Gusford Primary School Curriculum Statement

Intent

At Gusford Primary School, we strive to teach our students to revel in the wonder of the world around them. Every moment is an opportunity to explore, discover, create and express and we endeavour to provide the best opportunities for pupils to develop holistically. We want our students to be confident learners who are fully equipped for their next stage of education and who have developed a lifelong love of learning. As part of the current review we agreed on a cognitive definition of learning; the movement of knowledge from the short-term working memory to long term memory and then used this definition as one of our main curriculum development drivers.

At the heart of the Gusford curriculum are six key strands that we believe are integral in enabling the best life opportunities for our pupils. These strands are interwoven and built upon from Nursery to Year 6. These are:

Environment
Community
Health and Wellbeing
Finance and Careers
Performance
Adventure

The strands are revisited throughout a child’s time at Gusford but at different levels as they move through the school. These are mapped out in our long-term plans which enables both forwards and backwards ‘engineering’ for both knowledge and skills. We provide a broad and balanced curriculum where each subject is celebrated and is brought to life through exciting, authentic and enriching experiences rich in cultural capital. We strive to teach beyond the National Curriculum, developing the children as individuals and as such place huge importance on both the personal development and the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of the pupils.

Core mathematical and literacy skills are a priority; we know the children need a sound knowledge base, mastery, before they can acquire higher level thinking skills. Reading is key (please see our statement on reading). We have tried to intertwine this focus on the core skills with a rich curriculum promoting British values and our School values, leading to the ability to problem solve and think independently. Our philosophy is based on giving the children a chance to succeed, we do not want to cap their learning but instead we want to ensure all children are exposed to a mastery-based curriculum with an underlying emphasis on the school values of Kindness, Honesty, Responsibility, Respect and Confidence.

Implementation

The children begin their educational journey at Gusford following the Early Years Foundation Stage Statutory Framework (2021) in Nursery and Reception and then the National Curriculum (2014) from Year 1 to Year 6. The Early Years Foundation Stage Statutory Framework is implemented through a combination of fun and engaging adult taught sessions and carefully selected high quality provision. Each National Curriculum subject is taught through discrete sessions to allow pupils to develop their expertise across the different subject disciplines. All curriculum areas are carefully sequenced from Nursery to Year 6 with clear progression of knowledge and skills woven throughout them. Subject specific vocabulary is explicitly introduced and recall questions are used to regularly check understanding and to ensure that new learning is built on strong foundations.

Our six key strands are covered in the following ways:

Environment Pupils learn about caring for the environment through science, geography and PSHE. To further this, we provide the following enrichments:
Eco Schools Bronze (Whole school)		Butterfly Garden (Whole school)	Litter picking (EYFS – outdoor area, Year 1 and 2 – Key Stage 1 playground, Year 3 and 4 – Key Stage 2 playground, Year 5 and 6 – local area)
Community Pupils learn about their local and wider community through history, geography, MFL, RE and PSHE. To further this, we provide the following enrichments:
Charity days (Whole school and in partnership with school council)	Links with local organisations (churches, book shop, orchestra, music hub, maths hub)	Care home visits (Reception and Year 1 and performance opportunities throughout the year)	Spanish school pen pals (Year 5)	Focus on cultures within school community in cultural diversity week (Whole school)
Health and Wellbeing Pupils learn about staying healthy and looking after their emotional wellbeing through science, PE, DT, computing and PSHE. To further this, we provide the following enrichments:
Zones of Regulation (Whole school)	Competitive Sports Days (Whole school)	School Games ‘Gold’ School and Ipswich Town Partnership School (Whole school)	My Smiles Programme (Nursery, Reception and Year 1)	Rich programme of extra-curricular activities
Finance and Careers Pupils learn about managing money and career pathways through maths, PSHE and computing. To further this, we provide the following enrichments:
Enterprise Week (Whole school – alternating enterprise fair and careers fair)		Career question and answer sessions (Whole school)	Gusford Heroes (Whole school for music, PE, science and computing)
Performance Pupils have performance opportunities through dance, English, music and art. To further this, we provide the following enrichments:
Nativities (EYFS and KS1), The Big Sing (Year 3 and 4), Carol Service (Year 5) and Year 6 production		Art Gallery (Whole school)	Visiting theatre companies (Whole school)
Adventure Pupils have opportunities to risk take and be adventurous in geography, MFL, PE and PSHE. To further this, we provide the following enrichments:
Forest School Sessions/Commando Joe’s Sessions (Whole school)		Trip plan	EYFS – Bedtime stories with parents Year 1 and 2 – Bedtime stories Year 3 and 4 – Campfire Stories Year 5 – Stargazing Sleepover Year 6 – Residential

Learning is brought to life through a programme of external trips and visitors explicitly linked to the taught curriculum (see below). The trips begin in the local community and extend further afield as the children progress through the school. There are also regular enrichment weeks focused around poetry and debating, cultural diversity, STEM, PE and the arts. These provide opportunities for the children to work with visiting artists, musicians, planetariums, our local MP and to showcase their artwork in our ‘Gusford Art Gallery’. There are a large number of free after school clubs that cover a range of curriculum areas including archaeology, PE and choir.

Impact

The children’s progress is recorded on Sonar and pupil progress meetings take place three times/year to celebrate the successes of the children and identify areas for accelerated progress. The outcomes of the children’s data informs curriculum decisions, teaching approaches and changes to the learning environment to ensure that all children are given the opportunity to achieve their best. The positive impact of the curriculum cannot always be measured in terms of academic results but in 2024 we are forecasting Year 6 SATs results of 75% and above in all subject areas.