Statement of Curriculum Intent

Intent

At Datchet St Mary’s Primary School our curriculum is mapped to include coverage of the National Curriculum that reflects the voice and the interest of our pupils, it is designed to challenge engage and motivate.

It provides opportunities for children to develop as independent, confident and successful learners, with high aspirations, who know how to make a positive contribution to their community and the wider society. The curriculum ensures that academic success, creativity and problem solving, reliability, responsibility and resilience, as well as physical development, well-being and mental health are key elements that support the development of the whole child and promote a positive attitude to learning.

 The curriculum utilises the skills, knowledge and cultural wealth of the community while supporting the children’s spiritual, moral, social and cultural development, ensuring that children are well prepared for life in modern Britain.

Through our Christian values, we foster an environment where the emotional, physical, academic, social, moral, spiritual and cultural development of each child is nurtured.

For our core subjects, we use a well sequenced knowledge based curriculum. The principles of a knowledge based curriculum are:

• _{Knowledge is valued and specific} 

• _{Knowledge is well sequenced}  

• _{Knowledge is taught  to be remembered} 

Implementation 

For our core subjects each lesson starts with a prior learning review, where children are supported to retrieve prior knowledge and make connections. We have an emphasis on explicitly teaching vocabulary, and each lesson starts with introducing, orally rehearsing, and engaging with key vocabulary (e.g., looking at the etymology of new words). Key vocabulary is contextualised throughout the lesson and  children are given opportunities to apply new words. Our teachers enact our intended curriculum using research-based pedagogy, such as Rosenshine’s Principles of Instruction, to ensure information is presented in small steps, clearly explained and modelled, and children have many opportunities to talk, answer questions, explain their learning and work independently. Throughout lessons, teachers assess/monitor pupil responses (e.g., through questioning, written and oral responses, MCQs, using Knowledge Organisers) and provide effective feedback.

Impact

Pupils leave Datchet St Mary’s Primary School with a secure understanding of the academic content; with the understanding of how to be socially, morally, spiritually and culturally responsible and aware; how to make positive contributions to the local area and how to endeavour to be the best that they can be. We want our children to know, do and remember.