Holywell Village First School

' At Holywell Village First School we have high aspirations for our children to become well-rounded, respectful and responsible future citizens. They are happy, independent and have positive self-esteem. They have a thirst for learning and emotionally regulated so they are ‘Ready to Learn’. They are curious about the world around them and are confident to ‘have a go’. They are reflective learners who persevere and demonstrate good communication and social skills. They are thoughtful, caring and kind. '

At Holywell Village First School staff and pupils continually review the curriculum to make sure it delivers the school vision.

We make sure that every child has the best start in life. Our curriculum intent is based on our vision, through which we deliver a broad, balanced and rich curriculum to prepare every child for the next stage and their future life. Furthermore, we ensure the curriculum is appropriate for the pupils of our school as well as the local and wider community.

We strive to instill the core elements of the vision in our pupils so that by the end of year 4, pupils leave our school ready for the challenges and opportunities offered in the next phase of their education.

Standards are high in the all subjects whilst also delivering excellence and a broad and balanced knowledge-based foundation curriculum. As a body of staff we see ourselves as learners; strategic planning and a continual willingness to continue our own professional development underpins our sense of responsibility to develop pupils’ thinking and acquisition of knowledge.

We have carefully analysed the purpose (intent), design (implementation) and impact of our curriculum and asked the following question:

How Do We Make Learning an Adventure at Holywell? Excellence in teaching and enjoyment of learning is at the heart of our vision. Pupils’ individual and collective needs also drive curriculum design. We actively seek the views of pupils to ensure the curriculum is real and relevant to them. We believe that our pupils should be active and curious learners and the curriculum should develop their thirst for learning. We believe that pupils’ acquisition of knowledge is enhanced through carefully planned and constructed learning experiences. We believe that there is no ‘right way’ to teach and learn. We construct our curriculum, plans and lessons so that pupils can learn in different ways: out of doors, through play, in small groups, from one another, from their teacher and from adults other than teachers. Lesson design is ‘low threshold, high ceiling’ so that all pupils can access the learning and there are opportunities for greater depth/mastery knowledge acquisition.

At Holywell Village First School we have designed our curriculum to meet the needs of our children:

It meets the statutory requirements
It is unique to our school and takes into account the pupils’ current and prior knowledge and experiences to ensure they are ‘Ready to Learn’
Pupils’ well-being underpins the curriculum so that pupils are ‘Ready to Learn’
The school vision drives the curriculum
The curriculum is constructed to ensure reading is prioritised to allow pupils to access the full curriculum offer and to become fluent and confident readers
Our curriculum planning for mathematics carefully sequences knowledge, concepts and procedures to build mathematical knowledge and skills systematically. Our curriculum identifies opportunities for mathematical reasoning and solving problems which allow pupils to make useful connections
English and maths are vital if pupils are to acquire the basic skills for life; however, all other statutory and non-statutory subjects have equal importance in our curriculum. It is genuinely broad and balanced – we offer a wide range of experiences, opportunities to do things in different ways
Social Moral Spiritual and Cultural education as well as instilling the importance of British values strengthens our curriculum
Our curriculum promotes deep knowledge acquisition not only for the highest ability pupils. All pupils have the opportunity and are encouraged to challenge themselves and to apply their new knowledge
It engages and inspires the children.

We have high expectations of all our pupils and ensure that the work is planned and managed so that every pupil is supported and challenged. A high priority is placed on all lessons demonstrating clear shared learning intentions, ensuring the pupils understanding how to be successful. Effective questioning, vocabulary development, active learning, peer and self-assessment, along with high quality feedback and target setting are core principles in our school.