Curriculum Intent Statement

Bidston Village C.E Primary School
Curriculum Intent Statement

Love Faith. Love People. Love Learning 

 ‘Join together to support and encourage one another to promote love and good works’ Hebrews 10:24

Curriculum Intent Statement

Intent

The aim of the curriculum at Bidston Village is to provide a literacy-rich curriculum that is broad and balanced and meets the needs of the children in our Church community. We aim to motivate and inspire children through a curriculum that engages and challenges all learners, regardless of their background, giving them the firm foundations to flourish in their primary education and succeed in life.

It is our priority to provide a range of focused opportunities for all children to develop their oracy and vocabulary so that they become strong, confident speakers. We also aim for them to develop as independent, successful learners who are confident in their own beliefs and are always respectful of others. 

There is a strong focus on developing children’s moral, spiritual, social and cultural understanding, alongside physical development, well-being and mental health. Every child is recognised as a unique individual with special qualities and strengths and we celebrate and welcome differences within our school community. Our values of love, forgiveness, thankfulness, respect, honesty trust, friendship and perseverance are rooted in all that we do. We encourage children to take responsibility for their own actions and appreciate their ability to make a positive difference in the world.

We provide a highly inclusive environment where all learners are valued and barriers to learning are identified and addressed. We strive to ensure that pupils at all levels, including those with special educational needs and disabilities and those for whom English is an additional language, receive timely, targeted support and enjoy learning at Bidston Village.

We strive to raise aspirations, create a sense of personal pride in achievement, provide a purpose and relevance for learning and, ultimately, to help every child to identify their strengths and interests. Our focus on curriculum development promotes teaching and learning experiences which are chosen to enhance the curriculum, providing pupils with memorable experiences combining to create diverse and rich opportunities from which children can learn and develop a range of transferable skills. We set high expectations for all pupils

We aim to develop resilient learners who are proud of themselves, recognise their achievements and are supportive of others’ success. Every child is encouraged to embrace new experiences and to develop confidence to tackle new challenges.  

Implementation

We provide a highly inclusive environment where learners enjoy their education and pupils at all levels are helped to achieve their potential. Those who are most able are challenged and encouraged to expand their skills and knowledge through varied curricular opportunities. Those who find learning more challenging are encouraged and given targeted support to embed skills, to develop their own pace and to learn in a style that best suits their individual needs.

The National Curriculum is the bedrock of our learning with a high priority given to developing the fundamentals of literacy and mathematics. Our pupils are offered a wide range of experiences to extend their understanding of themselves and the world in which they live. 

Staff have worked together to carefully map out the full curriculum. We have developed an ‘Essentials Curriculum’ with threshold concepts for each subject area, based on essential characteristics that children need to develop. Children explore the same threshold concepts in every year group and pupils gradually increase their understanding of them. These threshold concepts are explored within a breadth of different contexts. Breadth provides the contexts for exploring the threshold concepts and has two roles, knowledge and transference. Because the threshold concepts are repeated in each year group it is important that pupils progress in their understanding of them. We use milestones for progress, with each milestone containing a range of descriptors which gives more detail to be discovered within the concept. Over a two year period pupils become more familiar with these details by exploring them in a breadth of contexts. Knowledge, skills, attitudes and values are developed to prepare each child for the next stage of learning (Key Stage 1, Key Stage 2 and Secondary ready) and enable them to be successful members of the community. 

English, maths, science, RE, PE, PHSE music and French lessons are taught as discrete sessions but, wherever possible, they will link to our topics so that skills can be applied across the curriculum. We embrace ICT and technological developments to provide and enhance learning opportunities so that children are prepared for an ever- changing technological world

The curriculum and practice offered at Bidston Village provides a strong foundation for learning and creates opportunities for children to work in teams and develop social skills both indoors and outside. PE and Sport have a high profile at Bidston Village and pupils take part in a variety of activities to promote physical health and wellbeing. A range of clubs give learners opportunities to access a wide variety of activities after school hours and during lunchtimes. Outdoor learning is important to us and all children enjoy participating in Forest schools sessions throughout the year. In addition, Year 4 and Year 6 pupils have the opportunity to attend an outdoor residential every year. These residential visits are always well attended and provide memorable learning experiences.

Examples of additional experiences offered to our children include a range of visits within the locality and further afield, including visits to the seaside, areas of natural beauty, the theatre and cultural visits to  places such as museums, cathedrals and art galleries. All classes also benefit from visits to school from people such as authors, members of the emergency services, members of the local church and people who come to train them (for example, to ride their bikes safely or to carry out basic first aid). All these activities enrich the curriculum and provide enjoyment which promotes achievement, confidence and excellent behaviour in an environment where children feel safe to try out new experiences, secure in the knowledge that mistakes are an integral learning experience. 

Impact

Children leave Bidston Village with a sense of belonging to a loving Christian community, with confidence and skills to make decisions, self- evaluate, form relationships and become lifelong learners.

If you would like any further information, regarding our school curriculum then please contact the school office.