Our Curriculum Intent

At Water Hall Primary School we offer a curriculum which is broad and balanced and that meets the needs of all pupils. It is designed to give them the skills, knowledge and understanding to prepare them for their future lives. The curriculum incorporates the statutory requirements of the National Curriculum 2014 and other experiences and opportunities which best meet the learning and developmental needs of the pupils in our school.

The aim of our curriculum is for pupils to have the requisite skills to be successful, independent and motivated learners in readiness for their next stage of education. We believe it is important that the curriculum does not concentrate solely on academic success, but considers the development of the whole child.

Our curriculum ensures that academic success, creativity and problem solving, responsibility and resilience, as well as physical development, well-being and mental health, are key elements that support the development of the whole child and promote a positive attitude to learning.

It ensures that children have a good understanding of their global and local citizenship and responsibilities and develops their social, emotional and moral needs as well as meeting National Curriculum expectations. Our curriculum equips children with both the knowledge and skills needed to be successful at primary school and beyond; championing the culture and values we promote here at Water Hall.

We follow the ‘3 R’s’ to ensure that our children are in a place where they are ready to learn, and therefore, make the most of the experiences our curriculum has to offer.

  • Ready
  • Respectful
  • Responsible

In addition to promoting these values through our curriculum, we also promote Kindness, Honesty, Courage and Understanding.

Curriculum Implementation

Our curriculum has been designed to ensure that children experience real breadth and depth in their learning; leading to sustained mastery and greater depth of understanding for all.

Our schemes of work reflect the content and challenge of the curriculum and have been carefully selected from a range of sources to meet the specific learning needs of the children at Water Hall. The schemes we use to support the planning, teaching and learning of our curriculum are:

  • Science – Kapow
  • Computing – Teach Computing & Kapow
  • History – Kapow
  • Geography – Kapow
  • Design and Technology – Kapow
  • Art and Design – Kapow
  • Music – Kapow, with support from the MK Music Service
  • Religious Education – Kapow
  • PSHE & RSE – Jigsaw
  • Physical Education – Get Set for PE
  • Spanish (Years 3 – 6) – Language Angels 

Each unit of work provides children with the knowledge required to apply the skills, make links and build upon their learning in a variety of ways. The units for each half term can be found in our Long Term Curriculum Overviews for each phase.

Curriculum Impact

Children’s progress and learning is captured in books which celebrate their individual  learning achievements and in collaborative floor books to capture whole class learning experiences. 

Personal Development

The personal development opportunities within our curriculum are tailored to ensure that pupils develop into responsible, respectful and active citizens. We use the Jigsaw scheme of work to plan and deliver weekly PSHE sessions. Jigsaw is a spiral, progressive and fully planned scheme of work, giving children relevant learning experiences to help them navigate their world and to develop positive relationships with themselves and others. With strong emphasis on emotional literacy, building resilience and nurturing mental and physical health, Jigsaw equips teachers to deliver engaging and relevant PSHE within a whole-school approach. Jigsaw lessons also include mindfulness allowing children to advance their emotional awareness, concentration and focus.

Our school values (3 R’s) are intrinsic to pupils’ personal development at Water Hall and are woven into our curriculum, shared in assemblies and are visible around the school.

Alongside our values and the 3 R’s, we also support and encourage positive mental health by ensuring wellbeing opportunities and learning are woven throughout the curriculum.

Learning At Home

Our expectation is that spelling, times tables and daily reading practise form the basis of our home learning. To support learning across the curriculum, class teachers may also send out suggested learning opportunities to enhance our children’s understanding.

Teachers also use online platforms, such as Google Classroom and Times Table Rock Stars, to set activities and challenges for pupils that they are able to access from home. This also allows children to share their learning with their families.

Religious Education

For our Religious Education, we use Kapow. It is an inquiry based approach to R.E teaching which delivers excellent learning outcomes.

Across the school, we teach 59 different modules covering Christianity, Buddhism, Islam, Hinduism, Judaism and Sikhism.

Our Religious Education curriculum meets Ofsted and SIAMS outcomes, SMSC, British Values, Anti-radicalisation, Critical thinking and Growth Mindset and Personal Development.

British Values

The DfE continue to reinforced the need to create and enforce a clear and rigorous expectation on all schools to promote the fundamental British values of:

  • Democracy
  • The rule of law
  • Individual liberty
  • Mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs

At Water Hall Primary School, British values are promoted through our own school values.  They are also integrated throughout our broader curriculum teaching.

SMSC

At Water Hall Social, moral, spiritual and cultural (SMSC) links are planned into our curriculum and reference made to them whenever appropriate.

Spiritual development is concerned with developing the non-material aspects of life, focusing on personal insight, values, meaning and purpose. Beliefs that help provide perspective on life may be rooted in a religion, but equally may not. Children explore the fundamental British Value of exploring and respecting the values and beliefs of others.

Moral development is largely about choices, behaviour and how you live your life. It’s also about personal and societal values, understanding the reasons for them and airing and understanding disagreements. Children develop the fundamental British Value of investigating moral values and ethical issues, and recognising, distinguishing between and applying right and wrong.

Social development shows pupils working together effectively, relating well to adults and participating in the local community. It also includes the fundamental British Values of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs.

Cultural development is about understanding and feeling comfortable in a variety of cultures and experiencing a range of cultural activities (for example art, theatre, travel, concerts). Children develop the fundamental British Value of exploring, understanding and tolerance regarding the diversity of cultural traditions and beliefs of others.

At Water Hall we ensure these themes are woven throughout our curriculum in addition to being rooted in our school values.