Trust curriculum vision
Empowering our pupils sits at the very heart of our curriculum design. We are passionate that every child who leaves any of our schools does so with a complete sense of self; with an ability to make informed decisions that reflect their own values and beliefs; a knowledge of where they sit in the world and the impact they can have. Curiosity is nurtured at every turn as we recognise that we are preparing our children for a future that will be vastly different to our current reality – a child who understands themselves will be well equipped to make choices that impact positively on themselves, others and their environment.
Building and reflecting our communities is an integral part of our thought process and we look to ensure our pupils recognise where they sit and the impact they can have on a local, national and global scale. Tolerance and an ability to recognise the views of others sit centrally to our curriculum ethos. In teaching children explicitly to articulate their views with respect, we recognise that every small moment and interaction can support them in developing a responsibility for their choices, where this sits with their own values and their impact on the world around them.
Our curriculum seeks to develop ambitious attitude for every pupil to place them in a position whereby their future choices are theirs to make. In considering a clear progression in skills, knowledge and experience, we equip children to be aspirational, achieve the best outcomes and be the best possible version of themselves.
We are passionate that every child is unique; their individuality is valued and the best education is provided for them so that they can become citizens of the world and understand the impact they can have on others and the world beyond. Our commitment is to ensure excellence in a safe, happy, inclusive learning environment both inside and out. We believe that speaking & listening, reading and writing are keys that unlock all other subjects and we want our curriculum to open windows onto the world and instil a joy of learning.
We deliver the majority of our curriculum through the use of 'Kapow Primary' as we know this ensures a knowledge-rich curriculum with a clear, sequential progression to build skills for our mixed age classes. We use our curriculum to ensure we empower children to share opinions and have a voice. We ensure the use of diverse and inclusive resources so that children can learn about life in Modern Britain.
Children at Sparkwell make progress through being taught and developing:
- substantive knowledge (the factual content, connected through a careful sequence)
- disciplinary knowledge (how you develop and apply this knowledge)
- subject specific skills (e.g. mapwork in geography, timelines in history)
- substantive knowledge (the factual content, connected through a careful sequence)
- disciplinary knowledge (how you develop and apply this knowledge)
- subject specific skills (e.g. mapwork in geography, timelines in history)
Our curriculum has high aspirations and is enriched by a wide range of opportunities, living out our Trust vision of ‘Small Schools, Big Opportunities’ and our own school values.
Click the link below to see a summary of how we teach each subject, or a more detailed subject overview further down the page.
For pupils in the Foundation Stage, we follow the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS).
For key stages 1 & 2 we follow the National Curriculum including Religious Education and RHSE ( Relationship, health and sex education) at an age-appropriate level. We have a broad and balanced curriculum which promotes the spiritual, moral, cultural, mental and physical development of pupils and prepares them for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of later life.
We have links to the local community, e.g. a termly visit to Dartmoor Zoo and the local church. Some key features of our curriculum are:
Children are encouraged to make links between subjects, developing knowledge, skills and positive attitudes to learning in a range of contexts. We actively teach children how to learn and to develop their confidence, capability and passion.
Find out more about Forest School on our Forest School tab.
Our Curriculum statement and Teaching For Learning Policy can be found on the School Policies page.
We base our phonics teaching on the Phonics Bug scheme and use the Spelling Shed programme from Years 2 to 6. Once children are able to decode words confidently with phonics we use a wide variety of reading schemes, underpinned by assessments in the Accelerated Reader programme.
We do not set homework but do expect regular reading at home, spelling practice and practice to recall number facts including times tables.
For key stages 1 & 2 we follow the National Curriculum including Religious Education and RHSE ( Relationship, health and sex education) at an age-appropriate level. We have a broad and balanced curriculum which promotes the spiritual, moral, cultural, mental and physical development of pupils and prepares them for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of later life.
We have links to the local community, e.g. a termly visit to Dartmoor Zoo and the local church. Some key features of our curriculum are:
- Regular Forest School activities in the local Tin Woods led by Forest School trained practitioners and we have been awarded the Recognised Provider mark
- Regular visitors including artists and musicians
- Visits out, e.g. Crownhill Fort, Plymouth Aquarium, local beaches and Dartmoor
- Modern IT resources including iPads and Chromebooks
- Key values to teach skills for life including responsibility and care for others
- We value the Arts and have a Silver Artsmark Award (2023) and Music Mark (2022) for our commitment to offering music, art, drama and dance
- Helping children understand environmental issues, we have a Green Flag (re accredited in 2023), the highest Eco Schools award and the Forest School Association Recognised Provider status (re-accredited in 2023)
Children are encouraged to make links between subjects, developing knowledge, skills and positive attitudes to learning in a range of contexts. We actively teach children how to learn and to develop their confidence, capability and passion.
Find out more about Forest School on our Forest School tab.
Our Curriculum statement and Teaching For Learning Policy can be found on the School Policies page.
We base our phonics teaching on the Phonics Bug scheme and use the Spelling Shed programme from Years 2 to 6. Once children are able to decode words confidently with phonics we use a wide variety of reading schemes, underpinned by assessments in the Accelerated Reader programme.
We do not set homework but do expect regular reading at home, spelling practice and practice to recall number facts including times tables.
Teachers have subscriptions to a range of teaching and learning materials to support teaching and we have developed progression maps for each subject.
Click here to see the KS1 and KS2 National Curriculum.
Due to our mixed year groups we have a 2 year rolling programme, see this below.
Further details on each subject, the content and our end points can be given on request from the school office.
Click here to see the KS1 and KS2 National Curriculum.
Due to our mixed year groups we have a 2 year rolling programme, see this below.
Further details on each subject, the content and our end points can be given on request from the school office.