Curriculum at Bandon Hill

Curriculum at Bandon Hill Primary School

 

Intent

Our curriculum at Bandon Hill is a question-based enquiry curriculum where children grow a love of learning and become inquisitive about the world around them. One of core curriculum objectives is to ensure that the lessons we teach are inspiring for our children so that they not only enjoy each lesson but also build a love of learning for the future. Through carefully chosen topics and individuals, our curriculum offers children opportunities to recognise not only our diverse school community but also the diverse world that we live in.

Inclusivity is a key value at Bandon Hill and therefore our curriculum has been designed to offer all children a variety of hands-on enriching experiences. This allows our children to be immersed in their learning so that they can progress their knowledge and skills with a deeper understanding. Pupils are purposely exposed to rich cultural experiences, ambitious vocabulary and challenging content.  These memorable experiences offer children engaging and exciting opportunities that they may not have encountered before.

Our curriculum offers children the opportunity to celebrate the successes in our local community as well as unpicking how key periods of time have affected our local area.

 

Implementation

We want our children to be confident in sharing their views and opinions and therefore oracy underpins the foundations of our curriculum. We believe that being able to articulate themselves well is a fundamental skill that can support all children in all areas of the curriculum. Through carefully planned opportunities for children to demonstrate their oracy skills such as debates and performances, we strive to develop confident young individuals. Our lesson format allows children to revisit and learn new vocabulary within each subject as well as giving them many chances for paired talk to explain and justify their reasoning.

We spark curiosity within our children not only through our enquiry-based curriculum, but also through our extra-curricular life-skills passports. Throughout their time at Bandon Hill, children will be exposed to essential skills that enable them to be prepared for the wider world.

Our knowledge-rich and skills-strong curriculum is designed to allow children to transfer key knowledge into their long-term memory. It provides thoughtfully crafted and sequenced learning opportunities which encourage our pupils to build on prior learning and experiences to become experts within a wide range of subject areas. 

Subjects begin with a big question. This consists of a main question that the children are unable to answer at the beginning of a blocked unit. Teaching provides the children with the knowledge and skills to provide or demonstrate a response to this enquiry driver. Our curriculum is organised into blocks to provide for deeper understanding and prepares our children for subject-specific learning in Secondary School.

 

Impact

Our bespoke, ambitious curriculum ensures that learning is cumulative and layered.  We know our curriculum is successful because we regularly assess progress against age-appropriate knowledge and skill descriptors.  We can see progress in the way our pupils talk about their knowledge and understanding and through their responses at the end of a topic when answering their big question. Leaders within our school will use a triangulated approach to ensure that our curriculum is having the positive impact on our children that it is intended to do.

Pupils will have a secure understanding of how they have been successful and will develop skills to face challenges.  They will be reflective thinkers and learners and be appreciative of celebrating differences, wherever they may live, work and play.

We strive for every child at Bandon Hill to leave our school being an inquisitive individual who is empowered and passionate about their future.

If you would like to find out more about our curriculum, please contact Mrs Reece (Assistant Head Teacher & Curriculum Lead) via the school office email address.