Curriculum Statement:

‘Excellence, Truth and Grace’

‘Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies.’

Philippians 4: 8-9 

 

Curriculum Intent

At Middleton Parish Church School, through our core values which are embodied in Philippians 4:8, we have created an environment where the emotional, physical, academic, social, moral, spiritual and cultural development of each child is placed at the centre. Our curriculum has therefore been designed with our children at its heart. 

It aims to: -

  • Develop and prosper the whole, unique child;
  • Be inclusive whilst celebrating diversity
  • Raise aspirations and eradicate social disadvantage through the provision of enriching opportunities
  • Increase cultural capital
  • Enable children to develop a wide vocabulary and be expert readers, writers and language speakers
  • Be accessible by beginning with the known and familiar
  • Be ambitious and clear focused in developing engagement, connections and a lifelong love of learning
  • Be both skill and knowledge based

We have 4 clear drivers which are inextricably interweaved with our Christian vision

Middleton Parish Church School's children will be:

  • Ready to Learn: Children will have a positive, confident attitude towards learning. They will be physically and emotionally ready to learn. 
  • Respectful: Children will understand their own spirituality, beliefs and culture whilst also respecting that of others. They will develop social skills and understand the British values that underpin our society. They will build a firm personal morality, and engage productively with the culture in which they live. 
  • Reflective: Children will learn about themselves and the behaviours they need to develop to succeed in the world. These include: concentration, perseverance, imagination, co-operation, self-improvement and curiosity. 
  • Aspirational: Children will be inspired, through a climate of high expectation, excellence and challenge to fulfil their true potential, both at Middleton Parish Church School and in their life ahead. 

 

Curriculum Implementation

Our curriculum will be underpinned by our drivers. By ensuring we think about: what we learn, who we are when we are learning, how we act when we learn and who we are in the world, we will build happy, resilient, successful and productive citizens. Our implementation plan ensures our curriculum remains focussed on these areas. 

The National Curriculum is our starting point. This will be enhanced by quality experiences and lessons which will always aim to make links and connections between past, present and future learning so that our children are able to make changes to their long term memory and use and apply skills and knowledge across the curriculum. In order for new learning to "stick", we believe children must have prior knowledge to attach it to. Therefore, our curriculum begins with what the children know through their own lived experiences, this is then built upon by providing opportunities to explore, discover and learn about life beyond the locality and the wider world. 

 

Driver 1: Children are safe and ready to learn

Children are encouraged to be curious about the world around them. The use of "enquiry questions" within units of work are designed to both create a hook and ignite an enthusiasm for learning. The development of progression across the curriculum begins with Middleton - hooking children in to learning through what they already know. Teachers design learning opportunities that look for ways to develop good learning behaviours. This always begins with the activation of prior knowledge. At Middleton Parish Church School our curriculum challenges children to routinely think hard about and recall what they have previously learned so that knowledge is systematically increased. Our Engagement and Inclusion Team supports families and children to be physically and emotionally ready to learn; they do this in many ways. e.g. by providing a soft landing start to the day for those children who need it; supporting families with uniform provision and food hampers; signposting and working with external agencies to provide parental support in the home. 

 

Driver 2: Children are respectful

When planning the curriculum teachers not only think about what learners should learn and how they should learn it, but also about how they can bring in an understanding of morality and the wider world to that learning also. PSHE learning runs through every strand of our curriculum and is focused on children developing a growth mind set in all areas of their lives. Lessons are underpinned by our core Christian values which enable us to create a loving, positive and supportive community. To support this further teachers ask children to undertake positions of responsibility around the school, as we believe that children understand the values better by seeing them in action. 

 

Driver 3: Children are reflective

Teachers and subject co-ordinators look for links within the curriculum and ask children to reflect and draw on prior learning, previously acquired skills and experiences when they begin a new topic of study. Children are nurtured in thinking about their personal strengths and areas for development as learners and successes in learning are always reflected upon during a weekly class worship, in notes home and on recognition boards within classroom. Cohort learning journeys follow the class through the school in order for children to reflect upon previous learning and make connections. 

 

Driver 4: Aspirational

Our curriculum broadens horizons by providing opportunities for children to be aware of, understand and respect - 

  • the wider world and its current issues;
  • cultural diversity and differences;
  • the local community and its impact upon the wider world (local to global)

Embedding cultural capital into our curriculum is a way of closing the gap between children from different socio-economic backgrounds. It ensures that children from all backgrounds are provided with opportunities that enable them to achieve their academic potential whilst broadening their knowledge and understanding of the world. 

 

Curriculum Impact

Pupils will leave Middleton Parish Church School with a secure understanding of: -

  • Academic content;
  • Academic knowledge and skills;
  • How to be socially, morally, spiritually and culturally responsible and aware;
  • How to make positive contributions to the community in which they live;
  • How to endeavour to be the best that they can be. 

We aim for all of our children to leave our school with ambition for life's opportunities.

 

Driver 1: Children are safe and ready to learn

At the end of the journey at Middleton Parish Church School, children will have gained knowledge, skills and an enthusiasm and love for learning. We measure attainment carefully using a range of materials, whilst always considering Age Related Expectations. Our intention is that children will be academically, physically and emotionally prepared for life in secondary school, modern Britain and the world. 

 

Driver 2: Children are respectful

Our children will develop fully rounded characters with a clear understanding of complex matters such as: equality, friendship, trust and diversity. We measure this not just by the work our children produce, but in the behaviours we see each and every day in classrooms, on the playground, in extra-curricular clubs and in the roles of responsibility we give them. The impact of this intention will be seen in the daily interaction of all members of our community, including staff and children. 

 

Driver 3: Children are reflective

Our children will develop a reflective mind-set that sees mistakes, in any context, as opportunities for growth. They will: embrace challenges; persist in the face of setbacks; see effort as the path to mastery; learn from criticism and find inspiration in the success of others. Our children will learn to approach new challenges by reflecting on experiences and learning opportunities they have had previously; they will use prior experiences to inform and be successful in new ones. 

 

Driver 4: Aspirational

Children who have been educated at Middleton Parish Church School won't give up; they will be highly motivated to succeed and achieve and will be equipped with all the personal skills to do this. The children will be knowledgeable about the wider world and the opportunities available to them; they will go out into the world and make a difference to their own life and to others. The children will be empowered to be the owners of their own destinies. 

 

Children will leave Middleton Parish Church School fully equipped to face the challenges of modern day society, knowing they are loved by God and valued for their individuality. 

 

If you would like any further information on the National Curriculum please see https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/national-curriculum 

 

More information can also be found on our class newsletters and parents can keep up to date by accessing Class Dojo.