Our Curriculum Intent
Our curriculum is driven by the need to prepare our children for lifelong learning. At Belmont, we offer a rich and vibrant curriculum which is ambitious for all learners. Through our curriculum, we develop the essential knowledge, skills and understanding, which are the building blocks for later life. Our curriculum encompasses not only the formal requirements of the National Curriculum, but goes beyond the experiences of the classroom to ensure that our children are exposed to the richest and most varied opportunities that we can provide. The curriculum is enhanced by our commitment to our Key Concepts and, through this, we provide learning experiences which promote confident, self-motivated pupils, eager for lifelong learning.
The aims of our school curriculum are for children to:
Be confident - to foster the children’s understanding of ‘belonging and being’ and how they connect to the past, live in the present and look to the future; encouraging curiosity and a passion to learn.
Be positive - to promote a ‘go-for-it’ attitude towards learning, so that all children enjoy coming to school and embrace new challenges and possibilities; pushing their own boundaries.
Be independent - to enable children to develop their knowledge, understanding and skills to ensure that children are ‘determined to succeed’ and become independent thinkers and questioners; acquiring a solid basis for lifelong learning.
Be a learner - to encourage children to make links between different aspects of the curriculum and help them to build on prior learning to develop a deeper understanding of the world around them.
Be ambitious - to engage learners and promote high quality outcomes, built upon the knowledge and understanding developed within each subject specific learning journey.
Be knowledgeable - to ensure that all children develop an extensive vocabulary – which we refer to as ‘the language of expertise’ – to enable them to express themselves clearly as subject specialists and open up opportunities in the next phase of their education.
Be respectful - to promote an outward-looking curriculum that allows children to understand their learning in the context of the real world, develop an awareness of different cultures, challenge stereotypes and appreciate diversity.
Be responsible - to enable children to see themselves as important members of the local community so children take responsibility for themselves and their actions, are respectful and empathetic.
Our curriculum forms the basis for our pupils’ learning and their experiences during their time at Belmont and we aspire to equip each individual in our school to face life confidently and to realise his or her potential.
We are proud that our curriculum goes beyond the requirements of the National Curriculum and encompasses creative, cultural and sporting opportunities. Our curriculum ensures that every child develops the key learning steps and will receive experiences and opportunities to develop their knowledge and skills in different ways. Its breadth and balance promotes the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of our pupils and prepares them for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of adult life.
Belmont’s curriculum is designed around a series of subject specific learning journeys that ensure complete coverage of the National Curriculum. Each learning journey leads to a high quality outcome that encompasses all of the pupil’s newly acquired knowledge and skills. Knowledge Organisers give pupils the essential ‘content’ or core knowledge that they need in advance of each topic they study. Knowledge Organisers also give parents unprecedented access to that knowledge in a clear format which means that they can be significant partners in their child’s learning. The school has also introduced a high quality literacy ‘spine’ and whenever possible these texts have been linked to support both the overarching theme for the term as well as the specific, subject focused learning journeys.
In the Foundation Stage, we follow the Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum, which covers the following areas of learning:
Key Stages 1 and 2 follow the National Curriculum which covers: English, mathematics, science, computing, design and technology, history, geography, art, music, physical education including swimming, computing and modern foreign languages. In addition to this we provide Religious Education in line with a locally agreed syllabus, SMSC (Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural Development) and PSHE (Personal, Social and Health Education).
Children in each year group in Key Stage 1 and 2 study three ‘topics’ a year which have been planned very carefully in order to cover all curriculum content. We continually review our curriculum in order to keep abreast of new directives and innovations.
Throughout lessons and daily school life we endeavour to develop the fundamental British Values of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs. We are keen that our pupils recognize how both the school’s values and their own role within implementing these reflect the wider values of the nation.
Our highly skilled staff are able to adopt and put into practice a range of teaching strategies, which include individual, group and whole class methods of teaching. The school is fortunate enough to be exceptionally well resourced and it is a combination of these things that support us in meeting the needs of each child in every way possible.
At Belmont School, we are committed to offering an inclusive curriculum to ensure the best possible progress for all of our pupils whatever their needs or abilities. For more information about Special Educational Needs, please click here.
To find out more about what is taught at Belmont School, please click on the page links above. If you would like any further information, please contact the school office.
Key Stage One Leader: Mr J Allsopp
Key Stage Two Leader: Mrs E Blackburn
SENCo: Mrs J Allen
English Leader: Mr J Grossmith
Maths Leader: Mrs E Blackburn
Science Leader: Mrs D Pallier
Guide To The National Curriculum