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    • Our Curriculum Intention and Implementation

    Our Curriculum Intention and Implementation

    At Thornton Primary School, our curriculum is designed around a simple belief:

    Every child deserves to belong, to feel valued and to have the opportunity to achieve their very best.

    Our values of Love, Respect and Ambition are at the heart of our curriculum. We want every child to develop a love of learning, a strong sense of who they are and the confidence to believe that they can achieve great things.

    We are an inclusive school with a diverse range of learners and a high level of special educational need. We recognise that children learn in different ways and that some children require additional support, adaptations or specialist provision to access learning successfully.

    Inclusion is therefore not an addition to our curriculum, it is fundamental to it.

    We do not believe that every child needs exactly the same experience. We believe that every child needs the right experience, support and challenge to enable them to succeed.

    Our ambition is for every child to leave Thornton with the knowledge, skills, confidence, resilience and independence they need to flourish in the next stage of their education and throughout their lives.

    Our Curriculum Intent

    We want children to love learning

    We want children to come to school excited about what they might discover.

    Our curriculum provides rich, varied and memorable learning experiences both inside and outside the classroom. Through our curriculum, Forest School, educational visits, enrichment activities, specialist teaching and wider opportunities, children are encouraged to be curious about the world around them.

    We want our children to become lifelong learners who ask questions, embrace challenge and understand that learning opens doors to future opportunities.

    We want every child to belong

    A strong sense of belonging is fundamental to successful learning.

    Every child at Thornton should know:

    I am valued.
    I am respected.
    I am safe.
    I belong here.
    My voice matters.
    I can achieve.

    Our curriculum reflects the diversity of our school community and provides opportunities for children to understand themselves, each other and the wider world.

    We create opportunities for children to work collaboratively, develop friendships, celebrate difference and learn how to contribute positively to their community.

    For pupils with SEND, disadvantaged pupils and children who may have experienced barriers to learning, we are particularly mindful of ensuring that they experience success, participation and belonging.

    We have high ambitions for every child

    We believe that SEND, disadvantage or previous experiences should never determine a child's future.

    Our curriculum is ambitious for all pupils. We do not lower expectations because a child finds something difficult. Instead, we identify barriers to learning and consider what adaptations, teaching approaches, resources or additional support will enable the child to succeed.

    This may include:

    • adaptive teaching;

    • pre-teaching;

    • explicit vocabulary instruction;

    • visual and concrete resources;

    • scaffolding;

    • additional practice and repetition;

    • targeted intervention;

    • specialist teaching;

    • sensory and regulation support;

    • carefully considered use of technology;

    • opportunities to revisit and consolidate learning;

    • additional challenge and opportunities to deepen understanding.

    We recognise that equity is not the same as treating every child identically.

    Some children need more support, more time or a different route to reach the same ambitious destination. Providing this support is part of our commitment to inclusion.

    Reading: opening doors to learning

    Reading is at the heart of our curriculum.

    We recognise that becoming a confident reader is one of the most important ways we can empower children to access the wider curriculum and participate fully in society.

    Our aim is not simply for children to reach an age-related reading expectation. We want children to decode accurately, understand what they read, develop a love of books and become confident readers for life.

    Children experience a wide range of reading opportunities, including:

    • systematic phonics;

    • guided reading;

    • individual reading;

    • reading for pleasure;

    • vocabulary development;

    • exposure to high-quality literature;

    • listening to their teacher read;

    • reading across the wider curriculum.

    Where children experience difficulties with reading, we provide targeted support and intervention so that they can become increasingly independent and successful readers.

    Knowledge that builds over time

    Our curriculum is carefully sequenced so that children develop a rich and secure body of knowledge.

    New learning builds on what children already know. Important knowledge is revisited, connected and applied so that children remember more and understand more deeply.

    We identify the essential knowledge and vocabulary children need to succeed and ensure that this is taught explicitly.

    We recognise that some children may have gaps in their prior learning. These gaps are identified and addressed rather than becoming a barrier to future learning.

    At the same time, children who are ready to go further are given opportunities to deepen, extend and apply their learning.

    Every child is entitled to learn the important knowledge, skills and vocabulary within our curriculum.

    Inclusive teaching and adaptive learning

    Excellent teaching is the foundation of our SEND provision.

    Our teachers plan learning carefully so that pupils with a wide range of needs can participate successfully in lessons.

    We use adaptive teaching to respond to pupils' needs rather than expecting pupils to adapt themselves to a fixed model of teaching.

    This may involve adapting:

    • explanations;

    • questioning;

    • resources;

    • vocabulary;

    • pace;

    • task structure;

    • scaffolding;

    • grouping;

    • the learning environment;

    • methods of recording;

    • opportunities for practice.

    We use visual resources, including Widgit symbols, where these support communication, vocabulary and understanding.

    Concrete resources are used where appropriate to help children make sense of abstract concepts.

    For some children, specialist provision or intervention may be required. This is carefully planned alongside classroom learning so that additional support complements rather than replaces high-quality teaching.

    Supporting children with SEND

    Thornton Primary is a highly inclusive school with a significant SEND community.

    Our curriculum is designed so that pupils with SEND can access ambitious learning and develop the knowledge, skills and independence they need for their future.

    Our specialist SEND provision includes The Orchard, our Key Stage 2 SEMH SEND provision for pupils with EHCPs who require a higher level of specialist and therapeutic support.

    Children accessing The Orchard remain an important part of the wider Thornton community. We provide opportunities for inclusion, participation, friendship and shared experiences wherever this is appropriate for the individual child.

    Our specialist SEND staff work closely with teachers and support staff to ensure that children receive appropriate support while maintaining high expectations for learning and independence.

    Developing the whole child

    Our curriculum is about much more than academic achievement.

    We want children to develop as confident, resilient and responsible individuals who understand themselves and their place in the world.

    Through our curriculum and wider provision, children develop:

    • resilience;

    • confidence;

    • independence;

    • communication;

    • emotional literacy;

    • creativity;

    • physical development;

    • teamwork;

    • problem-solving;

    • leadership;

    • responsibility;

    • respect for others.

    Our curriculum is underpinned by Love, Respect and Ambition, while our learning behaviours of Active Listening, Resilience and Pride help children develop the attitudes needed to become successful learners.

    Our expectations of Be Responsible, Be Ready and Be Kind provide children with clear, positive guidance for how we learn and live together.

    Learning beyond the classroom

    We believe that some of the most powerful learning happens when children are given opportunities to experience, explore and apply their knowledge.

    Our curriculum therefore extends beyond the classroom.

    Our Forest School provision is a distinctive feature of Thornton Primary. It provides children with opportunities to develop practical skills, confidence, resilience and independence while applying knowledge in meaningful contexts.

    Children also benefit from specialist teaching in areas including PE and music, alongside enrichment opportunities, educational visits and experiences that broaden their understanding of the world.

    We want every child to discover interests and talents that they may not have known they possessed.

     

    Curriculum Implementation

    Our curriculum is carefully planned and implemented by teachers and subject leaders who understand both what children need to learn and how children learn best.

    Subject leaders consider:

    • prior learning;

    • essential knowledge;

    • vocabulary;

    • progression;

    • misconceptions;

    • opportunities to revisit learning;

    • accessibility;

    • SEND;

    • gaps in learning;

    • assessment;

    • future learning.

    Teachers use assessment to identify what children know, what they understand and what they need to learn next.

    We use a combination of pre-learning assessment, ongoing formative assessment, end-of-unit assessment and later recall to help us understand how well children have learned and remembered the intended curriculum.

    Assessment is used to inform teaching rather than simply measure performance.

     

    Block teaching

    We use block teaching for many foundation subjects.

    Block teaching enables teachers to focus deeply on a particular subject for a sustained period of time, ensuring that children have sufficient opportunities to build, practise, apply and revisit knowledge.

    It also reduces unnecessary transitions and maximises learning time.

    Our block approach allows teachers to identify misconceptions quickly and respond to them within the teaching sequence.

    Assessment can then be closely connected to the knowledge and skills that have been taught.

    Some subjects, including PE, French and PSHE, continue to be taught regularly throughout the year because their nature and purpose benefit from ongoing teaching and practice.

    Preparing children for their future

    Our curriculum is ambitious because our children deserve an ambitious future.

    We want every child to leave Thornton Primary knowing more, remembering more and being able to do more than when they arrived.

    But we also want them to leave with something equally important:

    the belief that they belong, that they matter and that they can make a difference.

    We want our children to become confident, thoughtful and responsible young people who:

    • understand the world around them;

    • respect themselves and others;

    • embrace difference;

    • make positive choices;

    • persevere when things are difficult;

    • know how to seek help;

    • recognise their own strengths;

    • celebrate the success of others;

    • have high aspirations for their future.

    Our curriculum is therefore not simply about preparing children for the next year group or the next phase of education.

    It is about preparing them for life.

    At Thornton, inclusion means that every child is seen, every child is valued and every child is given the opportunity to thrive.

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