Curriculum

Our curriculum is rooted in our vision and ethos which arises from the biblical teaching:

‘Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.’ Joshua 9 V1.

As a church school, we aim to provide opportunities to recognise and develop every aspect of the individuals in our community – physical, mental and spiritual, leading to our mission statement:

'Working together so all may flourish’

Our 'Vision Vessel’ – the metaphor for our ethos and mission - explains how we, as a school community, have chosen to aim high without limits in both our learning and development, taking on risks and challenges as a united team.

From this foundation come our core Christian values – Truthfulness, Friendship, Forgiveness, Perseverance, Wisdom and Courage. In whatever learning, lesson or activity in which the children are engaged, we endeavour to promote these key values.

Our vision, ethos and values are the starting blocks from which we develop and deliver our curriculum.

At Heytesbury we are determined to offer a broad and balanced curriculum that provide opportunities for pupils in all areas and reflects our high-expectations and ambition for all our pupils. We aim to create a school culture that shows the importance and values of learning in all areas. To do this we provide knowledge and skills which are revisited and built upon, with the aim that this will lead to high levels of long-term retention. Mapping out the key knowledge and skills ensures, both the teachers and the pupils are clear with what they are expected to learn, how this links to other learning and how this will be revisited.

Through our curriculum, we aim to support children to become independent thinkers and learners with a solid knowledge and understanding of the world who value and support differences in skills and ideas. We provide academic rigour in English, Mathematics and Science. Our pupils should also have opportunities to experience and express themselves through arts, music and design, as well as participating in high-quality sport and P.E.

We value our sense of community and want our pupils to feel a sense of belonging and pride in their school. In order to prepare children for the world ahead of them Heytesbury pupils must develop:

- A good level of courage and resilience

-  A strong understanding of the need for truthfulness and forgiveness

- A personal understanding of the benefits of hard work and perseverance.

- A sense of wisdom and reflection.

Our curriculum must therefore promote the spiritual, moral, social, cultural, mental and physical development of all pupils. This policy outlines our dedication to establishing a well-rounded and robust curriculum, as well as the provisions involved in its implementation.

Our Curriculum Intent

As a school, our intent is to offer a curriculum that not only encompasses the formal requirements of the National Curriculum, but goes beyond the experiences of the classroom to ensure our children are exposed to the richest and most varied opportunities that we can provide. We aim to design a curriculum that ensures coverage and progression; providing memorable holistic learning through a variety of different teaching methods and experiences allowing the children to learn and develop transferable skills.

Our aim is to develop the whole child as they journey through our school so each individual may flourish.  Our links with the church help us to promote, develop and reinforce SMSC, thus nurture the children’s empathy and appreciation of all differences around them. We want our children to be ready for life in a modern and rapidly changing Britain, being able to make a positive contribution to their community and to wider society, whilst having an understanding of looking after our world as a whole.

School Curriculum aims

Courage

  • To enable pupils to have the courage to try
  • To support pupils to overcome adversity and develop grit.
  • To foster self-confidence and self-esteem in all our pupils.
  • To teach our pupils to seek, embrace and relish challenge.

Truthfulness

  • To develop a clear understanding of truth
  • To allow pupils to develop their own informed thoughts and opinions on moral issues, with a strong sense of what is right, what is fair and what is just.
  • To provide a safe, happy and caring environment where children are treated fairly.

Friendship

  • To provide the skills for pupils to be successful communicators and learners.
  • To support children to become active and positive members of our community and wider society.
  • To explain, demonstrate and engage children in the importance of charity, community and helping each other.
  • To teach children about how to stay physically and mentally healthy, including forming healthy relationships through PSHE and RSE.

Forgiveness

  • To build children up in their understanding of forgiveness.
  • To educate children to value mistakes and see them as an opportunity to improve.
  • To listen to pupil’s views and concerns, and act upon these.

Perseverance

  • To provide success for pupils in using increasingly complex knowledge and skills within academic and creative subjects.
  • To develop a positive attitude towards school and learning.
  • To provide feedback to our pupils to help them develop and learn.

Wisdom

  • To teach children tolerance, respect and celebrate all forms of difference.
  • To teach children the skills and knowledge set out by the National Curriculum.
  • To support children to develop skills of cooperation.
  • To teach children to understand and enact the fundamental British values.
  • To provide opportunities for all pupils to develop and grow, taking into account individual needs.

To hone our thinking and decision making, we have identified curriculum principles which feed into the design of our curriculum within 5 broad areas:

  • Knowledge, skills and vocabulary
  • Cultural capital
  • The local community
  • School vison and core Christian values
  • Equality of access

Knowledge, Skills and Vocabulary

We are designing our curriculum with pupils’ long-term learning and development at its heart. We recognise that a balanced curriculum has to set out clear expectations of the facts, vocabulary and skills required for pupils to build a broad base of knowledge, through which deeper learning can be cultivated. The curriculum content is being developed to make clear links within and across disciplines as well as opportunities to recap, revisit and expand on content.

We recognise that prior knowledge and recall are important factors in the retention and building of long-term learning. We are setting out clear subject specific knowledge and skills that pupils are expected to master, in order that teachers can confidently build and progress ideas covered previously.

Cultural Capital

We aim to ensure pupils enjoy learning and feel prepared for life after school. We also intend to offer our pupils important cultural experiences through extra-curricular activities, educational visits and visitors, designed to build a cultural capital and an appreciation of global and national life.

The Local Community

The local community of which the school is a part, is a crucial element of our curriculum development. By rooting our curriculum in the community and the local area and building it through to a global level the curriculum will hold more relevance. Our school values the input of its pupils, parents and the local community with regards to the planning and delivery of the curriculum. We believe pupils get a well-rounded education if everyone is involved in shaping it.

School Vision and Core Christian Values

As explained above.

Equality of access

Our curriculum will be delivered in accordance with the Equality Act 2010. Our aim is that every child will access the curriculum in its entirety, with content, access and expectations adapted for pupil’s developmental needs.

If you wish to find out anything more about our curriculum please get in touch with us through one of the ways shown on the Contact page.