Curriculum by Subject

Introduction

At Windy Nook we believe that the curriculum is a powerful tool that promotes a love of learning and willingness to explore. (Article 29: Education must develop every child’s personality, talents and abilities to the full. It must encourage the child’s respect for human rights, as well as respect for their parents, their own and other cultures, and the environment.) We are proud to use the National Curriculum as a starting point for a wide and varied learning experience for our children. As a rights respecting school, we enrich it by our strong ethos based on respect for ourselves and others, equality and a sense of aspiration to be the best we possibly can be. We firmly believe by instilling such beliefs in our learners we are encouraging them to not only full-fill their potential but also to adopt a positive attitude to life-long learning. We are placing growth mind-set at the heart of our learning ethos and are on a journey to help promote this way of thinking. We are committed to developing the whole child. Our children will have the opportunity to be creative, to be physically active and to be academically challenged.  (Article 28: Every child has the right to an education. Primary education must be free and different forms of secondary education must be available to every child. Discipline in schools must respect children’s dignity and their rights. Richer countries must help poorer countries achieve this.)

Key Skills and Values

As a school, we hold the following values and use our curriculum to promote these with our learners:

• the way in which all children are unique;
• respect for the views of each individual child, as well as for people of all cultures.
• spiritual and moral development of each person, as well as their intellectual and physical growth.
• the importance of each person in our community.

(Article 12: Every child has the right to express their views, feelings and wishes in all matters affecting them, and to have their views considered and taken seriously. This right applies at all times, for example during immigration proceedings, housing decisions or the child’s day-to-day home life).

Such values are celebrated within school through our weekly Windy Winner’s assembly. Every week we award a child in each class a subject specific certificate, a certificate for attitude or effort and, on the last Thursday of every month, a certificate for our monthly value, which include:

January – perseverance;

February – tolerance;

March – respect;

April – honesty;

May – caring;

June – friendship;

July – resilience;

September – dedication;

October – thoughtfulness;

November – responsibility;

December – trust.

Aims and Objectives

The aims of our school curriculum are:

• To enable children to understand the skills and attributes needed to be a successful learner;
• To enable children to improve their long term retention through spaced repetition of key learning
• To promote a positive attitude towards learning, so that children enjoy learning, and acquire a solid basis for their next steps;
• To teach children the basic skills of literacy, numeracy and computing;
• To enable children to be creative through art, dance, music, drama and design technology;
• To teach children about their developing world, including how their environment and society have changed over time;
• To fulfil all the requirements of Gateshead’s Agreed syllabus for Religious Education;
• To help children understand the Core British Values;
• To enable children to be healthy individuals who enjoy sport and appreciate the importance of maintaining good health and well-being;
• To enable children to be positive citizens in society and to feel that they can make a difference;
• To enable children to understand and respect other cultures;
• To teach children to have an awareness of their own spiritual development;
• To help children understand the importance of truth and fairness, right and wrong, so that they grow up committed to equal opportunities for all;
• To enable children to have respect for themselves and high self-esteem, and to be able to live and work co-operatively with others;
• To enable children to be passionate about what they believe in and to develop their own thinking;

(Article 12: Every child has the right to express their views, feelings and wishes in all matters affecting them, and to have their views considered and taken seriously. This right applies at all times, for example during immigration proceedings, housing decisions or the child’s day-to-day home life.

Article 13: Every child must be free to express their thoughts and opinions and to access all kinds of information, as long as it is within the law.

Article 14: Every child has the right to think and believe what they choose and also to practise their religion, as long as they are not stopping other people from enjoying their rights. Governments must respect the rights and responsibilities of parents to guide their child as they grow up.

Article 16: Every child has the right to privacy. The law should protect the child’s private, family and home life, including protecting children from unlawful attacks that harm their reputation.

Article 17: Every child has the right to reliable information from a variety of sources, and governments should encourage the media to provide information that children can understand. Governments must help protect children from materials that could harm them.

Article 29: Education must develop every child’s personality, talents and abilities to the full. It must encourage the child’s respect for human rights, as well as respect for their parents, their own and other cultures, and the environment.

Article 28: Every child has the right to an education. Primary education must be free and different forms of secondary education must be available to every child. Discipline in schools must respect children’s dignity and their rights. Richer countries must help poorer countries achieve this.

Article 31: Every child has the right to relax, play and take part in a wide range of cultural and artistic activities.)

We are proud of our working party, which consists of teachers, parents and governors. This group- Assessment and Curriculum Committee(ACC) – meet on a half termly basis to continually review and analyse the impact of our bespoke school curriculum is having on our learners.

British Values

We seek to promote British values in our policies and practice here Windy Nook. Our activities and the way we manage learning and behaviour, clearly reflect British values. We promote these values in the following ways:

Democracy

• Provide pupils with a broad general knowledge of, and promote respect for, public institutions and services – by discussing these whenever appropriate in curriculum work;
• Teach pupils how they can influence decision-making through the democratic process – e.g. in our School Council work and Rights Respecting Ambassadors;
• Include in the curriculum information on the advantages and disadvantages of democracy and how it works in Britain – e.g. when considering periods of history where democracy was not as fully developed as it is now;
• Encourage pupils to become involved in decision-making processes and ensure they are listened to in school – through the work of the School Council and Rights Respecting Ambassadors;
• Hold ‘mock elections’ so pupils learn how to argue and defend points of view e.g. when electing representatives to the School Council for each class and when appointing ‘Buddies’ to work in school;
• Help pupils to express their views e.g. through English lessons and opportunities to present work and opinions;
• Model how perceived injustice can be peacefully challenged e.g. through our interactions with pupils and the school’s behaviour system and discussing scenarios in assemblies and class PHSE work.

The Rule of Law

• Ensure school rules and expectations are clear and fair e.g. by discussing these with pupils and establishing classroom charters with the pupils themselves;
• Help pupils to distinguish right from wrong e.g. during everyday interactions and discussions of stories, fables and other literary materials;
• Help pupils to respect the law and the basis on which it is made e.g. by showing how rules help everyone to interact in an orderly and fair manner and protect the vulnerable in society;
• Help pupils to understand that living under the rule of law protects individuals;
• Include visits from the police in the curriculum e.g. have sessions with the Community Police Officers, work with the Youth Offending Team, visits from the Fire Service;
• Develop approaches focused on fairness and justice to resolve conflicts e.g. as part of sanctions in our approach to behaviour, linked to Golden Time.

Individual Liberty

• Support pupils to develop their self-knowledge, self-esteem and self-confidence e.g. through all areas of teaching and learning in school;
• Encourage pupils to take responsibility for their behaviour, as well as knowing their rights e.g. through all of their interaction with adults and each other in school, through the UNICEF Rights Respecting Schools;
• Challenge stereotypes e.g. through SMSC/PHSE work and assemblies;
• Implement a strong anti-bullying culture – as enshrined in our policies for Anti-Bullying and Behaviour;
• Follow the UNICEF Rights Respecting schools agenda.

Acceptance, Understanding and Respect

• Promote respect for individual differences in all areas of learning and interaction;
• Help pupils to acquire an understanding of, and respect for, their own and other cultures and ways of life e.g. through our Religious Education work and PHSE;
• Challenge prejudicial or discriminatory behaviour e.g. through discussion and use of illustrative materials as well as our approach to behaviour in school;
• Organise visits to places of worship e.g. visits to the local churches and other diverse places of worship as appropriate to the curriculum;
• Develop critical personal thinking skills throughout our curricular work;

Discuss differences between people, such as differences of faith, ethnicity, disability, gender or sexuality and differences of family situations, such as looked-after children or young carers e.g. through our SMSC/PHSE and broader curricular work and through visitors to school sharing their experiences.