At St Dominic’s we teach a curriculum that is exciting and imaginative and which seeks to provide pupils with engaging and challenging opportunities for learning, ensuring coverage of the objectives outlined in the National Curriculum. The school seeks to offer a curriculum in which pupils feel empowered by the learning opportunities offered to them.
Please find an overview of all year group Curriculum Maps, here.
The Learning Challenge ™ approach is now being used in over 1000 primary schools in England and has received exceptionally positive praise during inspections. Feedback from staff, parents and pupils tell us that it has helped a great many schools bring some life into their curriculum. The key to its success is (i) getting it right for your context, and (ii) keeping it under review to ensure it does not become routine.
Many schools that have implemented the Learning Challenge principles have received praise from Ofsted. The extracts below is from two such inspections.
‘The imaginative curriculum successfully builds on pupils’ skills and knowledge as they move through the school. It meets the needs and interests of all pupils because it is effectively linked to national and local events. The imaginative curriculum underpins effective teaching across the whole school. Subjects are creatively linked and teachers present exciting activities which fire pupils’ enthusiasm.‘Learning in our school is fun, because every day is different’ is a typical comment from theoverwhelming majority of pupils who think teaching is good.’
‘The school is successfully changing to a more skills-based ‘challenge’ curriculum which pupils enjoy and gain much from. Teachers have adapted to the recently introduced ‘challenge’ curriculum well and are teaching it with skill and enthusiasm. Subjects are linked cohesively, giving meaning and purpose to pupils’ learning. Opportunities to extend pupils’ reading, writing and mathematical skills through other subjects are utilised regularly and effectively. For example, after carrying out a virtual experiment on the computer Year 5 pupils used what they had been taught in mathematics to construct accurate line graphs which showed clearly the pattern formed by the results. Stimulating writing tasks, often based on interesting and innovative questions, are helping to raise standards. The recently introduced ‘challenge’ curriculum addresses pupils’ learning needs well by providing frequent opportunities for problem solving and skills development.’
For further curriculum information please contact Ms Frankland.
