Curriculum
Curriculum Statement of Intent
‘I was not born for one corner; the whole world is my native land.’
– Lucius Annaeus Seneca
Our curriculum offer has been designed collaboratively by subject leaders within our school to represent our pupils; our community and our context, whilst working within the parameters of the National Curriculum. Where possible, we have taken opportunities to choose topics that are relevant to the diverse community we serve and make clear links between subjects to provide context to each topic, so the children’s learning reflects their lived experience. We understand that each child is unique, therefore we ensure our planning allows all pupils to make progress towards their individual targets whilst engaging them in memorable lessons.
We acknowledge our pupils need to keep pace with a rapidly changing world, therefore, our curriculum offer needs to be dynamic and provide our children with the contextual learning opportunities required to understand complex global issues. The importance of STEM subjects to the national and global economy is recognised. Digital literacy is increasingly significant in both further education and employment.
Education should be for all, so at Millbrook we deal not in equality but in equity and our curriculum reflects this. We ensure every child has the same opportunity to succeed by providing individualised support to our most vulnerable learners that redresses the balance with their peers. We prioritise the core subjects of English, Maths and Science in a structured timetable that emphasises the development of key skills our children need as they progress onto secondary education. Integrating assessment opportunities and adaptive teaching as routine elements of teaching and learning. However, we also champion the concept of a broad and balanced curriculum by ensuring coverage of all other subjects and placing great value on humanities and the arts – allowing our children to be creative and pursue individual interests. For certain subjects we follow a set scheme of work, for example in RE we adhere to the agreed syllabus for Telford & Wrekin, and for PSHE we follow the Jigsaw programme.
Curiosity is a quality we want to encourage and that demands an element of enquiry – hence the big questions structure of our long-term plans. We have sequenced a coherent curriculum which allows for children to build on their schema and undertake meaningful struggle in their epistemic ascent. We believe in creating memorable experiences, which allow children to know more; remember more and do more. To this end enable our pupils to take risks within a safe learning environment. We must challenge them to test their own boundaries to remove any barriers that will inhibit their progress, as we want our children to feel empowered and inspired to continue a lifelong learning journey. We push them to be inquisitive and independent, whilst also developing their ability to work cooperatively, so they leave us having developed the interpersonal skills required to become successful members of society.