‘Spurring each other on with love’

Through our Christian vision of ‘spurring each other on with love’, we acknowledge our responsibility to all, to enrich lives and show love and respect within our school family. We believe in lifelong learning, aiming to equip our children to live life today and for tomorrow, rooted in our Christian values of Love, Aspiration, Forgiveness, Hope and Spirit.

At Bickleigh Down CofE (Aided) Primary School, the curriculum has been planned to ensure that it is broad and balanced and complies with statutory legislation. There is a breadth in the curriculum, including the personal development curriculum, which actively promotes the fundamental British values of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and tolerance of others through topics as well as explicitly through our PSHE Curriculum.

At Bickleigh Down, we have high ambition, through our school value of aspiration, for all pupils, including those with SEND.  We want all of our pupils to learn the intended curriculum and have carefully considered the way in which the curriculum is planned so that each individual pupil has the knowledge they need to be able to access the next stage of their learning.

Our curriculum is planned from Reception to Year Six and also considers the knowledge and skills our pupils will need beyond this.  We have written a curriculum which matches the scope of the National Curriculum and is broken down into smaller steps of knowledge.  We call this ‘sticky knowledge’ at Bickleigh Down.  Each unit of work in non-core subjects, RE and Science starts with a big question and beneath this sits the sticky knowledge we want our children at Bickleigh to know and remember.  Careful consideration has been given to choosing the key knowledge that will make the most difference in building pupils’ schema so that they know more and remember more and make links in their learning whilst progressing through the planned curriculum.  Our Maths and English curricula are also broken down into small steps of knowledge with clear expectations of achievement at each stage. 

At Bickleigh Down, learning to read is a priority from the start of each pupil’s time at school.  We recognise that, if a child is unable to read, they will not be able to access the wider curriculum and succeed in all areas.  We have high expectations of phonics achievement, and our phonics curriculum is carefully planned so that the end points are clear for all. 

The academic curriculum is just one element in the education of every child. We deliver a curriculum that leads to high standards of attainment and progress across the school whilst also broadening children’s experiences, exciting them about learning and engendering curiosity and a desire to learn more. We believe in the importance of teaching children how to be good learners. As a result, behaviour for learning (motivation to learn, perseverance, concentration, being confident to take a risk without fear of failure) is excellent. We ensure all pupils are aware of our ‘behaviour’ curriculum and our expectations through careful planning and living out our school values.  We endeavour to enable children to become lifelong learners so that they are well prepared for their next steps in secondary education and their future adult lives.

The National Curriculum is premised on mastery, something which every child can aspire to and every teacher should promote. It is about deep, secure learning for all, with extension of able students (more things on the same topic) rather than acceleration (rapidly moving on to new content).

Please see the Teaching and Learning Policy for further information on how the curriculum is taught.

At Bickleigh Down CE (Aided) Primary School, the statutory primary National Curriculum, including programmes of study and attainment targets, is taught for all subjects at Key Stages One and Two. Languages are only statutory at Key Stage Two.

More information on the statutory guidance for the national curriculum can be found on: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-curriculum-in-england-framework-for-key-stages-1-to-4

Foundation Stage

The children in the Early Years Foundation Stage at Bickleigh Down CE (Aided) Primary School are valued as unique individuals who develop and learn in individual ways and at varying rates. A high-quality Early Years Foundation Stage experience provides a firm foundation on which to build future academic, social and emotional success. A child’s first experience of school has a major impact on their perception of learning. A child who is happy, safe and secure in their environment will have a firm foundation from which to develop, grow and flourish.

At Bickleigh Down CE (Aided) Primary School, we carefully consider each child in our school in terms of their needs, interests and stage of development and use this information to plan a challenging and enjoyable curriculum across all the areas of learning and development. All staff throughout the Foundation Stage make careful observations and assessments to monitor the children's progress and further develop their learning.

In our two Foundation classes we follow the Early Years Foundation Stage statutory framework. The Foundation Stage curriculum focuses on three prime areas of learning: Personal, Social and Emotional Development, Communication and Language and Physical Development and four specific areas of learning: Literacy, Mathematics, Understanding the World and Arts and Design.

Please see the EYFS Policy for further information.