Our School Curriculum Intent Statement

Intent

At Fordley, we aim to provide a broad and balanced curriculum which enables all children to be confident, independent and inquisitive learners who develop a lifelong love of learning and an understanding of the wider world – past, present and future.  We provide for high-quality learning through skilled explanation and modelling by teachers who possess excellent subject and curriculum knowledge.  Pedagogical expertise underpins teachers’ ability to build opportunities for children to deepen their understanding and the ability to recall what they have learnt in a coherent and meaningful way. Our curriculum is designed to inspire and engage. We actively seek to deepen understanding of, engagement with, and respect for our local heritage while stimulating engagement with the wider world.

The Fordley curriculum is purposefully sequenced.  Children are empowered to make better sense of new material and proactively build a deeper understanding. Our curriculum aims to provide all children with creative and purposeful learning experiences which are knowledge rich and meaningful through being part of a coherent learning journey.  Children are taken beyond their own contexts to deepen their understanding of the world around them.  They are introduced to new concepts and experiences so that they develop a rich cultural capital and become confident young citizens of the world.

Our Curriculum is designed to narrow the gap for disadvantaged children. Our commitment to equity and social justice is the foundation of all that we do, and our curriculum is used as the vehicle for filling the gaps in knowledge and experiences that children may have. We strongly believe that all children have the right to experience a rich curriculum that this is key to enabling social engagement and lifelong learning.

A strong sense of shared values underpin all that we do at Fordley. We aim to actively embed the character skills we believe will best prepare the children in our care to thrive in their education and the wider world.

These are: Resilience – Empathy – Self-awareness – Positivity – Excellence – Communication - Teamwork

Our key aim is that when children leave us to move on to secondary school, they are:

• Positive and successful learners who love the challenge of learning and are resilient to failure.
• Curious, interested learners who seek out and use new information to develop, consolidate and deepen their knowledge understanding and skills.
• Confident learners who aim to excel and achieve their full potential in a wide range of subjects.
• Confident individuals who are empathetic to others and know how to live safe, healthy and fulfilling lives.
• Responsible citizens who, through their communication and team working skills, are able to make a positive contribution to society.
• Individuals who understand the value of learning and who continue that journey throughout their lives.
• Learners who have developed a wide range of skills that will broaden their life experiences.

If you wish to find out more information about our school curriculum, please speak to your child's class teacher or to Mrs Withers and Mr Maule who hold overall responsibility for our curriculum.

Our Character Skills

We value the importance of not only developing and strengthening children's curriculum knowledge and experiences but also the personal skills our children need to help them grow into responsible, caring, resilient and confident young people and adults.  This is something we have always valued as a school but the pandemic has brought additional challenges for our children and made positive interactions and social skills, for some, a huge barrier.

With this in mind, and our partnership with Commando Joe's, we have created our own 'Character Skills' curriculum which is woven throughout our curriculum, our behaviour management, our rewards and our day to day conversations with our children.  We cannot assume that children know these skills so it is essential that we teach them, model them and live them in school so that they become second nature for all of our children.