Our Curriculum Statement
Our curriculum provides a broad and balanced range of experiences for our pupils.
Aspiration is a key driver of everything we do at Heatherbrook. We aim to raise the aspiration of our pupils and open their eyes to the great things they are able to achieve. Our Expectations of ready, respectful and safe underpin all we do to ensure our children are successful in life. Our children will be proficient and fluent readers who read for both pleasure and purpose. Reading is at the heart of our curriculum as we know that being a successful reader is the key to future academic success and also to subsequent adult health and wellbeing.
The Heatherbrook Way
Starting at the school gates, our school culture is centered around high expectations, mutual respect and team work. We aim to enable all pupils to develop their unique personalities, feel confident to ask questions about the world around them and fell supported to show independence in learning; understanding they all have the ability to do great things. We understand that all children need to see the importance of education and its role within their future lives, and, at Heatherbrook, our aim is to inspire and ignite each child’s passion for learning and shape their curiosity to explore and learn about the magnificent world in which they live. Acknowledging all our pupils as individuals is key to ensuring they develop a sense of identity.
Our curriculum was designed with a number of key experiences we want our children to have during their time here at Heatherbrook:
- A curriculum that has quality literature, vocabulary and knowledge at the heart of their learning;
- A rich curriculum that enables pupils to see the world from a wide range of perspectives;
- Developing resilience and perseverance through challenge and support so they have the confidence to aim high and aspire to more;
- Opportunities to delve deeper into their learning, building on skills progressively each year;
- A curriculum that responds to pupil feedback and the school data to ensure it is bespoke to their needs and reflects the ever-changing world, locally and globally;
- A curriculum that helps children to know how to live healthy lifestyles – both physically and mentally;
- Spiritual, moral, social and cultural experiences threaded through all we do;
- A strong caring ethos and culture, permeating through daily life, which gives the children a safe and nurturing environment.
Our curriculum was designed with a number of key elements in mind, based on what we believe our children need to be successful in life:
- Encouragement to grow as individuals who can make difference to the world as caring and thoughtful citizens;
- A positive learning culture where children are proud of their achievements and strive to better themselves;
- Rich reading experiences which include classic and contemporary texts to develop and enhance vocabulary acquisition across the whole curriculum;
- Awareness of the skills developed through different subjects and how these are important when working towards a career aspiration, e.g. to be a scientist;
- Opportunities to enhance learning through visits and trips, workshops and specialists both in and out of school and in addition to this to experience activities, culture and beliefs outside their own experience
At Heatherbrook we want our children to have the opportunity to demonstrate their learning in a variety of ways:
- Take part in a performance/assembly/play/poetry recital
- Show work in an art exhibition
- Design a useable product for a purpose
- Learn about and experience looking after a living thing
- Participate in team sports and play competitively
- Experience a range of trips and visits – A theatre experience in London; A residential outdoor and adventurous trip
- Use IT as a way to communicate/express themselves, e.g. programming/blogging/controlling something they have made
- Cooking for a purpose e.g. a banquet for parents, the community, making a product to sell
- Enterprise – the opportunity to raise money for the good of others
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