Curriculum Intent Statements - Children At The Centre of Learning
Our curriculum Statement of Intent
At Luton Infant and Nursery School our curriculum is designed with the school motto of "Children at the centre of everything we do". We continually review and evaluate our curriculum to ensure it meets the needs of our children. We strive to provide the best quality teaching and learning for every child. We work as a team to design learning experiences that engage all learners in thoughtful and real experiences. We plan topics that are immersive using paintings, books, artefacts and real experiences to inspire all children and we aim to bring learning to life by linking our curriculum to the real world. Learning goes beyond the classroom as our children experience a range of trips, visits, outside activities and visitors that are linked to their topics.
Our curriculum uses the Revised National Curriculum and reflects our school values and the UNICEF children's rights articles. Through our curriculum we endeavour to develop a lifelong love of learning; give opportunities to explore, question and investigate to enable all children to achieve their potential and know their rights and enocurage children to become global citizens. "High aspirations - no ceiling, no limits".
Aims
The Curriculum enables all children to become:
- Enthusiastic, successful and independent learners who make good progress, achieve their full potential and develop a positive growth mindset
- Confident individuals who know how to live safe, healthy and fulfilling lives and who are aware of their rights and those of others
- Responsible citizens who are able to make a positive contribution to society, both locally and globally
- Individuals who understand the value of learning and who continue that process throughout their lives
Our Curriculum is developed around our eleven school values of: Trust, Honesty, Teamwork, Kindness,Co-operation, Tolerance, Respect, Forgiveness, Responsibility, Perseverance and Resilience.
These values underpin our curriculum which:
- Promotes personal development
- Supports equality of opportunity
- Develops spiritual, moral, social, intellectual and physical growth
- Celebrates the contributions of a diverse range of people, cultures and heritages
- Develops an understanding of our relationship with the environment
- Teaches children about British values
Purpose
The curriculum will:
- Promote high standards, particularly in English, maths and Computing
- Provide broad and varied learning experiences
- Promote a positive engagement with, and commitment to, learning, enabling children to develop a positive mindset
- Enable children to develop effective skills of co-operation and collaboration
- Develop an understanding of the relevance of learning to each individual’s life and prepare them for life as a member of the wider community
- Prepare children for the next stage in their education
- Create a sense of wellbeing centred around a sense of fulfilment and achievement
- Develop a wide range of skills and broaden children’s life experiences.
Curriculum Map
At Luton, we feel the best way to deliver the National Curriculum objectives for many subjects is through a creative topic approach that engages and excites the children. The school use the Cornerstones Curriculum with this aim in mind. The units are specifically designed to ensure there is a clear progression in knowledge, content and skills learning across the school, based on the existing National Curriculum.
Whole School Projects
Whole school projects at Luton provide a further inspirational context for learning and opportunities to show progression in learning across the school. These are planned yearly and each year group will develop a scheme of work to develop the learning for each project in the way most relevant and stimulating for their children.
Units of Learning
What is the Cornerstones Curriculum?
The Cornerstones Curriculum is a creative and thematic approach to learning that is mapped to the 2014 Primary National Curriculum to ensure comprehensive coverage of national expectations. Our curriculum is delivered through Imaginative Learning Projects (ILPs) which provide a rich menu of exciting and motivating learning activities that make creative links between all aspects of our children’s learning.
We believe children learn better when they are encouraged to use their imagination and apply their learning to engaging contexts. Our curriculum will provide lots of learning challenges throughout the academic year that will require children to solve problems, apply themselves creatively and express their knowledge and understanding effectively across the curriculum.
Cornerstones also provide a rigorous essential skills framework that outlines the end of year expectations in all subjects. These essential skills are tied to activities and are age related so that staff can track children’s progress and identify their individual learning needs.
How it Works?
Children will progress through four stages of learning in each ILP – Engage, Develop, Innovate and Express. To find out more about these stages please click on the link through to Cornerstones website:
https://cornerstoneseducation.co.uk/
As a Rights Respecting School (Silver Award) we endeavor to make links to the children's rights articles in all areas of our learning. There are also times in which one of the Articles may be the driver for a project or unit of work. For more information follow the link to the Rights Respecting website:
https://www.unicef.org.uk/rights-respecting-schools/
Key learning intentions for English and maths are included on the curriculum map and suggested texts used as a focus for English are indicated. Separate medium term plans based on the National Curriculum attainment targets are provided for each year group, although it is an expectation that maths and literacy skills will also be developed through other subject areas whenever possible.
In KS1 we use the Letters and Sounds phonics programme to support children's reading and spelling strategies.
RE teaching is based on units from the Medway Agreed Syllabus and fits into the overall learning context wherever possible.
If you would like to find out more about our curriculum please contact Liz Gamet, Deputy Head Teacher – office@lutoninf.medway.sch.uk
