Co-Curricular

Wider Curriculum Opportunities, Primary Careers & Cultural Capital

At Horsmonden Primary our curriculum extends beyond the National Curriculum and includes a wide range of enriching experiences and opportunities both within and beyond the school day. This includes an extensive programme of after-school clubs, that support the core curriculum offer, as well as those which develop specialist skills, such as French, music, whilst also extending the range of children’s experiences (Cultural Capital). A primary focus of our curriculum is to raise aspirations, engender a sense of personal pride in achievement, and provide a purpose and relevance for learning.

The school takes pride in providing a highly inclusive environment, where learners demonstrate high levels of enjoyment in their education and make very good progress across the curriculum. 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 can 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.

In addition to our exciting and stimulating cross-curricular themes, we also provide further opportunities to enhance children’s learning wherever possible. These include:

Whole School Theme Days/Weeks

Throughout the year, themed days/weeks are woven into the curriculum to extend the breadth and balance of opportunities we offer our pupils. These include, Anti-Bullying Week and Safer Internet Day, World Book Day, Mothers Day, Fathers Day, Harvest Week and others.

Primary Careers

We are collaborating across the wider Central Kent cluster (Maidstone and Paddock Wood primaries) to provide children with a range of meaningful experiences to teach them about the world of work and provide accurate, well-judged information about future careers. We recognise the important role that we have in ensuring our pupils have high aspirations about their future.

Forest School & Outdoor Learning

Forest Schools is a Scandinavian initiative designed to encourage and inspire individuals of any age through an innovative, long term, educational approach to outdoor play and learning in a woodland environment. As a school we are very fortunate in having our own woodland area and a teacher trained to deliver the Forest Schools programme.

Sessions are designed around the needs of the group to ensure that they are learner-led. Sessions are designed around a theme, themes are sometimes subtle such as evolving or exploring the site or more obvious such as butterflies, spies, fairies or nature investigators. Many areas of the National Curriculum are intrinsically covered, in the Forest Schools experience without the programmes needing to be curriculum-led. Teamwork skills are developed through games and activities. Individual skills and self-esteem are heightened throughout activities such as hide and seek, shelter building, tool skills, lighting fires or environmental art, the list is endless. Each activity develops intra and inter-personal skills as well as practical and intellectual skills.

We are an Eco school and value the benefits of outdoor learning. Children are stimulated by the outdoors where they can undertake a range of practical activities to support and enhance learning across the curriculum.

Further up the school, opportunities are built into the curriculum for children to continue learning beyond the classroom including undertaking fieldwork and inquiry based-work in the local area.

Educational Visits and Residentials

School trips and visits are an integral part of the education of children at Horsmonden Primary. We value the opportunities such visits offer our pupils and the commitment of staff and adults undertaking them. Trips include class visits aimed at bringing learning alive and providing first-hand experience and bringing learning alive; extra-curricular outings such as activities with the school choir or sporting events; and attending or taking part in performances or competitions.

Visitors into School

Visitors have a valuable role to play and can contribute to many aspects of the life and work of the school. They deliver talks, workshops and full day activities across a wide range of subjects, giving pupils access to outside experiences and expertise. Visitors provide a link with the wider community – children have the opportunity to work alongside STEM ambassadors. International school mentors, digital technology coaches and others.

After-school Clubs

As a school we offer pupils opportunities to participate in extra-curricular activities after school. At any time, a wide range of clubs is on offer – our programmes of clubs and activities available are revised termly depending on the time of year and other commitments children may have. At Horsmonden we offer:

Cooking Club, Cricket Club, Netball Club, Art Club, Coding Club, Netball Club, Choir Club and Mindfulness Club

Opportunities to Volunteer

Volunteering is an activity that everyone can get involved in and benefit from. At Horsmonden Primary we promote and encourage pupils’ active citizenship and positive contribution to the school and wider community. We offer lots of opportunities for pupils to take on new responsibilities and be involved in successfully supporting the life and work of the school. These include elected representatives on our Children’s Council, Eco Squad and School Captains.

Older pupils can also apply and be interviewed for positions such as Playground Leaders, and within classes children can volunteer to take on various responsibilities ranging from collecting and distributing books, to helping with the organisation of equipment in the PE shed.

Pupils tell us that they enjoy the opportunity to volunteer to help make their school an even better place to be and rising to the challenge that additional responsibility brings.