Curriculum
Our Intent Statement for the Mary Tavy and Brentor Curriculum
At MTB, our mission is to provide an outstanding education that ensures all pupils reach their greatest potential and live by life’s highest values.
We have developed our own MTB Curriculum, which is comprehensive, where children learn through exploration, has a clear process of learning with specific learning goals for every National Curriculum subject, for personal learning and for international mindedness. The MTB Curriculum sets out clear progression and application of skills across all areas.
We aim to ensure pupils are independently minded and confident citizens of the future.
Our curriculum drives progress through establishing a rigorous knowledge base and a life-long love of learning. We have considered the knowledge, skills and attitudes that are required to achieve academic excellence at secondary school and beyond.
Subject leaders and teachers then plan backwards from this point. This ensures that pupils in each year group receive a rigorous, coherent and intelligently sequenced curriculum, which builds on what has come before. The curriculum at MTB Primary is grounded in the strongest available evidence about how pupils learn and retain knowledge in the long term – focusing in particular on research from cognitive science.
At MTB Primary, subject leaders and teachers think about the curriculum at three levels. The first is the intended curriculum – what we intend pupils to learn. Subject leaders set out this detail meticulously, drawing on their academic knowledge, the National Curriculum and experience of what is necessary to flourish in their subject.
The second level is the implemented curriculum; the resources teachers use to deliver the curriculum. An example of these are the knowledge organisers, bespoke work booklets, lessons or resources that have been written for each subject and year group. Finally, we emphasise the importance of the enacted curriculum, where our skilled teachers bring all of this knowledge to life in a way that will be meaningful and exciting for the pupils that they know so well.
Ensuring that the impact on the children is great in all subjects, this includes their progress and attainment but also that their cultural capital is developed and the children become successful and internationally minded citizens.
Each week, Curriculum Stars are chosen from each class and are celebrated for excelling in the curriculum. Special Head Teacher envelopes are sent home which contain photocopies of exceptional pieces of work that have been completed in their Evidence Task Books.
We expect learning to have context, with rich learning opportunities that link to and build upon previous learning to enable children to develop transferable knowledge and skills. We maximise learning by carefully weaving our curriculum together so that subjects within a theme connect wherever possible.
Our curriculum makes sense - everything has a purpose. It also takes full advantage of our locality and in selecting our areas of study, we consider our local area; what it is now and what it has been through history and how our locality and its surroundings have been shaped over time.
WHAT WE WANT FOR OUR CHILDREN:
- To develop awe and wonder and a lifelong love of learning in a range of subjects.
- To be curious, motivated and excited about coming to school.
- To adopt fundamental British Values and be respectful, responsible citizens with strong moral standards and able to contribute to society.
- To develop a sense of their own nationality and culture at the same time as developing a profound respect for the nationalities and cultures of others, especially those throughout Modern Britain.
- To be aspirational and brave: to try new things without fear of failure.
- To collaborate: to learn with and from others.
- To talk about their learning and to know and remember more.
- To persevere -be resilient, resourceful, develop meaningful relationships and reflect upon their learning.
- To see that making mistakes and taking risks is a good thing - marvellous mistakes !
- For learning to stick, so that their knowledge can build upon and connect with previous knowledge.
We are confident that the impact of our approach is that we truly offer a broad and balanced curriculum to all pupils. It offers the chance for all pupils to encounter and understand the very best that has been thought, said, sung, danced, made and played. We believe that this will inspire pupils to go on and excel in their chosen field, with the widest range of opportunities available to them.
We encourage Parents/Carers to be involved as much as possible with their children’s learning; there are regular opportunities for Parent/Carer engagement with the school through Children’s Progress Meetings, Early Morning Opening and numerous school events. Parents can have total confidence that the needs of every child, as they grow and develop, can be catered for throughout their years in education with us at MTB Primary.
Our States of Being
Our Cohesive Curriculum Handbook
Assessment
At MTB Primary we use a range of different forms of assessment. These are outlined briefly below and give you an overview about how we assess.
Formative Assessment
Formative assessment is the most important method of assessment that takes place at MTB. While it is called ‘Formative Assessment’, this method of assessment does not include formal testing. Instead, it is about how your child’s class teacher assesses your child through their daily interactions to find out how well they understand their learning. Formative Assessment is well established throughout the school and the use of questioning, observation and marking will continue to be key parts of formative assessment. Teachers find out this valuable information through different means. For example, teachers will ask a range of different questions in a lesson and judging by a child’s response the teacher will assess if the child needs more support in understanding the learning, needs to be further challenged or are at the right point in their learning. Using this information, teachers will be able to re-direct their lessons immediately to meet the needs of the learners in their class at that moment.
Teachers provide pupils with concise feedback that will always move and deepen the child’s learning; we believe that this is a very important and active part of the learning process and should happen immediately or as close to the event as possible.
Ongoing Assessments
All of our other subjects are assessed continuously throughout the year and assess children’s independent learning against National Curriculum statements. In all subjects, we have outlined what we feel are the qualities that make a good learner in each subject and these are continuously assessed. For example, in writing we have a selection of different qualities of what makes a good writer and these are continuously assessed as children encounter different genres of writing.
Early Years
In the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) a profile is kept on your child’s progress. This is a report of your child’s development and achievement at the end of their Reception year.
The EYFS Profile is broken down into seven areas of learning:
- Communication and language
- Physical development
- Personal, social and emotional development (PSE)
- Literacy
- Mathematics
- Understanding the world
- Expressive arts and design
Assessment is ongoing throughout the EYFS but the official EYFS Profile for each child is completed in the final term of Reception. The assessment takes place through teacher observation of children’s learning and development as they take part in everyday activities and planned observations where teachers spend time on a specific task with an individual child or small group.
There are three separate achievement levels within the EYFS Profile (a document which outlines expected progress for different age ranges in the Early Years):
- Expected: your child is working at the level expected for his age
- Emerging: your child is working below the expected level
- Exceeding: your child is working above the expected level
Statutory Assessments
At different points in primary school, children are required to sit statutory assessments, which are outlined below.
Year 1 Phonics Screening
Towards the end of Year 1, children will conduct a simple test with their class teacher to determine if they have met a set threshold in their phonetic knowledge. The children are required to read 40 words to their teacher who will assess how well this is done. Check marks are communicated with parents in their child’s Annual Report.
End of Key Stage 1 Assessments
In the Summer Term of Year 2, pupils will sit a Writing, Reading and Mathematics test (commonly referred to as ‘SATs’). These tests are marked by the class teacher and are used to support the class teacher’s existing knowledge of the child’s learning. An attainment level is reported to parents.
Year 4 - Multiplication Test
In June children in Year 4 partake in a National online timed multiplication test.
End of Key Stage 2 Assessments
Towards the end of Year 6, pupils will sit an English Punctuation, Grammar and Spelling test, Reading test and Mathematics test (commonly referred to as ‘SATs’). These tests are set and marked externally. .
Involving Pupils and Parents
Pupils are continuously involved in their learning. We encourage pupils to reflect daily about their learning and we also include pupils in self-assessing their own learning.
We do not share grades with pupils as we do not believe this helps their learning. We do, however, ensure children know what they need to do next to improve their learning. Progress information will be shared with parents at Children’s Progress Meetings.
Teachers meet formally with Parents three times a year, where assessment information is discussed and shared. Parents also receive a detailed Annual Report. However, we always operate an open door policy and parents are more than welcome to have an informal chat with teachers during Early Morning Opening (8:30am-8:45am) each day.