How we teach: We believe that children learn best when they feel safe, challenged and loved.
We believe that by defining ourselves as a “Loving School” and by identifying how we live this out in our daily life in school we are supporting the Church of England’s vision for education of:
- Educating for Wisdom Knowledge and Skills
- Educating for Hope and Aspiration
- Educating for Community and Living Well Together
- Educating for Dignity and Respect
For greater detail on the Church of England’s vision for Education visit the full statement here: https://www.churchofengland.org/more/education-and-schools/vision-education
We are currently revising and revisiting our curriculum and using the research of the Education Endowment Foundation to inform our approach:
https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/education-evidence/teaching-learning-toolkit
We are also influenced and interested in new pedagogical approaches and are developing quality first teaching by studying Rosenshine's Principles of Instruction and developing our teaching through a coaching and action research approach alongside our colleagues in other schools.
You can find out more about Rosenshine's Principles here:
https://www.futurelearn.com/info/courses/early-career-teachers/0/steps/164331
As a school we have studied the work of Carole Dweck and her thinking and research around the importance of developing a growth mind-set.
https://www.ted.com/talks/carol_dweck_the_power_of_believing_that_you_can_improve
We have shared this with parents and pupils and staff regularly revisit growth mind-set language and approaches. We believe that we cannot all be the best but we can all be our best. Rather than say “I can’t do it” we encourage children to say “I can’t do it yet.” This is a subtle but powerful difference and it is starting to make a positive difference to the resilience and performance of pupils.
To support this thinking we are also inspired by the work of Brene Brown and her research around vulnerability and asking for help. Recognising ourselves as “worth the effort.”
https://www.ted.com/talks/brene_brown_on_vulnerability
We are also influenced by the thinking of educationalists such as Rita Pearson: https://www.ted.com/talks/rita_pierson_every_kid_needs_a_champion
and Sir Ken Robinson: https://www.ted.com/talks/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity
https://www.ted.com/talks/sir_ken_robinson_bring_on_the_revolution#t-265375
As a result of this work we have developed our “Loving School” value which underpins all that we do in school. As a church of England school we believe that everyone is unique and miraculous creation of a loving God. No two people are the same and we recognise this in our approach. Every child is a moment in history, a new learning experience for our staff. Difference and diversity is celebrated through our weekly VIP programme that acknowledges who we are and who we aspire to be. We support children through the use of Emotional Literacy support assistants as well as subscribing to the “Thrive” approach to resilience and behaviour management.
Our vision statement is: “Growing in the Forest”
This describes several forms of “growth”
- Physical growth
- Growing in wisdom and knowledge
- Spiritual growth
- Growing community
By using our guidance for outstanding provision, our loving school ethos and the national curriculum we aspire to create the most effective curriculum to meet the needs of our children. We do this by rigorously planning, reviewing and reflecting on what we teach and how we teach it. We want our pupils to know how to learn and to present their learning in exciting and innovative ways and we want them to take their learning home and extend it through use of their cloud based Google Drive and home learning projects with parents. We aim to keep parents fully informed and help them to understand how they can work in partnership with us to bring about the best outcomes for each pupil. This is what we are here for and it serves everyone well if pupils succeed and move on to secondary school as confident, resilient, articulate learners who are well balanced and rounded people with a sense of social and moral responsibility.
And so we finish where we began. This is what we want our pupils to be when they leave us:
Much of the learning at Bransgore Primary School is based upon our new enquiry based curriculum which we are developing in response to changes in the national curriculum. To develop our revised curriculum, we asked ourselves, what does a child need to be able to do and what qualities should they display if they are to be successful as they move to secondary school and further on into the world of work? As a staff, parents, governors and pupils we came up with the following ideas which we have represented as a Wordle. The larger the word, the more often it was used.
We next asked ourselves, if these are the qualities we want our pupils to possess as learners, how can we provide a curriculum which helps them to develop these attributes? From this discussion has emerged our Bransgore Curriculum. This curriculum is based upon our view of what makes outstanding provision. We have a new 2 year rolling programme of enquiry based learning which will evolve term by term, improving and refining as we go. Our document outlining the elements we feel contribute to outstanding provision is here:
Home - Learning Projects:
An important new development are our home learning projects. As well as basic reinforcement and consolidation work at home, we would like children to get creative with our half-termly home learning projects. Pupils can choose to present their learning about a theme in a dynamic way. The hope is that parents, extended family or friends might get involved too. Build a model, make a poster, create a powerpoint, write a poem or booklet or even bake a cake!
Parents — how you can be involved:
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Look at parent’s information letter from phase leaders
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Supply resources from home and support home learning projects
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Respond to requests for help
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Talk to the children about their work
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Remember that children should enjoy learning
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Celebrate the exit point with your child at the end of each unit. Invitations will be sent offering the opportunity to visit the classroom
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Here is a useful resource provided by Rising Stars called a Parent's Guide to the New Curriculum:
What we teach:
At Bransgore we teach our thematic learning using a two year rolling programme:
Theme Overview - Year A
Year Group |
Autumn 1 |
Autumn 2 |
Spring 1 |
Spring 2 |
Summer 1 |
Summer 2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Foundation |
Amazing Me
|
Once Upon a Time | Here we are | All Creatures Great and Small | Vroom! | World of Imagination |
Years 1&2 |
What is my Superpower? Look Outside! |
Remember, Remember Delightful Decorations |
Emergency, Emergency! |
Senses
|
Life cycles |
We are what we eat!
|
Years 3&4 |
Local environment study |
Egyptians
|
Fashion |
Farm to fork
|
The Anglo Saxons |
Vikings
|
Years 5&6 |
The Mayan Civilisation | Evolution and Adaptation | Fairgrounds and theme parks | They see the world like this. | Life Cycles | |
Theme Overview - Year B
Year Group |
Autumn 1 |
Autumn 2 |
Spring 1 |
Spring 2 |
Summer 1 |
Summer 2 |
Foundation |
Amazing Me
|
Once Upon a Time
|
Here we are
|
All Creatures Great and Small
|
Vroom!
|
World of Imagination
|
Years 1&2 |
Autumn Watch |
Great Fire of London
|
Toys |
Structures
|
The Sea |
Voyagers
|
Years 3&4 |
Local geography study |
Stone Age |
Volcanoes & Earthquakes |
Romans
|
Rainforests |
Habitats
|
Years 5&6 |
Mountains and Rivers | Tudor Times | Evacuee- Life in Britain WWII | The UK- Investigating who we are | Ancient Greece | Summer Watch |
To view how specific topics are taught you can scroll down the page:
National Curriculum coverage by Year Group:
Source: Michael Tidd 2013
Bransgore Curriculum coverage by Subject:
National Curriculum coverage by Subject:
EnglishOur curriculum for English aims to ensure that all pupils:
ReadWriteInc is our literacy programme for teaching children how to read and write as well as develop their speaking and listening, comprehension, grammar, punctuation and spelling skills. It is introduced to children in Foundation and continues into Key Stage 1. The majority of children will have completed this programme by the end of the autumn term in Year 2. Click the links below to find relevant information, resources and videos to support your child at home.
Click here to see the National Curriculum programme of study for English |
MathsOur curriculum for mathematics aims to ensure that all pupils:
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ScienceAt Bransgore Primary School, we teach science through ‘Big Questions’ which allows the children to make links and connections between the science that they study throughout their time at school, building a rich body of knowledge. Science is taught using an approach where the children are encouraged to use the substantive knowledge they acquire during their learning to develop their own scientific questions and use their disciplinary knowledge to help them collect and evaluate scientific evidence to help them answer these. In the Early Years we use our big ‘Why’ book and ask the children what they want to find out then give them the resources to try and find out the answers through exploration and investigation. In Key Stage 1, the topics are used to generate scientific questions and investigation. The children are encouraged to answer these in different ways:
In Key Stage 2 the children’s scientific knowledge of the world is broadened further by exploring, talking about, testing and developing ideas about everyday phenomena and the relationships between living things and familiar environments. They also start conducting a range of different types of scientific enquiries:
Click here to see the the Bransgore Science Curriculum Road Map Click here to see the National Curriculum programme of study for Science |
ComputingOur curriculum for computing aims to ensure that all pupils:
Click here to see the National Curriculum programme of study for Computing |
Religious EducationR.E. is taught using an enquiry-based approach to teaching and learning. We use 'Understanding Christianity' as our main scheme of work accompanied by the 'Discovery R.E.' scheme. We make use of cross-curricular links and learning, such as with ICT, PHEE, P4C, drama, zones of regulation, art and music to enhance teaching. More information can be found here - Religious Education Policy | Loving Schools Document | Long Term Plan |
GeographyWe teach Geography through our theme based curriculum which allows the children to make links between geography and the other subjects they are studying. Children will be taught:
|
HistoryOur history curriculum enables pupils gain a coherent knowledge and understanding of Britain’s past and that of the wider world. It helps pupils to make sense of the present as well as the past and to appreciate the complexity and diversity of human societies and development. KS 1 children will be taught:
KS2 children will be taught:
|
Art & DesignWe teach Art and Design through our topic based curriculum (link to overview) which allows the children to make links between art and design and the other subjects they are studying.
Children will be taught:
|
Design & TechnologyWe teach Design and Technology through our topic-basedcurriculum (link to overview) which allows the children to make links between design and technology and the other subjects they are studying. When designing and making children are taught to:
Click here to see the National Curriculum programme of study for Design and Technology |
Modern Foreign LanguagesFrench is taught to all children in Key Stage 2 using the Language Angels programme. The teaching of French, as our chosen modern foreigh language, is designed to immerse the students in a language rich environment; where they develop the skills to hold basic conversations and express their desires and needs confidently. Click here to see the National Curriculum programme of study for Modern Foreign Languages |
MusicMusic is taught using the Music Express programme. We also offer ukulele lessons, choir and offer clarinet, flute and saxophone lessons.
Click here to see the National Curriculum programme of study for Music |
Personal Social Health & Citizenship Education (PSHE)PSHE is embedded within our Personal Development Learning programme that includes Social, Moral, Social and Cultural Education (SMSC). Our Jigsaw programme covers all areas of PSHE for the primary phase including statutory Relationships and Health Education. It is delivered through weekly lessons. The table below gives the learning theme of each of the six Puzzles (units) and these are taught across the school; the learning deepens and broadens every year. In addition, PSHE is complimented and enriched by visitors, visits and residential trips, together with assemblies. It encompasses pupil voice, drug and alcohol education, cyber and homophobic bullying, internet safety, body image, self-esteem, financial capability, health education and relationships and sex education. In essence, at Bransgore Church of England School our PSHCE programme aims to enable children to:
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Physical Education & SportSport and Physical Education are very important at Bransgore and we pride ourselves on the range of activities we can offer both within and beyond the curriculum. Physical Education develops the children’s knowledge, skills and understanding, so that they can perform with increasing competence and confidence in a range of physical activities. These include athletics, dance, games, gymnastics, outdoor and adventurous activities, swimming and water safety. We encourage active playtimes and our older pupils are trained as play leaders supporting the younger children. P.E promotes an understanding in children of their bodies in action. It involves thinking, selecting and applying skills and promotes positive attitudes towards a healthy lifestyle whilst at the same time building self- confidence. Through this approach we aim to help pupils make informed and positive choices about physical activity throughout their lives. We have used our P.E./Sports Premium Funding to employ a qualified dance teacher and gym coach and to build an all-weather sports pitch, which can be used during PE/Games lessons and during lunch and break times. Competitive Sport supported by a positive and enabling ethos is encouraged throughout the school. Children are given the opportunity within lessons to compete against each other in a variety of different games. Intra school competitions take place regularly as well as inter school competitions where the children compete against other schools. Our “house teams” enable us to more easily organise pupils for small intra school tournaments during our golden times. Sports Leaders from Ringwood Secondary School support our sports days and half termly inter-house tournaments. In addition, Rippa Rugby also come and help us run tournaments for our KS2 children during Golden Time. Here at Bransgore we endeavour to motivate and encourage as many of our children to participate in a range of sporting activities as they can beyond the curriculum. We aim to do this by fostering links with local sports clubs, coaches and our feeder secondary schools. We aim to expose pupils to the widest possible range of physical activity so they may find something they excel at or enjoy and which may become a lifelong passion or pastime. We aim to light the spark and then, if necessary, help pupils who show exceptional skills or talent to make contact with clubs and coaches who can help take their development to the highest possible level. Click here to see the National Curriculum programme of study for Physical Education |
