Curriculum

National Curriculum Purpose of study

Art, craft and design embody some of the highest forms of human creativity. A high-quality art and design education should engage, inspire and challenge pupils, equipping them with the knowledge and skills to experiment, invent and create their own works of art, craft and design. As pupils progress, they should be able to think critically and develop a more rigorous understanding of art and design. They should also know how art and design both reflect and shape our history, and contribute to the culture, creativity and wealth of our nation.

National Curriculum - Aims

The national curriculum for art and design aims to ensure that all pupils: 

• produce creative work, exploring their ideas and recording their experiences 
• become proficient in drawing, painting, sculpture and other art, craft and design techniques 
• evaluate and analyse creative works using the language of art, craft and design 
• know about great artists, craft makers and designers, and understand the historical and cultural development of their art forms.

Willow Grove's Art Curriculum Intent Statement

More information to follow.

National Curriculum Purpose of Study

A high-quality computing education equips pupils to use computational thinking and creativity to understand and change the world. Computing has deep links with mathematics, science and design and technology, and provides insights into both natural and artificial systems. 

The core of computing is computer science, in which pupils are taught the principles of information and computation, how digital systems work and how to put this knowledge to use through programming. Building on this knowledge and understanding, pupils are equipped to use information technology to create programs, systems and a range of content. 

Computing also ensures that pupils become digitally literate – able to use, and express themselves and develop their ideas through, information and communication technology – at a level suitable for the future workplace and as active participants in a digital world.

National Curriculum Aims

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

• can understand and apply the fundamental principles and concepts of computer science, including abstraction, logic, algorithms and data representation
• can analyse problems in computational terms, and have repeated practical experience of writing computer programs in order to solve such problems
• can evaluate and apply information technology, including new or unfamiliar technologies, analytically to solve problems
• are responsible, competent, confident and creative users of information and communication technology

Willow Grove's Computing Curriculum Intent Statement

More information to follow.

More information to follow.

National Curriculum Purpose of Study

Design and technology is an inspiring, rigorous and practical subject. Using creativity and imagination, pupils design and make products that solve real and relevant problems within a variety of contexts, considering their own and others’ needs, wants and values. 

Pupils acquire a broad range of subject knowledge and draw on disciplines such as mathematics, science, engineering, computing and art. Pupils learn how to take risks, becoming resourceful, innovative, enterprising and capable citizens. 

Through the evaluation of past and present design and technology, they develop a critical understanding of its impact on daily life and the wider world. 

High-quality design and technology education makes an essential contribution to the creativity, culture, wealth and well-being of the nation.

National Curriculum Aims

The national curriculum for design and technology aims to ensure that all pupils:

• develop the creative, technical and practical expertise needed to perform everyday tasks confidently and to participate successfully in an increasingly technological world  
• build and apply a repertoire of knowledge, understanding and skills in order to design and make high-quality prototypes and products for a wide range of users
• critique, evaluate and test their ideas and products and the work of others
• understand and apply the principles of nutrition and learn how to cook

Willow Grove's Design Technology Curriculum Intent Statement

More information to follow.

More information to follow.

National Curriculum Purpose of Study

English has a pre-eminent place in education and in society. A high-quality education in English will teach pupils to speak and write fluently so that they can communicate their ideas and emotions to others, and through their reading and listening, others can communicate with them. Through reading in particular, pupils have a chance to develop culturally, emotionally, intellectually, socially and spiritually. Literature, especially, plays a key role in such development. Reading also enables pupils both to acquire knowledge and to build on what they already know. All the skills of language are essential to participating fully as a member of society; pupils who do not learn to speak, read and write fluently and confidently are effectively disenfranchised.

National Curriculum Aims

The overarching aim for English in the national curriculum is to promote high standards of language and literacy by equipping pupils with a strong command of the spoken and written language, and to develop their love of literature through widespread reading for enjoyment. The national curriculum for English aims to ensure that all pupils:

• read easily, fluently and with good understanding
• develop the habit of reading widely and often, for both pleasure and information
• acquire a wide vocabulary, an understanding of grammar and knowledge of linguistic conventions for reading, writing and spoken language
• appreciate our rich and varied literary heritage
• write clearly, accurately and coherently, adapting their language and style in and for a range of contexts, purposes and audiences
• use discussion in order to learn; they should be able to elaborate and explain clearly their understanding and ideas
• are competent in the arts of speaking and listening, making formal presentations, demonstrating to others and participating in debate

Willow Grove's Reading Curriculum Intent Statement

More information to follow.

National Curriculum Purpose of Study

English has a pre-eminent place in education and in society. A high-quality education in English will teach pupils to speak and write fluently so that they can communicate their ideas and emotions to others, and through their reading and listening, others can communicate with them. Through reading in particular, pupils have a chance to develop culturally, emotionally, intellectually, socially and spiritually. Literature, especially, plays a key role in such development. Reading also enables pupils both to acquire knowledge and to build on what they already know. All the skills of language are essential to participating fully as a member of society; pupils who do not learn to speak, read and write fluently and confidently are effectively disenfranchised.

National Curriculum Aims

The overarching aim for English in the national curriculum is to promote high standards of language and literacy by equipping pupils with a strong command of the spoken and written language, and to develop their love of literature through widespread reading for enjoyment. The national curriculum for English aims to ensure that all pupils:

• read easily, fluently and with good understanding
• develop the habit of reading widely and often, for both pleasure and information
• acquire a wide vocabulary, an understanding of grammar and knowledge of linguistic conventions for reading, writing and spoken language
• appreciate our rich and varied literary heritage
• write clearly, accurately and coherently, adapting their language and style in and for a range of contexts, purposes and audiences
• use discussion in order to learn; they should be able to elaborate and explain clearly their understanding and ideas
• are competent in the arts of speaking and listening, making formal presentations, demonstrating to others and participating in debate

Willow Grove's Writing Curriculum Intent Statement

More information to follow.

National Curriculum Purpose of study

Learning a foreign language is a liberation from insularity and provides an opening to other cultures. A high-quality languages education should foster pupils’ curiosity and deepen their understanding of the world. 

The teaching should enable pupils to express their ideas and thoughts in another language and to understand and respond to its speakers, both in speech and in writing. It should also provide opportunities for them to communicate for practical purposes, learn new ways of thinking and read great literature in the original language. Language teaching should provide the foundation for learning further languages, equipping pupils to study and work in other countries.

National Curriculum Aims

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

• understand and respond to spoken and written language from a variety of authentic sources
• speak with increasing confidence, fluency and spontaneity, finding ways of communicating what they want to say, including through discussion and asking questions, and continually improving the accuracy of their pronunciation and intonation
• can write at varying length, for different purposes and audiences, using the variety of grammatical structures that they have learnt
• discover and develop an appreciation of a range of writing in the language studied.

Pupils should be taught to:

• listen attentively to spoken language and show understanding by joining in and responding
• explore the patterns and sounds of language through songs and rhymes and link the spelling, sound and meaning of words
• engage in conversations; ask and answer questions; express opinions and respond to those of others; seek clarification and help
• speak in sentences, using familiar vocabulary, phrases and basic language structures
• develop accurate pronunciation and intonation so that others understand when they are reading aloud or using familiar words and phrases
• present ideas and information orally to a range of audiences
• read carefully and show understanding of words, phrases and simple writing
• appreciate stories, songs, poems and rhymes in the language
• broaden their vocabulary and develop their ability to understand new words that are introduced into familiar written material, including through using a dictionary
• write phrases from memory, and adapt these to create new sentences, to express ideas clearly
• describe people, places, things and actions orally and in writing in KS2
• understand basic grammar appropriate to the language being studied, including (where relevant): feminine, masculine and neutral forms and the conjugation of high-frequency verbs; key features and patterns of the language; how to apply these, for instance, to build sentences; and how these differ from or are similar to English.

Willow Grove's Modern Foreign Languages Curriculum Intent Statement

More information to follow.

National Curriculum Purpose of study

A high-quality geography education should inspire in pupils 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, together with 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 deepen their understanding of the interaction between physical and human processes, and of the formation and use of landscapes and environments. 

Geographical knowledge, understanding and skills provide the framework and approaches that explain how the Earth’s features at different scales are shaped, interconnected and change over time.

National Curriculum 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

Willow Grove's Geography Curriculum Intent Statement

More information to follow.

National Curriculum Purpose of Study

A high-quality history education 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, as well as their own identity and the challenges of their time.

National Curriculum 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-term and long-term timescales.

Willow Grove's History Curriculum Intent Statement

More information to follow.

National Curriculum Purpose of study

Mathematics is a creative and highly interconnected discipline that has been developed over centuries, providing the solution to some of history’s most intriguing problems. 

It is essential to everyday life, critical to science, technology and engineering, and necessary for financial literacy and most forms of employment. 

A high-quality mathematics education therefore provides a foundation for understanding the world, the ability to reason mathematically, an appreciation of the beauty and power of mathematics, and a sense of enjoyment and curiosity about the subject.

National Curriculum Aims

The national curriculum for mathematics 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 

As mathematics is an interconnected subject in which pupils need to be able to move fluently between representations of mathematical ideas. The programmes of study are, by necessity, organised into apparently distinct domains, but pupils should make rich connections across mathematical ideas to develop fluency, mathematical reasoning and competence in solving increasingly sophisticated problems. 

They should also apply their mathematical knowledge to science and other subjects.

The expectation is that the majority of pupils will move through the programmes of study at broadly the same pace. However, decisions about when to progress should always be based on the security of pupils’ understanding and their readiness to progress to the next stage. Pupils who grasp concepts rapidly should be challenged through being offered rich and sophisticated problems before any acceleration through new content. Those who are not sufficiently fluent with earlier material should consolidate their understanding, including through additional practice, before moving on.

The national curriculum for mathematics reflects the importance of spoken language in pupils’ development across the whole curriculum – cognitively, socially and linguistically. The quality and variety of language that pupils hear and speak are key factors in developing their mathematical vocabulary and presenting a mathematical justification, argument or proof. They must be assisted in making their thinking clear to themselves as well as others, and teachers should ensure that pupils build secure foundations by using discussion to probe and remedy their misconceptions. 

Willow Grove's Mathematics Curriculum Intent Statement

More information to follow.

National Curriculum Purpose of study

Music is a universal language that embodies one of the highest forms of creativity. A high- quality music education should engage and inspire pupils to develop a love of music and their talent as musicians, and so increase their self-confidence, creativity and sense of achievement. As pupils progress, they should develop a critical engagement with music, allowing them to compose, and to listen with discrimination to the best in the musical canon.

National Curriculum Aims

The national curriculum, for music, aims to ensure that all pupils: perform, listen to, appraise and compose 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 and 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 notations.

Willow Grove's Music Curriculum Intent Statement

More information to follow.

More information to follow.

National Curriculum Purpose of Study

A high-quality physical education curriculum inspires all pupils to succeed and excel in competitive sport and other physically demanding activities. It should provide opportunities for pupils to become physically confident in a way which supports their health and fitness. Opportunities to compete in sport and other activities build character and help to embed values such as fairness and respect.

National Curriculum Aims

The national curriculum for physical education aims to ensure that all pupils:

• Develop competence to excel in a broad range of physical activities
• Are physically active for sustained periods of time
• Develop cognitive and social skills
• Engage in competitive sports and activities
• Lead healthy and active lives

Willow Grove's Physical Education Curriculum Intent Statement

More information to follow.

National Curriculum Purpose of Study

Relationships, Sex and Health Education (RSHE) is a school curriculum subject through which pupils develop the knowledge, skills and attributes they need to manage their lives, now and in the future. RSHE education helps pupils to stay healthy, safe and prepared for life – and work – in modern Britain. RSHE also helps pupils to achieve their academic potential. Pupils develop the knowledge, skills and attributes they need to thrive as individuals, family members and members of society. From making responsible decisions about alcohol to succeeding in their first job, RSHE education helps pupils to manage many of the most critical opportunities, challenges and responsibilities they will face growing up. 

At Middleton our Programme of Study provides an interleaving curriculum to develop knowledge, skills and attributes, where prior learning is revisited, reinforced and extended within the school year and in subsequent years. This is grounded in the established evidence base for effective practice in RSHE education, as well as research around embedding learning into long term memory. During our weekly RSHE lessons, the children have numerous opportunities to share their thoughts and opinions, present them in different ways, learn about others and develop the skills to help them become Middleton role models. 

National Curriculum Aims

RSHE education makes a significant contribution to pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural (SMSC) development, their behaviour and safety and promoting pupils’ wellbeing. The aim for RSHE education is to provide pupils with:

• accurate, balanced and relevant knowledge
• opportunities to turn that knowledge into personal understanding
• opportunities to explore, clarify and if necessary challenge, their own and others’ values, attitudes, beliefs, rights and responsibilities
• the skills, language and strategies they need in order to live healthy, safe, fulfilling, responsible and balanced lives
• opportunities to develop positive personal attributes such as resilience, self-confidence, self-esteem, and empathy

Willow Grove's RSHE Curriculum Intent Statement

More information to follow. 

National Curriculum Purpose of Study

In religious education (RE), pupils acquire and develop knowledge and understanding of Christianity and the principal religions represented in Britain. To fulfil this, pupils will be religiously educated and develop skills in RE relative to content.

The most significant religious tradition in Britain is Christianity. Christianity shapes Britain’s year, language and shared culture. It informs moral perspectives, and it is essential that pupils learn about and understand the place of Christianity within British culture and the impact that it has on the lives of individuals, communities and the nation. 

The principal religions in Britain, besides Christianity, have been regarded as Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism and Sikhism. Whilst the Jewish and Sikh communities nationally are very small they have played an important part in Britain for centuries.

Willow Grove's Religious Education Curriculum Intent Statement

More information to follow. 

National Curriculum Purpose of Study

A high-quality science education provides the foundations for understanding the world through the specific disciplines of biology, chemistry and physics. 

Science has changed our lives and is vital to the world’s future prosperity, and all pupils should be taught essential aspects of the knowledge, methods, processes and uses of science. Through building up a body of key foundational knowledge and concepts, pupils should be encouraged to recognise the power of rational explanation and develop a sense of excitement and curiosity about natural phenomena. They should be encouraged to understand how science can be used to explain what is occurring, predict how things will behave, and analyse causes.

National Curriculum Aims

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

• develop scientific knowledge and conceptual understanding through the specific disciplines of biology, chemistry and physics
• develop understanding of the nature, processes and methods of science through different types of science enquiries that help them to answer scientific questions about the world around them
• are equipped with the scientific knowledge required to understand the uses and implications of science, today and for the future

Willow Grove's Science Curriculum Intent Statement

More information to follow.