The curriculum is the substance of what we teach. The curriculum shapes and determines what pupils will get out of their educational experience at Greenfields.
Our school’s curriculum is designed to help all children to succeed in their academic and personal development through promoting learning and personal growth. It includes not only the formal requirements of the National Curriculum, but also the various extra-curricular activities that the school organises in order to enrich the children’s experience. It also includes the ‘hidden curriculum’ – what the children learn from the way they are treated and expected to behave. We want children to grow into positive, responsible people, who can work and cooperate with others while at the same time developing their knowledge and skills, in order to achieve their true potential.
Our curriculum is based on the fundamental principle that every child will achieve the highest possible outcomes they can in their academic and personal development. It has been carefully designed, planned and organised to ensure that what lies at the heart of our curriculum ~ fostering enquiring minds, curiosity and a love of learning, is visible and not just words on a curriculum statement.
CURRICULUM PRINCIPLES: At Greenfields, our curriculum has been carefully designed, planned and organised to ensure breadth, balance and depth for every learner in our school. The main aim of our curriculum design is to move children towards a deep level of understanding in every subject area so that they will be able to use and apply skills and knowledge in different areas. We plan our curriculum in year groups and have agreed a long-term plan for each year. This indicates what themes are to be taught in each term, and to which groups of children.
Curriculum Breadth: We believe that by focusing on the following key priorities our children will be ready to successfully meet the challenges of the next stage of their education and their lives.
We have designed and planned our curriculum to offer a range of experiences which contribute to every child receiving a full and rich curriculum. The range of experiences we offer support our school culture and ensure that our children benefit from a full range of academic, spiritual, moral, social and cultural activities. These activities enrich their lives and those of our whole school community, making them proud of our British values and the diverse society to which we belong. We are proud that our curriculum gives our children the skills, confidence and self-belief to lead a happy and fulfilled life by encouraging them to aim high and work towards their goals in life.
Curriculum Balance: At Greenfields, we believe that every child should feel valued and experience the feeling of success in a wide range of curriculum areas. We believe that through the curriculum we can impact on how children feel about themselves, so that they become resilient, feel confident and are ready to tackle any challenge they may face.
We have designed, organised and planned our curriculum to ensure every child receives an appropriate mix of academic and personal development which means that in practice our curriculum places equal importance on core and foundation subjects. This balanced approach to the curriculum is not at the expense of high standards in core subject areas. We carefully monitor children’s progress with their personal development and our well planned and thoughtful approach to SMSC helps to ensure that every child is well cared for and supported.
Curriculum Depth: At Greenfields, our definition of progress is: the widening and deepening of essential knowledge, skills, understanding and learning behaviours. We design, organise and plan our curriculum to ensure that children are not merely covering content but achieving a depth to their learning which enables them to use their skills and understanding in all areas of the curriculum.
Pupils learn new knowledge when new concepts are connected in their minds with what they have already learned. Every time a pupil encounters a word they have previously learned, but applied in a new context, it adds to the complexity of their understanding of that concept; they develop a deeper understanding of that concept and enhance their capacity to use that concept in their own thinking.
Within the context of the national curriculum, we build in many opportunities for repetition and practise opportunities for essential knowledge, skills and understanding in every subject. This ensures that children are able to revisit previous learning, which allows them to gradually develop a deeper understanding of the skills and processes within subjects, at their own pace and in the best possible way for each individual child. Our curriculum is designed to move the nature of children’s thinking to a higher order deep level of understanding rather than just acquiring new facts and knowledge.
Our curriculum provides memorable and rich experiences which enable high-quality learning whilst addressing children’s personal development and well-being. The curriculum has overall breadth and balance and is amended and customised to meet the changing needs of individuals and groups. We provide a wide range of enrichment activities, which are matched to pupils’ needs and interests using detailed evidence from self evaluation.
Attitude to Learning
Children at Greenfields understand that learning is not defined by the content of their knowledge but combining how they learn with the skill of being able to use what they know; a sense of responsibility and a confidence in their own ability to succeed; essential qualities that will equip them for lifelong learning.
Greenfields ‘Ready for the World’ awards
| be amazed | …be brave | …be original | …be bold |
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Throughout the school children follow programmes of study directly related to the National Curriculum. Children in Pre-School, Nursery and Reception follow the Early Years Foundation Stage curriculum, children in Year 1 and Year 2 work on Key Stage 1 programmes of study, and children in Year 3, Year 4, Year 5 and Year 6 work on Key Stage 2 programmes of study. Children throughout school are taught French as our chosen modern foreign language.
All pupils are also given the opportunity to take part in regular outdoor learning in our very own extensive forest area.
If you would like to know more about the curriculum that we have designed, please contact the Headteacher – details are on our ‘Contact Us’ page.