Curriculum Statements

INTENT
It is Our History curriculum includes termly topics for all children from Year 1 to Year 6. We aim to offer a high-quality history education that will help pupils gain a coherent knowledge and understanding of Britain’s past and that of the wider world. It should inspire pupils’ curiosity to know more about the past. Teaching should equip pupils to ask perceptive questions, think critically, weigh evidence, sift arguments, and develop perspective and judgement. History helps pupils to understand the complexity of people’s lives, the process of change, the diversity of societies and relationships between different groups. It also helps children gain a sense of their own identity within a social, political, cultural and economic background. Because of this, we feel it is important for the subject to be taught discretely as well as incorporated within other curriculum subjects such as English and Art. ​

AIMS

The national curriculum for history aims to ensure that all pupils:

know and understand the history of these islands as a coherent, chronological narrative, from the earliest times to the present day: how people’s lives have shaped this nation and how Britain has influenced and been influenced by the wider world
know and understand significant aspects of the history of the wider world: the nature of ancient civilisations; the expansion and dissolution of empires; characteristic features of past non-European societies; achievements and follies of mankind
gain and deploy a historically grounded understanding of abstract terms such as ‘empire’, ‘civilisation’, ‘parliament’ and ‘peasantry’
understand historical concepts such as continuity and change, cause and consequence, similarity, difference and significance, and use them to make connections, draw contrasts, analyse trends, frame historically-valid questions and create their own structured accounts, including written narratives and analyses
understand the methods of historical enquiry, including how evidence is used rigorously to make historical claims, and discern how and why contrasting arguments and interpretations of the past have been constructed
gain historical perspective by placing their growing knowledge into different contexts, understanding the connections between local, regional, national and international history; between cultural, economic, military, political, religious and social history; and between short- and long-term timescales.

INTENT
It is our intent for the Geography element of our school curriculum to inspire pupils with a curiosity and fascination about the world and its people that will remain with them for the rest of their lives.  
Teaching should equip pupils with knowledge about diverse places, people, resources and natural and human environments. Teaching should develop a deep understanding of the Earth’s key physical and human processes.  
As pupils progress, their growing knowledge about the world should help them to understand the relationship between physical and human processes, and of the formation and use of landscapes and environments.  
We want our children to gain confidence and enjoy the practical experiences of geography. Children should have the skills to eloquently explain a range of aspects studied and have a broad vocabulary which can be applied across all units.
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​AIMS
The national curriculum for geography aims to ensure that all pupils:

• develop contextual knowledge of the location of globally significant places – both terrestrial and marine – including their defining physical and human characteristics and how these provide a geographical context for understanding the actions of processes
• understand the processes that give rise to key physical and human geographical features of the world, how these are interdependent and how they bring about spatial variation and change over time
• are competent in the geographical skills needed to:
  • collect, analyse and communicate with a range of data gathered through experiences of fieldwork that deepen their understanding of geographical processes
  • interpret a range of sources of geographical information, including maps, diagrams, globes, aerial photographs and Geographical Information Systems (GIS)
  • communicate geographical information in a variety of ways, including through maps, numerical and quantitative skills and writing at length

INTENT
The intent of our mathematics curriculum is to design a curriculum, which is accessible to all and will maximise the development of every child’s ability and academic achievement. We deliver lessons that are creative and engaging. We want children to make independently rich connections across mathematical ideas to develop fluency, mathematical reasoning, understanding of mathematical language and competence in solving increasingly sophisticated problems. We intend for our pupils to be able to apply their mathematical knowledge to the wider curriculum and world. We want children to realise that mathematics has been developed over centuries, providing the solution to some of history’s most intriguing problems. We want them to know that it is essential to everyday life, critical to science, technology and engineering, and necessary for financial literacy and all forms of employment. When children leave our school, we intend for our pupils to be able to understand the world, have the ability to reason mathematically, have an appreciation of the beauty and power of mathematics, and a sense of enjoyment and curiosity about the subject. We want our children to confidently explain their mathematical understanding through the use of images and precise mathematical language. 

AIMS
The national curriculum for Maths aims to ensure that all pupils:

• ​become fluent in the fundamentals of mathematics, including through varied and frequent practice with increasingly complex problems over time, so that pupils develop conceptual understanding and the ability to recall and apply knowledge rapidly and accurately. 
• reason mathematically by following a line of enquiry, conjecturing relationships and generalisations, and developing an argument, justification or proof using mathematical language 
• can solve problems by applying their mathematics to a variety of routine and non-routine problems with increasing sophistication, including breaking down problems into a series of simpler steps and persevering in seeking solutions.

Intent

Black Torrington Primary School is determined that every pupil will be able to confidently communicate their knowledge, ideas and emotions through their writing and also write for pleasure regardless of their background, needs or abilities. The majority of pupils will make sufficient progress to meet or exceed age-related expectations.  Teachers will choose high quality stories, poems, rhymes and non-fiction texts as models for their own writing and develop pupils’ vocabulary, understanding of grammar in context and familiarity with spelling patterns.

Aims

•  Acquire a wide vocabulary, a solid understanding of grammar and be able to spell new words by effectively applying the spelling patterns and rules they learn throughout their time in primary school.
• Write clearly, accurately and coherently, adapting their language and style in and for a range of contexts, purposes and audiences.
•  Take pride in the presentation of their writing, in part by developing a good, joined, handwriting style

• Refine and edit their writing over time, developing independence in the ability to identify their own areas for improvement in all pieces of writing, editing their work effectively during and after the writing process.
•  Write daily in a range of contexts and for a range of purposes

INTENT
We make music an enjoyable learning experience. We encourage children to participate in a variety of musical experiences through which we aim to build up the confidence of all children. Our teaching focuses on developing the children’s ability to sing in tune and with other people. Through singing songs, children learn about the structure and organisation of music. We teach them to listen and to appreciate different forms of music from classics to contemporary pieces. As children get older, we expect them to maintain their concentration for longer and to listen to more extended pieces of music. Children develop descriptive skills in music lessons when learning about how music can represent feelings and emotions. We teach them the disciplined skills of recognising pulse and pitch. Also, we teach the children how to work with others to compose music and perform for an audience. 
Our main priority is to teach and perfect the skills implemented by the National Curriculum for Music. It is intended to provide greater clarity and flexibility, allowing for the development and progression in musical skills. Our music scheme of work complements this and scaffolds the learning opportunities throughout the Key Stages. We aim to provide positive musical experiences that motivate and inspire the children’s learning and experiences.

AIMS
The national curriculum for music aims to ensure that all pupils:

• perform, listen to, review and evaluate music across a range of historical periods, genres, styles and traditions, including the works of the great composers and musicians, 
• learn to sing and to use their voices, to create and compose music on their own and with others, have the opportunity to learn a musical instrument, use technology appropriately and have the opportunity to progress to the next level of musical excellence. 
• understand and explore how music is created, produced and communicated, including through the inter-related dimensions: pitch, duration, dynamics, tempo, timbre, texture, structure and appropriate musical. 

EARLY YEARS Curriculum statement
Black Torrington Church of England Primary School
Our curriculum has four features:
• is ambitious for all pupils;
• is carefully and coherently planned and sequenced;
• is successfully adapted, designed and developed for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities;
• is broad and balanced for all pupils

Intent
At Black Torrington C of E Primary School we believe that the Early Years Foundation Stage is crucial in securing solid foundations that children are going to continue to build upon. It is our intent that the children who enter our EYFS develop physically, verbally, cognitively and emotionally whilst embedding a positive attitude to school and learning. We believe that all children deserve to be valued as an individual and we are passionate in allowing all children to achieve their full, unique potential. With all of this in mind, we begin each new year by looking at the individual needs of our children and – taking into account their different starting points- we then carefully develop our EYFS Framework which enables them to follow the path of their learning journey, at a point, that is suitable for their unique needs and stage of development.

We follow the EYFS framework (2021). Within this framework there are four guiding principles which shape our practice.
These are:
1. Every child is a unique child, who is constantly learning and can be resilient, capable, confident, and self-assured.
2. Children learn to be strong and independent through positive relationships.
3. Children learn and develop well in enabling environments with teaching and support from adults, who respond to their individual interests and needs and help them to build their learning over time. Children benefit from a strong partnership between practitioners and parents and/or carers.
4. Children develop and learn at different rates. The framework covers the education and care of all children in early years provision, including children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

Implementation

Our curriculum encompasses seven areas of learning and development. All areas of learning and development are important and inter-connected.
Three areas are particularly important for building a foundation for igniting children’s curiosity and enthusiasm for learning, forming relationships, and thriving.
These are called the prime areas:
• communication and language
• physical development
• personal, social, and emotional development.

Four areas help children to strengthen and apply the prime areas.
These are called the specific areas:
• literacy and mathematics
• understanding the world
• expressive arts and design
Throughout their time in our Nursery and Reception classes, our children partake in an ambitious curriculum which is designed in a sequential way to ensure progress towards the end of reception goals. These goals are defined as Early Learning Goals (ELGs).
As previously outlined our curriculum incorporates learning through play, learning by adults modelling, by observing each other and through guided learning and direct teaching. It is also important to highlight that our plans are flexible to allow us to respond quickly to children’s new interests and/or needs.
Weaving throughout the EYFS curriculum are three Characteristics of Effective Learning.
• playing and exploring – children investigate and experience things, and ‘have a go’
• active learning – children concentrate and keep on trying if they encounter difficulties, and enjoy achievements
• creating and thinking critically – children have and develop their own ideas, make links between ideas, and develop strategies for doing things

These elements underpin how we reflect on each child’s development and adjust our practice accordingly. Supporting children in their individual learning behaviour and observing the context of children’s play is essential.

Impact
As a result, we have pupils who develop their characteristics of effective learning and are able to apply their knowledge to a range of situations making links and explaining their ideas and understanding. Children are confident to take risks and discuss their successes and failures with adults drawing on their experiences to improve or adjust what they are doing.
From their own starting points, children will make progress academically and socially, developing a sense of themselves so that they are well prepared for Key Stage 1.