Our curriculum meets the requirements of the National Curriculum. However, much effort has been put into personalising our curriculum so that it meets the needs of our children here at Coleham.
It is underpinned by our aims, values and purpose: to celebrate all subjects, provide rich, varied and authentic, first hand learning experiences and memorable moments that will stay with our children for the rest of their lives and inspire them to become life-long learners and experience an excellent education whilst at our school. It aims to develop the whole person, providing children with knowledge, skills and understanding and opportunities to embrace their individual passions so pupils can thrive and succeed in life.
Our school values, which were created by the children, are at the centre of our curriculum and our overarching school value is creativity. This value was chosen by the School Council because creativity is the golden thread running through all subjects and through our whole school, embracing individuals unique talents and strengths and is what makes Coleham such a special place.
We pride ourselves on celebrating all the subjects and ensuring they each have an equal place in our Creative Curriculum. It is our mission to ensure that every child has an excellent education. Our creative curriculum motivates, challenges and excites all of the pupils at our school. Children are active learners, who engage in teamwork and problem solving to develop their knowledge and skills.
We ensure that contexts for learning are tailored to our rich local area and we use our own grounds, thus capturing the interests of our children and allowing children to learn about themselves and the wider world through investigation, research and enquiry. Our Conservation Area and grounds are used widely because outdoor learning is important to us here at Coleham; many children thrive from the opportunities that the outdoors can bring when compared to a traditional classroom setting. Our school is very fortunate to be located in a town centre setting with the Quarry Park and rich historical landmarks on our doorstep. Classes take the opportunity to regularly visit the local vicinity which brings the curriculum to life for many children.
In addition, we build in opportunities for the children to learn about current affairs, linking their learning with local, national and international matters of interest/issues. We are driving forwards in our Careers Related Learning education to ensure that careers is taught to every age group in school as we believe that pupils are never too young to be exposed to a variety of aspirational jobs and it is our aim that all children know a variety of careers and their pathways by the time they leave us. Our enrichment programme is integral to our Creative Curriculum which means we have an array of workshops, visitors and trips and our extra-curricular opportunities also allow children to discover their talents and interests beyond the classroom. We nurture strong relationships with external stakeholders and the community which help us to deliver our Creative Curriculum. Thank you to our parents, neighbours, friends and community partnerships that help us in school.
Our curriculum is topic based, usually with one topic per half term and the topics selected by subject leaders have been chosen because we feel that they will interest and excite the children in their learning. We aim to link subjects where possible, creating meaningful links so that contexts for learning are real, thus stimulating the children’s interests. When it is not possible to create meaningful links between subjects, topics are taught discretely. A huge focus is placed upon ensuring that all children develop the necessary co-operation skills and are able to listen to and respect the ideas and viewpoints of others. Challenge is present in all lessons and our children are taught that mistakes are good because we learn from them. Our rich curriculum, which includes Specialist Teachers in Music, PE and Modern Foreign Languages, is successfully creating lifelong learners. Children leave us equipped with the necessary skills for not only the next stage of their education but to build happy and successful lives as adults.
Keeping our children healthy both physically and mentally is really important. PE is taught for 2 hours per week to each class and many of our children take part in the daily dash and after school clubs. We aim to support learners to develop resilience, confidence, independence and we practice mindfulness on a regular basis to all children in school. We believe that to embrace the challenges of creating a happy and successful adult life, pupils need knowledge that will enable them to make informed decisions about their wellbeing, health and relationships. Therefore, sex and relationship education is taught to all children in school regularly in an age appropriate way. As part of our curriculum, we also promote the spiritual, moral, social, cultural, mental and physical development of pupils, at school.
Our curriculum also prepares learners for life in modern Britain and the wider world, equipping them to be responsible, respectful, active citizens who contribute positively to society and who appreciate diversity.
How to find out more information about our curriculum
Please view our individual subjects. Here you will see our vision for each subject, more about the knowledge and skills that are taught in each year group for every subject and how this progresses as a child moves through the school and how we celebrate each subject as part of our enrichment programme.