Curriculum Overview
At the centre of our vision, for every pupil, is our curriculum. We have created it to ‘ignite a joy for learning’ and to enable children to ‘develop the personal and learning skills to help them become successful and independent learners for life’. We have rooted its foundations in our belief that knowledge is key, and that long-term learning is essential. There is a narrative that provides cohesion to our curriculum. The integrity of subject-specific knowledge is maintained across all year groups. It acknowledges that, for most of our children, English is not their first language. Quality literature is at its heart, since we know that reading helps unlock knowledge and, significantly, immerses children in a world of story. Our curriculum is constructed on the premise that children’s knowledge, opportunities and experiences, differ considerably from one another. It is infused with rich vocabulary throughout. Since we value agency, we work with our children to shape a legacy that each theme leaves behind. We plan opportunities for the children to continue to build on the ‘Characteristics of Effective’ learning, through developing the 5Cs (Collaboration, Commitment, Curiosity, Communication and Courage). Finally, in realising our curriculum, we rely on high quality teaching and subject advocates.
Our curriculum at BVCS:
At Broom Valley, we follow the National Curriculum as a framework for our curriculum. We have carefully designed our provision to ensure that our children receive a curriculum that fulfils our school vision, values and aspirations for all children.
The Broom Valley Curriculum is ambitious and equips all children with the knowledge and cultural capital they need to succeed in life. It is underpinned by a wealth of evidence-based research: including Rosenshine’s Principals of Instruction and Sweller’s Cognitive Load Theory.
How we do it:
We have carefully identified the key learning for each subject in each year group to ensure that learning builds systematically on prior knowledge, which enables them to make links to new learning more easily and commit this knowledge to their long-term memories. Every half term, we have key subject drivers that are taught ‘intensely’. In order to ensure that children learn more and remember more, we use the concept of interleaving, with each foundation subject having touch-points throughout the half term. This process strengthens memory associations and improves recall over time. The act of regularly revisiting and retrieving knowledge ensures children remember more, know more and apply what they know in a variety of contexts. Some of our subjects are taught weekly. These are: PE, Science, Computing and PSHE/RSE. The curriculum map below shows when each subject is being intensely focused upon throughout the year.