At The Coombes we have core principles of teaching and learning which drive our curriculum intent:

• We ensure that our curriculum design places rich subject-specific knowledge at the heart of all learning. We organise our curriculum to enable children to go deeper with their learning, to make connections and have a strong understanding of each subject;
• We see oracy and the explicit teaching of vocabulary as vital components of our curriculum as we believe they have a profound impact on learning and on the personal growth of an individual
• We believe understanding is built through collaboration between teacher and pupil and among pupils and that high quality dialogue is central to learning;
• We aim high and value excellence. We take time to recognise and celebrate success, praise effort and nurture perseverance;
• We plan our curriculum so that it responds to findings from pupil feedback and school data to ensure it is tilted to the needs of each cohort;
• We guide learning through an instructional framework with concrete models that demonstrate excellence;
• We use questions to deepen understanding and wesee mistakes as central to the learning process so we encourage resilience and a love of learning;
• We strive to make learning activities enriching and real;
• We have a core commitment to equality of opportunity

Curriculum Implementation

At The Coombes CE Primary School, we plan learning in a thematic approach to the curriculum that is underpinned by the National Curriculum as the basis for content and expectations. Each theme is structured so that each year group has:

• A clear list of what must be covered (curriculum map).
• The 'threshold concepts' pupils should understand by the end of each year supported by knowledge organisers.
• Subject-specific progression maps that detail how knowledge and skills are developed through the child's journey through the school.

Curriculum maps for each year group ensure teachers have complete clarity on what to cover. The 'threshold concepts' highlight the essential subject-specific knowledge each child should be able to articulate by the end of the year. Finally, the'progress maps' show how the knowledge items from the 'threshold concepts' are linked and demonstrate depth within the curriculum. As the school continues its journey of improvement, we hope to supplement these documents with exemplars of pupil's work that demonstrate excellence within the curriculum.

A thematic approach allows us to interleave knowledge across different contexts to maximise the retrieval and transferability of previously learned content. Whilst most content is subject-specific, there are regular opportunities for cross-curricular approaches often underpinned by Oracy-related outcomes.We view the local community and outdoor environment as fundamental elements to our school vision and so we thread these links into the curriculum for each year group.

Assessing Progress

Formative assessment is a key part of every lesson at The Coombes. Teachers assess pupil progress through asking questions, as they read and discuss work taking place and ask children to review their learning during the course of the lesson. We define progress as the widening and deepening of essential knowledge that leads to the further development of understanding, skills and/or behaviour. This style of formative assessment which is also referred to as “Responsive Teaching" during lessons, informs teachers' planning and helps to identify the next steps in the learning process.

We also place great store by reviewing mistakes – making mistakes is the first step in learning and Directed Improvement and Reflection Time is planned encouraging pupils to have a greater resilience and a positive attitude to more challenging activities and learning from them.When teachers give feedback, they regularly identify “next steps" for each child. Clear learning objectives and success criteria are used in lessons and pupils self and peer assess against these.Summative Assessment also takes place at the end of each key stage - Foundation 2, Year 2 and Year 6. The results show their standard of achievement which can be compared to national figures.At the end of each school year, teachers write an annual report on each child. Parents are invited to discuss this report with the teacher.

Curriculum Impact

At The Coombes we want our children to be motivated to succeed, demonstrate resilience and grow a love of learning. We strive to ensure that our children's attainment across subjects is in line with or exceeding their potential when we consider the varied starting points of children. We measure this carefully using a range of materials, but always considering Age Related Expectations. We intend that the impact is that children will be academically and physically prepared for life in high school and in Modern Britain and the world.

We know we are successful in this through:

• Teacher assessment – formative – through ongoing questioning, dialogue, verbal and written feedback, informal quizzes, practical tasks, day to day work, reasoning. Summative – end of unit tasks;
• Learner Voice – pupil questionnaires, self and peer assessment, school council, learning dialogue in the classroom that encourages self-evaluation;
• Parental Feedback – parent questionnaires,parent café, learning exhibitions, parent/teacher meetings, Facebook group polls, informal meetings before and after school, PTA;
• Data Analysis – internal with SLT, subject leadership, pupil progress meetings, governors, Director of Learning support,external data (end of Key Stage assessments);
• Quality Assurance – lesson observations, dropins, learning walks, book looks;
• Positive Attitudes to Learning – children engaged and inspired by their learning, posing own enquiry questions, taking initiative, co-constructing the learning pathway;
• Respect – visibly demonstrated through their school environment, their work, interactions, moral responsibility,spirituality.

The Primary National Curriculum clearly shows the framework which underpins the school's curriculum. Further information can be found here.

Key Stage 1

Primary Curriculum Key Stage 1

Key Stage 2

Primary Curriculum Key Stage 2