Curriculum Overview

We intend for our curriculum to: 

• Be knowledge-rich, facilitating children’s acquisition of knowledge.  
• Allow children to develop qualities which help them to grow intellectually, emotionally, socially, physically and morally. 
• Facilitate children becoming independent, responsible, adaptable, confident and considerate members of the community. 
• Promote a positive attitude towards learning, so that children enjoy coming to school and acquire a solid basis for lifelong learning. 
• Create and maintain an exciting and stimulating learning environment where all pupils are encouraged to be risk takers and develop creative thinking. 
• Develop a culture of enquiry. 
• Develop children’s resilience in a happy and safe learning environment. 
• Encourage all children to have respect for themselves and high self-esteem, and to be able to live and work co-operatively with others.

The design of our curriculum is underpinned by the following five key drivers: 

Knowing more and remembering more - we believe the specifics of what we want the children to know matter. We have high expectations that all children should remember all knowledge we plan for them. Children are empowered by acquiring knowledge and we believe that this cannot be left to chance.  

• Ambition – we are committed to ensuring that all children, no matter their starting point, can be the best that they can, especially if the adults around them, their peers and, most importantly, the child believes they can do it! 

• Inclusion – everyone is valued and participates to the best of their ability.  
• Wellbeing and mental health - our children are supported and nurtured to behave positively, regulate their feelings, work with others and build positive relationships. We know that children need to be both physically and mentally healthy in order to learn well. Community and diversity – we are committed to providing a rich and diverse curriculum in which all our leaners see themselves. We value all the communities which we serve and the contributions that they make. We promote equal opportunities and the Fundamental British Values of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect of those with different faiths and beliefs. 
• Arts and creativity – we are passionate that children will engage in the arts and express themselves in a variety of creative forms. They can be imaginative and use experiences and observations to make connections in their learning and appreciate that learning can be accomplished in different forms.

Our Curriculum Leaders, with the support of the wider Senior Leadership Team (SLT), take responsibility for the overall curriculum design. This is achieved through working with Subject Leaders in ensuring that the highest standards for each subject are achieved. Continuous Professional Development prioritises teachers’ secure subject knowledge and pedagogy.  

The design of our curriculum is centred on fulfilling the objectives of the National Curriculum, Early Years Statutory Framework and our own Barrow Hedges drivers and intent statements. We achieve these as follows:  

• Carefully considering the knowledge content that is non-negotiable for our children. Our subject leaders have created knowledge organisers which specify, in meticulous detail, the exact facts, dates, events, characters, concepts and precise definitions that all pupils are expected to master to long-term memory. These knowledge organisers are not exhaustive, there is always more to learn and we want children to develop a broad understanding of all the areas they learn about. However, these knowledge organisers do present the specific knowledge that must be taught by teachers and acquired by pupils.  We know that cognitive science is intrinsically linked to knowing more and remembering more. As such, we plan for regular review. This takes many forms, firstly, daily review where pupils activate their prior knowledge ready for the next lesson where they will form wider and deeper schema. Secondly, weekly and monthly review where pupils benefit from a wide diet of retrieval practice made up of generative activities to ensure knowledge learnt previously is not forgotten.   
• The delivery of this knowledge is sequenced so that our pupils build secure schema, for example developing a timeline for historical events and a sense of place in Geography. As a result, all pupils always have a secure knowledge platform, allowing them to reach the next level in their learning.  Progression documents support the development of knowledge, skills and understanding across the primary phase and, together with half termly theme overviews, provide the scaffolding for more detailed curriculum planning. Children are aware of the links between subjects and can use skills that they have learnt across other curriculum areas. 
• We recognise children’s prior learning and curriculum planning documentation ensures that all subjects are covered at the appropriate level of depth. Some purposeful repetition is included to ensure that children build on their knowledge, skills and understanding. New learning is emphasised, and lessons are appropriately adapted to provide further support and challenge. 
• Half termly themes include an ‘Engage Event’ which takes the form of visitors to school, a dressing up day or a visit to a place of interest. These are designed to ensure that learning is memorable and to inspire and motivate children. We are committed to ensuring that children develop knowledge, skills and understanding through real life experiences. Residential visits are offered to pupils in Years 4, 5 and 6. 
• ‘Learning Heroes’ are fully embedded into all learning experiences, focusing on developing the skills of collaboration, resilience, reflectiveness and resourcefulness. 
• We are fortunate to have extensive grounds and recognise that taking children outside the classroom brings learning alive and develops their understanding about their own lives in the community and wider world. We encourage children to be responsible for and respect the environment, giving them a sense of belonging and ownership. We explore our local area and venture further afield and aim to fully utilise our school grounds.  
• We recognise the crucial role parents play in their child’s education and encourage their involvement. We enjoy safely welcoming parents and other volunteers so that they can be part of our children’s learning journey. 

The success of our curriculum is measured through regular monitoring of the children’s knowledge, skills and understanding by Subject Leaders and SLT using pupil voice surveys, observations and scrutiny of children’s work. Coverage, pitch, progression and assessment are integral to this monitoring and determine how well our children are achieving.

Subject Leaders fully understand children’s previous knowledge and experiences and how the curriculum builds upon them so that children are ready for the next stage of their education. Subject Leaders are equipped by SLT to carry out internal monitoring to gain a thorough understanding of the standards in their subject. Pupil and teacher voice are highly valued and we measure the progress and attainment of all groups of children.  

If you would like to find out more about our curriculum then do not hesitate to contact us via the school office

office@barrowhedges.com Reading our newsletter, Hedgelines and Monthly Magpies, is a great way to find out more about our curriculum especially through the eyes of aa child. These can be found on the News and Events tab.