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Curriculum

Intent

The curriculum at Bishops Tawton Primary School is developed from an understanding of our children  -  their interests, knowledge and experiences -  to ensure that we build upon these during their time at our school.

Our curriculum is underpinned by the statutory requirements of the EYFS and the Primary National Curriculum.  Knowledge, skills and concepts progress through each year group in all subject areas.  Fundamental to this, are our Learning Powers and Growth Mindset culture, which equips the children with the skills to become life-long learners.

 Implementation

We have a thematic rolling programme which adapts to the needs of our mixed age classes.  Our curriculum is engaging, designed to motivate and inspire our children and to give a purpose to learning.  Our enquiry based curriculum is taught through discreet subjects, but is well planned to make purposeful links between subject areas.  We believe this supports contextualization, embeds skills and knowledge and encourages our children to see themselves for instance, as an artist, musician or scientist.  We value the importance of real life experiences to enrich our teaching and to engage the children in their learning through exciting ‘hooks’ and final outcomes.  This includes planning opportunities for visitors, outdoor learning, educational visits, community links and acknowledgement of global, national and local events.

 

As a school we recognize and value the importance of pastoral support and nurture for all children and how this impacts on their academic attainment.  We actively engage with THRIVE practitioners, play therapists, educational psychologists and children’s mental health wellbeing activities.  We hold annual children’s mental health week to highlight to parents the importance of emotional well-being and how they can help support their children on building resilience.

'From the moment children enter the school they experience a rich curriculum that engages them and motivates them to work hard. The early years provision is stimulating and adults are skilled in encouraging children to express their ideas and to use an increasingly wide vocabulary.' OFSTED 2019

Swimming and water safety: What the national curriculum dictates...
 
All schools must provide swimming instruction either in key stage 1 or key stage 2.
In particular, pupils should be taught to: 
 
  • swim competently, confidently and proficiently over a distance of at least 25 metres
  • use a range of strokes effectively [for example, front crawl, backstroke and breaststroke]
  • perform safe self-rescue in different water-based situations
Swimming lessons can be costly, the school subsidizes lessons for all children but still requires payment from parents/carers in order to make the provision possible. 
 
Religious Education
Since 1944 all schools have been required to teach RE to all pupils on roll (except those withdrawn by their parents) RE must be provided for all children registered in state-funded schools in England. Local authority maintained schools must follow the locally agreed syllabus (Devon and Torbay Syllabus 2019-2024)
Our school follows the 'Devon and Torbay Agreed Syllabus for RE 2019'
An overview is provided below: