Curriculum Rationale
at Didsbury CE Primary School
Overview
Our curriculum is rooted first and foremost in our Christian values and heavily informed by theories from basic cognitive science, contemporary research and proven good practice.
Our curriculum at Didsbury CE has been built around our Christian vision of Belonging, Believing, Becoming. This vision is rooted in the Parable of the Mustard Seed which shows us how great things grow from small beginnings (Mark 4: 30-32). We are passionate about combining high standards with a broad, creative and fulfilling curriculum so everyone has the opportunity to grow and discover their own unique talents.
Belonging
We belong to each other in mutual support, respect and trust. Our children work collaboratively, sharing the best of their ideas and inspiring each other to realise their potential. We also belong to our local community; our curriculum is enriched through our involvement with local artists, authors, theatres, sports groups, businesses, charities and places of worship. Our children are also inspired by frequent visits to the world-class media and cultural spaces that our city offers. These experiences are purposeful and link to our termly topics; exposing our children to the best ideas, achievements and creations in our community helps us to set high standards and encourages the children to aspire. Whilst rooted in our local community, our curriculum spans every continent. This breadth of learning and knowledge encourages a sense of belonging to, and care for, the whole of creation, regardless of race, religion or background.
Believing
We believe in the value and potential of every child. Staff work in and across year group teams to plan a comprehensive, cohesive curriculum which is designed to challenge the most able and those with special educational needs. Children will have the opportunity to imagine, question, reason, choose, observe, experience, explain, test, estimate, problem-solve, deduce, hypothesise, evaluate and record. Our expectation is that pupils will make significant progress in all subjects but also develop a passion for learning, discovering their own unique strengths and talents through the opportunities that we provide. In addition to this, we make time to regularly
discuss important and topical issues. In every classroom, we encourage open discussion, critical thinking and independent thought. We value the beliefs of every child and we allow them the time and space to explore and reflect on those beliefs.
Becoming
Our curriculum has been designed to develop pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural wellbeing, and promote a sound understanding of the human/British values of democracy, government, rule of law, individual liberty, mutual respect and tolerance of different faiths and beliefs. We believe that the impact of our curriculum can be seen in the responsible, pro-active and well-rounded children who make up our school. Our curriculum aims to equip our children with the skills, attributes and values they need not only to flourish, but to become a force for good in society.
Understanding How Children Learn
We understand that the best education is life enhancing and may also be life changing. Many of children are naturally ambitious. For those who are not, our curriculum is designed to raise aspiration and ambition. We will provide all pupils with role models of people who have had similar backgrounds to themselves. The discussion, debate and social advocacy opportunities that thread through our curriculum equip our children, whatever their social background, with the soft skills that are vital to success in 21st century Britain.
Bloom's Revised Taxonomy
In 1956, the academic Benjamin Bloom published a framework for categorising educational goals. It was titled “Taxonomy of Educational Objectives” but is more familiarly known as Bloom’s Taxonomy. This framework has been applied by generations of teachers since. In 2001, a group of cognitive psychologists, curriculum theorists, instructional researchers and assessment specialists published a revision of Bloom’s Taxonomy with the title “A Taxonomy for Teaching, Learning, and Assessment” Bloom's Revised Taxonomy classified the different levels of knowledge and understanding which make up the cognitive process, summarised in the visual on the left.
All teaching and learning at Didsbury CE is based on these fundamental principles. Pupils need a secure base of knowledge which needs to be at their fingertips (remembering) so when new knowledge is provided, they can make sense of this based on what they already know (understanding) and build a wider and more thorough understanding of a given topic. The more this is knowledge is revisited and built on, the more it can be applied to new situations. Children will then draw connections among ideas allowing them to analyse new knowledge, for example comparing different eras in history or different places in geography. Further on in their 7 year journey with us, children will be equipped with enough subject-specific knowledge and skill to evaluate their learning, giving justified and reasoned answers to questions. Ultimately, once children have succeeded in these elements, they will have the knowledge and skills to suggest new ideas of their own, becoming original and confident thinkers.
Rosenshine's Principles of Instruction
No matter how effectively a curriculum is designed, children will only learn and achieve through consistently effective teaching. Rosenshine's Teaching Principles emerged from a desire to enhance learning outcomes and offer a systematic approach to learning. By synthesising various aspects of teaching, Rosenshine developed an approach to teaching that optimizes effective instruction by addressing how:
- People learn and acquire new information
- Master teachers implement effective classroom strategies
- Teachers can support students whilst learning complex material
Rosenshine proposes 10 principles that should be implemented into everyday teaching for simplicity and clarity (left). We strive to embed these principles into all lessons and they form the basis of our approach to teacher training and professional development.
Emotional Literacy
Children learn most effectively when they are calm, happy and focussed. We have a strong focus on emotional literacy through our PSHE curriculum and our Zones of Regulation resources which is featured prominently in every classroom. The ‘Green Zone’ used to describe this calm, alert state. Children are taught to recognise and understand their emotions and when they find themselves outside of the Green Zone, they are equipped with strategies to manage their feelings and responses. As well as supporting optimal learning, this is invaluable in helping children to manage relationships and to become emotionally literate and confident enough to make good life choices.
Independent Learning
At Didsbury CE our intent is to provide a rich, ambitious curriculum that engages and enthuses children now and equips them for the future. We desire to live out our mission statement and welcome in children, care for and nurture them and yet also challenge them to be the very best that they can be. It is our intent to fulfil our mission statement by providing a curriculum that enables all of our children to succeed whatever barriers to learning they may face and whatever their starting point.
