Intent

Loxley’s broad and rich curriculum encourages a thirst for knowledge and understanding and isfilled with opportunities that will ignite curiosity, inspire ambition and foster a lifelong love of learning. It is carefully planned in order to cumulatively build knowledge and skills throughout the school, with a spiral curriculum giving regular opportunities to revisit and consolidate prior learning, making links between subjects and themes and reinforcing key concepts and vocabulary. This has a positive impact on pupils’ self-esteem, developing their resilience, confidence and independence and helping them to know how to keep physically and mentally healthy. Teachers use a range of assessment strategies to identify gaps and tailor the curriculum to ensure that every child is engaged, inspired and challenged.We aim for children to leave our school equipped to be responsible, respectful, tolerant, active citizens who contribute positively to society and have a clear understanding of fundamental British values. The curriculum we have constructed at Loxley School is ambitious and has been designed to empower all learners with the knowledge, skills and cultural capital they are entitled to and need in order to succeed in life.

Implementation

We implement our curriculum intent in the following ways:

• We teach discrete subjects developing both the skills and knowledge needed to succeed in each curriculum area.
• Carefully constructed learning cycles ensure that children are always encountering new learning, building on prior knowledge and experiences every year within their mixed-age classes.
• A supportive and nurturing environment encouraging pupil achievement and pupil care for each other.
• A broad and balanced curriculum covering all subjects.
• Strong, supportive and ambitious SLT and staff, including governance.
• Strong leadership for each subject area within the curriculum.
• Clear progressive skills forming the foundation of the delivery and assessment of each subject.
• The teaching of phonics and reading as a high priority throughout the school.
• Questioning and regular “low-stakes” quizzes (retrieval practice) used to promote long-term learning alongside a curriculum that supports regular revisiting and consolidation.
• Use of self-assessment to encourage a responsibility for learning.
• Use of Knowledge Organisers to support learning.
• High-quality teaching through passion, praise, subject knowledge and enthusiasm.
• A commitment to constantly improving our practice.
• High-quality and appropriate resources to support teaching and learning alongside a programme of active learning to appeal to all.
• Use of a range of high-quality texts to enrich learning and promote a love of reading.
• High-quality teaching and provision for the safe use of technology to support learning.
• Using cross-curricular links and opportunities to ensure pupils can transfer and apply the skills they develop.
• Outstanding pastoral support to nurture and develop pupils.
• High quality RE and PSHE teaching and personal development opportunities.
• A range of school clubs, school trips and visitors to enrich the curriculum.
• Suitably-adapted tasks to ensure all children can access the curriculum content.
• Maximising opportunities for outdoor learning.
• Pupil and parent voice is encouraged, respected and informs the constantly improving provision.

Curriculum Enhancements:

• Class visits – eg: Mary Arden's Farm, The Space Centre, The Rollright Stones, Warwick Castle, Stratford.
• Residential visit – Y5 & 6 children visit Manor Adventure in Shropshire, to take part in a range of outdoor adventurous activities.
• Visitors to school – eg: parents who share their skills and work experiences, religious leaders, drama groups, dance specialists, musicians, politicians.
• Workshops delivered by specialists – eg: sculpture, music, history experience days.
• Themed Weeks/Days – eg: Sports Week, Local History Week, French Day, Careers Fair, Well-Being Week, Anti-bullying Week
• Performance opportunities – eg: pantomime, Christmas performances, musical concerts, visiting Shakespeare company, choir/dance performances in the community.

Early Years

In planning and guiding what children learn in Early Years, practitioners must reflect on the different rates at which children are developing and adjust their practice appropriately, referring to the Characteristics of Effective Teaching and Learning. These are: playing and exploring – children investigate and experience things, and ‘have a go’; active learning – children concentrate and keep on trying if they encounter difficulties, and enjoy their achievements for their own sake; creating and thinking critically – children have and develop their own ideas, make links between ideas, and develop strategies for doing things. In addition, the Prime Areas of Learning (Personal, Social and Emotional Development, Communication and Language and Physical Development) underpin and are an integral part of children’s learning in all areas.

Pupil Leadership

Children are encouraged to take on additional roles of responsibility in school:

• School Council (Y1-Y6)
• Classroom Monitors (YR-Y6)
• Play Leaders (Y5/6)
• Reading Buddies (YR-Y6
• House Captains (Y6)

Impact

• Pupils are happy at school and feel safe, nurtured and cared for. They are proud of the school and demonstrate the five Guiding Lights.
• Staff are proud of our school and all that we achieve together as a team.
• Pupil outcomes at the end of Foundation Stage, the end of Key Stage 1 and within Key Stage 2 SATs are consistently at or above the national average.
• Children's books demonstrate a range of high-quality work and excellent productivity in all subject areas.
• Pupil discussions reveal that children speak enthusiastically and knowledgeably about their learning.
• Teachers monitor children's attainment in all subject areas in order to support and inform further teaching and learning.
• Behaviour and learning attitudes in school are excellent.
• Pupils and staff use our school values and curriculum intent to reflect upon their own achievements and development.
• Children leave Loxley ready for the challenges of secondary school and beyond.

How We Learn

The human brain is the most incredibly complex organ ever studied. Join us as we take a look inside the brain to see how is creating brain-compatible learning experiences for our children

Primary National Curriculum 2014

In 2014 a new Primary National Curriculum was introduced.  This new curriculum has increased the level of challenge for children across all age groups to give them the very best chance of achieving their full potential.  At Loxley C of E Community Primary School, we use this new curriculum as the basis of all our planning.  For more information about subject content and expectations for each year group, please click the link below.