Curriculum Overview

What are we trying to achieve?

Learning at Old Mill is engaging, challenging and inspires our children throughout their learning journey, to be the best they can be.

Our curriculum is well-planned, relevant and broad which equips our learners with the knowledge and skills needed for academic achievement and the personal development necessary to succeed, not just at Old Mill, but in the next stage of education and beyond.

Built around the objectives set out in the EYFS framework, the National Curriculum for all subjects in Years 1-6 and the locally agreed syllabus for Religious Education, our curriculum design enables children to think within the individual academic discipline of each subject so that they foster a love of each unique area of learning. 

Clear progression is seen in every subject, from one year to the next, as our curriculum is designed so that knowledge, skills and vocabulary build sequentially. Core learning for each year group, in each subject, is clearly defined.

We believe our curriculum to be ambitious and inclusive to all pupils, giving them the knowledge and cultural capital that they need to succeed in their next steps in education. Where necessary, individual adaptations are made to meet the needs of children with high levels of SEND. 

Vision

• We want all of our children to read for both pleasure and purpose. 

• We want all of our children to think within the individual academic discipline of each subject, building the skills of a future generation of historians, mathematicians, scientists and writers.
• We want all of our children to be respectful, tolerant and inclusive citizens who value a healthy body and healthy mind.

Core Values

• Professionalism

• Respect

• Excellence

• Child centred

• Resilience

• Teamwork

How do we organise learning?

Literature (fiction, non-fiction, poetry), which links directly to wider curriculum topics, is at the heart of our curriculum. Reading matters to all children and it is our moral duty to ensure that not only do we teach our children to read proficiently but also instil a passion that lasts a lifetime. High quality and diverse texts drive our reading curriculum and it is through these that a rich and varied vocabulary is taught. Tier 2 vocabulary is taught within reading lessons and is then utilised across the curriculum so that we develop pupils’ general and subject specific vocabulary and oracy skills. Learning about our world and its culture is ‘learning to read’ and so literature, whether it be fiction, non-fiction or poetry, is also a fundamental part of our wider curriculum.

Curriculum learning is organised and planned within a bespoke curriculum document. Subject leaders have identified core knowledge, skills and vocabulary that all children should know and remember in that subject. Our approach ensures that children are able to think within the individual academic discipline of each subject so that they foster a love of each unique area of learning. Each bespoke curriculum is supported by high quality resources from researched providers e.g. White Rose for Maths and Science, Jigsaw for PSHE. 

We teach using a mastery approach thus enabling limitless potential. Children are all expected to achieve the desired goal for their age so that they do not fall behind however scaffolding is present to support that desired outcome and we push children to think more deeply if they can. 

Where it adds to core learning, deliberate links have been planned so that subjects (which are taught discretely in most cases) can purposefully link to other subjects (horizontally across year groups, vertically across the school and diagonally across subjects) in order to assist children to activate knowledge memory and build upon it.  

Regardless of subject, lessons are explicitly linked to our school values and where relevant, British values and direct links are also made with ‘character muscles’ through our ‘Routes to Resilience’ work. Strength of character will ensure our children have the courage to leave their mark in the world and children build their character muscles as they move through school.

Our curriculum promotes long-term learning by helping children to make links within the curriculum so that they are able to learn more and remember more. Knowledge organisers act as aid memoires in some subjects to document core knowledge and key vocabulary, on one page, to reduce cognitive overload. We use daily retention activities and ‘low stakes quizzes’ to support that memory retention through revisiting the core knowledge cited within each subject curriculum document. Assessment is used to inform any areas that need revisiting.

At Old Mill, we enrich our curriculum with high quality experiences and extra-curricular activities e.g. Forest School sessions, experience days/weeks, residentials, visits to places of worship, parent events in school and guest speakers. This is alongside our broad offering of sporting, musical, creative and cultural activities and experiences. 

We will be successful when…

• Our children leave as passionate and purposeful readers;
• Our children achieve the very best that they are capable of;
• Our children are able to think within the individual academic discipline of each subject, building the skills of a future generation of historians, mathematicians, scientists and writers;
• Our children leave us as independent, confident learners who believe in their own abilities and are resilient in the face of challenge.  They leave us as responsible, well-rounded, polite and respectful citizens who understand that through hard work, they can achieve their potential as individuals or as part of a team in the wider world.