Our Curriculum Intent:
Our Thinking and Learning Policy creatively reflects our commitment to developing pupils’ skills across the curriculum and at all levels.
Its ‘foundations’ take into account the basic needs that we have to have in place including having high expectations of ourselves and others, wellbeing and even ensuring staff development supports pupils’ development.
The first storey of the house reflects the gathering process – seeking out what the pupils’ already know and can do. Or, as is the case with many, giving them initial experiences to build upon.
The processing storey is all the doing. Most of the time in lessons pupils will be practising new skills and enhancing their existing knowledge and understanding, individually, in pairs and in groups of different sizes.
Applying the skills, knowledge and understanding that pupils have acquired often has a creative outcome. We use our Higher Order Thinking Skills along with all we have learnt including social enterprise, ICT and computing to do some good; ‘to make the world a better place’.
Classes have put on performances, raised money for charity, sponsored reading material for children in other parts of the world.
As a staff we have reflected on the needs of our pupils further. We spent time discussing and ranking the most important values our pupils needed to become successful, well-rounded people.
When the staff we developing their ideas for our new curriculum we pondered upon the bigger concepts that needed to be embedded within it:
Big Concepts:
Transcend space & Time!
- Individual growth and aspiration
- Individual cultural identity, global citizenshipand equality of all
- Media skills and communication
- Participatory citizenship and entrepreneurship
- Resopnsibilty of the environment, well-being and a sustainable future
PACER was born! Five concepts that will transcend space and time; concepts that if pupils grasp and develop they are much more likely to grow into well-rounded successful adults.