Curriculum Planning
Windrush Valley Private School Oxfordshire undertakes its planning in three distinct phases – long, medium and short term. The school’s academic year provides the core organisational structure for the entire planning model, enabling where possible, for topics to be organised on a half termly (approximately six-weekly) duration, each broadly following published NC models. This facilitates continuity and progression of pupils’ learning, the sensible deployment of equipment, staff and resources across the school, and provides for appropriate forward planning of the budget.
At Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS), an inter-disciplinary topic approach to curriculum planning is adopted, with an emphasis on coherence and coverage of the Foundation Stage Early Learning Goals, to ensure progression in all curriculum areas. The school supports the principle that young children learn best through small class sizes and a combination of play and their engagement in well-planned structured activities. Progression to compulsory education is supported by the completion of the Foundation Stage Profile.
At Key Stage 1 greater emphasis is placed on the core subjects, which are taught separately. There is an integrated approach to the Foundation subjects, allowing teachers the opportunity to plan subjects around themes as opposed to discrete subject based topics.
At Key Stage 2 all subjects are taught discretely according to published schema to facilitate the introduction of specialist teaching and examination-based curricula.
Private Prep School Oxfordshire – Long term planning
This is the Windrush Valley Private School Oxfordshire’s structure of which topics to teach and when, across both non-statutory and statutory phases of provision, in each subject, across the entirety of the school. It commences with the Nursery aspect of the Foundation stage and extends to include Year 6 at the end of Key Stage 2. Individual teacher input at this stage of the planning model is minimal, it being the main preserve of senior staff.
Private Prep School Oxfordshire – Medium term planning
Medium-term plans give clear guidance on the objectives and teaching strategies for each topic, by year group and term. Most of this detail is provided in both the teacher planning books of published schema and also in NC guidance material. Whilst individual teacher input is minimal at this stage, in terms of modifying or amending the detail, considerable expertise and knowledge is necessary to ensure coverage of content, and progression of pupils’ learning through the detail. Occasionally, teacher expertise is required to provide the entire programme, particularly in non-National Curriculum subjects, or where published guidance is not available.
Private Prep School Oxfordshire – Short term planning: schemes of work
This involves the transfer of information from the previous stage into the specific or closely defined group of objectives for each class and individual pupil targets. It usually involves planning for individual or perhaps a small number of lessons at any one time. These schemes of work consider the ages, aptitudes and needs of all pupils, including those with an EHC plan.
At this stage teachers’ skill, knowledge and expertise are essential in converting published schema into meaningful and interesting lessons that successfully provide incremental progression of learning and ensuring that all pupils have the opportunity to learn and make progress. Details of individual teacher’s planning are recorded in personal Teacher Planning Records.
Predominantly, single strand resources are used throughout the school to aid continuity of planning and recording of progress. Also, by using a similarity of resources for extension work, the same advantages are available when planning differentiated extension and support work for children with additional learning needs and material for those able and gifted children requiring work of a more challenging nature. Please contact the Windrush Valley Private School Oxfordshire office for further information.
