Okehampton Primary School

 Our curriculum 

We pride ourselves at Okehampton Primary  in providing a safe and happy atmosphere where children's learning and well-being are at the centre of everything that we do, and where every child is valued and cared for as an individual. Our priority is to foster our children's excitement for learning by enabling them to take an active part in the EYFS Framework, the National Curriculum and the Wider Curriculum. Our teachers are encouraged to take a creative approach to their practice. 

We have developed a whole-school "language of learning" that is derived from the characteristics of an effective learner identified within the EYFS Framework. Children are asked to think about the process of learning in terms of "playing and exploring", "being an active learner" and "creating and thinking critically". This enables an innovative approach to our curriculum design through our Curriculum Themes and Learning Narratives, and ensures that children understand how they learn rather than focusing solely on what they learn. 

We have 5 guiding principles when considering our Curriculum for pupils at Okehampton Primary:

• Our Curriculum is a carefully planned, thematic approach to teaching and learning designed to support children's natural curiosity and stimulate their creativity. It offers children the opportunity to work in depth, giving them the time they need to reflect, consolidate and make links in their learning. Opportunities to be creative, both indoors and outdoors, are vital for developing life skills such as problem solving, critical thinking, risk taking and persistence.
• Direct experience is placed at the centre of the curriculum so that teachers can draw out and develop children's thinking and capacities in meaningful contexts. We encourage children to access learning in a variety of ways and explore the world around them. Children discover that learning is active, not passive.
• Knowledge, skills and understanding are gained through a range of different media and approaches, often making effective use of the creative arts and learning through play.
• Children, adults and parents work together, drawing on resources from the school and the local, national and global community to create a challenging, distinctive and exciting curriculum.
• All children have an entitlement to a well-resourced and rich learning environment that promotes their sense of responsibility, autonomy and identity as creative, self-motivated learners. Children deserve learning opportunities that engage them and develop their excitement and enthusiasm for learning. In addition, we encourage children to develop self-belief, as well as opportunities to believe in themselves, their families, their school and their community to support them on their journey through life.

How we implement our curriculum 

The staff at Okehampton Primary School are committed to raising standards and providing the best education for the pupils in the school.  In our school we aim to have:

• Effective planning that takes account of the learning needs of all pupils, whilst supporting and encouraging our teachers to be responsive within lessons and when assessing next steps for learning, by which we ask them to adapt their planning when necessary;
• Effective teaching that motivates and inspires all pupils to achieve their best work;
• Relevant opportunities for pupils to engage in a wide range of challenging learning experiences including an outdoor ethos across the school;
• Appropriate continuity and progression in the learning of all pupils from EYFS to the end of Key Stage 2;
• A combination of the best features of educational practice whilst implementing the Early Years Foundation Stage (2012) and the National Curriculum (2014).  We follow the National Curriculum to ensure that children are well prepared for the next stage of their education. 

 Structure: a systematic approach

The curriculum at Okehampton Primary is underpinned by high quality teaching and and learning of speech language and communication.  As Okehampton Primary is primarily a mono-diverse culture, our curriculum is also underpinned by high quality teaching and learning of equality diversity and inclusion. 

Foundation Subjects are planned for and taught either individually or as part of a connected curriculum project.  Links are made only when there is a meaningful connection and should not be forced.  Connected curriculum projects will be for 1 - 4 week blocks in length and they must be clear to allow a strong focus on the learning of key facts related to the required subject content stated in the National Curriculum.

There should be opportunity for those children who are quick to grasp facts to explore in more depth and find out more (which links to Home Learning opportunities).

Links to English, Mathematics and Science:  Teachers should ensure explicit reference to these skills are made to the class and are noted on the planning documents.  There are clearly strong benefits from linking subjects, especially developing subject content for English and these links must continue.  However, there is an opportunity for teachers to decide not to link English with a foundation subject, each can stand on its own.

At Okehampton Primary depth of understanding is a priority alongside our high expectations for every child.

• The philosophy is to create deeper understanding rather than to accelerate pupils into new content.
• The whole class teaching model has a key feature of teaching for mastery - we focus on the depth of pupils' learning - the impact of the teaching.
• Tracking attainment is measured across the curriculum. 

 Equality and Diversity in DMAT Primary Schools

 

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  Year Curriculum Overview 

 

• Year 2 overview download_for_offline
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• Year 3 Curriculum overview download_for_offline
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• Year 4 Curriculum overview download_for_offline
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• year 5 overview Curr download_for_offline
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• year 6 overview download_for_offline
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