Park Way Primary School Bespoke Curriculum
INTENT
We believe in lifelong learning and all our children, irrespective of their needs and challenges, are nurtured to become good citizens. Our curriculum leads to confident, independent learners who are ready for the ever changing world in which they will grow up. It is deliberately designed to give children a progressive richness of experience and opportunities; the cultural capital they may otherwise not have.
Our core values of respect, responsibility and resilience underpin all that we do in school. Working closely with families, we develop children who are able to:
- resolve conflict;
- recognise and manage their feelings when things don’t go well;
- demonstrate resilience in the face of challenges
- respect their environment and each other
- take responsibility for their own actions.
We use the International Primary Curriculum (IPC) as a basis to deliver an ambitious, coherently planned and thoughtfully sequenced curriculum which ensures that learning is deep and meaningful whilst being relevant to the children’s lives. With a continual focus on high expectations, our curriculum allows all children, including those who are disadvantaged or have SEND, to articulate their learning, demonstrate quality thinking and apply skills and knowledge.
The ultimate goal is that our learners flourish and grow emotionally and intellectually and become aspirational individuals; individuals who are ready for the next stage in their education and make a positive contribution to the community and society - both now and in the future.
IMPLEMENTATION
We do this by …
- Providing children with a learning experience which is lively, exciting, engaging, appropriately challenging and prepares them well for their future. In this way, children are able to gain the understanding, knowledge and skills they require.
- Placing basic skills is at the heart of learning – a structured approach to the teaching of Literacy and Numeracy ensures that children have the skills to access the broader curriculum.
- Adapting the IPC units to the children’s interests and level of understanding in a creative and engaging way, ensuring that all children can take advantage of the curriculum on offer.
- Ensuring appropriate and challenging progression of skills and knowledge across each subject in each phase of the school.
- Giving children the chance to remember and consolidate what they have previously learnt before integrating new knowledge and skills into this.
- Offering real-life experiences to deepen and develop all children’s interests and love of learning.
- Facilitating high quality first-hand experiences (practical activities, trips, visitors and outdoor learning) as well as consideration and appreciation of the ideas, thoughts and achievements of others. These allow children to understand the relevance of the knowledge and skills they are learning.
- Making explicit links, where this is appropriate, between subject areas.
- Celebrating diversity and promoting British Values as a thread that intertwines with our school values through teaching and learning every day.
- Ensuring children have appropriate feedback that addresses any misconceptions.
- Providing very strong pastoral support so that all children engage in effective learning.
- Knowing our children and families well, going beyond our remit in supporting children to thrive both in and beyond school.
- Working in partnership with parents and carers to ensure that children are given every opportunity to develop their gifts and talents.
- Building strong links with partner schools, both primary and secondary.
- Frequently reviewing our curriculum to ensure it remains relevant, purposeful and challenging for all
IMPACT
At Park Way, we provide a relevant and engaging curriculum for all children. The positive learning culture, which arises from our bespoke curriculum, along with the caring atmosphere at Park Way allows all of the children to challenge themselves in a safe and nurturing environment.
All children are provided with opportunities to demonstrate the knowledge, skills and understanding they have gained through each unit via an IPC exit point. These could be in the form of a presentation, event or collection of learning.
We have embedded a variety of ways to systematically assess what children have understood across all curriculum areas. We use rigorous triangulation throughout the year to gauge the impact of the curriculum design. Senior leaders, middle leaders and subject leaders monitor individual subjects: reviewing learning, evaluating pupil voice, providing individual feedback to move practice forward, celebrating positives and highlighting areas to develop. We do not confuse coverage with progress when assessing and regularly review our progression of skills document to ensure that learning is measured through careful analysis of the application of these skills across the curriculum.
As a diverse and inclusive school community, we believe our children possess unique talents, skills and qualities and, as such, they have the right to succeed and to recognise their own gifts and talents. Our school ethos is firmly rooted in our values, respect, responsibility and resilience, with a love of learning being the foundation of everything we do, so that we really are ‘Promoting Lifelong Learning’ and ensuring our children are well equipped for the next stage of their education.
Our school website shows examples of some of the outstanding learning experiences that our children benefit from.
Click below for specific details of the curriculum at Park Way in each phase of the school.