Curriculum Rationale

Curriculum Rationale

The Hall School follows The National Curriculum 2014.

More information can be found using the link below:

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/national-curriculum

In EYFS, the school follows the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) Statutory Framework 2023.

More information can be found using the link below:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/early-years-foundation-stage-framework--2

Curriculum Framework

Rationale of our unique curriculum

We strive to make our curriculum unique, interesting,  and appropriate for our children. We have designed a curriculum that fulfilled our unique requirements and principles. These are as follows:

•  Reading is a high priority as it is the key to accessing the curriculum
• It develops the whole child enabling our children to leave the school as ‘well rounded’ citizens and life-long learners
• We offer curriculum enrichment to provide learning opportunities for all
• We have character development as the 'golden thread' throughout our curriculum using our character value words.
• We develop resilience and independence
• It is broad and balanced
• It is supportive of all children
• It has a focus on developing oracy
• We make links to our local area and local community

Introduction

Our curriculum aims to impart knowledge, teach skills and help to develop character. It allows children to progress through school and prepares them for the wider world. Expectations, as set out by The National Curriculum, are realistically challenging, are communicated clearly and consistently reinforced.  Our broad and balanced curriculum provides a range of enrichment opportunities that enhance the quality of the education provided.  Decisions relating to children’s learning have been made with the school’s vision, character values and mission statement at the forefront of our thinking.

The decisions that have been made have been done so with reference to the school’s vision statement, character values and mission statement.

Through application of the above, we aim to:

• Put success in reach of all children
• Promote fairness, equity and good standards of behaviour and discipline;
• Encourage children to take a personal pride in themselves, their behaviour, their achievements and their own and other cultures;
• Develop a reasoned set of attitudes;
• Provide opportunities for spiritual, moral, social and cultural education, satisfying the needs of and providing equal opportunities for all;
• Encourage care and respect for others, and to encourage pupils to take responsibility for themselves, their behaviour and the impact this has on others.

Curriculum Intent

Society and the world of work is undergoing significant change at an increasing rate although certain fundamentals remain unchanged. It is our intent to continue to put the essential educational building blocks in place whilst providing opportunities for children to develop the skills to meet the challenges of the 21^st century.

 We encourage each child to develop a positive attitude to learning.  The golden thread that runs through our curriculum is resilience, which is our key character value. The aim is for all children to be happily engaged in the purposeful struggle of learning while developing characteristics of tolerance, perseverance and adaptability. 

Our curriculum enrichment activities provide children with the opportunity to really engage with and enjoy their learning. These strengthen and add depth to the curriculum. Examples of these include trips, visits, residential, external visitors, productions, performances, workshops, theatre performances and community events.

How do we create balance within our curriculum?

Balance within the curriculum is largely about the attention given to each curriculum area. It is fundamentally about time and how it is used. Curriculum planning inevitably involves a compromise in terms of time. What is required is the setting of a level of reasonable time in order that the school can meet its statutory requirements. Thought has been given to the frequency of subjects taught, a consideration of whether some subjects can be treated in blocks rather than appearing on the timetable every week and the needs of our children. A further element is the overall attention given to each subject over the two key stages.

Finally, the decisions about the amount of time given to different subjects, and the frequency of them, must not lead to teacher overload, or for that matter pupil overload. In other words teachers are allowed sufficient time to teach and children are given sufficient time to learn.

How is our curriculum structured?