Curriculum
Curriculum Rationale
At Bishop Chavasse CE Primary School, our broad, knowledge-rich and well sequenced curriculum develops from when the children first start school in Reception. The firm foundations are put into place from the very beginning, as they learn through curiosity, discovery and play. As the wise man understood the importance of firm foundations in order to build on, we understand the necessity of putting in place firm foundations for our children to build upon to develop in all areas of the curriculum. Our school vision permeates our curriculum, that firm foundations are the key to growing in wisdom, compassion and honesty. Throughout a child’s journey with us, links are continually made across the curriculum and as the children progress through it to ensure the foundations are as firm as possible.
We will ensure we plan and deliver a broad and balanced, knowledge-rich and sequenced curriculum. Additionally, it will focus on what is necessary to ensure:
Our core values help to underpin our ‘curriculum design’. They help to shape our curriculum drivers and respond to the needs of the school community. Our curriculum drivers at Bishop Chavasse CE Primary School are:
Confident Individuals
Our children will have healthy minds, showing they are emotionally happy and resilient learners, stay true to themselves and attempt new learning and challenges with confidence. They will have a deepening understanding of their own and others’ beliefs.
Successful Learners
Our children will have a curiosity and love of learning, both in school and beyond our gates. They will be courageous and curious learners, taking responsibility themselves and have the skills to learn well together. They will gain the knowledge, skills, understanding and vocabulary to empower them to contribute positively to society.
Courageous Advocates
Through our Christian ethos that underpins all we do at Bishop Chavasse CE Primary School, our children will be kind. They will show empathy, tolerance, honesty and compassion and from this grow in wisdom. They will also have the integrity to make a positive contribution to the world around them, valuing their own identity and place in the world, whilst forming habits of stewardship for others.
Hope and aspiration now and for the future
Our children will have ambition and high aspirations for their futures. Each child’s capacity to see possibilities in the world will be developed—their horizons broadened through a broad and aspirational curriculum that gives them opportunities to undertake a wide range of educational activities. Children will know that their aspirations will be reached through hard work and perseverance.
We have designed our curriculum thinking about the learning journey that we want our pupils to take. This has been developed through an understanding of:
- How children learn and remember – we understand how children learn and remember, we want to give our pupils opportunities to revisit previously taught knowledge and skills and deepen their learning in skills.
- What our children need to succeed in life – we want our learners to have the ‘cultural capital’ they need to make aspirational choices and experience success beyond their time at Bishop Chavasse CE Primary School.
Our curriculum is underpinned by current research, and has been designed to take account of the statutory requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum and the Primary National Curriculum. This is evidenced by our commitment to research-based approaches, such as Maths Mastery and the Power of Reading for our core offer.
The full range of core and foundation subjects have been carefully mapped out across school in clear progression frameworks, so that knowledge, understanding, skills and concepts build over time. As a result of this, we hope that all children leave Bishop Chavasse CE Primary School having mastered a wide range of concepts and skills and gained the knowledge that gives them a love of learning, prepares them for their next steps and develops an understanding of the world in which they live.
As part of our carefully mapped out curriculum, we also ensure we provide all children with opportunities for experiential learning, such as curriculum led Stunning Starts and Fabulous Finales for each term’s learning theme, cross-phase experience days, visitors to school, residential visits and extra-curricular clubs.