Curriculum Overview

Forest Skies Federation

Our curriculum Intent: Nurturing Aspirations within school and preparing pupils as world citizens of the 21st Century

School’s curriculum purpose – ‘Nurture Aspirations’

The schools purpose is present through the schools culture and values.

Curriculum outcomes -The Primary Elements

The primary elements are what pupils at Forest Skies will achieve through the schools curriculum offer.

Non-negotiables – The Five Golden Threads

The golden threads are interwoven into school life and applied to all areas of the curriculum. The five golden threads help to set the environment for ‘nurturing aspirations’

This will be seen in the curriculum systems and structures created by leaders and staff members.

Dream Big Powers

The DREAM BIG powers are holistic lifelong powers all pupils leave with. All pupils get opportunities to strengthen these powers throughout their time at Forest Skies. The powers can be seen and heard in the pupil’s behaviours and outcomes.

Subject disciplinary components( Known as lenses)

The disciplinary lenses are tools to enable pupils to become effective learners within each curriculum subject. They are transferable and life-long. The lenses will be evidenced in pupils work and the subject leader’s evidence bases

The DREAM BIG curriculum

Context

Birchwood Junior School sits in the heart of a friendly, close-knit community and is a school that holds moral values at its very core. We are wholly committed to ensuring that, despite the wide spread social and economic challenges for a setting in the top 10% of deprived areas in the country, our children will not only be educated to the highest standards, but also empowered to succeed to their fullest potential. Though our high expectations never falter, our experience recognises that the journey to success looks different for every child and we embrace that. Whilst our teachers offer a nurturing hand to independence, our curriculum provides each student with their own pathway through an entirely inclusive curriculum, written with them and for them. With bespoke, engaging content and enriched with a variety of experiences to spark curiosity, and build a deep and sustained love of learning, our curriculum is built to ensure that all of our children reach their fullest aspirations, whilst maintaining the moral compass their community provided them with.

Our dynamic curriculum is ever adapting and evolving, responding to the environmental challenges that our children face. Through nurturing our pupils’ aspirations, we hope to build resilient learners who are prepared for adulthood. As our curriculum adapts to issues such as the COVID-19 pandemic we ensure there are five constants in our curriculum that run through it in the form of Golden threads.

A research based perspective

Collaboration is vital in delivering the best-equipped curriculum for our pupils. We provide numerous opportunities for staff development with many teachers holding MaST and NPQEL awards. Many staff members have been SCITT trainees and with support have developed their roles within school as examples of how Birchwood Juniors supports professional development. The school also works closely with the LTSA and St Georges SCITT programs providing outstanding maths training to trainee teachers. We are proud members of the Birchwood Federation working closely with the two infant schools. This has been vital in ensuring pupils and their families can have consistent pastoral support.

The Birchwood Federation has strong Governing body that provide challenge and play an active role in school life. Ofsted state: ‘Governors make frequent, focused visits and check how well pupils are learning. They monitor all aspects of safeguarding carefully and speak with pupils about feeling safe. Governors act on pupils’ comments to make improvements.  Safeguarding is effective and remains a high priority within the school.’

In addition to this we hold annual staff training between the 8 Birchwood estate schools which ensure staff can network and share developments across the estate. This collaboration ends with the Birchwood Carnival a musical celebration that recognises the vast talent the children of Birchwood have. Finally, we are an active member of the KYRA teaching school alliance taking part in cross moderations, workshops and staff training. The Executive Head works as an LLE and the Deputy Head as an SLE for the alliance.

Staff annually review their medium-term planning to ensure topics are relevant to the children’s interests and needs.

Curriculum Trailers below: