Curriculum Statement Intent
Our motto ‘A Place to Flourish and Grow’ is at the heart of our curriculum. At The Orchards School, our curriculum encompasses the formal requirements of the national curriculum and ensures our children are exposed to rich and varied opportunities.
We have high aspirations for all our learners. Our curriculum is designed to meet the individual needs of our children, create a sense of adventure, develop transferable skills, acquire knowledge and foster excellence in learning. Our shared belief that learning creates opportunities drives us to create a curriculum which engages and encourages learning as a way of life.
Our core aims ensure our curriculum is tailored to meet our specific school community.
Our aims:
- A curriculum that is effectively planned with a clear understanding of individual need.
- Provide exposure to experiences which allow children to give meaning to their learning and have dreams for their future.
- To provide a stable, consistent environment in which children can develop respect, self- esteem and an ability to value themselves and others whilst developing their own moral values, giving them the skills to make a positive contribution to the world.
- To ensure children achieve their full potential and are ready for their next step in their learning journey.
In pursuit of these aims we will endeavour:
- To encourage parents to be active partners in their children’s education
- To develop lively, enquiring minds with the language skills to question, reason and argue rationally and appropriately.
- To instil a desire to learn by matching learning carefully to the needs of our pupils
- To foster self-reliance and motivation but to know how, when and who to ask for help
- To provide a safe and stimulating working environment, knowing how to keep themselves safe
- To ensure Restorative Practice contributes effectively to building a self-regulating, self- motivated individual
- To encourage children to act creatively and with imagination
- To develop an understanding of the past which will help them to live successfully in the present, and to plan intelligently for the future
- To develop the ability to work collaboratively
- To ensure each and every one of our pupils understands and embraces modern British values.
Pupils are provided with a curriculum which focuses on and addresses barriers which need to be overcome in order to allow children to make connections within their learning and build on their understanding.
Sequences of learning are designed to give the children the opportunity to use what they know to build and develop new skills. Our curriculum is constructed with high expectations.; teachers have an accurate and robust understanding of the needs of their individual cohorts including gaps in experience, data trends and specific language to develop.
Learning extends beyond the school day with a wide range of clubs and opportunities being offered each term; visits and visitors play a part in each theme giving children the opportunities to explore different environments and meet inspiring and knowledgeable people. We encourage families to be part of learning, offering them opportunities to participate in family projects and workshops. We strive to ensure pupils are proud and positive members of their local community and understand they are part of a wider global community.
Using the idea of footsteps, children will learn about their place in the world; the physical imprints we’re leaving on the environment; the impact of choices that were made in the past and how we can impact the world for the future (within our own communities and beyond).
Our curriculum is forever evolving, making refinements and incorporating the needs and curiosity of our children.
Current Rationale:
Through our curriculum we aim to promote our pupils’ welfare, safety, health and well-being by creating an honest, open, caring and supportive environment. Our pupils’ welfare is of paramount importance – it is a primary aim of our school that every member of the school community feels safe, valued and respected, and that each person is treated fairly and well. We aim to develop a sense of belonging in children – understanding where they are in the world and how people, time and events have led them to be here. This can then be compared to other children in different places and across different time periods. Purposeful, memorable learning opportunities (including trips, visitors and artefacts) will promote aspirations, enable a positive self-image and develop a sense of well-being. Curriculum design will develop effective communication and language skills so that the children can interact with each other and the world around them. By using transferable skills between subjects, an ethos of a lifelong love of learning will be established.
Any Questions?
If you would like to find out more about the curriculum in our amazing school contact the school office.
Office Staff
Mrs L Hart