Beedon C of E Primary School

Our Christian Vision and Values underpin all that we do at Beedon CE Primary School.

a love of life and learning

"I came so that they could have life - indeed so that they can live life to the fullest" John 10:10

* FRIENDSHIP * SERVICE * PERSEVERANCE * HOPE * FORGIVENESS * RESPECT *

We believe that learning is the process by which children gradually acquire and assimilate knowledge, concepts, skills, values and attitudes; to enable them to make greater sense of the world and “live life to the fullest”. Our knowledge rich curriculum is coherently planned and sequenced to enhance long term memory through meaningful learning experiences.  

Our curriculum has been developed with creativity in mind. The whole school thematic approach to learning enables us to plan for pupils’ interests and individual needs. We recognise that a wide range of opportunities will support the development of particular abilities, gifts, talents and skills.  We believe children learn best when they are encouraged to use their imagination and apply their learning to engaging contexts.

Our curriculum provides many learning challenges throughout the academic year; that require children to solve problems, apply themselves creatively and express their knowledge and understanding effectively. We also aim to offer memorable experiences and rich opportunities for high-quality learning and wider personal development and well-being. These experiences are usually linked to the themes that we teach, which are mostly class-based themes and sometimes whole-school or key stage topics.

“Creativity is a great motivator because it makes people interested in what they are doing. Creativity gives hope that there can be a worthwhile idea. Creativity gives the possibility of some sort of achievement to everyone. Creativity makes life more fun and more interesting.”

Edward de Bono, psychologist and educator 

Metacognition and self-reflection skills are also at the heart of our curriculum.  Our children understand how they learn:  they are able to take risks, are ambitious, accept new challenges and see mistakes as part of learning.

We use the Cornerstones Curriculum as a tool to support teachers' planning and subject knowledge.  It has a creative and thematic approach to learning, which maps to the 2014 Primary National Curriculum and ensures comprehensive coverage of national expectations. It is based on a child-centred pedagogy and is delivered through Imaginative Learning Projects and Knowledge Rich Projects, which provide a rich menu of exciting and motivating learning activities that make creative links between all aspects of children’s learning. Cornerstones also provide a rigorous skills and knowledge framework that outlines the end of year expectations in all subjects. These skills and knowledge are tied to activities and are age-related so that staff can track children’s progress and identify their individual learning needs.

Where possible, we block the teaching of foundation subjects as this really enables children to learn more deeply and discover a real love of learning for a specific topic. Focusing on one subject for a block of time enables children to acquire more knowledge and skills and get really enthusiastic about each topic. We also find that by teaching this way, we can also make stronger links to the writing curriculum so that children are writing for a purpose.

In Maths and Literacy, we follow the 2014 National Curriculum. Wherever possible, links are made to our topic so that we can practise our Maths and Literacy skills in context. Phonics and spelling are taught daily.  We use the Read Write Inc Phonics programme to teach Foundation Stage, Year 1 and Year 2 and Jane Constantine spelling from years 2 to 6.   

We follow the West Berkshire Agreed Syllabus for Religious Education and use The Discovery Scheme to support our teaching.

PSHE and RSE is taught through the Coram SCARF scheme of work which is fully compliant with all statutory requirements. We believe that  this effectively supports pupils' emotional well-being and resilience.

We pride ourselves on the inclusive nature of our school.  Details of how we adapt our curriculum to meet ALL children's needs can be found in our SEN Information Report, Accessibilty Plan and Equalities Policy and Information Statement.  These are located on the policy tab of our website. Beedon C of E Primary School - Policies (beedonschool.co.uk)

Our pupils have access to laptops, tablets and programmable devices to support their ICT learning and programming skills following the Purple Mash Scheme of work.

In addition to our curriculum music lessons, all pupils have the opportunity to learn an instrument during their time with us.  Individual lessons are available on our site through Berkshire Maestros and Hogan Music. 

Please see our Sports Strategy to find out more about our PE offer at Beedon Primary School.

Wider Curriculum Coverage

We teach the curriculum on a 2 year cycle and have a map that outlines what we teach and when we teach it. The plan can be downloaded below.