Curriculum at Grove

"Enjoy, learn, achieve"

We want the philosophy of Grove school to be one of inquiry, this will pervade the work of pupils in the classrooms and the work of teachers professionally in school. The principles of the curriculum are:

• The curriculum is challenging and coherent
The goal of the curriculum is a deep understanding and engagement in learning. Enrichment permeates the curriculum and is available to all pupils through the use of visits, visitors, good cross curricular links and out of school activities.

• The curriculum is creative and responsive
Curriculum leaders have used their knowledge of child development, the sequence of acquisition of skills and the inquiry-based philosophy of the school as guiding principles to use when developing their curriculums. Curriculum leaders have not only developed year-group overviews but also medium term plans and short-term planning for all classs teachers in their curriculum areas. Curriculum leaders provide ongoing CPD for all class teachers so thart class teachers can focus on adaptive teaching to ensure all children are making progress in this curriculum area. The school places value on the initiatives which teachers take to respond to individuals in the class and to reflect their interests and questions in the daily work of the class. Teachers communicate across year groups and will spend time looking at curriculum developments in their own year group and beyond.

• The curriculum supports the whole child
Every teacher at Grove school accepts responsibility for balancing social, psychological and emotional growth with academic learning. At Grove we believe that the curriculum needs to be cognitively challenging, authentic, meaningful and social. The curriculum respects the family, and cultural and racial diversity.

• The curriculum is integrated and holistic
Children are encouraged to use multiple ways of knowing and expressing their knowledge. Subject matter is taught in ways that blend the different curriculum areas and allow meaningful application of skills gained in one domain to the exploration of another domain. Timetables allow for specific subject teaching in years 2 – 6 as well as integrated approaches to the curriculum.

• The curriculum is developmental
Every subject area is taught in a developmentally appropriate way respecting the salient characteristics of both the age group and the individuals in the class. The level of curriculum challenge is that pupils will make good progress through the curriculum in all core and foundation subjects, to achieve age related expectations.

In the foundation stage:
At Grove we believe that pupils learn best through play and exploration. Confidence and self esteem as well as cognitive development are cultivated in the foundation stage environment. Within this framework, practitioners nurture individual initiative, build a sense of community, expand language and logical thinking, and develop social awareness. Use of the outdoor learning environment extends the learning world for pupils and frequent visits relate classroom learning to the larger world. In the foundation stage pupils develop their confidence in talking about ideas, formulating questions, expressing feelings and plan and participate in cooperative activities and contribute in group play.

In Key Stage 1:
Throughout these years pupils work on initiating and sustaining cooperative play. They are developing a sense of academic responsibility and are becoming more articulate about their expanding depth of knowledge. They are also refining their work by adding careful details to make projects substantial and intriguing. The use of outdoor space and halls for learning as well as visits and visitors are vital learning enhancements in these two years.

In Key Stage 2:
A good balance between external guidance and the opportunity to reflect produces a sense of competence in pupils in KS2, setting the stage for greater self-direction and independent thinking. Pupils across Key Stage 2 are all involved in self-evaluation against learning intentions and on rubrics they set for their group. Pupils in KS2 participate in a RHE curriculum, which enables them to explore differences of opinion and a respect for the opinions of others. In these years the pupils become more aware of personal strengths and areas they need to develop further in; they are able to set individual and academic goals. Teachers encourage the child’s metacognitive understanding of learning and the learning process. They deal with concepts with increasing sophistication and have the opportunity to express their understanding in various forms. Pupils in KS2 have opportunities through the curricular programmes, in and out of school, to recognise their role in a community and invest in the structure of the school.