The Castleview Curriculum

Curriculum Aims for Castleview School

In choosing and planning the curriculum which pupils at Castleview will study, there are three key aims. These are that the curriculum should:

provide opportunities for all pupils to access a broad and balanced curriculum, where they learn and achieve in an exciting and stimulating environment;

promote pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development and prepare all pupils for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of later life;

equip pupils with the skills and personal qualities to enable them to become successful and effective members of society in the 21^st century.

It is with these aims in mind, that the curriculum topics and learning opportunities planned lead to, and culminate in, an end product or event through which the children can showcase their learning.

Curriculum In Practice

We want pupils to develop a positive attitude to life and learning, with a will to solve problems, the resilience to do so and the ability to work well with others.
We want all our pupils to approach the process of learning with confidence and independence, gaining a broad knowledge of all subject areas.
The school curriculum is based on the National Curriculum (2014) and the Early Years Foundation Stage Framework, and is designed to encourage enquiry, confidence, independence and good communication skills.
By the time they leave Castleview School, our pupils will be able to read, write, speak and listen effectively. They will be able to ask questions with an enquiring mind and solve mathematical and scientific problems. We expect our pupils to understand the difference between right and wrong, to appreciate other cultures and traditions and to respect others. We expect them to be able to express themselves imaginatively, in creative ways through Computing, Art & Design, Music, PE, Dance and Drama.
We have PSHE at the heart of our curriculum and believe pupils need to develop high self-esteem and the ability to think well in order to achieve in all other areas of the curriculum.
English, Mathematics, Science and Computing are the core subject areas. We believe in delivering a broad and balanced curriculum, encompassing creative elements such as Art, DT, Music, History and Geography through our ‘Castleview Curriculum’ using our ‘end product’ approach to lead the learning. Links between curriculum subjects are made, when and where appropriate, to make learning more meaningful. To find out more, please see our Curriculum Maps for this year. Our PE curriculum provides opportunities for the children to develop the skills of agility, balance and control through a range of physical activities and games developed through the ‘real PE’ programme. This is further enhanced by many after-school sports clubs. RE is taught according to the Berkshire Agreed Syllabus 2018 and where optional modules are suggested, they reflect the religious backgrounds of the children.
We encourage pupils to be reflective learners, to review aspects of their own learning and to be actively involved in planning next steps or learning opportunities.
The delivery of the school curriculum is inclusive for all learners, with extra support or resources provided as appropriate.

Management of the Curriculum

Time Allocations:

The way time is allocated will depend on our analysis of pupils’ needs and also on the aims and priorities of the school. The school will also take into account national initiatives to raise standards of attainment and to strengthen teaching and learning.

The time allocated to a subject will result from discussions between governors, the Head Teacher and teaching staff, taking account of priorities identified by the school. Time allocated to subjects is likely to vary slightly between year groups in the school. In addition, there may be separate time allocations for individual children or groups of children, in order to help them to meet their particular learning needs.

Curriculum Planning

Curriculum Progression - These are documents which show how knowledge, skills and vocabulary progress, ensuring that all subjects are well sequenced and coherently planned from EYFS to Year 6.
Long Term – Topic grid which indicates which topics are being taught in each term or half term.
Curriculum teams/class teachers plan blocks of work to be covered in each subject area over a half term. For the ‘creative’ subjects this takes the form of a creative curriculum plan.
Short term plans – Class teachers plan work to be covered over a weekly period.
Evaluative comments are written on medium and short term plans to inform future planning and/or next lessons.
Subject leaders monitor planning to ensure a broad coverage of knowledge, skill and vocabulary is being taught across the school.
Subject leaders monitor through regular work scrutiny.
The Senior Leadership Team and Subject Leaders complete lesson observations to monitor delivery.
The Early Years Foundation Stage policy outlines planning for the Reception and Nursery classes.

The school curriculum statement is under-pinned by policies for specific areas.

Monitoring of the Curriculum

Senior Leadership Team and Subject leaders observe teaching across the school.
Senior Leadership Team complete learning walks to monitor delivery.
Phase leaders and Subject leaders monitor planning.
Subject leaders monitor through work sampling.
Governors monitor through observation and meetings with class teachers and subject leaders.

Evaluation of the Curriculum

Head Teacher and teaching staff share evaluations of curriculum areas/subjects during staff meetings.
Phase leaders share evaluations of teaching and learning across their team during phase meetings.
Governors share evaluations during Governing Body meetings.
If evaluation results in issues being raised, these are reviewed and then acted upon.

To read the Primary National Curriculum in full please download it here

Primary National Curriculum 2014