Our Curriculum Drivers

Personal development is at the heart of the curriculum we provide and the school vision is encapsulated through the three curriculum drivers: experiencing, equipping and empowering our pupils. As a result, the curriculum extends beyond the academic and is structured to engage our children in memorable experiences, equip them with the skills and knowledge they need in order to empower them to be able to make a difference to their own lives and the lives of others and to develop pupils’ understanding of the world and the part they play as active, responsible citizens within it. Streamlining and refining approaches for personal development from 2022-23 in line with our agreed 3 core values will enable all members of our community to share a common ethos.

DISCOVER	DEVELOP	FLOURISH
EXPERIENCING	EQUIPPING	EMPOWERING
Who and Where We Are... Who we are Where we live What are our roots?	How we… Find out Develop our skills Communicate	Active Responsible Citizens How are our Christian Values lived out? How can we make a difference to their own lives and the lives of others?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Experiencing

Children cannot develop or aspire to things that they have never encountered.  If we are to realise our school vision which is rooted within Jesus’ promise of “life in all its fullness” (John 10.10), our children need to be provided with new experiences. We will broaden our children’s horizons by developing their understanding of who they are and where they live as well as developing an understanding of the roots and formative experiences of themselves and others. Children need to know more about the world, and the people and cultures within it than what is on their doorstep.  They need to experience the richness of the world's diversity, have the opportunity to challenge stereotypes and develop a commitment to promoting equal opportunities for all. Our children will understand that difference is a positive, not a negative, and that it is our individual characteristics that make people unique. We will nurture their individual interests and their understanding of others as well as developing their resilience of what is new or unknown, providing them with a vast array of experiences which builds on and develops their existing knowledge. In the OFSTED handbook the term ‘cultural capital’ (‘introducing them to the best that has been thought and said and helping to engender an appreciation of human creativity and achievement’) is used – this is what we seek to do through providing our pupils with enriching experiences as part of our curriculum.

 

Equipping

In order to enable pupils to access Jesus’ promise of “life in all its fullness” (John 10.10), we will ensure we are equipping our children with the necessary skills to find out, know more and remember more. Our curriculum is underpinned by secure skill progressions which enable pupils to encounter, develop, revisit and apply skills within the subjects studied, progressively building on these over time. We recognise that communication, both written and verbal, is a key life skill for our pupils as well as building emotional literacy and appropriate communication skills to forge positive relationships.

 

Empowering

We aspire for our curriculum to be empowering and for Jesus’ promise of “life in all its fullness” (John 10.10) to be accessible to all. Through our innovative ‘active, responsible citizens’ (ARC) projects, which develop unique opportunities for parental and community involvement, we empower our pupils to consider how they can make a difference in their own lives and to the lives of others. We aim to help children understand that they are part of a global community in which they have an instrumental role to play and we believe in the power of the school community to enhance and change lives in our school, local area, nationally and globally.