At Chigwell Primary Academy, our curriculum is designed to inspire enthusiasm for learning, to ensure achievement for every child and to support pupil well-being and happiness. We aim to teach our children how to grow into independent learners, who can work and co-operate together, developing the knowledge and skills they will need to become confident, resilient, responsible and respectful members of their community.
Our curriculum is carefully designed to meet the statutory requirements of the National Curriculum whilst giving our pupils the vital background knowledge and ‘cultural capital’ required so that they can be informed and thoughtful members of our community. Chigwell Primary Academy provides a broad range of opportunities and experiences for our pupils through the curriculum, which will enrich their lives, help them to gain an insight into the world outside of their immediate locality and to build aspirations and know what is possible.
Research has shown that a good curriculum needs to empower children with knowledge, but also ensure that the knowledge is embedded in the long-term memory. It should allow pupils to think deeply and to make knowledge transferable to a variety of contexts.
When designing our curriculum we have thought carefully about what we teach when and how we can ensure that learning is layered in practice and stored in long-term memory. We want our pupils to build on previous knowledge as they move through the school, to create their own opinions based on this knowledge and to gain a thirst for new knowledge.
Curriculum Intent
Our curriculum is the whole learning experience offered by the school and it includes all aspects of a child’s development. We encourage the highest possible standards and our whole school approach to the delivery of our curriculum ensures that we are able to evaluate, question, discuss and challenge ourselves to provide the very best for our pupils. From academic learning through subject specific lessons to the promotion of positive attitudes and pupil well-being we strive to ensure that through our curriculum our school is an exciting place to learn, rich in experiences and one that prepares children for their future lives. Through teaching a coherently planned and sequenced curriculum, we aim to provide pupils with opportunities to embed knowledge and skills, which will enable them to make connections between topics and build a conceptual understanding.
The aims of our school curriculum at Chigwell Primary Academy are to enable children to:
Curriculum and our Core Values
The context of our school and the background of our students has helped us to shape the breadth of our curriculum. We aim to give our students appropriate and ambitious curriculum opportunities and experiences across a range of subject areas.
Our core values:
Respect: Helping pupils to be respectful members of our school and their local and wider community.
Responsibility: Helping pupils to develop an understanding of responsibilities and develop a love of learning, allowing pupils to know the possibilities available to them in their future lives
Resilience: Helping pupils to be active and independent learners, who strive to be the best they can be!
Knowledge in the curriculum
Subject Leaders, guided by the National Curriculum chose the key knowledge that they wish pupils to learn, alongside knowledge that may take them beyond their own experiences. The ‘subject’ areas and knowledge taught reflect our own geographical location, the diverse and global issues within the world in which we live and the British values so important in our society.
Curriculum Breadth
Our pupils build knowledge of the key learning in a particular subject. The curriculum is sequenced to allow them to develop a deeper understanding of concepts over time, allowing for opportunities to practice and revisit previous learning. Subject topics outline the specific areas of subjects to be studied across the year groups. Pupils can return to the same concepts again through a ‘forwards and backwards’ approach. Our curriculum also reflects the importance of allowing time for pupils to embed core basic skills, these include ensuring there is adequate time in the curriculum for the teaching of phonics and handwriting within EYFS and KS1 and the learning of core skills in maths such as times tables.