Curriculum Whole School Approach
At Linthorpe Primary, we have carefully designed our curriculum to inspire pupils with an inherent love of learning. We aim to ensure that pupils know more, remember more, and can do more within and across our broad and rich curriculum offer.
Through lessons and engagement in wider school life, we support, develop and challenge pupils fulfil their potential. Our Curriculum Promise is a guarantee of a bespoke, high quality and knowledge-rich curriculum which acknowledges our school’s unique characteristics and meets the needs of our children. Our curriculum promotes high standards and excellence in all areas and introduces pupils to the best that has been thought and said in order to engender an appreciation of human creativity and achievement. Through the curriculum we deliver, our pupils become understanding British citizens who make a positive contribution to their community and wider society.
Aspirational expectations combine with the acquisition of knowledge and vocabulary and the progressive development of disciplinary knowledge creates a purposeful and imaginative learning journey for every child. If you would like to find out more about our curriculum, please contact the school office and ask to speak to Ms Whittaker, Deputy Headteacher.
The curriculum includes all of the planned learning and activities organised to promote learning and personal development. At LCPS, we ensure that all children have a well-sequenced and coherently organised broad, balanced and relevant education, which provides continuity and progression and takes individual needs into account. We aim to teach our pupils how to grow into positive, responsible people who can work and co-operate with others while developing the knowledge, vocabulary and skills to achieve their full potential.
We provide the Programmes of Study outlined in the 2014 National Curriculum in addition to skills and learning opportunities over and above this.
Our unique National Curriculum+ offer promotes excellence in all areas. In addition to academic and creative subjects, we promote independence, questioning and curiosity, life skills and a desire to learn in a fun, caring and mutually supportive environment. We call this National Curriculum + to reflect the extent to which the LCPS curriculum goes above and beyond the statutory requirements.
Our Aims
Our Curriculum is created around three key aims:
- Breadth of study – a range of studies across the whole of the National Curriculum, giving children a wide and varied general knowledge as well as high academic performance in the core areas of maths and English.
- Depth of study – conceptual knowledge and understanding developed in key disciplines; being able to think like a scientist, a geographer or a historian.
- Cultural Capital – a sound knowledge and understanding of key people and places around the world, and celebrated works by some of our most significant artists.
These three broad aims ensure children can build a secure understanding of the world around. Fundamental British values are embedded throughout the curriculum as well as being explicitly taught through our Linthorpe Life Skills programme.
Knowledge
At Linthorpe, we believe that knowledge is the essential foundation needed for learning, and for skills to be built upon. We want children to have a powerful memory, as well as making MAGICAL memories. Each unit of study has a set of ‘Knowledge Organisers’. These organisers contain the basic knowledge children will acquire over the course of the unit.
Vocabulary
Vocabulary is infused throughout the whole of our curriculum leading to our pupils’ greater understanding of the world around them. Words lie at the heart of our quest to narrow gaps between the advantaged and disadvantaged to promote social mobility.
Phonics, spelling, sight vocabulary, academic and subject specific vocabulary is planned into our curriculum and forms part of our pedagogical approach.
Teaching and learning
Teaching and learning across a unit of work typically follows the structure:
Engage: This stage provides the children with a memorable experience on which to contextualise their future learning. The memorable experience may involve an educational visit, having visitors in school, handling objects or taking part in an activity that engages all of the senses.
Develop: During this stage, rigorous and deep teaching and learning of new concepts takes place. Once core knowledge is secure, higher order probing questions are introduced to allow children opportunities to think deeply and apply knowledge.
Express: This is an opportunity to communicate what has been learned to a wider audience within school and the community.
Assessment
Achievement at LCPS is defined as pupils knowing more, remembering more and being able to do more across our broad and rich curriculum. This leads to pupils who are ready and fit for the next stage of their education.
Assessment for learning is a continuous part of every lesson at LCPS. From the beginning of each lesson, teachers assess what pupils know and understand and use this to scaffold each segment of the lesson to ensure understanding of key concepts.
Summative assessments in the form of multiple-choice quizzes take place at the end of each unit of work to evaluate the knowledge and understanding of the core knowledge and concepts taught. In addition, pupils complete an extended piece of writing based on a deep probing style question where they use their knowledge, understanding and higher order thinking skills to apply, reason, analyse, evaluate and create.
Documents
Whole School Overview 23-24