Curriculum Rationale

An ambitious curriculum, bespoke to the pupils at our school, is the key to developing curious, lifelong learners. At Lytham Church of England Primary School, 5 GOLDEN THREADS weave through all teaching and learning and are central in the development and delivery of our curriculum across all subject areas.

Fostering children’s curiosity will stimulate a desire to learn that both enriches and equips them with the skills, values, attitudes needed, not only to find their place in modern Britain but to ignite a passion within to lead change to ensure a more sustainable future for the wider world. Children will acquire deep and meaningful cultural knowledge and explore a broad range of subject knowledge and skills to prepare them for life beyond school.

Children’s learning is driven by high expectations to support academic achievement. However, our curriculum is also our most important vehicle in allowing the children to ‘grow together with God’. Our children will have opportunities to shine on the stage, on the sports field, and in our school and local community, all of which will enable them to evolve into active learners and citizens.

 

Golden threads

• Diversity- by celebrating uniqueness we aim to prepare our children for life in modern Britain.
• Resilience- through providing challenge and new opportunity, we aim to develop our pupils’ resilience.
• Christian Values- we aim for our children to follow the principles of life that Jesus taught.
• Locality- opportunities and experiences will be fully explored within our local area.
• Sustainability- children will leave our school with an awareness of global climate issues and with a passion to make change.

 

Intent

We have designed our curriculum with our children’s happiness, personal growth and academic achievement at the heart. Our children are encouraged to be brave, to take risks and to respond resiliently to failure, all in a safe and nurturing environment, within our caring, Christian community.

Our curriculum is broad, valuing all subjects, and provides a wide range of opportunities, many to be experienced within our locality, for our children to grow together with God. Our curriculum will be further enhanced through extra-curricular activities, along with a rich variety of purposeful educational visits, including residential trips, and visitors, all of which encourage active engagement from our children.

Through a foundation of core Christian values and a balance of subject knowledge and skills, as well as cultural knowledge, we aim to ensure pupils enjoy learning and feel prepared for life in modern Britain. We place our learning in the real world, with a focus on ensuring children are aware of the importance of climate change and acting in a sustainable manner.

Our curriculum has been designed to empower our children, to develop their curiosity and to encourage them to be active learners. We believe that by experiencing, in various forms, all types of differences, our children will look beyond these and celebrate the uniqueness of all individuals.

 

Implementation

We are passionate about delivering a mastery approach across our broad and balanced curriculum, which focuses on quality over quantity as this allows children the time needed to fully explore key concepts and thus maximise their potential.

We endeavour to stretch and challenge all children at all times, whether through the questions we pose or activities we provide. With challenge, comes failure- we will embrace such failures, using these moments as key assessment opportunities as well as to develop resilient, brave learners who take risks.

We have identified key teaching and learning strategies that are consistently delivered in all year groups, that will encourage our children to be active learners and will support our mastery approach. We will ascertain what children already know before teaching new knowledge. On-going assessment of the children will enable us to identify those who would benefit from pre-teaching of key concepts and vocabulary before starting a new topic. Children who do not grasp the key concepts will receive same-day intervention support to ensure they are ready for the next lesson.

Our curriculum is connected by 5 GOLDEN THREADS, carefully chosen to reflect the needs of the children at our school. These threads enhance the exciting and engaging learning experiences and opportunities provided through our broad and balanced curriculum. They support the personal growth of our pupils, enhance their cultural capital and, will ensure our children grow together with God, as they embrace the challenges of life in modern Britain and within our ever-changing world.

 

Impact

When our children leave Lytham Church of England Primary, we want them to have enjoyed their primary school years and have acquired a love of learning within our caring Christian community. They each will have been provided with the widest possible range of opportunities, many of which within our local area, to support their personal growth, to spark a passion to lead change and to build resilience within.

They will be independent, active learners with a curious mind. They will know about and develop skills to meet the technological and environmental challenges created by our fast-changing world.

Children will leave us ready for the next stage in their learning journey and with a desire to acquire further knowledge and experience the world around them, understanding that learning enriches their lives beyond the classroom. Through following the principles that Jesus taught us, our children will be equipped for Modern Britain- they will recognise and understand the importance of uniqueness and the perspectives of others.

 

Please click the individual subject links to find out more.