This section of our website is focused on our Curriculum and provides an overview of the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) Framework and the Curriculum offer for children in Years 1 to 6. There are also sections on Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural (SMSC) Development and our approach to British Values.
At Woodland School we provide a curriculum for all children from the Early Years up to Year 6 – our curriculum follows the EYFS Framework and the National Curriculum. It is based around a creative curriculum which follows the interests of the children and uses the expertise of our teachers.
The curriculum is all the planned activities and the incidental learning which takes place in order to promote independent learning, personal growth and development. We aim to give our children as many varied experiences as possible in order to enrich their lives. We are very proud of our creative curriculum and we place a huge emphasis on outdoor learning and the arts.
Our curriculum also includes the social aspects of learning which children require to become well-rounded human beings. We have high expectations of behaviour and tolerance towards each other. Woodland Primary School was awarded ‘Outstanding’ from Ofsted in January 2012. We continue to maintain high standards – we all believe that we need to constantly change what we offer children and improve the experiences they are given. Our aim is that children will enjoy school developing a love of learning and that all children will reach their full potential – taking into account their different starting points.
Using our Creative Curriculum, we are continuing to work through a topic-based approach which links together many areas of the National Curriculum, combining subjects to a common theme in order to allow children to make links in their learning and have a deeper understanding and knowledge. There is a planned 4 -year cycle for both Key Stages which ensures coverage of the National Curriculum in all subject areas. Topics are chosen which are flexible enough to allow pupils to access learning at different levels and to learn new skills at the most appropriate level of challenge. Main subjects for each topic are listed; all other curriculum subjects are used as support subjects within the topic or taught as stand-alone subjects across the week.
We have built a topic-based curriculum, since we believe that children will be more engaged in their learning if it has a context and theme that runs through it, they can link up their learning both at school and at home, as whole school topics allows families to engage with a theme together even with siblings in different key stages.
A creative curriculum is one in which students learn through creative and active teaching strategies and our aim is to help children become independent, self-confident, inquisitive and enthusiastic learners, developing life-long skills that they can use now and in the future.
Curriculum Intent
At Woodland Primary School our intent is to provide opportunities for children to engage in an exciting and empowering curriculum that equips them for today and tomorrow. Our curriculum is designed to: recognise children’s prior learning, provide first hand experiences, develop interpersonal skills, build resilience and enable them to become creative, critical thinkers.
Every child is recognised as a unique individual. We celebrate and welcome differences within our school community. The ability to learn is underpinned by the teaching of basic skills, knowledge, concepts and values with a vision to prepare them for life beyond primary school. We constantly provide enrichment opportunities to engage children in their learning. We believe that childhood should be a happy, investigative and enquiring time in our lives, where there are no limits to curiosity and there is a thirst for new experiences and knowledge.
We promote positive attitudes to learning which reflect the values and skills needed to promote responsibility for learning and future success. We work with the children to build positive learning behaviours such as independence, resilience, cooperation, concentration, improvement, imagination, curiosity and enjoyment.
Community involvement is an integral part of our curriculum, inviting families and visitors to facilitate learning new skills and sharing experiences.
At Woodland School, there is a high focus on developing children’s moral, spiritual, social and cultural understanding creating a respectful, thoughtful and reflective culture. We aim to develop our children’s understanding of diversity and cultural awareness.
Our positive intent is to widen our children’s horizons; extending experiences beyond home and increase their curiosity about the world around them. Our intent is to motivate and challenge all our children to achieve academic success. With support, guidance and feeling inspired through excellent teaching practices, we also intend to raise our children’s aspirations.
Children leave Woodland Primary School with a sense of belonging to their local and wider community where they have the skills to make decisions, self-evaluate, make connections and become lifelong learners. We aim to show our children what they can achieve if they explore, discover and dream.
Implementation
Our carefully crafted curriculum balances the national expectations and an all-encompassing range of experiences allowing our children to flourish. Clear strategic planning allows the curriculum to be dynamic and adapt to our school context and children’s needs. Age related expectations combine the acquisition of knowledge and development of skills to create a purposeful and exciting learning journey for every child. Our classroom environments stimulate and engage quality thinking and reasoning. Explicit weekly and medium-term planning is responsive to children’s needs, interests and talents; incorporating holistic approaches to teaching and learning.
Our curriculum is monitored closely to ensure it meets each national curriculum objective and that work evidences the vocabulary, knowledge and skills needed. Subject leaders are proactive in delivering guidance and developments in their subjects. Leaders ensure that each curriculum area is given a high priority and that progress and standards in each are high.
At Woodland Primary School, we embrace a pedagogy of ‘Personalised Learning’. Children’s interests are pursued and pupil voice helps shape the curriculum. Teachers and subject leaders look at ways to inspire pupils in each subject, by using quality teaching, texts, other resources, visits and visitors to stimulate learning. Giving learning a clear purpose allows children to make connections, motivating and inspiring children to equip them for learning today and life tomorrow.
Impact
We use rigorous monitoring throughout the year to gauge the impact of the curriculum design. Senior leaders and subject leaders carefully monitor individual subjects: reviewing learning, evaluating pupil voice, providing individual feedback to move practice forward, celebrating positives and highlighting areas of development. Coverage and progress are accurately assessed through careful analysis of the application of skills across the curriculum. Children develop their understanding and use of the correct topic vocabulary, knowledge and skills to demonstrate their understanding in each subject taught.
Our children are respectful, confident and happy. All areas of the curriculum allow children to shine and achieve well. Our children make good progress in their time at Woodland School and we are proud of their academic achievements; however, our results at EYFS, KS1 and KS2 do not reflect all aspects of our children’s endeavour. We have talented artists, sportspeople, scientists, historians and computing experts. There are many occasions when these skills have been demonstrated with purpose to a wider audience and in the community.
At Woodland School, everyone feels welcomed, respected and valued as an equal member of the school community. The children enjoy learning more about the heritage and culture of our area and learning how we are part of the wider region, country and world. Children develop respect for other cultures, moral values, spiritual reflectiveness and good social skills. Our school is a happy place where children leave for their next stages in learning being well prepared for life in modern Britain.
Curriculum Information for Parents
The national curriculum sets out the programmes of study and attainment targets for all subjects at all 4 key stages. All local-authority-maintained schools in England must teach these programmes of study. For further information on the Nation Curriculum please view or download the document below:
National Curriculum 2014
How to help your child
Curriculum Plans and Timetables
You can view or download our latest Curriculum Plans and Timetables for each class. To see the Curriculum in action please visit the Our Classes section of our website.
Curriculum Content
We have provided a detailed overview of the Woodland Primary School Curriculum for children in Years 1 to 6. including Maths, English, Science and other subjects.
If you would like to find out more about the curriculum at Woodland Primary School please speak to a member of staff.
Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND)
At Woodland 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
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