The curriculum at Thrapston Primary School is built upon the values of Respect, Empathy, Ambition, Collaboration and Honesty, together with the British Values of Individual Liberty, Mutual Respect, Democracy and the Rule of Law, to ensure that every child reaches their full potential and is ready to embrace the next stage of their learning journey.

Curriculum Intent

At Thrapston Primary School we want our children to journey through their school as kind, courageous and curious citizens, with their passion for learning ignited and their self-belief and well-being nurtured. Every child will be encouraged to recognise and develop their strengths and achieve success regularly, whilst also ensuring that they are resilient, well rounded people who possess the necessary attributes to cope when they face challenges. Our children will leave us prepared for a future of possibilities.

All children at Thrapston Primary School will have access to a broad and balanced curriculum which is interesting, engaging and provides a range of differentiated learning opportunities and challenge, which will develop a life-long love of learning.

Our curriculum is designed to develop the appropriate subject specific knowledge, skills and understanding as set out in the National Curriculum and beyond, so that it allows each of our learners to:

• Achieve the best possible academic standards, whatever their ability
• Develop skills and personal qualities for lifelong learning, preparing them to make an active contribution not only in their local community but to society as a whole
• Explore real world experiences, especially linked to their local community, so that they can see the relevance their learning has in the real world
• Become mentally and emotionally happy and resilient citizens, ready for the challenges of the 21^st Century

Underpinning our curriculum design are our key drivers. These shape our curriculum, bring about the aims and values of our school, and respond to the needs of the school community. These are:

ENGAGEMENT

CREATIVITY

CHALLENGE

Examples can be accessed HERE.

At Thrapston Primary School we want our children to become aware of what the local community has to offer and to understand the positive impact they can have in its future success. For this reason, drawing on the expertise and knowledge of our local community and working in partnership with local industry which surrounds the school also plays an important part in the planning of activities and opportunities we are offering the children

When designing our curriculum, we have recognised that progress involves knowing more and remembering more.  We also want our learners to have the ‘cultural capital’ they need to make aspirational choices and experience success beyond their time at Thrapston Primary School. See more about our cultural capital ideals and how we support our learners HERE

Curriculum Implementation

At Thrapston Primary School, we use the National Curriculum alongside specific year group topics to allow our children to gain the necessary knowledge and skills to succeed. The curriculum for each year group is designed to ensure coverage and progression across all subject areas.

Our approach to teaching and learning supports our curriculum by ensuring that lessons build on prior learning and provide opportunities for guided and independent practice. We recognise children’s prior learning, encourage the children to develop interpersonal skills, build resilience and become creative, critical thinkers. Children are supported to achieve their potential and progress with confidence to the next phase of their education.

Quality first teaching is key to our children’s learning and progress. Teachers have good subject knowledge and will be supported to maintain and improve this knowledge through training, observing best practice and undertaking relevant research. To further support our teachers each curriculum subject has a dedicated subject leader with clear roles and responsibilities.

The role of the subject leader is pivotal in the successful implementation of our curriculum. We aim for all subject leaders to have the knowledge, expertise and practical skills to be able to lead their areas effectively. They are responsible for the curriculum design, delivery and impact in their own curriculum area. Subject leaders and leaders at all levels, including Governors, regularly review and quality assure the subject areas to ensure that is being implemented well and coverage and breadth and balance is adequate.

We understand that children need to remember key facts and skills.  To this end we make use of Knowledge Organisers, which are not only used for pre-teaching, but for reinforcement of knowledge throughout a topic and beyond.   To further facilitate the objective of ensuring that knowledge is ‘sticking’ in children’s long-term memory, teachers revisit subjects regular with the children, not only on what they have learned that day, but their knowledge from the week before, topic before and even year before.

As a school, we recognise the importance of the parental role in securing each child’s success. Parents play a hugely important role in supporting their child’s reading journey and are encouraged to regularly support with learning spellings and maths knowledge such as times tables facts. Knowledge organisers are also posted on our Year Group blogs to enable parents/carers to become even more involved in their child’s learning

Wherever possible, reading, writing and Maths activities are linked across all subjects and reading is used continuously to discover and explore. The same quality of work is expected across all subjects which leads to higher standards and outcomes.

We continue to embed our school values and opportunities for engagement, creativity and challenge. Children are provided with opportunities to build their key skills and enhance them in the wider curriculum. The children’s learning is shaped through exciting and interesting themes, which provide them with a wide range of varied and innovative learning experiences. A range of exciting trips, visitors and ‘wow’ days are planned throughout the year to enhance the curriculum.

Foundation subject progression documents and separate Intent, Implementation and Impact statements can be accessed from the menu on the right.

Curriculum Impact

The impact of the school’s curriculum can be seen in the books, in outcomes and in discussion with our pupils.

Teachers track the progress of individuals in all areas of the curriculum to inform assessments which are shared with parents in reports and during parent’s evening appointments throughout the year. Work is planned to address misconceptions and gaps in learning identified through assessments to ensure that the curriculum effectively meets the needs of all pupils.

The curriculum at Thrapston Primary School is well planned and thought-through to enable a wide range of engagement, not only within class but in providing out of class opportunities to enable children to develop themselves as learners and encourage each child to be as independent as they can be.

We intend that the impact of our curriculum is that children will be academically, physically and emotionally prepared for the next phase of their education. They will be able to decide what is right and what is wrong, and will be resilient learners who embrace challenge.