Curriculum
Curriculum Intent
Governors and staff at Godolphin Primary School believe the personal development of pupils, spiritually, morally, socially and culturally plays a significant part in their ability to learn and achieve. We therefore aim to provide an education that provides children with opportunities to explore and develop their own values and beliefs, high standards of personal behaviour, a positive caring attitude towards other people, an understanding of their social and cultural traditions and an appreciation of the diversity and richness of other cultures.
At Godolphin we offer a broad and balanced curriculum, alongside giving pupils a range of rich and purposeful learning experiences. Our curriculum has been developed to ensure that pupils are not only able to reach their best academically, but also to develop their love for learning and for pupils to discover their unique potential. We aim for all of our pupils to have a positive image of themselves, to be responsible learners, strive to be the best they can be and never to be afraid of making mistakes.
The curriculum is designed to: recognise children’s prior learning, provide firsthand learning experiences and allow the children to develop interpersonal skills, build resilience and become
creative, critical thinkers.
Godolphin’s focus on curriculum development is carefully designed to ensure coverage and progression. The ability to learn is underpinned by the teaching of skills, knowledge, concepts and values with a vision to prepare them for life beyond primary school. It provides pupils with memorable experiences, in addition to diverse and rich opportunities from which children can learn and develop a range of transferable skills. Our aim is to provide our children with an engaging, exciting and empowering curriculum that equips them for today and tomorrow. Linking our subjects to previous learning means that skills and knowledge will be embedded in our children’s long-term memory.
We provide enrichment opportunities to engage learning. We believe that childhood should be a happy, investigative and enquiring time in our lives, where there are no limits to curiosity and there is a thirst for new experiences and knowledge. The curriculum is also designed to teach pupils about the importance of a healthy body and healthy mind; it allows pupils to experience an active and healthy lifestyle with the aim of developing lifelong habits.
Virtues in Education underpins our approach to behaviour and attitudes. The Virtues Project nurtures our children in the skills and qualities they need to be successful in school and in life. The virtues are interlinked with the teaching of British values and the Co-operative values of the Trust.
Curriculum Topic Plan 2023&2024
Curriculum-overview-for-years-1-6
Curriculum Implementation
Implementation is how the curriculum is delivered; it is the journey of learning from Early Years through to Year 6.
We follow the National Curriculum (NC) so that children are provided with an opportunity to experience a broad and balanced curriculum.
Due to our mixed aged classes and varying numbers in each year groups our class structure is evaluated yearly, therefore our long term curriculum planning is reviewed yearly. We take into
account the needs and characteristics of the cohort, the children’s experiences and prior learning as well as current local and global contexts.
Whilst the core subjects are taught on a regular basis the foundation subjects may sometimes be taught as blocks of work over a matter of weeks.
This programme is regularly reviewed to ensure compatibility with new directives or to make necessary improvements to the existing programme of work.
English
It is the primary aim of our curriculum, that our children develop the skills necessary to communicate their thoughts, ideas and feelings successfully in a wide range of different forms. We
use language to build our view and opinion of the world and our community. We believe that developing a love of our language in our children is vital in achieving success at school and later in life.
The exploration and enjoyment of the English language is our priority and we value all its aspects – speaking, listening, reading and writing. English is taught daily across the whole school with work appropriately differentiated to match all abilities.
Speaking and Listening
We want our children to speak with confidence, articulation and fluency in a range of contexts. We believe that giving our pupils a voice is vital and will work to broaden and enrich their vocabulary, encouraging talk in all areas of learning.
Talking is fundamental to learning. Pupils are encouraged to speak clearly, confidently and with expression in order to state their ideas and opinions.
Just as important is the need to listen carefully to others and respond in appropriate ways. At Godolphin Primary, pupils are given opportunities in all areas of the curriculum to develop their speaking and listening skills, in paired, group or whole class situations.
Reading
Reading is at the heart of our school. We believe that instilling a lifelong love of reading is crucial for our children’s academic achievement, mental health and their future economic success. Children who read for pleasure gain a richer vocabulary, more knowledge, critical thinking skills and become independent learners. At Godolphin this is approached through meaningful reading experiences inspired by inspirational texts. We encourage and plan for a range of reading experiences so that pupils can apply their reading skills across the curriculum. At Godolphin we:
● Ensure progression of reading and comprehension skills across the school.
● Teach reading through Phonics sessions, Guided Reading, whole class shared reading, and through opportunities for children to read with an adult on a 1:1 basis.
● Develop a culture of reading that involves strong links with parents who actively engage in regular reading at home with their children.
● Provide meaningful reading experiences using the contexts inspired by quality core texts and topic themes.
● Use whole class story time, or class novel, as an essential part of our whole school approach, to enrich the scope of texts that children access, secure high expectations, inspire learners, and model lively, joyous reading aloud.
● We provide children with rich reading experiences within English lessons and encourage them to appreciate the author’s use of language and writing techniques in order to develop
their own writing skills.
Our children take their reading books home daily to share with their families/carers. As they go through the school, they are given more responsibility for making their own reading choices from the resources we have in school.
At Godolphin, we follow the Read Write Inc programme of study to introduce the skill of learning to read. We ensure that the teaching of phonics is lively, interactive and investigative. We use a multisensory approach so that children learn from simultaneous visual, audio and kinaesthetic activities, designed to secure essential phonic knowledge and skills. Staff work hard to promote phonics at every opportunity so that pupils recognise that it is not a standalone subject, but an integral part of all their reading and writing development.
Spelling
We place great value on the importance of accurate spelling. From Year 2 a structured programme of spelling is used across the school. Year 1 pupils learn the high frequency words and words linked to phonics. Due consideration is given to children with specific educational needs.
Writing
At Godolphin Primary we aim for children to be independent writers. We use real experiences to inspire and develop pupil’s writing skills as often as we can. We encourage them to write clearly and with confidence in any given genre. We teach them to use punctuation and grammar accurately, to be able to proofread their own work and make amendments and improvements. We place value on the development of correct letter formation and neatly presented handwriting.
We give children a wide range of opportunities in which to develop their writing skills.
Through our English curriculum, we aim to nurture in the children a love of literature and language, and the confidence to continue reading and writing throughout their lives.
Mathematics
Our mathematics curriculum equips pupils with tools that include fluency, reasoning, problem solving skills and the ability to think in abstract ways.
We use the Mathematics Mastery approach to teach Maths across the year groups and apply understanding throughout the curriculum. The following information is taken from the Mathematics Mastery website to explain the approach in more detail.
The ‘mastery approach’ to teaching maths is the underlying principle of Mathematics Mastery. Instead of learning mathematical procedures by rote, we want pupils to build a deep conceptual understanding which will enable them to apply their learning in different situations.
The Mathematics Mastery curriculum is cumulative – each school year begins with a focus on the concepts and skills that have the most connections, which are then applied and connected
throughout the school year to consolidate learning. This gives pupils the opportunity to ‘master maths’; by using previous learning throughout the school year, they are able to develop
mathematical fluency and conceptual understanding.
During the Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum, maths forms part of many interactive learning experiences. Pupils develop their knowledge and understanding of mathematics through play, exploration and discussion. Children work with shapes and begin to learn their properties, use language to give positional clues and compare quantities, identify and recreate patterns. They learn to count, read, write and order numbers to 20 using songs and rhymes, which is extended to 100 and beyond during The National Curriculum in Key Stage 1. Additionally, they learn about shape and space, through practical activity which builds on their understanding of their immediate environment. They develop their use of mathematical language, using it to talk about their methods and explain their reasoning when solving problems.
They move from counting reliably to calculating fluently with all four number operations.
Children will use a wider range of mathematical language as they progress.
They learn to tackle a problem with mental methods before using any other approach, always supported with help and encouragement.
Science
We aim to develop the skills and attitudes of the pupils for them to become scientists such as curiosity, analytical thinking, enquiry, creativity and perseverance so they can make sense of the world around us. Key to this is the children’s ability to communicate their understanding through a range of methods.
A scientist leaving Godolphin will leave with an enquiring mind and a strong understanding of the world around them whilst acquiring specific skills and knowledge to help them think scientifically, to gain an understanding of scientific processes and also an understanding of the uses and implications of Science, today and for the future. Throughout the children’s time at our school, we ensure that the Working Scientifically skills are built on and developed so that they can apply their knowledge of science when using equipment, conducting experiments, building arguments and explaining concepts confidently and continue to ask questions and be curious about their surroundings. The children will have a deeper understanding of plants, animals, including humans, uses of everyday materials and their properties, seasonal changes, living things and their habitats, rocks, light, forces and magnets, states of matter, sound, electricity, Earth and space, evolution and inheritance. Scientific language will also be taught and built upon as topics are revisited in different year groups and across Key Stages.
Computing
We aim to equip our children to become confident at using computational thinking and creativity in order to develop a culture where the use of ICT becomes second nature to our pupils, thus ensuring they are ready and able to embrace the technological advances of the future.
Every child at school has use of a shared bank of laptops and Chromebooks. The children learn how to navigate the Internet safely and communicate through the internet. They use a range of equipment and have access to a wide variety of software. We are using Google classroom as a learning platform.
The children are taught using interactive whiteboards and numerous other technologies. Our children are taught how to access information, evaluate its suitability, store it, share it with others and tailor it to meet their own needs.
Religious Education
The school follows the locally agreed RE syllabus.
At Godolphin Primary School, children are taught to understand and respect the importance of religious beliefs in the world around them. We encourage children to use and develop their skills in RE and to participate in critical thinking. We aim to ensure that the RE curriculum is challenging, dynamic and relevant to pupils of all ages. In the Foundation Stage, Reception are taught through the major Christian festivals and local Cornish celebrations involving their own experiences. During Key Stage 1, the study of Christianity is introduced and aspects of Hinduism are taught.
Pupils also study the Holy books and stories from the major world religions. The main Christian festivals are celebrated.
There is also consideration for non-religious beliefs. In Key Stage 2, the study of Christianity is developed and religious beliefs within Buddhism, Judaism and Sikhism are explored.
Collective worship takes place daily. We also welcome visits from the local church groups and invite them to lead our worship.
A parent has the right to withdraw a pupil from attendance at collective worship and / or religious education.
History
At Godolphin Primary we view History as a great deal more than learning facts. We see it as an opportunity to develop skills of enquiry and questioning; to become open minded “historical
detectives” and explore the past in an exciting way. We aim to provide firsthand experiences with role play, class visits, workshops and visiting experts playing an important part in all our topics.
The past comes to life when children use a variety of sources of information to find clues and evidence and take part in discussions with their peers. Through History, children learn to make
comparisons and links between the past and modern times and discover how and why things have changed. They learn about people and events in the past, in Britain and the wider world, and realise that these have influenced our lives today. Children are taught how to investigate and record their findings in interesting and creative ways including writing, art, drama and computing.
Geography
Geography develops children’s knowledge and understanding of people and places. At Godolphin, we learn about the wider world as well as local areas, looking at the physical, social and economic issues surrounding each case study. Use of maps, atlases, photos and the internet ensure a well balanced and interactive method of learning for all pupils. There are many cross-curricular links with subjects such as literacy, numeracy and history. In the Foundation Stage, children learn about similarities and differences in relation to places, objects and materials. They are able to discuss their own immediate environment and understand how environments may vary from one to another. During Key Stage 1 and 2, pupils explore physical and human differences in the world around them. Children learn about the skills needed to ask geographical questions about a locality in the UK compared to a locality in a less economically developed country. Children are taught how settlements differ and change and they understand environmental issues linked to these. Children also learn about water and its effect on landscapes such as rivers and coasts. They are taught differences in weather and the effect of climate change.
The pupils learn how to read maps and to use an atlas. They learn about life in a developing country and compare the area around Godolphin with urban areas. They study the water cycle and how rivers are important to our landscape.
Art
Art and Design contributes to the development of the whole child emotionally, aesthetically, physically, socially and cognitively. It provides all children with the opportunity to express
themselves imaginatively and creatively, as well as developing their understanding of, and responses to the world around them. Pupils are exposed to many visual, tactile and sensory experiences.
Godolphin Primary School enables pupils to become involved in, enjoy and appreciate the visual arts and how it can enrich their personal lives. They learn the part that art and design plays in their own and others’ lives, in contemporary life and in different times and cultures.
Design Technology
Design and Technology provides our children with an opportunity to tackle problems of a practical nature. The cross curricular nature of Design and Technology offers a setting for the children to apply knowledge and skills from a number of other subjects including art, language, maths and science. Skills are developed using tools and machines in designing and making artefacts and food products with an emphasis on healthy living. Working with a variety of materials aims to help children learn important life skills. Children learn independently and in groups, learning to cooperate, plan, design, make and evaluate their work. They learn to make their own decisions with help and encouragement.
Music
Music is taught throughout the school as a class subject and in a cross-curricular way. The aim is to develop each child’s musical potential giving opportunities for self-expression and creativity. We use the Charanga Music Scheme to support teaching and learning alongside Sing Up and the online version of Music Express. Charanga is based on an integrated, practical, exploratory and child-led approach to musical learning. The interrelated dimensions of music weave through the units to encourage the development of musical skills as the learning progresses through listening and appraising, differing musical activities (including creating and exploring) and performing.
Instrumental tuition is available to children who wish to take advantage of it. The children are taught individually or in small groups.
Each year we take advantage of the Cornwall Music Service Trust ‘First Access’scheme to enable a class to receive free whole class tuition on a musical instrument. This may be using instruments already owned by the school (eg.recorder) or hired from the Trust (eg.guitar).
Modern Foreign Languages
Learning a language enriches the curriculum helping to create enthusiastic learners and to develop positive attitudes to language learning throughout life. The skills, knowledge and understanding gained contribute to the development of children’s oracy and literacy and to their understanding of their own culture and those of others.
At Godolphin Primary School, we feel that the earlier a child is exposed to a foreign language, the faster the language in question is acquired. We aim to prepare children for the KS3 language curriculum to enable them to transfer confidently and successfully.
We teach French in Lower KS2 and Spanish in upper KS2.
Teachers use a variety of the following techniques to encourage children to have an active engagement with languages:
• Games – in order to develop vocabulary through repetition, reading, writing, speaking and listening skills.
• Role-play – these should relate to the situations the children may find themselves in the future.
• Action songs and rhymes – to develop phonetic skills, memory skills and to further vocabulary.
• Reading and writing quality materials.
• ICT programs and websites; the use of ICT to develop communication skills.
Physical Education
Physical Education develops children’s physical skills, confidence, capabilities, potential and resilience. It gives opportunities for children to be creative and competitive while learning to work with and respect others. At Godolphin children learn how to plan, perform and evaluate actions, often in pairs and small groups, helping them to develop the quality and effectiveness of their work.
We promote a positive attitude towards active lifestyles and aim to instil a love of sport that will encourage habits for life. In addition to being taught by their class teacher children across the school are taught by specialist coaches.
To support the school’s provision of physical education, we use the REAL PE programme of study to give every child the physical literacy, as well as emotional and thinking skills to achieve in PE, sport and everyday life. The framework provides fun and simple-to-follow schemes of work to enable practitioners to deliver high quality PE lessons with confidence. It is fully aligned to the National Curriculum and Ofsted requirements and focuses on the development of agility, balance and coordination, healthy competition and cooperative learning.
The school is an active member of the Helston School PE Cluster, enhancing our PE curriculum by regularly providing opportunities to take part in traditional and alternative sports in the local area, often with other schools.
Every year, all of our pupils have access to structured and progressive swimming lessons as a part of their curriculum PE lessons. Our lessons are taught by specialist swimming teachers who work alongside the Godolphin teachers to deliver the content of the National Curriculum, encouraging confidence in the water and competence in a range of strokes and water skills. In KS2, the pupils also learn about water safety and safe self-rescue in different water based situations.
Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education
Our PSHE programme aims to fulfil our moral obligation to support children through understanding different life experiences and circumstances, while preparing them for opportunities and responsibilities, now and in the future.
The aim for PSHE education is to provide pupils with essential personal and interpersonal skills to develop:
● accurate, balanced and relevant knowledge
● opportunities to turn that knowledge into personal understanding
● opportunities to explore, clarify and if necessary challenge, their own and others’ values, attitudes, beliefs, rights and responsibilities
● the skills, language and strategies they need in order to live healthy, safe, fulfilling, responsible and balanced lives
● opportunities to develop positive personal attributes such as resilience, self-confidence, self-esteem and empathy
The schemes of work we use are taken from a PSHE Programme specifically commissioned and designed for schools in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. This programme has been developed by Brook, Cornwall Healthy Schools and in association with HeadStart Kernow. The programme has been funded by Cornwall Council and NHS England.
PSHE is delivered under each of the three core themes
● Health
● Relationships
● Living in the Wider World
Relationship and Sex Education (RSE)
RSE is a planned programme of learning about the emotional, social, legal and physical aspects of growing up, relationships, sex, gender identity, human sexuality and sexual
health that provides children and young people with:
● the essential skills for building positive, enjoyable, respectful, equal and non-exploitative friendships and relationships, for managing risk and for staying safe.
● the opportunities to explore attitudes and values within a safe and inclusive learning environment that values every person and acknowledges different faith, cultural and personal perspectives on relationships and sex.
RSE education offers our pupils significant opportunities to develop the knowledge, skills and understanding they need to achieve, to be resilient and to lead lives that are safe, confident, happy, healthy, responsible and independent. It aims to help them to understand how they are developing personally, socially and emotionally and explore a range of attitudes and values.
All topics will be sensitively approached and careful consideration and differentiation is used to ensure that delivery is at the right level for pupils, regardless of their year group when participating in each cycle. In order that children receive information at an appropriate age, although the PSHE/RSE programme is a rolling programme due to mixed age classes, some aspects will be taught each year, only to year 6.
The schemes of work we use are taken from a PSHE/RSE Programme specifically commissioned and designed for schools in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. This programme has been developed by Brook, Cornwall Healthy Schools and in association with HeadStart Kernow. The programme has been funded by Cornwall Council and NHS England.
Parents have the right to remove their child from sex education lessons.
Early Years
In the Early Years Foundation Stage children learn best when they experience learning firsthand, through meaningful interactions with others, through physical activity and through play.
We pay attention to coverage of each strand of learning, linking in learning where it is most appropriate within our themes. Through careful planning, we ensure that by the end of the year,
each strand has the coverage needed to ensure children progress towards the ELG and often beyond.
Prime areas of Learning
● Personal, social and emotional development
● Communication and language development
● Physical development
Specific areas of learning
● Literacy
● Mathematics
● Understanding the world
● Expressive arts and design
Over each day and week there will be a balance of adult-directed and child-initiated activities included in our timetable. This includes daily phonics sessions, specific adult led input sessions and ‘independent learning’ times when the children continue their learning through play.
All 7 areas of learning are treated with equal importance and are covered through both adult-led activities and Continuous Provision.
The Characteristics of Effective Learning (playing and exploring – children investigate and experience things, and ‘have a go’; active learning – children concentrate and keep on trying if they encounter difficulties, and enjoy achievements; and creating and thinking critically – children have and develop their own ideas, make links between ideas, and develop strategies for doing things) are nurtured but without forgetting that children are individuals who bring their own needs, talents and histories to the learning environment.
Children will have firsthand experiences wherever possible.
Through our ‘objective-led planning’ approach, children are constantly being assessed and this is then fed back into our planning to form the next steps for groups of children of different abilities. Objective-led planning is where the activity is based on the learning to take place (the ‘objective’) rather than being led by the topic.
Our aim for our Continuous Provision is that we provide the children with a range of resources to enable them to continue their learning. Effective continuous provision should provide children with the opportunity to demonstrate all three characteristics of effective teaching and learning. Our Continuous provision also enables children to return to their explorations and consolidate their learning over the course of a day or a more extended period. When children do this, they can explore what happens to things as they change over time, and make changes to explore new ideas.
Continuous provision also allows children to make choices and initiate play without interaction with an adult. Enhancements are made to our resources as and when appropriate.
Extra-Curricular Clubs
Clubs are very popular, and there are a variety of clubs available for KS1 and KS2 which take place during playtimes and afterschool throughout the year. These include rugby, football, dance, netball, cricket, multi-sports, choir, study clubs, and craft.
Curriculum Impact
Subject leaders play an important part in the success of the curriculum by leading a regular programme of monitoring, evaluation and review. The curriculum design ensures that the needs of individual and small groups of children can be met within the environment of high quality teaching, supported by targeted, proven interventions where appropriate. In this way it can be seen to impact in a very positive way on pupil outcomes. Enjoyment of the curriculum promotes achievement, confidence and good behaviour. Children feel safe to try new things. High quality visits and visitors into Godolphin are also well designed to enhance the curriculum.
All teachers are expected to have high expectations for all students and the school will continue to set ambitious targets for learners.
The school monitors student progress throughout the year and we are clear that for this to be successful assessments need to meet the needs of all students, and importantly they must be
reliable. In 2022 to 2023 we will focus our quality assurance on the quality of formative and summative assessment across the school, considering what it looks like, when it is completed, how it is marked and how it is moderated. Assessment data will be utilised in a meaningful way, for example to address misconceptions in learning and to target intervention