Curriculum

Manor Field Infant School Curriculum 2023-2024

The guiding principles and drivers for our curriculum

We have created a curriculum which is constantly changing and which inspires moral, spiritual, and creative growth as well as academic growth.  We believe that our project based curriculum will motivate children to learn and prepare them for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of life.  Within our curriculum we maintain a tradition of high attainment and progress, focusing on knowledge and the progression of skills within our core and foundation subjects.  We firmly believe in the importance of providing meaningful learning experiences alongside having excellent relationships which are crucial with staff knowing every child well and recognising their talents and uniqueness.  By incorporating each star value into our curriculum we believe children will learn skills that will support their learning throughout their lives.

Our Star Values

Success: At our school we are successful when we challenge ourselves to be enthusiastic learners and citizens.  We understand that whether big or small our journey to success can be challenging, but perseverance and determination will get you through.-

Teamwork: At our school we show teamwork by encouraging and supporting each other.  We listen, share and discuss so that everyone feels valued and part of the community.

Aspiration: At our school we believe aspiration is the desire to achieve something great!  We do this by having the courage to aim high and never give up.

Respect: At our school we demonstrate respect by always sharing, listening, helping each other and caring for our environment.  We value kindness, equality, honesty and diversity in everyone.

We have planned our curriculum to ensure that it:

• meets statutory requirements.
• is broad and balanced.
• offers practical and enjoyable first-hand experiences.
• has a clear skills progression.
• develops children's understanding through learning links and cross curricular projects
• promotes health and well-being.
• develops a sound social, moral, spiritual and cultural appreciation and awareness that links to our RRE ethos
• fulfils the requirement to promote British values.
• supports and accelerates the life chances of vulnerable groups and individual needs.

Intent

Rationale:

At Manor Field Infant School, we follow the national curriculum. However, as a school we enrich and complement the national curriculum through our vision and our STAR values. This draws upon the interests of our children, with each project adapted to meet the needs of our cohort. This ensures a mix of key skills and knowledge, building upon what each child knows and has learnt previously to ensure a secure and engaging learning journey from FS to Year 2 and on into Key Stage 2. Our curriculum celebrates each pupils' unique talent or skill and pupils are encouraged to find answers for themselves within their project. To enhance this learning there are visits, workshops, theatre groups and trips all carefully planned and linked to learning. To engage the children further each unit begins with a ‘hook’ and the project culminates in a project outcome. This can range from a museum display, drama production to a plant sale.

Implementation

Knowing that every child learns differently, our teaching teams use a range of teaching styles to ensure our children are engaged and motivated. They are encouraged to think independently, work collaboratively, be resilient and apply their previous learning in a range of ways. 

Design:

Our year teams and subject leader’s work together to ensure progression and coverage meets the needs of pupils across the school. Projects are planned sequentially using rich texts and key questions that support the knowledge and skills pupils are required to learn. Pupils are encouraged to enquire as well as ponder. The curriculum is a values based curriculum and pupils use our STAR values to support and guide their learning. The curriculum reinforces prior learning, is contextualised and is ambitious for all pupils and increases with cognitive complexity. Cross-curricular links are made explicit to allow our children to see the learning pathways and make connections an example of this is to see the mathematics within art thus allowing pupils to explore and develop new ways of thinking. Our learning environment is carefully planned and well-resourced allowing pupils to access resources independently. Good examples of work are displayed on our working walls, this allows pupils to develop independence as well as know what success looks like.

Depth:

For those pupils who are ready, deeper learning opportunities are provided through 'mastery’ of a particular element or skill and a transference of knowledge across the subjects. Our teaching team closely monitor pupil progress within lessons and will adapt lessons and tailor learning so that it is reflective and responsive; this is done via continued feedback and assessment.

Impact

Assessment:

The use of formative and summative assessment, which are used to inform teaching, enables pupils’ progress through the curriculum to be captured. This also informs teaching teams on how projects can be refined and adapted to meet pupil needs.  Teachers use this wealth of assessment to determine if pupils meet age related expectations across the curriculum.

Review:

We review our curriculum regularly and use our July INSET day to reflect and refine our strategic vision, year group action plans and review the year group overviews.

Reading

We use a book banding system which draws on a variety of reading schemes and real life texts to enrich our pupils reading experiences at home and at school.

Phonics

We teach phonics from Foundation Stage using the Essential Letters and Sounds programme.  Our Year 1 pupils are screened in June as part of a national phonics screening check. We have made phonics a key priority and use Essential Letters and Sounds throughout Foundation Stage and Key Stage.  More information for parents about our phonics scheme can be found here.

Statutory Frameworks

Our Year 1 and 2 pupils follow the National Curriculum

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/national-curriculum 

Our Foundation Stage Pupils follow the Early Years Foundation Stage Framework 

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/early-years-foundation-stage-framework--2

Religious Education is delivered through the locally agreed syllabus.

Personal, Social and Health Education (PSHE) is taught throughout the school, and offers learning opportunities and experiences which enable pupils to learn skills to develop effective relationships and to keep themselves safe.

Whole School Trips and Visits

Maths Progression in Calculation

Long Term Planning

Curriculum Provision and Skills Progression