Curriculum

Curriculum Statement

At Southborough Church of England Primary School, we passionately believe that our children have the right to a broad and balanced curriculum. All staff are committed, enthusiastic and relentless in their pursuit of excellence for every child.

Our curriculum is securely rooted in our vision, values, and ethos. It is builds on the national curriculum and is designed to ensure children are active, successful creative learners who take pride and enjoyment in all their achievements. Our emphasis on creativity together with an engaging, exciting and relevant curriculum mean that children develop a rich and broad and deep subject knowledge and a thirst for lifelong learning.

• We recognise the importance of children’s prior learning, providing first-hand experience to allow them to develop their cultural capital, build knowledge and become critical thinkers. Through our curriculum children clearly see links between different aspects of their learning and understand their relevance to its past, present and future. They learn within an ambitious, coherently sequenced and progressive framework.
• Our curriculum inspires children to be curious and reflect about their learning, to develop self-esteem and confidence.
• Every child is recognised as a unique individual and we work together to promote their skills and interests. We celebrate and welcome differences within our school community and strive to identify the changes in our rapidly developing world. The curriculum helps them develop an excellent attitude to learning, to work well with others and develop into strong global citizens.
• A nurturing environment underpins our ethos. We believe children learn best when they are happy, cared for and when their emotional well-being is at the heart of all we do. We foster a whole school approach of kindness and consideration for one another. A curriculum that teaches about acceptance, tolerance and respect – qualities that underpin understanding and emotional wellbeing. Using a growth mindset approach to help children believe they can achieve and learn when they find things difficult.
• The National Curriculum (NC) provides an outline of core knowledge around which teachers develop ambitious, exciting and stimulating lessons to promote the development of pupils' knowledge, understanding and skills as part of our mastery curriculum; there is time and space, and specialist expertise, to venture beyond NC expectations.
• Our Curriculum is coherently planned and sequenced to support children to make meaningful connections in their learning by comparing and contrasting different concepts over time. Knowledge and skills are taught and mastered in each year group at an age-appropriate level; progress and attainment are measured at the end of each term and tracked on Arbor and Cornerstones.
• All pupils study the full curriculum, it is not narrowed. Disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND are supported to access the curriculum with independence at a similar level to their peers; the school is mindful not to reduce their access to the broader curriculum by whenever possible, carefully managing any interventions. We work relentlessly to ensure that Quality First Teaching, adaptations and scaffolding are prioritised.
• A common thread that runs through the school, across all subjects and age-ranges, is explicit teaching around subject specific and ambitious vocabulary; the school recognise the early language deficit for some children and work to address this through language-rich environments.
• Cultural capital is an integral part of our curriculum design. Learning opportunities beyond the classroom are maximised through visits, visitors and experiences. We value the importance of the partnership that exists between home and school, celebrating and utilising the knowledge, skills and experience of our wider school community.
• Timetables and the language of learning used within the classroom explicitly link to the future aspirations for learning and employment; this sees teachers and children mastering the craft of a subject, from being writers in English to discerning historians in their study of history.
• We are an outward looking school, continually seeking ways to advance and maximise all children’s progress and attainment. The school is committed to collaborative practice and has established and deepened links with schools locally and further afield, including both primary and secondary. Staff capitalise on using research and new initiatives to strengthen their practice and for professional development opportunities, this has included working with schools further afield to support new initiatives, e.g. EYFS project, EEF EFA, The National Nurturing School’s Programme, District Subject leader networking, and PSQM project.
• Our strong Christian values of Peace, Hope, Compassion, Perseverance, Joy and Forgiveness, are embedded and shape school life at Southborough; our Christian ethos helps pupils to feel happy, safe and motivated.

Each year the school holds transition meetings for parents as their child moves to a new year group. These meetings provide an excellent opportunity to find out more about the curriculum. Please find details of the school curriculum below and how it will be covered in the next year. Please click on the links below for more information for each subject.

If you would like to find out more about the curriculum at Southborough CE Primary School, please contact the Main Office on 01892 529682 or by emailing office@southborough.kent.sch.uk.