INTENT DRIVERS

Values Education

Broadening Horizons

Keep up,  not Catch up

Equality of opportunity

Empowerment

Inspire a love of learning

INTENT

Our curriculum is our unique offer to our children; it is our tool by which we raise achievement and enhance personal development. Our overarching aim is to ‘grow’ pupils into life.

Our curriculum has been carefully designed to meet the demands of the national curriculum, whilst reflecting the context and needs of our community. Embedded throughout, is our responsibility for the growth of the whole child. We strive to ensure that our children understand that education is the key to unlocking a world of success and opportunity, while developing the character and values needed to live as good humans.

We offer a mastery curriculum which builds progressively on prior learning. Concepts, knowledge and skills are carefully sequenced and revisited through subject-specific lenses so that learning is remembered, connected and deepened. Through concepts, we aim to build a knowledge schema, enabling children to make meaningful links across subjects and within disciplines. Our philosophy of ‘keep up, not catch up’ underpins our inclusive approach; all staff have relentlessly high expectations for all pupils. Where children have Special Educational Needs, reasonable adjustments are made and additional adults work alongside teachers to ensure that all children thrive and fulfil their full potential.

Our curriculum empowers pupils by promoting curiosity, independence and confidence. Adaptations to tasks and resources allow every child to demonstrate what they know and can do, with challenge provided for pupils working at greater depth. Oracy, active pedagogy, and collaborative learning are central: enabling children to articulate their thinking and refine their understanding. Intentional opportunities for reading across the curriculum ensure that texts are carefully chosen to deepen subject knowledge, broaden horizons and support fluency.

Alongside the formal curriculum, we cultivate a rich cultural capital. Learning is enriched by meaningful contexts, current affairs, visits and visitors. Children are exposed to diversity and protected characteristics through chosen resources and texts, ensuring they see themselves represented and experience a sense of belonging.

Subject leaders, supported by leadership coaches, strive to be specialists who inspire passion across the school. They plan for disciplinary knowledge as well as substantive knowledge, so that pupils build both expertise and love for their subjects.

Children leave Croyland with a real sense of belonging. They embody our values and carry with them the confidence, resilience and skills to embrace new challenges and opportunities.

IMPLEMENTATION – DELIVERING A MEANINGFUL, SEQUENTIAL AND LAYERED CURRICULUM

Our curriculum design is rooted in research and proven pedagogy. Leaders have developed their subject areas in ways that best serve our children, while aligning to our whole-school intent. The curriculum is dynamic and under constant review to ensure it meets the changing needs of our pupils, our community and wider society.

Every lesson begins with a clear concept, linked explicitly to prior and future learning, so that children build and strengthen a connected knowledge schema. Retrieval practice is embedded into lesson sequences so that knowledge is revisited and secured in long-term memory. We utilise Ebbinghaus’ principle of forgetting to structure 2 week teaching cycles in subjects such as Art, Design and Technology, History and Geography.

Learning tasks are purposeful, challenging and designed to move pupils from concrete experiences to abstract understanding. Pupils are encouraged to apply knowledge and skills across the curriculum, making connections and deepening learning with task design rooted in the practice of Blooms Taxonomy. Classroom environments are organised, clutter-free and designed to promote independence. Routines, transitions and pace are seamless, ensuring lesson time is maximised.

Teachers adapt learning for the highest and lowest attainers, ensuring access and challenge. Pupil groups are fluid and based on responsive assessment for learning, so that support and extension are always timely. Additional adults are an integral part of the teaching team, supporting both individual pupils and whole-class learning.

Pedagogical choices prioritise active engagement and high expectations. Oracy, discussion and questioning strategies promote curiosity and critical thinking. Pupils are taught to read to learn across the curriculum with intentional and carefully planned reading opportunities that develop independence, comprehension and subject-specific vocabulary, and resources are chosen to reflect and celebrate diversity.

Subject

Subject Lead

Subject Framework: How the subject curriculum has been designed

How teaching is organised

How learning is assessed

English

Luke Carroll

Sam Mitchell

Elise Berwick

Emma Robertson

Spelling: We have adopted the Spelling Shed scheme of Learning from Years 2 – 6. Spelling Shed can also access be accessed from home to support the practice of spelling.

Spelling is also taught through English and Phonics lessons.

1 hour of explicit spelling teaching each week.

Formative assessments at the end of each session to drive future teaching and learning.

There are 3 summative assessments, each year.

Writing: EYFS/Year 1: Bespoke writing units are created.

Year 2 – Year 6: The Write Way units have been selected and adapted, alongside our own progression documents. Using the context of books to support the development of Non-Fiction writing.

4 x 1 hour

Daily formative assessments

Summative assessment through end of unit independent ‘Masterpieces’, which are assessed against Year group tracking grids, and moderated frequently.

Reading: On completion of RWI, children move in to reading groups. Within these sessions, children are taught a range of reading and comprehension strategies using Book Talk and Shine lessons. Motivation to read and positive reading habits are embedded through our bespoke ‘Book Club’ sessions.

5 x 45 minute reading sessions weekly

3 of which are Book Talk lessons.

The 2 other sessions are split between Shine and Book Club over the course of the year

Shine sessions provide regular assessment information and inform future teaching.

PIRA Summative assessment completed termly to track progress

Early Reading and Phonics

Sam Mitchell

Read Write Inc is our chosen phonics scheme, which we follow with fidelity. The scheme begins in EYFS and children remain on the scheme until they have completed the programme (grey level).

5  x lessons (30 mins – 45 mins depending on group)

RWI assessments completed every 6-8 weeks to track attainment and progress.

Assessments determine future groupings and intervention requirements

Maths

Nick Shirtcliffe

White Rose: EYFS – Year 6. Small Steps teaching.

Focus is on a depth of learning through fluency, reasoning and problem solving within a mastery curriculum, supported with a CPA approach to help pupils understand mathematics and to make connections between different representations. This is also braced by a strong focus on mental calculation and fluency.

TT Rockstars: For fluency and recall. Online format supports MTC preparation. Doodle maths is used for online learning for Years 5 and 6, and Numbots is used for ks1. Participation is recognised and rewarded

Foundation: daily 1 x adult led session and throughout continuous

Y1 – Y6

4 x 1 hour maths session

1 hour of explicit mental maths teaching split over the week

Formative assessments on marking grids at the end of each session to monitor pupils progress in lessons and drive future teaching and learning.

Year 1 – 5: White Rose termly testing to support teacher assessments and track progress and attainment.

Year 6 use past SATs papers to establish an AfL focussed teaching sequence

Science

Maryke Boonstra

Croyland designed LTP, using the National Curriculum topics, with working Scientifically taught throughout.

Year group specific objectives are given to ensure that knowledge and skills are layered progressively

1.5 hours per week

Retrieval activities embedded throughout

POP tasks to demonstrate understanding

Formative assessments on marking grids at the end of each session to drive future teaching and learning

Design and Technology

Harry Heath

Chris Quigley curriculum Companions: Y1 – Y6

Units have been selected to develop the Subject Schema

Sequential Layering of concepts and knowledge  - making connections

2 weekly cycle approach

Retrieval activities throughout

POP tasks to demonstrate understanding

Formative assessments on marking grids at the end of each session to drive future teaching and learning

History

Simon Gayton

Chris Quigley curriculum Companions: Y1 – Y6

Units have been selected to develop the Subject Schema

Sequential Layering of concepts and knowledge  - making connections

2 weekly cycle approach

Retrieval activities throughout

POP tasks to demonstrate understanding

Formative assessments on marking grids at the end of each session to drive future teaching and learning

Geography

Hellin Stacey

Chris Quigley curriculum Companions: Y1 – Y6

Units have been selected to develop the Subject Schema

Sequential Layering of concepts and knowledge  -  making connections

2 weekly cycle approach

Retrieval activities throughout

POP tasks to demonstrate understanding

Formative assessments on marking grids at the end of each session to drive future teaching and learning.

Fab 5 used when marking and five children’s work selected and showcased to the class.

Art and Design

Sarah kirk

Chris Quigley curriculum Companions: Y1 – Y6

Units have been selected to develop the Subject Schema

Sequential Layering of concepts and knowledge  - making connections

2 weekly cycle approach

Retrieval activities throughout

3 x units per year

POP tasks to demonstrate knowledge and skills

Fab 5 used to inform future teaching and learning

Sketch books to be used to demonstrate reflection and progression.

Music

Sally Beavis

Charanga Music scheme: EYFS – Year 6.

Units selected to ensure progression in knowledge and skills not taught through the wider opportunity projects.

First Access projects through NMPAT

1 x 50 mins per week (class sessions)

4 units per year.

1 x first access project per year (KS2)

Formative assessment on marking grids at the end of each session to drive future teaching and learning

PE

Zoe Smithies

IMoves: Ks1 and Ks2

Fostering healthy relationships with physical and activity and exercising whilst developing their skill range

Northants School’s Swimming Programme

1 x indoor       1 x outdoor

2 half terms swimming per year in Y3 – Y6: Catch up in year 6 for all pupils not achieving 25 m.

Bike ability Year 5/6

Formative assessments are noted on planning during lessons, which then inform adaptive teaching strategies in subsequent lessons.

Computing

Neal Mepham

NCCE computing Curriculum: Year 1 – Year 6

Each unit combines with an online safety aspect.

I hour weekly, 5 units each year

With an open unit at the end of the year to pick up on any skills to be retaught and practiced.

Formative assessments on assessment sheets both during and at the end of each session to drive future teaching and learning.

MFL

Jenny Fyffe

Catherine Cheetah: Y3 – Y6. Adapted to meet the needs  of each year group.

Taught by JF throughout school

1 x weekly 50 minute lesson

Post assessments have been created for each topic to show children understand and what may require more teaching.

PSHE

Julia Greensmith

Croyland designed spiral curriculum: EYFS – Y6, which is evaluated and developed annually to support emerging need within the community, CPS, and national issues.

1 hour per week

Formative assessments on marking grids at the end of each session to drive future teaching and learning.   

Summative assessment end of unit tracker.

RE

Esther Palmer

Liz Haines

We have adopted the Northamptonshire Agreed Syllabus, and use this as a basis to create and adapt individual lesson plans through 3 lenses and agreed concepts.

Y1 – Y6: 1 hour per week

POP tasks to demonstrate understanding

Formative assessments on marking grids at the end of each session to drive future teaching and learning.

IMPACT

The impact of our curriculum is measured by the progress pupils make, both academically and personally. Formative assessment is our most powerful tool; it informs adaptive teaching and ensures no child is left behind. Feedback: verbal, written and through responsive questioning, is maximised, with children acting upon it to improve their work.

Progression maps for each subject, led by concepts, provide clear end points against which learning can be evaluated. Proof of Progress (POP) tasks and retrieval activities evidence the depth and security of understanding. Subject leaders, supported by leadership coaches, analyse learning and trends, adjusting curriculum sequences to secure the best outcomes for all.

Children’s work across the curriculum reflects high expectations, clarity of purpose and pride. They demonstrate resilience, independence and the ability to apply their knowledge in new contexts. They achieve well from their starting points, regardless of background or vulnerability, and develop into confident, articulate and aspirational learners.

We continually evaluate our success against our Intent Drivers:

Values Education

Broadening Horizons

Keep up, not Catch up

Equality of opportunity

Empowerment

Inspire a love of learning

Do children embody the Croyland values in all they do?

Are children supported to go on to pursue interests and talents?

Does the curriculum expand each child’s cultural capital?

Is there high standards and expectations for all pupils with a curriculum focussed on depth of understanding?

Do we ensure that knowledge and skills are consolidated before moving on?

Do our pupils achieve well as they move through school?

Do children make good progress against their start points regardless of their perceived vulnerabilities?

Does our pedagogy, resource provision, and teaching style, enable access, as well as motivate and engage all learners?

Are children resilient learners who can apply their knowledge and understanding across the curriculum?

Are children well equipped for the next stage of their education?

Is there an understanding and appreciation of the opportunities that a good education can bring?

Is children’s work across the curriculum of a good quality?

Are children enthused about the next stage of their education?