Curriculum

Our children benefit from an individualised and family centred approach. Our school is very much part of the community with many opportunities to celebrate and benefit from our village setting. Our school is designed around the learning needs of our children. They are central to what we do and how we do it. We teach our children to be active individuals within our school family, but also to be members of a local and global community, with the joys and responsibilities that belonging brings.

We encourage everyone at our school to show good manners at all times; to follow instructions with thought and care and to show care and respect for everyone and everything. This directly supports our children’s emotional, social and academic development and are embedded in school life.

We have a wonderfully rich learning environment that supports us in delivering the curriculum. Our outside spaces are designed with their physical, social, and emotional well-being in mind. We have a large playground marked out for various sports, a pitch for ball games, a climbing structure, sandpits, and free play areas as well as a calm zone for children to chat and read in. We have a wonderful outside space where the children can build shelters, plant seeds, observe wildlife and explore the natural environment (see our information on outdoor learning).

We aim to excite our children to develop a desire for learning that they carry beyond the school day. We believe that children learn best when they are involved in some of the decisions about what and how they learn.

Learning is based on ‘big ideas for our little school’ that summarise essential concepts for each subject area. We plan ‘big questions’ in order to challenge everyone to think. We also learn about a value each term and celebrate efforts to demonstrate this.

We teach a spiral curriculum to suit our mixed age classes through the Cornerstones Curriculum Maestro. This means that children are introduced to and then revisit important concepts across Key Stage 1 and 2. We want learning to be a shared adventure where children can benefit from special events where all children are involved in a shared theme or topic. Our curriculum is planned using carefully chosen topics, on a 2-year cycle. These plans help the children to explore ‘big ideas’ (or concepts) in each subject.

For example: one of the threshold concepts in history is ‘evidence tells us about the past’. This cannot be taught in isolation: it would be meaningless, abstract, and dull. Instead, the concept must be explored within a breadth of different contexts so that it is purposeful, meaningful, and understood…. and that is where the fun starts! We venture back in time or to faraway places to understand how others lived. We escape into mythical lands and explore their connection to Cornwall.

Our curriculum has been mapped to the Primary National Curriculum to ensure comprehensive coverage of national expectations. Progression of skills and knowledge is mapped in each subject.

In accordance with section 8 of the Relationships Education, Relationships and Sex Education and Health Education (England) Regulations 2019 we deliver our Relationships and Sex Education (SRE) curriculum in an age-appropriate way. We provide a framework in which sensitive discussions can take place, prepare pupils for puberty, and give them an understanding of sexual development and the importance of health and hygiene, help pupils develop feelings of self-respect, confidence, and empathy, create a positive culture around issues of sexuality and relationships and teach pupils the correct vocabulary to describe themselves and their bodies. We use the comprehensive PSHE Jigsaw programme to support us in delivering our RSE curriculum.

Our online safety curriculum uses a range of lessons, games and materials from Gooseberry Planet, as well as NSPCC and Barnado’s. We send Online Safety Newsletters to parents each term. We have regular assemblies to support our children to grow in their understanding and awareness of how to use the internet safely, respectfully, and creatively.

If you require any further information regarding the curriculum your child will be following please contact the child’s class teacher.