We believe every child deserves the best possible start and our curriculum is devised to deliver it – excellence starts here
Curriculum
With a wide and diverse curriculum, all children are offered an individual education in small classes (our current class sizes average 14 pupils) with well qualified academic staff; whilst qualified specialist staff support children with LDD.
Our curriculum policy provides educational excellence, for the:
- full-time supervised education of all pupils of compulsory school age, which gives pupils experience in linguistic, mathematical, scientific, technological, human and social, physical, and aesthetic and creative education
- pupils to acquire speaking, listening, literacy and numeracy skills, and
- personal, social, health and economic education which
-
- reflects the school’s aims and ethos
- encourages respect for other people, paying particular regard to the protected characteristics set out in the Education Act 2010
- For pupils in the Early years Foundation Stage (EYFS), (below compulsory school age
-
- A programme of activities which is appropriate to their educational needs in relation to personal, social, emotional and physical development and communication and language skills
- That all pupils, including those in the EYFS, have the opportunity to make progress
- Provides effective preparation of pupils for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of life in British society
Essentially, these are to enable children to achieve their potential by developing their knowledge, skills and understanding in the academic, aesthetic and sporting domains whilst actively promoting the fundamental British values of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty, and mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs.
The school aims to teach children to grow into positive, responsible and healthy people, who can work and co-operate with others. It does so through all those planned activities that promote learning and personal growth and development. This includes the range of extra-curricular activities and “clubs” organised to enrich the experiences of the children. It also includes the ‘hidden curriculum’, or what the children learn from the way they are treated and are expected to behave. The school places high value on positive behaviour as a product of strong inter-personal relationships.
As the school does not have any English as a Second Language (ESL) registered pupils, all lessons are conducted in English.
Aims and objectives
The aims of our school curriculum are to provide opportunities that:
- ensure our children have high self-esteem and enjoy coming to school, have respect for themselves and others and have a positive attitude towards learning;
- encourage all children to learn and develop their skills, knowledge and abilities to the best of their potential;
- encourage children’s aesthetic abilities and to develop their own thinking;
- motivate children to adopt and maintain a healthy lifestyle and an appreciation and love for sporting activities;
- teach children to have an awareness of their own spiritual development, to understand right from wrong, the importance of truth and fairness and a commitment to equal opportunities for all
Key skills
The following ‘key skills’ have prominence within planning models:
- reading, writing, speaking and listening
- numbers and number systems
- information and computer technology
- working with and respecting others
- problem-solving
- the desire to work hard, overcome obstacles and succeed
Content
The curriculum comprises two major elements:
- The discrete element comprising the taught aspects.
- The ‘hidden’ element comprising the school’s Core Values.
Each element comprises four, equal weight, aspects.
Discrete Element
- Academic
- Reading/Writing
- Mathematics
- English/Grammar
- History
- Geography
- Languages
- Science
- IT/Programming
Performance
- Stage productions and musicals
- English Speaking Board (ESB)
- Music (Band/Choir)
- Art
- May Dancing
One World
- Nature
- Conservation
- Wildlife Trust
- Natural World
- Weather/Climate
- Global warming
- Forest school
- Agro-industry/Farming
Sport
- Sport – Team games/PE
- Fitness and Health
- Athletics
- Swimming
- X-country
- Competition
Hidden Element [and taught element through My World]
Core Value: ‘What am I?’ [Personality]
- Motivation
- Behaviour
- Attitudes towards self and others
- Resilience
- Perseverance
- Attributes
Core Value: ‘Who am I? [Character]
- Challenge
- Competition
- Commitment
- Determination
- Law-abiding
- Personal belief
Core Value ‘Where am I? [Sociability]
- Belonging
- Citizenship
- Democracy
- Self-determination
- Freedom and responsibility
Core Value ‘Why am I’ [Competency]
- Co-operation
- Learning-to-learn
- Leadership
- Knowledge
- Skills
Pupil progress and assessment monitoring
Pupils’ progress is assessed and monitored at regular intervals throughout each school term. The results are carefully analysed and the information used to aid the planning of both content and delivery of subsequent lessons. All children are routinely checked to ensure that any emerging potential long-term learning difficulties are quickly recognised and appropriate remedial action is taken.
Formal assessment is conducted at the end of EYFS (Foundation Stage Profile), Key Stage 1 (internal marked assessment) and Key Stage 2 (externally marked Standard Assessment Tests).
Remote education
In the event of the school having to implement remote education in response to COVID guidance from the Government, please see our published remote education provision page.
Monitoring and review
The Headteacher is responsible for the day-to-day organisation of the curriculum at Windrush Valley Prep School Oxfordshire.
