Curriculum at Cavendish C of E Primary School
Our Curriculum
Through our Christian Faith, we acknowledge our responsibility to all, to enrich lives and show love and respect within our school family. We believe in lifelong learning aiming to equip our children to live life today and for tomorrow.
We intend to fulfill this aim by applying our biblical foundation. As a school we have decided to embrace some verses from the Psalms. We have chosen the phrase: Challenge, Creativity, Compassion - Create a pure heart in me. Psalm 51:10, This links directly to our curriculum drivers and in the aspirations that we have for our children. It does not matter what their goal is, be it academic, musical or sporting we will do everything we can to celebrate and support our children's efforts. It is also one that we hope the children can readily understand.
Intent:
Our Curriculum has been designed to ensure every child can ' live life in all its fullness' by offering stimulating and awe-inspiring learning experiences with Christian values at its heart.
It is bespoke to the needs of the pupils at Cavendish C of E Primary School, not only by focusing on appropriate subject specific knowledge, skills and understanding as set out in the National Curriculum, but by developing individual and collaborative learning experiences, a positive growth mind set, a sense of responsibility with challenges and experiences that take them beyond the classroom.
We are a small village school with a constantly evolving curriculum which responds to the needs of learners and their interests by enhancing learning experiences and raising awareness from the local area to national and global arenas. Thus, we will develop outward looking pupils who are able to engage in learning about themselves and have an understanding of the wider world.
Implementation – How is our curriculum put together?
The curriculum incorporates the statutory requirements of the National Curriculum 2014 and other experiences and opportunities which best meet the learning and developmental needs of the children in our school. The CUSP curriculum (Curriculum for the Unity Schools Partnership) is followed to ensure coherence so the curriculum is cumulative and connected.
The curriculum provides children with memorable experiences, in addition to diverse and rich opportunities from which children can learn and develop a range of transferable skills. We are using our amazing outdoor areas to enhance learning outside.
The children’s own community, its heritage and traditions are used in studies of the local area and incorporate our village church as the children regularly visit for Services throughout the year.
Meeting the needs of all our pupils as an inclusive school - How we tackle barriers for learning
The school takes pride in providing a highly inclusive environment, where learners demonstrate high levels of enjoyment in their education and most make very good progress in most subjects and areas of learning. Children at all levels are helped to achieve their potential. Those who are most able are challenged and supported through being offered tasks which provide opportunities for greater depth and those who struggle are encouraged and given targeted support to embed skills, to develop at their own pace or simply to learn in a style that best suits their individual needs. This is achieved by adapting the curriculum to ensure that regardless of ability each pupil receives the appropriate curriculum entitlement.
How do we teach the basic skills?
The school uses the Little Wandle phonics scheme to teach initial phonics and reading. We then use CUSP Reading and Writing throughout Key Stages One and Two. Maths is taught as a stand-alone subject using a variety of resources including White Rose.
Physical Education which is taught following the Get Set scheme. Religious Education is taught through the Suffolk agreed syllabus - The Emmanuel Project. PSHE and RSE are taught using the Cambridgeshire scheme All other subjects are taught following the CUSP curriculum and will come on stream during the course of the 2024 - 25 academic year.
Information about the CUSP curriculum
The school has a bespoke curriculum that is based on CUSP (Curriculum for the Unity Schools Partnership)
This is a curriculum which is:
- Connected
- Cumulative
- Coherent
It is a curriculum which is underpinned by evidence, research and cognitive science. Modules are deliberately sequenced for robust progression and allow teachers to focus on the lesson.
There is an emphasis on oracy and vocabulary acquisition, retention and use to break down barriers and accelerate progress. A rich diet of language is deliberately planned for.
Specific skills are discretely taught and practised so that they become transferrable. The sequenced modules activate prior learning, build on skills and deepen knowledge AND understanding. Learning vocabulary and content is cumulative; content is learned, retrieved and built on.
CUSP uses what is called cumulative quizzing as a means of retrieval practice, rather than testing what children know before a module is taught and then after.
More details regarding the curriculum can be found by contacting the school office who will be pleased to make an appointment with the appropriate senior leader. You can also request a printed version of the long term plans.