Ditton Lodge Primary School Curriculum Statement 

At Ditton Lodge Primary School, the curriculum is designed to help everyone: 

  • Have a sense of belonging 

  • Be ambitious to succeed 

  • Have the knowledge they need to thrive and flourish in the 21st century global community 

  • Excel as lifelong learners 

  • Experience a world beyond Ditton Lodge 

Intent 

Alongside the above, our vision, and the values of our Ditton Lodge High 5, underpin our curriculum intent and our shared purpose. 

To enable this, we ensure our whole school curriculum is rich and rigorous.  We begin with a sense of belonging, fostered by strong relationships which are the bedrock of our teaching and learning.  We invest time in building meaningful and positive relationships with one another. 

We are ambitious for every person in our school and are clear about our high expectations for everyone.  We provide strong and coherent learning opportunities alongside carefully planned additional experiences to enable children to discover new talents, skills and interests.  Underpinning this is the belief that every child has the potential to achieve and excel. 

We aim to provide a knowledge-rich and broad curriculum for our children.  Each subject is taught discretely to allow children to build on previous knowledge and skills and to enable links to be made as their learning progresses.  We place great emphasis on subject specific vocabulary as we believe this allows children to communicate confidently and effectively as well as providing the foundations for their future.  

To enable children excel throughout their learning journey, and to encourage them to continue on that journey as their life progresses, we are clear about the intent of our school curriculum: 

  • To secure for all children fluent and effective reading to enable them to access the wider curriculum, develop a rich vocabulary and enjoy reading for pleasure. 

  • To secure for all children a fluency in number and an ability to manipulate number to support problem solving and reasoning. 

  • To ensure children are able to communicate articulately and confidently in a range of forms and situations. 

  • To offer for all our children the knowledge and understanding of how to keep themselves mentally and physically safe and healthy. 

Our curriculum provides children with memorable experiences, visits and visitors from which they can learn.  It encourages them to view the world outside of Ditton Lodge with excitement and curiosity.  It makes for independent and confident learners who know about their community, the wider world and how to make a positive contribution. 

Implementation 

To deliver these goals we are purposeful and strategic in our implementation of the whole school curriculum.  Our rigorous self-evaluation informs school development priorities and CPD to ensure we are effective as a whole staff team in meeting these aims and continuously develop our subject knowledge. 

We have created curriculum overviews which ensure coherence and progression in both knowledge and skill development across all year groups in every subject.  Our timetable is carefully structured to include blocked areas of study.  Immersion in a subject allows for expertise and depth of understanding.  It allows us to foster children’s curiosity and interest, give them the chance to write with real purpose, make links and retain knowledge.  It allows for an efficient use of resources and greater cooperation between staff.   

Each area of study is well organised and coherent, allowing implementation of teaching through the use of Knowledge Organisers, Vital Vocabulary banks, Knowledge Strips and quizzes.  The acquisition of knowledge is underpinned by the implementation of a variety of teaching methods intended to help children retain and recall their learning. 

We use a range of assessments, including low stakes quizzes at the beginning and end of a study unit, ensuring that they support teaching and learning and promote progress for all children.  Assessment processes reflect subject specific need and are viewed as a valued tool used positively by staff.   

The development of our learning environment reflects our values and vision.  We balance displays and opportunities to celebrate children’s achievements and work with working walls which support the learning journey for all children in all classrooms.