Southville Primary School

At Southville, we are developing a curriculum which supports and underpins our school motto, vision and mission:

OUR MOTTO
Learning today for the world of tomorrow.

OUR VISION
Our vision is of a school where children aspire, succeed and flourish, while laying foundations for the best possible pathway to their future.

OUR MISSION

In order to realise our vision, it is our mission to:

• Strive for excellent achievement for all. We will deliver an engaging curriculum through high quality teaching that is inspiring, responsive and skillful.
• Ensure that all children are supported to overcome wider barriers to learning. All staff are committed to this.
• Provide a calm, safe environment where all children are nurtured, cared for and valued.
• Promote a school ethos which is underpinned by our core values of resilience, respect, integrity, responsibility, happiness and compassion – in order to support the development of the whole child and to prepare them for a rapidly changing world.  Staff will actively model these values.
• Provide a wealth of opportunities and experiences so that children can have fun, embrace childhood and create lifelong memories.
• Work in partnership with parents. We will endeavour to provide high quality communication, information, guidance and support.

Rationale

As a new Primary School, we are currently working to ensure structure, consistency and progression from Nursery through to Year 6 in the teaching of basic skills and across the wider curriculum.

The Senior Leadership Team spent the first term of our newly amalgamated school observing and monitoring teaching and learning about the Key Stages new to us. It became very clear within a short space of time that there were many inconsistencies in terms of curriculum planning and delivery.

We also reflected on the types of learners that we have in our school. Many of them have very limited experiences, other than those acquired at school. Many of them come from homes where literacy is not valued, books are not read, and models of spoken English are poor (for various reasons).

Our motto – ‘’Learning today for the world of tomorrow’ has significantly influenced decisions we have made regarding the curriculum.  We are aware that we need to assist children to become resilient, curious, and able to make links and connections across their learning, if we are to successfully prepare them for a rapidly changing world.

We believe that knowledge underpins and enables the application of skill. We strive for children to learn skills alongside knowledge, ensuring that both explicitly are developed. At Southville we offer an education rich in knowledge, culture and vocabulary, with reading at its heart, and high expectations in the core subjects of Reading, Writing and Mathematics. We create a nurturing environment that invests much in social and emotional capital, enabling all to thrive. Our aim is to achieve real equity and equality of opportunity for ALL pupils, thus equipping our children with a deep body of knowledge built up over time embellished by culturally rich experiences, which are memorable, engaging, challenging and accessible to all.

Early Years

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) sets the standards for learning, development and care for children from birth until the end of the Reception year.

It aims to develop each child to their full potential by offering a ‘principled, play based approach to learning and development’. Young children learn best through play and our Early Years staff will be able to provide your child with appropriate play and learning experiences for their stage of development and help them develop new skills. The activities that are provided for young children will underpin the skills they need to work towards the Early Learning Goals at the end of their Reception year in school. The EYFS curriculum enables staff to recognise your child’s strengths and areas where they need more support to develop new skills.

For young children it is important that they are made to feel safe and secure in their surroundings. This is aided by having members of staff within the class who get to know you and your child well and builds a positive relationship with you as a family.

The areas of learning and development are broken into seven areas. Three areas are particularly important for igniting children’s enthusiasm for learning. These are the three prime areas of:

• Communication and language
• Physical development
• Personal, social and emotional development

Leaving four specific areas through which the three prime areas are strengthened and applied:

• Literacy
• Mathematics
• Understanding the world
• Expressive arts and design

All areas of learning and development are important and interconnected and many activities will cover many of the areas. Each area is divided into stages of development and practitioners are able to identify resources and learning opportunities for individual children dependent on their developmental needs.

A partnership that starts in the Early Years

The EYFS also encourages staff and parents/carers to work together. This is an opportunity for you to provide input into your child’s development in discussions with your class teacher and communication through Learning Journeys and Learning Logs. At Southville Primary, we have an open door policy which means we are always ready to help and discuss anything concerning your child’s welfare and education.