Our Curriculum Intent and Values

Intent Statement:

'Happy Children Who Achieve'

The curriculum at Penwortham Primary School has been developed to provide an inclusive environment where all learners enjoy their education and are inspired to learn through an exciting curriculum.

Our aim is to equip our children with personal characteristics and skills, as well as academic knowledge, required to succeed in life. 

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Our School Values

Our school values are embedded throughout the curriculum by our ‘Personal Best’ values. We aim for our pupils to be their very best ‘Social Me’, ‘Thinking Me’ and ‘Healthy Me’ through the values of : Aspire, Belong, Care and Discover.

The British Values of Democracy, The Rule of Law, Individual Liberty, Mutual Respect and Tolerance to those of different faiths and beliefs are woven into our curriculum and examples of this can be seen this year in:

  • Our Year 5 linking project to celebrate differences and diversity and champion equality with other schools in Lancashire.
  • Our pupils sharing their religious beliefs and enabling us to visit their places of worship.
  • Year 6 have been learning about the Windrush generation.
  • Reception are learning about festivals in different cultures and religions. They have celebrated Diwali, weddings of different couples, a baptism.
  • We have celebrated 'Hello Yellow' Day to understand more about mental health and well being
  • Our PSHE curriculum strongly promotes individuality and mutual respect, encouraging all our pupils to consider the feelings of others and develop empathy.
  • Our School Council and Eco Council were elected by democratic vote.

 

We have high expectations across the curriculum and provide opportunities for children to develop as independent, confident and successful learners.

 

Our children are challenged and encouraged to expand their knowledge and skills through varied curriculum opportunities and to be curious about the world around them. 

 

Curriculum Drivers

Through consultation we have identified the following as important ‘drivers’ for our curriculum: utilising the outdoors for learning; recognising, valuing and respecting diversity and an enjoyment appreciation and participation in the ‘arts’ (including music, drama, design, craft).

 

Ultimately, we want our children to be their ‘Personal Best’; making a positive contribution to the wider world and the community in which they live. We aim to ensure they are well prepared for the future challenges of their learning journey.

Implementation

Our School Values are implemented through all we do in school. They are embedded into our daily lives and learning. The school values were reviewed by our staff and pupils in Spring 2024. They are communicated to our school community through our weekly whole school assembly, the school newsletter and school website. We encourage pupils to share with us the times they see others or they themselves have displayed one of our school values. These examples are celebrated in our Friday Celebration Assembly. Our values are displayed throughout the school.

We will implement our curriculum drivers by aiming to ensure that they are embedded within our termly planning and through the following curriculum enhancements:

Cultural Diversity

  • At least 1 assembly each week will focus on world news events linked to our school values and British Values
  • We will celebrate world religious festivals throughout our school and encourage our community to share their cultural and religious celebrations with us in school. These will feature in our whole school assembly.
  • Each year group will undertake at least 1 visit or have a visitor into school annually that supports our cultural diversity curriculum driver.
  • We will develop links with a school in a different cultural setting to our own and provide opportunities for pupils to meet either remotely or face to face.
  • We will review our reading books and resources to ensure that they reflect the cultural diversity of modern Britain.
  • We will celebrate Black History Month annually. Year 6 pupils will undertake a more in depth study in the Autumn term.
  • We will make close links with our local community and community groups and encourage them to be part of our school.
  • Each year group cohort will undertake a fundraising project which links them to a contrasting community locally or nationally or to a part of their own community. For example, Year 4, as part of their study of 'Water' rasied funds to twin our school toilets with a toilet in Nigeria.

In Year 5 our pupils are taking part in 'All together Now' - a school linking project. The School Linking Programme…
• Gives pupils a purpose for speaking and listening because the linking events get children talking, sharing, laughing and learning about each other. Reflection times in the classroom after linking activities offer more opportunities for speaking and listening.
• Gives pupils a purpose for writing because children write for a real audience. They write about subjects which matter to them: their hobbies, their family, where they live, what they like doing…
• Gives pupils a purpose for reading because they read post from the class they are linked with, and they read stories which support the themes being developed in the classroom.
• Gives pupils the chance to explore identity, diversity and community with depth and sensitivity in a well-structured curriculum.

Learning Outdoors:

  • We will take our learning outdoors and plan opportunities for pupils to learn outdoors in all areas of the curriculum.
  • We will undertake the development of all outside areas of the school grounds through planting and creation of wildlife habitats.
  • Pupils will participate in a daily mile/15 minutes of exercise each day.
  • We will start a Forest School curriculum and train staff in outdoor learning skills on a rolling programme over the next 3 years.
  • Year 6 will undertake an outdoor adventurous residential course each year.
  • Lower KS 2 will undertake an outdoor activity course for 1 day each year.

 

 

The Arts (music, drama, art, design)

  • At least 1 visit or visitor will be linked to ‘the arts’ each year for each year group cohort.
  • There will be at least one ‘arts’ linked extra curricular club available each year in KS 1 and KS2
  • We will develop our programme of music to ensure that all pupils have the opportunity to learn to play a musical instrument each year in our school.
  • We will encourage the development of a programme of extra curricular and peripatetic music lessons and support these for disadvantaged pupils using PPG.
  • We will aim to have an 'artist in residence' in school while a child is in Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2.
  • All pupils will experience live theatre at least once each year.
  • All pupils will have the opportunity to perform on stage in front of a live audience at least once each year.