the time children leave our school by setting out the following:

  • Statements of intent within subject specific documentation, setting out what children must know, understand and do
  • Indicating which knowledge exceeds the ambition of the National Curriculum, reflecting our spiritual mission to grow children and meet the needs of our community.  This is set out in green text within the document below.
How is the curriculum implemented?
We deliver a rigorous knowledge-based curriculum with subject teaching.  Where we make cross-curricular links, we do so.  We mainly teach in a small-steps way based on the QET principles of Teaching and Learning Excellence, themselves coming from Barak Rosenshine's work on effective teaching.
 
Below are our curriculum overviews and progression documents.
How do we measure impact?
Quite simply, we measure how much children know and remember against the transition points set out in each subject's intent.  We do this regularly and at points in the journey by evaluating what children produce in 4 ways: