Learners that excel, enjoy and achieve 

Our aim is to foster a desire to learn, through an exciting, rich and balanced curriculum; to make every day an opportunity for our children to acquire new knowledge, to remember more, to use what they know and apply it in different and effective ways. We do this through our overall curriculum intention – ‘Learners that excel, enjoy and achieve’

Learners

Our learners know what they are learning, the purpose of it and how to be successful through acquiring new knowledge and skills. They are offered a range of opportunities to apply what they have learnt in different contexts. Our children’s potential is limitless and all their learning needs are met. Children at MPS leave each day knowing more and remembering more.

Excel

We foster an environment in which excellence can thrive. We have high expectations of all our children in all areas of the curriculum. All successes are acknowledged and celebrated. We recognize that excellence will look different for each child depending on their individual need and starting point.

Enjoy

Every child is encased in a vibrant learning environment which promotes intrinsically motivated learners who are happy, healthy and confident. Children enjoy being part of our school community, which celebrates every individual, their interests and talents as well as each culture and belief.

Achieve

 Coming from a range of starting points, our children embrace new knowledge, skills and vocabulary ensuring they learn more, remember more and achieve high outcomes in every area of the curriculum. We identify individual targets which allow all children to overcome any challenge or barrier to success.

This intention is strengthened and underpinned by our school values:

Kindness

Kindness encapsulates all that we do and is threaded through our curriculum. We celebrate every child and enable them to show kindness to themselves, their family, their community and the wider world. All children in our school are included with individual needs are met.

Aspiration

We motivate our children to excel and achieve everyday by building cultural capital, links with our community and the wider world. We help to develop their skills of citizenship nurturing and preparing them for a diverse and exciting future.

Perseverance

Children are taught to embrace and enjoy challenges, learn from their mistakes and implement a range of strategies by adopting a tenacious attitude.

 Along with British values and our individual subject intents our academic curriculum uses either Development Matters or the National Curriculum as the basis for its content and expectations.

Each subject has a progression map which details overall curriculum coverage from Nursery to Year 6. This mapping of the skills, knowledge and vocabulary acquired in each year group shows how this builds year on year in a logical and sequential way. We understand that knowledge and skills are linked and that knowledge provides the opportunity to apply skills and deepen understanding. Research also tells us that knowledge builds on knowledge: the more children know, the more they are able to learn.

It is through this intention, our values and our curriculum design that we are able to plan effectively to deliver an all-encompassing and balanced education for our children.

Curriculum Implementation 

We plan our curriculum ensuring we meet the requirements of the National Curriculum and the Early Years Curriculum, and by focusing on our intent and values.  Our curriculum is meticulously planned, so that there is coherence and full progression in its coverage in every subject area. Our curriculum is underpinned by the principle of providing high quality educational experiences. These are focused on continued improvement of whole school standards and the development of independent, active, responsible and resilient learners.

Our curriculum design is based on evidence from cognitive science; three main principles underpin it:
1) Learning is most effective when spaced rather than blocked.
2) Interleaving helps pupils to discriminate between topics, skills and vocabulary and aids long-term retention
3) Retrieval of previously learned content is frequent and regular, which increases both storage and retrieval strength. Planning ensures there are opportunities for knowledge, skills and vocabulary to be revisited.

Most of our content is subject specific, but we make relevant links with prior learning and learning in other subjects as subject specific knowledge can be mutually reinforcing. We make it clear to the children what they are learning within a subject and how this knowledge fits with their existing understanding.

We have structured this so that:

1. a) Each subject has a clear overview of what is taught and when (Progress Maps)
   b) Each year group has a clear list of what must be covered (Curriculum Map)
   c) Each half term, specific knowledge skills and vocabulary are mapped on Medium Term Plans for each year group in each subject
2. d) Knowledge Organisers detail core knowledge and vocabulary for topics in our Humanities, Science and Spanish. Early Years also have knowledge and vocabulary mapped for their half termly topics. Knowledge organisers show the content expected for children to know and understand for each unit of work. This content will be revisited and revised through the academic year and built upon in subsequent years.

To find out more about each curriculum subject please see individual subject pages.

Curriculum Impact 

We assess formatively, in every lesson. Teachers and Partner Teachers use this to inform planning and establish any daily intervention. This helps us to meet the needs of all our children, including the more experienced, SEND and any children in the disadvantaged group. Summative assessment is carried out termly to inform longer-term planning and identify any longer-term interventions that are required.

Learning Landmarks outline what children are expected to have learnt by the end of EYFS, KS1, Year 4 and end of KS2 in all subject areas. Assessment of these landmarks are completed and evidenced in a variety of ways.

The performance of a subject is monitored and analysed by Subject Leaders, the Assessment Lead and Head of School as part of our regular monitoring cycle. Pupil progress reviews are conducted termly (summative) with teachers, the assessment lead and Head of School. The information gathered provides the SLT and Governors with an accurate and comprehensive understanding of the quality of education in our school.

Assessment data, along with findings from monitoring activities including book looks, work samples, learning walks and observations and pupil and parent voice, are reviewed annually by SLT and used to inform whole school priorities, curriculum development or any necessary adaptions to teaching and learning.

Our children leave MPS with a rich and extensive vocabulary, and a wealth of knowledge and skills, the ability to apply their knowledge and skills, knowing more, remembering more and, as a result, achieve high outcomes in every area of the curriculum. We ensure our children are ready for the next stage of education and recognise that learning is limitless. Our children read widely and often, with fluency and comprehension. Our children feel safe. They take risks, ask questions, make mistakes, learn to trust, share their feelings and grow.