Curriculum
OUR CURRICULUM
We have an engaging curriculum that helps all children to succeed in their academic and personal development.
We have recently developed and updated our curriculum at Willow Brook School. We have designed a curriculum that builds the knowledge and skills and cultural capital of our pupils to enable them to become Respectful, Resilient and Confident citizens.
We ensure that the content is relevant and coherently planned across the school and that each lesson builds upon and extends previous knowledge and skills.
We ensure the curriculum is engaging through inspiring resources and delivery. Our curriculum will be taught through a pedagogy that excites, promotes and sustains children’s interest.
Standards and clarity of progression are at the centre of our curriculum planning and design ensuring the level of challenge and expectation is high in all subject areas.
Pupils are engaged and motivated by a well-planned, stimulating thematic curriculum designed with the following elements:
Confident
- Big Idea (what is the aim of the learning journey and how does it connect to knowledge that deepens their understanding of the world around them)
- Knowledge (national curriculum content) structured to build upon and extend prior learning
- Well-Being - Our curriculum will give the children the opportunity to develop self-esteem and confidence in themselves and in their abilities
Resilient
- Ability to Read and develop a love of reading. The ability to read is ‘the key that unlocks’ all forms of learning. To ensure all our pupils are able to access the full curriculum, we place a strong focus on early reading and vocabulary development right from the start.
- Inclusive design to ensure all pupils can access, benefit from and relate to their learning.
- Experience the challenge and enjoyment of learning.
Respectful
- School Values together with British and Global Values are taught in a way that engenders a respect and understanding for their fellow citizens.
- Pupil Voice - Our curriculum will give the children the opportunity to make choices about things that are important to them and express their opinions on a range of topics and issues.
- Recognise right and wrong and respect the law, understand consequences, investigate moral and ethical issues and offer reasoned views.
Our Curriculum Statement
CURRICULUM OVERVIEWS
Curriculum Presentations for Parents
On Tuesday 13th September we held Curriculum Information Afternoon for parents. Teachers shared key information with parents. Copies are available for parents on the website for reference.
Our Curriculum
Our school motto “Choose to Shine” and our core values of Respect, Resilience,
Belief, Confidence and Trust are central to our school from Nursery to Year 6.
Our curriculum is focused on the development of children’s knowledge, character and learning behaviours across all primary subjects with the aim of ensuring pupils know more and remember more, to prepare for the next stage of their learning. Every child should be a reader - texts are central to everything we do.
Intention 1: Develop our learner’s knowledge (what we learn)
To develop the appropriate subject specific knowledge, skills and understanding at Willow Brook, we strive to ensure that our pupils are prepared for life in modern Britain and the world. This is done through carefully planned key texts, knowledge organisers, planned vocabulary and resources that enables children to re-visit knowledge over time to help embed and deepen their understanding.
Intention 2: Develop the character of our learners (who we are when we learn)
To develop children's desires to be ambitious, use their initiative, and to want to read and learn independently. To develop well rounded citizens through our leadership development programme and PSHE curriculum.
Intention 3: Develop behaviours and habits to become effective learners (how we act when
we learn)
Our curriculum encourages children to take responsibility for their own learning and to assess their own learning and discuss with support their next steps and tools they can use independently to help themselves. In addition, our mental health support and zones of regulation support children to be mentally healthy and ready to learn.
Impact: How do we know the children have made good progress?
We use mini quizzes throughout our broader curriculum to assess and help the children see how much they have remembered and to determine if we need to re-visit topics. We carry out formal assessments every term in Maths and Reading and Phonics and Times tables. We assess writing every term based on a range of the pupil’s work across the curriculum. These assessments are then used to inform our future planning and any additional support pupils may need.