Our Curriculum

Burton Agnes CE Primary School Curriculum

Friendship, Care and Trust

Building strong foundations

‘better to build your house on a rock than on the sand’ (Matthew 7.24-27).

Burton Agnes Primary School has always been proud of the exciting learning that takes place inside and outside of the classroom. We are inspired by the Parable of the Wise Man and the Foolish Man in the Bible, ensuring that we provide firm foundations for learning on which children can build and grow. We follow the guidelines set out in the National Curriculum and the East Riding RE Syllabus to develop a core knowledge amongst our learners, allowing teachers to develop purposeful and stimulating lessons that, in addition, provide children with a range of skills and attributes to be the best learners they can be. Pupils are supported throughout their learning to remember essential and connected knowledge, building their long term memory. This is done through the planning of sequenced learning activities.

The content of our curriculum that we deliver to Burton Agnes Pupils is organised thematically. Each term the whole school has an overarching theme which is then threaded throughout the learning and is delivered through age appropriate topics. The continuity across the key stages promotes a collective understanding of the learning taking place within each classroom and unites the school, children and staff. The whole school theme promotes engagement beyond the school day as children can relate to their siblings’ learning encouraging parents to become involved too, creating a buzz for learning.

It is our intention that our curriculum, which is bound together by School Values, Christian Values and British Values, will provide pupils with the understanding needed to be successful and confident members of our modern society. As our school context is predominantly White/British, our curriculum aims to promote the rich diversity of Britain and an inclusive culture and ethos built on respect and consideration of others. It enables pupils to develop the culture capital required to engage with society and understand the importance of being a good UK and global citizen.

We support our children to give them the necessary skills and strategies to be happy and confident learners. Our curriculum is ambitious for all of our learners including those with SEND and our disadvantaged pupils: extra support and/or resources are provided where necessary to close individual learning gaps.

We believe that learning should be enjoyable. We aim to make learning real and relevant to our children’s lives, locality and the ever changing world in which they live. Our curriculum will develop our children spiritually, morally, socially and culturally and in turn will help to prepare them for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences that occur now and in later life.

Through the support and nurture provided in the Early Years, pupils begin to develop their knowledge and thinking skills. Through play based activities and focused tasks children also develop their phonic and number knowledge. Pupils learn to share and work independently and learn to work with others. In doing so, they are learning to engage with the world around them. We believe that being able to read to an age appropriate level and fluency is vital for pupils to fully access the curriculum. A key priority in Early Years is the development of reading for all pupils. In KS1, reading continues to be a focus of the curriculum alongside the development of writing and mathematical knowledge and other curriculum areas. Our curriculum provides opportunities for pupils to read and be read to, enabling them to develop a wide vocabulary and a rich understanding of the words encountered.

Creativity is a strong thread that runs through our curriculum. Teachers plan opportunities in all subjects for pupils to think in different ways, find different solutions, represent their learning in different ways and make links and connections between knowledge gained in different subjects. Special events and visits are planned to fit in with a sequence of work or whole school theme to enhance the acquisition of knowledge.

Our curriculum strives for our pupils to be the best that they can be. As children transfer to secondary school we feel confident that we will have provided them with good subject knowledge across the curriculum and be ready and prepared for their next steps.