An Introduction to our Curriculum

Our Curriculum

At Elburton Primary School, we are dedicated to offering a rich and comprehensive curriculum tailored to the needs of every child. Our educational framework, grounded in the National Curriculum and the Early Years Foundation Stage framework, ensures a well-rounded education that fosters both academic excellence and personal development. We aim to nurture each child's potential, equipping them with the knowledge and skills necessary for their future.

To keep our curriculum engaging, relevant and inspiring, we enrich it with a diverse range of resources and experiences. This approach fosters cultural capital, curiosity, motivation, and enthusiasm, empowering every child to succeed. Our educational philosophy is rooted in research and best pedagogical practices, with a strong emphasis on knowledge acquisition and retention. Through regular reviews and feedback from subject leaders, we continually refine our curriculum to provide the highest quality academic and enrichment opportunities for our children.

Reading is a cornerstone of our school culture. We prioritise a carefully curated progression of reading materials and incorporate daily story sessions to cultivate a love for reading and enhance literacy skills. We believe that reading is fundamental to broadening knowledge and fostering a lifelong passion for learning.

At Elburton, inclusivity, happiness and ambition are core elements of our learning environment. We empower our staff to ensure accessibility for all children, fostering a nurturing culture where every child can thrive and grow into confident, independent learners. Our curriculum is underpinned by our core values: Safety, Inspiration, Pride, Flourishing, and Respect. These values guide our curriculum design, teaching, learning, and behaviour management, ensuring a cohesive and supportive atmosphere for our entire school community.

Why We Chose the United Learning Curriculum

For many years, Elburton Primary School successfully implemented a curriculum developed by our teachers and leaders. This in-house curriculum laid a strong foundation of knowledge for our pupils and was praised in several external reviews. However, with our recent merger into Learning Academies Trust, we sought to further enhance our educational offerings. Following thorough and meticulous research and observing various curriculums in practice across the country, we selected the United Learning Curriculum.

The United Learning Curriculum was chosen for its deliberate and purposeful sequencing, rich in knowledge and expertly crafted. This curriculum empowers our teachers to deliver lessons with depth and precision, extending beyond the National Curriculum. It is designed to be highly ambitious, providing a framework that supports continuous improvement and adaptation. The resources and support from United Learning enable our teachers and leaders to collaborate with curriculum designers who constantly review and refine the content. This dynamic and evolving curriculum ensures that it remains at the forefront of educational excellence, always offering the best for our children at Elburton.

Core Principles of the United Learning Curriculum

The United Learning Curriculum is built upon six core principles, ensuring a cohesive and comprehensive educational experience:

1. Entitlement: Every child has the right to access the full curriculum. Schools have a duty to ensure all children are taught the entire content, providing equal opportunities for learning.

2. Coherence: The curriculum is carefully sequenced, starting from the National Curriculum, to build powerful knowledge progressively, term by term and year by year. Meaningful connections are made within and between subjects to enhance understanding.

3. Mastery: Foundational knowledge, skills, and concepts are secured before moving on to new material. Children revisit prior learning and apply their understanding in new contexts, ensuring a deep and lasting comprehension.

4. Adaptability: While the core content—the 'what'—remains stable, the curriculum is brought to life in local contexts. Teachers adapt the 'how' of delivering lessons to meet the specific needs of their children, ensuring relevance and engagement.

5. Representation: The curriculum is designed to reflect all children positively, helping them see themselves in their studies and broadening their perspectives beyond their immediate experiences.

6. Education with Character: Beyond academic subjects, the curriculum includes spiritual, moral, social, and cultural development. It aims to spark curiosity and nourish both the head and the heart, preparing our children for life beyond school.

Implementation and Impact

Our curriculum at Elburton Primary School is meticulously designed to help children understand the world around them and prepare them for future educational challenges. By incorporating the latest research in cognitive science, we ensure that children develop both procedural knowledge (skills) and factual knowledge through structured activities, such as low-stakes quizzing and deliberate practice. This approach not only enhances knowledge retention but also builds children's confidence and competence in applying what they have learned.

Teachers at Elburton plan the curriculum with the following components:

• Knowledge organisers that outline essential knowledge and key vocabulary that all children must master.
• Cycles of lessons for each subject, meticulously planned to ensure progression and depth of understanding.
• Regular low-stakes quizzes to reinforce learning and help students manage cognitive load effectively.
• Enrichment activities, including educational trips and visits from experts, to broaden children's experiences and contextualise their learning.

We evaluate the effectiveness of our curriculum through various methods, including:

• Reflecting on the standards achieved against planned learning outcomes.
• Monitoring gains in knowledge and understanding through quizzes and assessments.
• Engaging in pupil discussions to gain insights into their learning experiences.
• Reviewing samples of children's work across the school to assess the depth of understanding and mastery of subjects.

Through these measures, we ensure that our curriculum not only meets the academic needs of our children but also fosters a love of learning and prepares them for a successful future.