Curriculum Intention

The Curriculum is all the learning and experiences, formal and informal, which a school provides for pupils. Our aim is to give our pupils an education that is exciting and worthwhile, prepares them for life beyond school, and lays the foundations for lifelong learning. In meeting these aims we have four school drivers:

1. Solid Foundations – We place a strong emphasis on English and Maths; being a confident reader, writer and mathematician enables success across the curriculum, ensuring our children are fully prepared for their next step in education.
2. Global Child – By having the opportunity to learn about different places in the world, including their local community and Great Britain, we want our children to become Global citizens and have respect for all cultures and the environment. Having a strong grounding in their own community and culture enables the interpretation of another culture and we inspire our children to be curious about the world and the need to preserve it.
3. Good To Be Me – We explore wellbeing, resilience and embrace uniqueness. By celebrating the good things that children do in school, at home and as part of the community, we build their confidence and self-esteem. Through this they will be happy, strong, kind individuals with personal and emotional skills to help them thrive in life.
4. Growth Mindset – Based around a learning theory developed by Dr Carol Dweck, we believe that by encouraging children to have a growth mindset they will have a positive attitude to learning, embracing mistakes as opportunities for growth and putting energy into overcoming challenges.

Underpinned by our school values (including British values) and our curriculum drivers, our academic curriculum uses either the EYFS or the National Curriculum as the basis for content and expectations.

The breadth of our curriculum is designed with the following intention:

• To provide a coherent, structured academic curriculum that that leads to sustained progress in knowledge, understanding and skills.
• To foster in every child the characteristics of effective learning, such as:
  • curiosity;
  • independent thinking and reasoning;
  • ability to apply knowledge and skills;
  • enjoyment and fascination;
  • imagination and creativity;
  • ability to reflect; without fear of making mistakes
• To promote the spiritual, moral, cultural, mental and physical development of pupils at the school and of society.
• To enable all pupils to develop and demonstrate skills and attitudes that will allow them to participate fully and contribute positively to life in modern Britain.

It is with these drivers, values and our curriculum objectives, that we are able to plan effectively to deliver an all-encompassing and balanced education for our children.

Curriculum Implementation

We plan our curriculum ensuring we meet the requirements of the National Curriculum and the Early Years Curriculum, and by focussing on our curriculum drivers.  We plan the curriculum carefully, so that there is coherence and full progression in its coverage. Our school curriculum is underpinned by our principle value of providing high quality educational experiences that are focused on continued improvement in whole school standards and the development of independent, responsible and resilient learners.

Our curriculum design is based on evidence from cognitive science; three main principles underpin it:
1) Learning is most effective when spaced rather than blocked.
2) Interleaving helps pupils to discriminate between topics and aids long-term retention
3) Retrieval of previously learned content is frequent and regular, which increases both storage and retrieval strength.

Most of our content is subject specific, but we make relevant links with prior learning and learning in other subjects as subject specific knowledge can be mutually reinforcing. We make it clear to the children what they are learning within a subject and how this knowledge fits in with their existing understanding.

We have structured this so that:
a) Each year group has a clear list of what must be covered (long term planning)
b) Each subject has a clear overview of what is taught and when (curriculum progression maps and subject overviews)
c) We have clearly defined end points against which the children are assessed (using National Curriculum and National Assessment Frameworks)

To find out more about each curriculum subject please see subject overviews.

By law Religious Education must be taught according to the locally agreed syllabus in all maintained schools therefore we follow the Gloucestershire Agreed Syllabus for RE 2017-2022. Religious Education does not seek to urge religious beliefs on children or to compromise the integrity of their own beliefs by promoting one religion over another.

Relationships and Sex Education (RSE)

The Relationships Education, Relationships and Sex Education and Health Education (England) Regulations 2019, made under sections 34 and 35 of the Children and Social Work Act 2017, make Relationships Education compulsory for all pupils receiving primary education. At Grangefield RSE is taught within the personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education curriculum. Biological aspects of RSE are taught within the science curriculum, and other aspects are included in religious education (RE). You can find our RSE policy here.

Promoting British Values at Grangefield School

At Grangefield School, the children and their learning are at the very heart of every decision made. We aim to develop learners who are passionate, take ownership of their learning and are proud of their achievements. The school has three drivers: Good To Be Me, Solid Foundations and The Global Child. More information about promoting British values at Grangefield School can be found here.

Special Educational Needs

We believe that all of our children are special and endeavour to provide the best possible education for each of them. In line with national practice we have a special needs co-ordinator and a governor responsible for special needs within the school. If a child is identified as having needs that require additional provision they are placed on to the Gloucestershire Graduated Pathway of Support. Parents are notified before any child is placed on the pathway and are kept fully informed of their child’s progress. The whole team around each child work together to support them and ensure that they can succeed and thrive at Grangefield school.