Curriculum

Curriculum Intent

At Summerhill, our curriculum is designed to inspire life-long learners through a varied, inclusive and challenging curriculum, leading to fluency in a range of fundamental skills and the retention of knowledge. We are a Gold Award, Rights Respecting School that embeds respect, trust, values, inclusion and fairness are throughout our curriculum.

At Summerhill we follow the DfE National Curriculum in England: Key Stages 1 and 2 and the Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage.

The national curriculum aims to provide all pupils with "the essential knowledge that they need to be educated citizens". It sets out a core knowledge which forms the grounding upon which our teachers enhance the children's knowledge, whilst building their understanding and skills through exciting and stimulating lessons and the application of a wider school curriculum

We inject creativity and challenge into our curriculum so that every day offers high quality and meaningful learning. Children build essential building blocks over time based on their individual starting points. Learning uses high quality resources and thoughtful and thought-provoking tasks through thematic approaches. We strive to help children think, to be curious and enquiring; overcoming barriers and challenges with courage, determination and so developing resilience.

Essential to our curriculum is learning to be a kind, respectful, honest and compassionate human being. Children learn about connection, about each other, themselves and the broad and diverse world around them. At Summerhill, we respect the individual and learn about healthy minds, bodies and relationships and how to be safe.

It is our aim that by the time the children leave Summerhill to embark on the next stage of their education, they are equipped with the academic skills and knowledge and have developed the personal attributes needed to enable them to become successful citizens of the future. They have a strong sense of themselves, belonging and of community.

Curriculum Implementation

Leaders have carefully designed a holistic curriculum which balances the national expectations and an all- encompassing range of experiences allowing our children to flourish. Strategic planning allows the curriculum to be a dynamic structure through which pupils enjoy, progress, and excel.

Summerhill Primary School curriculum has high expectations to combine deep knowledge and understanding with transferable skills. It is delivered with the intent of allowing pupils to develop a wide breadth of vocabulary and opportunities to apply knowledge and skills across the curriculum. This is supported by classroom environments which are organised and engage quality thinking and reasoning. Teaching and learning is responsive to children’s needs; teachers displaying a deep understanding of effective pedagogy.

Curriculum Impact

At Summerhill Primary School, we use a triangulated monitoring approach throughout the year to gauge the impact of the curriculum design, measure the impact of the curriculum content, and approach. Leadership at all levels monitor individual subjects: reviewing learning, evaluating pupil voice, providing individual feedback to move practice forward, celebrating positives and highlighting areas of development. Teachers evaluate, adjust, and maximise the impact of the curriculum on pupil outcomes. Our whole school team strengthens our ethos and vision as we work together to reflect upon our curriculum and share outcomes driving forward next steps. In doing so, we take into account the outcomes of various monitoring activities together with available summative assessment information.

We believe children have the right to succeed, the right to recognise their own greatness and the right to develop who they are in a respectful and nurturing environment. Our school ethos is firmly rooted in our values with a love of learning being the foundation of everything we do, so that we really are a community of learners, proudly achieving ‘Excellence for All’ as one Summerhill Family.