Beenham Primary School's Curriculum 

All who work at Beenham Primary School are ambitious for our children. We expect the highest quality in all our relationships, work and behaviour. Our school prides itself on having an outstanding understanding of our children and recognises that each child is an individual and learns in their own way.  We believe that for our children to thrive, their safety and happiness is paramount and at the core of our approach. We want to develop successful learners who are curious, motivated, courageous and understand that by making mistakes they aid meaningful learning. We are passionate that all children should be given the opportunity to develop a love of learning that will continue into their next education chapter and beyond.

At Beenham Primary School, we believe that learning is the process by which children acquire and assimilate knowledge, concepts, skills, values and attitudes to enable them to make greater sense of the world.

As a wider school community, we decided on 50 things we want our children to experience before they leave us for the next chapter in their education journey. 

The curriculum at Beenham School is underpinned by our 6 school values and has been designed to meet the needs of the pupils who attend our school.

Here at Beenham Primary School, we provide a broad and balanced curriculum based around the Cornerstones Curriculum, a nationally recognised approach for delivering outstanding learning opportunities for children.

What is the Cornerstones Curriculum?

We chose the Cornerstones scheme as it has a clear and sequential programme which enables children to develop deep knowledge and understanding. The programme is progressive and provides a structure for teachers, enabling them to plan high quality lessons with a consistent approach across the school.

We are currently developing the opportunities for high quality linked texts to be taught in every project the children cover.

The curriculum provides rich tier 2 and 3 vocabulary, enabling our children to communicate their knowledge and learning more coherently.

The Cornerstones Curriculum is a creative and thematic approach to learning that is mapped to the 2014 primary national curriculum to ensure comprehensive coverage of national expectations. It is based on a child-centred pedagogy called The Four Cornerstones and is delivered through Imaginative Learning Projects (ILPs) and Knowledge Rich Projects (KRPs), which provide a rich menu of exciting and motivating learning activities that make creative links between all aspects of children’s learning. We believe children learn better when they are encouraged to use their imagination and apply their learning to engaging contexts. Our curriculum provides many learning challenges throughout the academic year that require children to solve problems, apply themselves creatively and express their knowledge and understanding effectively. Cornerstones also provide a rigorous skills and knowledge framework that outlines the end of year expectations in all subjects. These skills and knowledge are tied to activities and are age-related so that staff can track children’s progress and identify their individual learning needs.

The rationale for the Cornerstones Curriculum takes the form of 10 big ideas that provide a purpose for the aspects, skills, knowledge and contexts chosen to form the substance of the curriculum. These big ideas form a series of multi-dimensional interconnected threads across the curriculum, allowing children to encounter and revisit their learning through a variety of subject lenses. Over time, these encounters help children to build conceptual frameworks that will enable a better understanding of increasingly sophisticated information and ideas.

Big ideas

1. Humankind - Understanding what it means to be human and how human behaviour has shaped the world.

2. Processes -  Understanding the many dynamic and physical processes that shape the world.

3. Creativity -  Understanding the creative process and how everyday and exceptional creativity can shape the world.

4. Investigation - Understanding the importance of investigation and how this has led to significant change in the world.

5. Materials - Understanding the properties of all matter, living and non-living. 

6. Nature -  Understanding the complexities of the plant and animal species that inhabit the world.

7. Place and space - Understanding the visual, cultural, social, and environmental aspects of places around the world.

8. Comparison - Understanding how and why things are the same or different.

9. Significance -  Understanding why significant people, places, events and inventions matter and how they have shaped the world.

10.Change - Understanding why and how things have changed over time.

General principles

Our curriculum will give children the opportunity to:

• develop new skills through a variety of interesting contexts

• explore the breadth and depth of the national curriculum

• learn within a coherent and progressive framework

• develop a rich and deep subject knowledge

• experience the challenge and enjoyment of learning

• see clear links between different aspects of their learning

SMSC/FBV

Our curriculum will give children the opportunity to:

• Tolerance and respect - To respect and tolerate the opinions or behaviour of others

• Individual liberty - Be free to express views or ideas

• Rule of law - Learn that all people and institutions are subject to and accountable for their actions and behaviour

• Democracy - Be part of a system where everyone plays an equal part

• Cultural - Appreciate cultural influences; appreciate the role of Britain’s parliamentary system; participate in culture opportunities; understand, accept, respect and celebrate diversity

• Social - Use a range of social skills to participate in the local community and beyond; appreciate diverse viewpoints; participate, volunteer and cooperate; resolve conflict

• Moral - Recognise right and wrong and respect the law; understand consequences; investigate moral and ethical issues and offer reasoned views

• Spiritual - Explore beliefs, experience and faiths, feelings and values; enjoy learning about oneself, others and the surrounding world; use imagination and creativity and reflect on experiences

Well-being
Our curriculum fully incorporates our 6 school values and will give children the opportunity to:
• build respectful and CARING friendships
• recognise that people are good at different things
• develop self-esteem, RESILIENCE and confidence in their abilities
• work INDEPENDENTLY and in COOPERATION with a range of groups
• reflect and take RESPONSIBILITY for their learning in the classroom and beyond
• follow their own interests and be CONFIDENT in who they are
• learn how to respect themselves and others

Pupil voice

Our curriculum will give children the opportunity to:

• express their opinions on a range of different topics and issues

• contribute to planning their own learning

• explore ways of becoming an active citizen

• take part in democratic activities across the curriculum

• make choices about things that are important to them

• take part in age-appropriate discussions

• say what they like and dislike about their learning

• make a positive contribution to the school and local community

Pedagogy

Our curriculum will be taught through a pedagogy that:

• enables children to reflect on and evaluate their learning

• enables and fosters children’s natural curiosity

• promotes innovation and entrepreneurialism

• offers all children a memorable experience at the start of every topic

• promotes problem solving, creativity and communication

• excites, promotes and sustains children’s interest

We continuously monitor and measure our curriculum's impact through: 

• Teacher assessment - both formative and summative
• Child Voice
• Parental Feedback
• Data Analysis
• Participation in Community Events
• Case Studies of vulnerable Learners

Please follow this link to see the National Curriculum for primary aged children in England 

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Should you wish any further information about the curriculum taught in school then contact Mrs Donnelly, the Headteacher. 

What we teach and when we teach it

2021- 22 Cycle B

2022-23 Cycle A

Curriculum Enrichment at Beenham Primary School

As well as our 50 things we offer our children before they leave us to embark on their secondary education, we organise the following experiences which are aligned with our wider curriculum. Through these planned experiences, the children's knowledge is deepened and the children are provided the opportunity to apply their new knowledge and skills.

Early Years

Key Stage 1

Lower Key Stage 2

Upper Key Stage 2

Knowledge Organisers and Home Learning

We provide our children with knowledge organisers for each project and many other subjects, they add to these each year they are in the school and are encouraged to go back and use them to review prior learning and to make links in learning.