Curriculum Intent

The Merrylands curriculum follows the structure and matches the ambition of the National Curriculum in England.  Leaders and teachers have worked collectively to design a coherent, sequential curriculum covering all core and foundation subjects. This means pupils encounter information as part of a logical progression and teachers are aware of the precise knowledge children need to progress through the curriculum. They design activities that will help them both apply and retain that knowledge.

We intend to deliver this curriculum at the highest standards to enable ALL pupils to acquire sufficient knowledge they need to be successful in their next stage of education.

The values at Merrylands underpin all that we believe in:

• to be inquisitive
• to be openminded
• to never give up

This means that in class, children will be encouraged to ask questions, maintain high expectations of themselves and one another overcome challenges with resilience and determination in a safe and stimulating setting.

Personal development is an essential part of any child’s education and at Merrylands Primary School the curriculum actively promotes ‘Growth Through Learning’.  This allows children to develop skills needed for tomorrow and a positive attitude to learning, preparing the children for their next steps in the world. These include self-management, innovative thinking, and communication.

We have especially high expectations for developing pupils’ speech, language, and communication skills.  We aim for children to be able to listen and respond, reason, make appropriate language choices, take turns, engage with storytelling, and use their voice for clarity and purpose. 

Physical and mental wellbeing are prioritised within the curriculum, allowing children opportunities to exhibit spiritual, moral, social, and cultural understanding.  We consider it our duty to foster equality, ensuring the curriculum addresses disadvantage and aspires to close the gap.

This is supported by an appropriate and sensitively planned PSHE Curriculum.

 

Curriculum Implementation

The delivery of the curriculum and pedagogical practice across the school is communicated as non-negotiable.  Employing effective pedagogy approaches enables children to reach their full potential and provides a strong foundation for learning.

The curriculum is planned to ensure there is progression across the whole of the primary school, including the Early Years Provision.  Key principles in the curriculum are taught through three main approaches:

• talk led approach
• active approach-discovering learning
• collaborative approach

We encourage pupils to ask questions and want them to understand how to think and speak like a historian, for example.  Instilling that sense of curiosity stems from the children’s experiences that we provide as part of their learning.

What does a lesson look like?

The curriculum builds on children’s ability to learn at a deeper level, allowing them to articulate their learning, apply their knowledge, and demonstrate high-quality thinking.

Knowledge goals are shared with the children during each lesson, which is the knowledge that we feel is important for the children to learn and is taken from the existing curriculum.  Relevant vocabulary is introduced for the children to be able to remember and apply and is shared via subject displays or Toolkits (a resource used to support learning in class).

English lessons are driven by high quality, enjoyable texts as models for wider reading, comprehension and writing, while maths lessons encourage fluency but also a deeper, conceptual understanding, helping them solve a range of routine and non-routine problems.

Staff plan for the needs of individuals by adapting and personalising learning.  High quality teaching underpins this with targets that challenge the children but are achievable.

Equality of opportunity and diversity, Fundamental British Values as well as our own Core Values are promoted throughout the school through a range of school trips, displays, the curriculum, theme days, assemblies and through the Rights Respecting Schools Award.

 

Curriculum Impact

At Merrylands Primary School and Nursery, we use a wide range of monitoring strategies throughout the year to measure the impact of the curriculum content, design, and approach. This is used to identify if children are able to remember what they have been taught and how well they are progressing through the curriculum.

Leadership at all levels monitor individual subjects: reviewing learning, evaluating pupils' voice, providing individual feedback to move practice forward, celebrating positives and highlighting areas of development.

Teachers use assessment for learning strategies to evaluate, adjust, and maximise the impact of the curriculum on pupil outcomes.  This means teachers can be confident that children have a sound understanding of a subject before moving on to the next topic; they know when and how to best challenge their thinking and can provide support when necessary.

All staff work collaboratively to reflect upon the curriculum and share outcomes driving forward next steps. We take into consideration the outcomes of various monitoring activities together with available summative assessment information.