Our Curriculum

At Linthwaite Clough Primary School, we offer an ambitious curriculum that builds sequentially on children’s learning. We use the Early Years Statutory Framework, the National Curriculum and the RE locally agreed syllabus as the starting point for our curriculum. In addition, schemes of work have been adopted to ensure children’s learning is deliberately mapped out throughout their time at Linthwaite Clough Primary School. All subjects allow children to gain knowledge and skills in an appropriate order that build on previous learning. 

Our aim at Linthwaite Clough is to ensure the curriculum is relevant to our children and the context of our school. We adapt our schemes of work to include local connections as frequently as possible. In addition to the core offer, we strive to find opportunities to enrich our curriculum whenever we can, ensuring the children find learning memorable and enjoyable. We purposefully plan in visits and visitors to bring learning to life and make use of our woodland area to ensure all year groups access outdoor learning. 

We have high expectations of our pupils’ learning in all subjects and strive for excellence across our curriculum. We ensure our curriculum: 

• offers children the opportunity to develop self-respect and respect for others; 

• fosters a lifelong love of learning; 

• prepares children for the next stage of their education;

• promotes respect for the environment both locally and globally;

• encourages tolerance for difference and a love of diversity;

• expects collaborative learning;

• develops perseverance to meet challenges head on;

• offers children the opportunity to develop the skills and attributes needed to be a successful learner. 

Through our curriculum we are committed to developing the whole child.  Our children have the opportunity to be creative, to be physically active and to be academically challenged. We are continually reviewing and improving the curriculum we offer to our children according to the needs of our children and community. We approach our curriculum with careful consideration of our motto: ‘Be Bold, Be Brave, Be Brilliant’ ensuring we make brave and bold choices whilst helping our children become brilliant!

When implementing our curriculum, we give careful consideration to pedagogical approaches, inclusive teaching and robust ongoing assessment. 

We ensure all lessons include the majority of the following core pedagogical principles:

• Recall of prior learning.

• Clear presentation of new learning.

• Explicit teaching of new vocabulary.

• Modelling new approaches.

• Allowing for purposeful talk between children and with adults.

• Repeated practice to develop fluency.

• Frequent checks on understanding and addressing misconceptions.

• Encouraging independence.

• Allowing time for reflection and summarising of learning.

• Working walls to aid knowledge retention.

• Whilst we promote these key pedagogical principles in any lesson, we also ensure each subject in the curriculum strives for pedagogical excellence. 

At Linthwaite Clough, every child matters and has the right to access the curriculum in a way that is suitable to their needs. We make adaptations to our lessons to ensure we remove barriers to learning and allow children to reach their full potential. Our lessons include adaptations where necessary, including (but not limited to):

• Physical adaptations to the environment.

• Pre- and post-teaching of new concepts and vocabulary.

• Explicit instruction.

• Additional modelling.

• Adapted timings.

• Adult and peer support.

• Use of technology to remove barriers to learning.

• Adapted resources such as concrete and pictorial prompts.

• Scaffolds to help children with writing.

• Flexible groupings.

Whilst these general adaptations can be relevant in any subject, we also think carefully about what adaptations in specific curriculum areas look like, using the NASEN Teacher SEND Handbook.

In our curriculum, we see frequent formative assessment as key to driving progress. We embed these techniques into our teaching practice to ensure we always know where the children are in their learning journey and what they need to do to make further progress.

When looking at the impact of our curriculum we use a combination of monitoring techniques to ensure children’s learning is appropriate, relevant and is progressive. Our subject leaders monitor the impact in their subject on a termly basis where they check the planned curriculum is being taught, pupils are knowing and remembering more and that they are prepared for the next stage of their education. Based on the monitoring, we are continually making decisions that ensure pupils’ outcomes are improving. 

By the end of their time at Linthwaite Clough Primary School, we want to see pupils have a broad range of knowledge across all areas of the curriculum that has nurtured their love of learning and natural curiosity. We strive to ensure all pupils are reaching their full potential in all areas of the curriculum and leave them prepared for the next stage of their learning journey. 

Most importantly, we want children to ‘Be Bold, Be Brave and Be Brilliant!’