Our Curriculum 

Curriculum Intent and Rationale    

Introduction

In the daily living out of our Christian faith, we aim to ensure that religious education and spiritual development will permeate every aspect of the curriculum, so that it is explicit and implicit within the taught curriculum.  The children are supported, through the curriculum, to grow in faith and deepen their relationships with God and each other.

Intent

At Chester-le-Street CE Primary ­­School, the curriculum, in its fullest sense, firmly underpins the core Christian values, from which a culture and ethos is generated that supports the spiritual development of all involved in the community. The school is committed to ensuring that the curriculum is broad and balanced and has both breadth and depth, is highly relevant and purposeful, exciting for both staff and pupils in order that the needs of all children are provided for, whatever their gifts and talents. We aim to make provision for academic achievement and spiritual, social, moral, cultural, physical and creative development of our children.

Our curriculum offers a wide range of inspiring, engaging and exploratory learning experiences, that includes developing cultural capital through planned activities, such as residential trips. We aim to raise pupils’ aspirations by teaching them about human creativity and achievement and we strive to help our pupils realise the full potential they have to achieve and succeed, not just at school, but as educated citizens within their own community and on a wider global scale.   We believe our curriculum should also prepare our children for a lifetime of learning – with careers that don’t yet exist and technologies we cannot imagine. Our pupils will need to develop the skills required to learn continuously throughout their lifetime. They must develop a love of learning and a thirst for knowledge. This is a shared curriculum intent which reflects high ambitions for all. Our Core Christian values of thankfulness, friendship, compassion, service, endurance and wisdom are at its foundations, preparing children to learn within a harmonious environment underpinned by God’s love.

We want their learning focus to be more ‘outward-facing’, enabling them to become well-rounded and happy individuals who not only care about themselves, but about others and the environment.

We want the pupils’ learning to be more ‘big picture’ oriented and less about ‘box ticking’, tapping into their strengths, such as their desire to do well at school.

Rationale for Implementation

We use Dimensions ‘Learning Means the World’ Curriculum as the vehicle for this, with a view to changing our pupils’ hearts, as well as their minds.

This curriculum is underpinned by four highly relevant world issues, known as the four Cs:-

Communication
Culture
Conflict
Conservation 

 

Communication

We believe that communication is the key to unlocking pupils’ full potential. It underpins our core values of friendship, service and compassion.  We want our pupils to develop excellent communication skills, by expanding and deepening their vocabulary and overall use of language. We believe these skills are necessary tools in order to, not only fully access the broader curriculum, but to succeed in later life. We want our pupils to become confident communicators, using different methods effectively and appropriately. We want them to be able to articulate their learning and verbalise their thoughts, feelings and opinions clearly in discussion, as well as enabling collaboration and exchange of ideas.

Culture

As a school that predominantly represents a White British demographic, we want our pupils to broaden their outlook and fully appreciate and embrace cultural diversity, learning about and experiencing a range of different cultural and faith heritages for it is this which will provide them with the wisdom and compassion they need to become a valuable member of the community.  We want them to value diversity, understand the roots and importance of cultural heritage and to behave in a respectful and tolerant way towards others, regardless of faith, gender, sexuality, ethnicity or background. We actively and explicitly promote cross-cultural friendship, respect, understanding and tolerance through ‘Learning Means the World’.

Conflict

We believe that having a developed understanding of causes and consequences of conflict will make a positive difference to our pupils’ choices, as they learn more about self-regulation, resilience and conflict resolution.  We want our pupils to be able to learn how to address conflict, realising how important positive relationships are in their immediate and wider community. We also want them to learn about the impact of conflict globally, understanding the importance of showing empathy and an appreciation of others’ opinions and perspectives.  It is through this study of conflict that our pupils will learn the importance of our Christian values of compassion, endurance and service.

Conservation

Children are the future and it is vital that they are invested in helping to make the world a better place. We want them to care passionately about our world and to engage actively as good stewards for change, both now and in the future. We want them to be thankful for all that our world has to offer and have the wisdom and service to protect it.  By developing problem-solving skills and looking at how they can actively get involved, we believe they can make a real difference and effect positive change for the future at a truly personal level.

‘Learning Means the World’ employs a structured approach to developing environmental awareness and appreciation, not just at local, but also national and global levels.

Our curriculum also incorporates history-based aspirational Competency Theme Units, which draw inspiration from a range of diverse historical role models like Elizabeth Blackwell, Thomas Barnardo and Pocahontas, helping to promote courage, commitment, creativity and a sense of community in pupils.

If you require further information regarding our curriculum offer, including the sequence of the 4C’s for each class please see our attached Curriculum Policy below:

Learning Means The World Curriculum Policy Document

Curriculum Organisation

There is evidence that teaching subject knowledge and skills as part of a wider topic-based curriculum allows pupils to make useful links between areas of learning, and consolidate skills. Children are also likely to be more engaged in their learning if it has a context and theme that runs through it. Chester-le-Street CE Primary School has therefore developed a thematic curriculum to deliver the majority of the National Curriculum 2014.  Others are taught discretely.  The timetable is carefully considered to ensure that pupils experience a broad range of learning opportunities and that the curriculum is not narrowed.

The following subjects are taught discretely:

• Maths
• Physical Education
• Religious Education
• Modern Foreign Languages
• Computing
• Music

The following subjects are taught thematically:

• English
• Science
• History or Geography
• Art
• Design Technology
• PSHE

Each termly plan has a core curriculum driver taken from either Science, History or Geography programme of study. Curriculum delivery is planned around a thought-provoking ‘hook in or catalyst’ question which encourages a sense of curiosity in our pupils. Independence and resilience are encouraged through the involvement of pupils in uncovering new information for themselves to reach an answer.

Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND)

At Chester-le-Street CE Primary School we believe that inclusive education means providing all pupils with appropriate education and support alongside their peers. The Curriculum is all the planned activities that the school organises in order to promote learning, personal growth and development. Further information can be found in the SEN Information Report

If you would like to discuss your SEND requirements in detail please contact the school to arrange an appointment.