Curriculum

Our Curriculum Vision

To achieve our mission, Brixington's curriculum is designed to celebrate the school's local context and compliment our children's home experiences. A rich and varied diet of activities enrich schemes of learning that build pupils' knowledge and skills, sequentially. 

Good citizens are people who show friendship, respect, honesty, endeavour and sportsmanship. These are our chosen values and our basis for praise and reward. 

Learners who achieve their very best enjoy reading and have very secure understanding of English and maths, but are also knowledgeable about other key areas and have skills that are transferable and well-developed.  

In addition, our community have a particular enthusiasm to encourage learners to really contribute to their local community and to celebrate everything that is special about where we live: seafront, countryside and a busy town!  

 Please see Year Group Planning documents below, showing the subject content for this year. Should you require any further information about your child's learning and the curriculum they will be taught, please do not hesitate to contact their class teacher, Unit Leader or the Head of Teaching and Learning.

Early Fears Foundation Stage

Aims of our Early Years Curriculum

• Foster and develop the Characteristics of Effective Learning, in every child.
• Promote and celebrate the school's values of friendship, respect, endeavour, honesty and sportsmanship.
• Deliver the EYFS Statutory Framework in a creative way that challenges learners. 

Approach to Early Years teaching

Learning takes place through a balance of child-initiated learning and the direct teaching of skills. The environment is created to let children explore, collaborate and investigate their own learning. They are also taught key skills and knowledge and are given opportunities to practise and apply these in a purposeful and meaningful way. We work hard in school and with families to develop children's communication and language skills, and to cultivate a love of reading, as we know that these things can radically transform children's capacity to succeed. 

Children who attend our setting become:

• active learners -  when learning is initiated by the child, the drive and desire to succeed is greater.
• creative and critical thinkers - children make links to previous knowledge and lay the foundations for future learning

• well-regulated and sociable - children manage their own behaviour and make appropriate choices.

• collaborative learners - children learn significantly from each other in an environment that encourages co-operation and positive relationships.
• articulate -  children benefit from being immersed in rich vocabulary through stories, explicit reference to two and three tier vocabulary and frequent sustained shared thinking opportunities.
• secure early mathematicians - children enjoy challenging themselves in number, operations, geometry and spacial thinking. 
• ambitious readers - children's early reading skills are secured through our progressive ‘Bugclub’ reading scheme, plus discreet phonics and guided reading sessions.
• message makers and authors - children become intrinsically driven by the will to write, and learn to communicate their intended message in a number of ways. 
• supported with additional needs -  early intervention for children facing specific developmental/ learning challenges ensure everyone makes individual progress.

All children are challenged to fulfil their full potential. We continuously observe, evaluate and communicate each stage of a child’s development to ensure their next steps are planned for. This cycle of observing, evaluating and planning ensures that our children are ready for each stage in their educational journey.

More information about the EYFS stage can be found here:  https://www.foundationyears.org.uk/files/2014/08/EYFS_Parents_Guide-amended.pdf

In our Foundation Unit, Casper Cat, Olivia Owl and Tommy Tortoise represent aspects from the ‘Characteristics of Learning’ from the Early Years Framework. Beatrice Bee represents aspects of Personal, Social and Emotional Development. Each week, four certificates (one for each character) are presented to four different children in each class who have displayed the special characteristics of learning or special behaviour.

English and Maths

We follow the National Curriculum objectives for English and maths, and carefully monitor children's progress against yearly objectives, using formative and summative approaches. In these subjects, we take a small steps approach, ensuring children are secure with a learning construct before moving on to the next. English and maths leads work as part of network groups with the First Federation to continue improving the subjects,  and we make use of a range of innovative support materials, including Pearson's Bug Club, Accelerated Reader, Junior Librarian, White Rose and The National Centre for Excellence in the Teaching of Mathematics. 

The Letters and Sounds scheme is used to deliver phonics, and this is supported by comprehension teaching and activities as well as guided and whole-class reading times. In KS1, Bug Club reading scheme is used to ensure children can further develop their phonics ability through reading, and also to engage and interest them in books. Parents access Bug Club at home through books and technology, and are supported through parents information evenings and meetings with teachers. In KS2, Accelerated Reader has increased student engagement reading even further, allowing children and parents to identify books of an appropriate level and complete quizzes for comprehension and to earn rewards.