Intent 

Our curriculum intent is for children to be confident and resilient so they can access later education and be good citizens in our local community, now and in later life.

We aim to provide all children with inspirational learning experiences that ignite sparks within them. We strive to enable all our children to develop as curious, confident, articulate and happy individuals, who achieve personal academic excellence and are well-prepared for the next stage in their education and life in the wider world. 

It is our aim that every pupil can look back positively on their school experience having achieved the highest standards of work and achievement. To this end we provide a broad and balanced curriculum which gives emphasis to the aesthetic, creative, practical, social and moral aspects of life as well as academic skills, underpinned by our school values:

​

Collaborate, Achieve, Respect and Enjoy - CARE

 

These values are the bedrock of everything we do. They are the characteristics that we aim to foster in our pupils every day through our teaching and learning practice, so that by the time they leave school they will be confident, resilient, creative and responsible citizens.

Murdishaw West Community Primary will strive continuously to improve the quality of teaching and learning for all its pupils. We will foster and develop a vibrant and self-improving teaching and learning community that recognises and values teacher professionalism. We will actively look to adapt, refine and improve our teaching approaches utilising best evidence from trusted external research, the context in which we work in.

We believe that teaching and learning encompasses a range of inter-linked activities and processes, namely:

 

1. Pedagogy: How we teach

2. The curriculum: What is taught: knowledge and skills

3. Assessment: How we know what has been understood and retained; IMPACT

​

Implementation

Our approach to teaching and learning is built around Rosenshine’s Principles of Instruction. These define the key elements of effective practice. They are based around research, including cognitive load theory, and are designed to give direct links from research into practice.

 

 

Rosenshine’s 10 Principles of Instruction are:

 

1. Begin a lesson with a short review of previous learning

2. Present new material in small steps with student practice after each step

3. Ask a large number of questions and check the responses of all students

4. Provide models

5. Guide student practice

6. Check for student understanding

7. Obtain a high success rate

8. Provide scaffolds for difficult tasks

9. Require and monitor independent practice

10. Engage students in weekly and monthly review

​

At Murdishaw West Community Primary we facilitate these principles through:

 

• Structured sessions with clear routines that identify and address gaps and misconceptions through same-day 'scoop and boost’ catch-up (see below)

• An emphasis on verbal, formative feedback that is immediate

• Smooth links between formative and summative assessment processes to provide a clear understanding of pupil knowledge and gaps

• Planning templates with clear expectations for scripted modelling and success criteria for new knowledge

• Focus core skills and ‘deepening skills’ so all learners can succeed

• Regular opportunities for recall and review of previous knowledge

• A timetable with short, focused sessions

• Opportunities for developing positive learning behaviours

 

How does our curriculum meet the needs of our pupils?

Here at Murdishaw West we carefully designed, planned and organised our curriculum to ensure coverage and progression for every learner. It provides pupils with memorable experiences, in addition to diverse and rich opportunities from which children can learn and develop a range of transferable skills.

We discussed our children’s backgrounds, life and cultural experiences and this helped us to design a curriculum that meets their needs.

It was agreed that it is essential we provide opportunities for our children to experience the benefits of a multicultural society, tolerance and understanding. We want to be able to respond to national and world events, enabling the children to see different perspectives and develop their own opinions within an ever-changing world.

In addition, we have a whole school strategic approach to the spiritual, cultural and moral development of pupils. Our school curriculum offers our children the chance to raise questions, discuss important issues, learn to listen to others views and share their own thoughts. We believe a curriculum is about broadening minds, enriching communities, providing experiences that will support children beyond the classroom.

For information on how we support disabled pupils and their participation in the school curriculum, please view our Accessibility policy.