The Wider Curriculum

Introduction

Our curriculum at Clifton Primary School is underpinned by the by the needs of our children and families in addition to meeting the requirements of the National Curriculum. We want our children to be equipped with the skills and ambition in order to become happy and successful in their opportunities, responsibilities and experiences in later life.

We are situated in an area of high socio-economic deprivation close to Birmingham City Centre. A vast majority of our children and parents have English as an additional language, and many of our children have limited access to the English language outside of school. They also have very limited life experiences in the wider environment and as a result, the majority of our children enter the school at a very low baseline; working well below the expectation for their age.

The key learning needs for our children at Clifton Primary are, therefore, based around developing good speaking and listening skills, enriching them with a wide range of knowledge of vocabulary and providing them with exciting extra-curricular experiences. This will empower them to become independent, inquisitive, collaborative and resilient learners with a passion for achieving right across the curriculum.

As well as the curriculum for English, maths and science, we have used the International Primary Curriculum Framework to carefully devise personalised curriculum plans for all other subjects. They provide strong cross curricular links and are encompassed by common themes which children revisit on their journey through Clifton. This allows them to build on embedded knowledge and skills; learn from other cultures; respect diversity; co-operate with one another and leave Clifton as true global citizens.

We have set out our curriculum plans to show our 'intent' (what we expect our pupils children to learn), our 'implementation' (how we will teach it) and the 'impact' it will have (what children know and remember and how we know this).

Use the links below to explore the intent, implementation and key learning expectations for each subject within the curriculum at Clifton Primary School.

Intent and Implementation by Subject

Art

Computing

Design Technology (DT)

Geography

History

Music

Physical Education (PE)

Religious Education (RE)

Science

Whole School Impact

We want our children to leave Clifton with a secure understanding of the curriculum content; with an awareness of and respect for diversity and other cultures; knowing how to make positive contributions in different situations and to endeavour to be the best that they can be.

To be able to achieve this, we carefully monitor the learning experiences of our children. Teachers use a variety of strategies to check children’s understanding during lessons and take action as and when necessary.

A well planned out, interconnected programme of pupil and teacher interviews; scrutinies of teachers’ marking diaries and children’s work; regular question level analysis of tests; pupil progress and attainment meetings and teaching and learning observations enables the school to constantly evaluate and make improvements to enable children to develop essential learning behaviours in order for them to:

  • Embed their learning and recall knowledge;
  • Make connections across their learning;
  • Think for themselves;
  • Have ownership of their learning;
  • Draw upon and apply various strategies;
  • Apply, justify and communicate their knowledge and learning effectively using relevant and appropriate vocabulary;
  • Solve problems and take on challenges with confidence, learning from mistakes;
  • Have a thirst for learning.

Other Useful Curriculum Information

National Curriculum Guides for Parents

The following documents, from Rising Stars, give a guide to the new national curriculum at each year of primary school: