Our Curriculum Vision
Joseph Locke Primary aims to provide a creative, inclusive, challenging and real-world curriculum that inspires future thinkers and problem solvers in an immersive environment that stimulates and supports high quality learning. Currently we have three main curriculum drivers that reflect the traits we would like to see in our pupils, the values as a school and the challenges our pupil’s face.
These are:
Sport; promoting a healthy lifestyle
Diversity; developing knowledge of the world
Creativity; embracing the expressive arts.
Through this approach we will ensure that all learners exceed their potential academically, socially, emotionally and spiritually with their families, in their communities as in the wider world ensuring that they become ambitious lifelong learners.
Our curriculum aims
Joseph Locke Primary is a happy and healthy place to learn. Like all schools in England, we must follow the National Curriculum – https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-curriculum-in-england-primary-curriculum – it sets out subjects and content which we must teach. Within this, however, there is flexibility so that we can interpret and plan to meet the needs and interests of our children now and for the future.
· The key aim for all our teaching and learning is to provide opportunities for all pupils to learn, to enjoy and to achieve.
· To provide a vibrant, happy and safe environment in which all people can share positive experiences and feel valued.
· We encourage and stimulate the best possible progress and the highest attainment for all our pupils. Our curriculum builds on pupils’ strengths, interests and experiences and develops children’s confidence in their capacity to learn and work independently and collaboratively.
· To assist everyone within school everybody to acquire the skills of learning independently and workng as a team.
· We place great importance on the skills of literacy, numeracy, information and communication technology and problem-solving. We promote skills that help our learners to improve their own learning and performance and that help them to work well with others.
· To help each child adopt healthy lifestyles with a sound knowledge and understanding of the factors that affects their physical and mental health and emotional well-being.
· We place a high priority on developing pupils’ physical skills, self-esteem and emotional well-being. We encourage them to recognise the importance of pursuing a healthy lifestyle and keeping themselves and others safe. We promote happy, effective relationships that are based on respect for themselves and for others.
· To help each child develop a good understanding of right and wrong, respect and treat each other as equals and become decent and responsible citizens
· We do this through teaching knowledge and understanding of the spiritual, moral, social and cultural heritages of Britain’s diverse society and of the local, national, European, Commonwealth and global dimensions of pupils’ lives. We want everyone in our school to understand and appreciate their own and different beliefs and cultures, and how these influence our communities.
· To encourage confidence and high aspirations so everyone realises their full potential and talents
· We provide rich and varied contexts for pupils to acquire, develop and apply a broad range of knowledge, understanding and skills. Doing so enables our pupils to think creatively and critically, to solve problems and to make a difference for the better.
To provide experiences that enable pupils and staff to develop tolerance, perseverance, determination and resourcefulness
Joseph Locke Pedagogy
Joseph Locke Primary prides itself on its entirely inclusive. The “Big Idea” curriculum approach at Joseph Locke our main driver. This is a hugely engaging approach, which ensures all our children succeed and all learning is purpose-driven. It consists of the following guiding principles:
Pupils are both partners in learning, and in their curriculum design. This ownership ensures accountability and enthusiasm, and a passion and excitement for learning. In consultation, with the pupil’s questions, teachers decide upon an end goal for each ‘topic’ to work towards (The Guiding Purpose). This Guiding Purpose or Guiding Question provides the purpose to learning. Pupils then generate a series of questions which need to be answered to achieve the end goal. These questions are ordered so that everyone understands what will need to be answered at what stage of the unit (The Learning Journey). Pupils and teachers can then evaluate the successes and adapt the learning their learning as the ‘topic’ progresses. Key skills and Thinking Skills are integrated into a curriculum where pupils understand about the recycling of skills such that transferable Basic Skills are built on to accelerate progress. Subject specific objectives are used so that discrete subject knowledge is developed and achieved.
The enrichment and diversity of the curriculum enthuses learners and teachers, creating heightened ambition and high standards across the full breadth of the curriculum. Its diversity showcases talents and conceives inspiration. Inbuilt flexibility embraces new technologies and fosters skills of a fast changing world. Breadth of quality of provision is built on expertise of staff and well-developed, sustainable partnerships.
At Joseph Locke Primary School we also aim to ensure that the children develop key deeper learning skills for future learning and life experience. Our aim is that when children leave Joseph Locke Primary School they are able to: problem solve, communicate, reflect, be curious and creative, articulate, analyse and evaluate and collaborate effectively.
To meet the requirements of the National Curriculum, all classes in Key Stage 1 and 2 follow set, pre-planned projects; there are six main projects and some mini projects during the year. We also offer after-school clubs and other extra-curricular activities – encourage your child to join in!
For example, the project ‘Why was it dangerous to go to hospital?’ in Y2 covers lots of Science in the National Curriculum and provides opportunities for our pupils to develop skills in other subjects. In History, for example, children will use artefacts, pictures and online sources to learn about a significant person from Britain who had an impact on medicine and hospitals.
The National Curriculum sets out the minimum content. At Joseph Locke Primary, we make sure children learn lots of additional skills, knowledge and understanding. For example:
We offer a range of after-school clubs and opportunities– these extra-curricular activities go beyond the statutory requirements
If a class or group show an interest in a particular subject, teachers will try to include this in the school year –
Current local / national or international events can provide a great basis for learning – the Tour de Yorkshire coming to Barnsley was a good example
Not all subjects can naturally ‘fit’ within a topic and so these subjects are usually taught in a discrete way. Religious Education does not usually link with a topic and so it’s taught separately. Not everything in Maths links effectively with a topic and so this often runs separately, but is taught by the same teacher and links are made whenever possible.
