Overall - Curriculum Intent at Hackbridge Primary School

Hackbridge Primary School

Happy People Succeed

The Hackbridge Curriculum

At Hackbridge Primary School our purpose is to provide a caring learning environment with high standards and expectations, where children grow into responsible, resilient, independent learners. Our school ethos is embedded in our core values: Kindness, Inspiration, Nurture and Determination.

Curriculum Intent

Our curriculum is designed to teach the children the skills and knowledge that they need to achieve at primary school and prepare them for their later education at secondary school.

Alongside the early years foundation stage framework and the national curriculum, we have planned our Hackbridge curriculum to take account of our locality and pupils’ cultural capital.

Our curriculum is underpinned by the following key drivers:

• Language Development – by exposing children to a rich language environment and directly teaching and explaining the meaning of new words, we ensure that children develop a broad vocabulary to allow them to develop a deeper understanding of the subjects they study. We aim for all children to be effective listeners and confident speakers, impacting positively on their attainment and progress, and enabling them to take their place confidently in our fast changing, modern world.
• Knowledge – our pupils access a knowledge rich curriculum, ensuring they develop the skills and learning behaviours to become lifelong learners. We have ensured that, in each subject, knowledge is built on progressively as pupils move through the school. This knowledge takes account of ‘disciplinary knowledge’ (the methods that establish the substantive facts) as well as ‘substantive knowledge’ (the established facts) so that pupils are supported not just to know and remember but also to do.
• Aspiration – aspiration is the hope, desire or ambition to strive to achieve something. The opening of children’s minds to the possibilities that exist for them encourages them to challenge themselves as learners, produce work of high quality, widen their experiences, take pride in themselves and be the very best that they can be.
• Inclusion – we are committed to ensuring that all children feel connected to and invested in our school curriculum. This is achieved by ensuring that pupils, independent of their needs, have equal opportunities to access and engage with their learning. Teachers design lessons with equality, equity, diversity and representation at the heart of our teaching and learning, which in addition helps all pupils to develop tolerance and understanding of others in order to be effective citizens.
• Wellbeing – it is important to us that all members of our school community are healthy – physically and mentally. Throughout life, our children will face many difficult challenges and need to have the mental and physical strength to be successful and happy. Children learn how to be caretakers of their own emotional, mental and physical wellbeing through regular opportunities of self and peer reflection. This is in addition to the delivery of quality PE lessons and opportunities for extracurricular and competitive sports engagement.

Teachers work to enable pupils to achieve, regardless of learning needs, disability, religion, gender, culture or social background. Spiritual, moral, social and cultural development, as well mental health and well-being, are prioritised to ensure children have concern for others and an appreciation of diversity.

We are committed to working with our families and the wider local community to ensure that multi-cultural, multi faith and the ever-changing nature of the United Kingdom is understood and valued. We promote the importance of identifying and combating discrimination and to understand that we all have the freedom to choose and hold different faiths and beliefs. 

Curriculum Implementation

Our curriculum incorporates the statutory requirements of the early years foundation stage framework and the national curriculum along with other experiences and opportunities which best meet the learning and developmental needs of the children in our school.

Getting the children excited about new learning is the first step of any new programme of study. Activities are planned which set the scene and provide the context for future learning. The children are asked questions which spark their curiosity and which they work to answer by the end of the block of learning.

Throughout the block of learning, the children explore subjects in greater depth. They are given the opportunity to gain new knowledge and skills through a range of challenging activities and lessons, thus enabling them to make progress and develop their confidence across the curriculum.

Regular ‘learning showcases’ are held through which children reflect on their learning through talk and opportunities for shared evaluation. Children are given the opportunity to explain their learning in different ways and identify next steps. Parents and carers play a shared role at this stage, being invited into the school to share the children’s learning. The children are confident and able to articulate and reflect on their learning positively.