Curriculum Statement

The curriculum at Hardy Mill Primary School offers a broad and balanced education which fosters a love of learning, a depth of knowledge and a wide vocabulary that gives the children the knowledge and skills needed to take advantage of opportunities, responsibilities and experiences throughout their life.

Development of the whole child and positive learning behaviours are promoted through our school values: pride, courage, cooperation, responsibility, respect and independence. Our ‘I can’ approach builds confidence and gives children opportunities to have a go and learn from their mistakes in order to fulfil our vision that we are the best that we can be.  Our curriculum promotes good mental health and wellbeing and there is a positive climate of inclusion, acceptance and tolerance for all.

Our children understand British values, the importance of respect and enter the next stage of their education as responsible and active global citizens in our increasingly diverse society.  As learners grow, they are supported and challenged appropriately and are equipped with the confidence, skills and knowledge to aid a smooth transition through their primary years, into secondary school and beyond.  When pupils leave Hardy Mill they value their individual talents and are well prepared for their future as life-long learners.

The curriculum at Hardy Mill is tailored to meet the needs of our learners, our community and our school context.  Children in Nursery and Reception follow the Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage 2021 and the curriculum for children in Key stage 1 and 2 meets the needs of the National Curriculum 2014.  As a one and a half form entry school, our curriculum is tailored to ensure that all children access the same knowledge, skills and vocabulary across each phase of school: Early Years Foundation Stage, Key Stage 1, Lower Key Stage 2 and Upper Key Stage 2.

In Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2, year group specific knowledge, skills and vocabulary are taught in maths, English and PSHE, whilst other subjects are taught over a two year cycle to ensure that children cover all aspects of the National Curriculum during their time in each phase and meet phase specific end points.

The English, mathematics and PSHE curriculum are taught and assessed against year group expectations.  In other subjects, assessments against phase end points monitor children’s progress towards meeting the age related expectations in their learning at the end of Year 2, Year 4 and Year 6. Subject specific knowledge, skills and vocabulary that children are expected to know at the end of each unit of learning is carefully mapped out for all subjects.

Staff have high expectations of all pupils across the curriculum and provide opportunities for children to demonstrate learning at greater depth. Our curriculum is designed to embed learning by encouraging pupils to make connections between skills and knowledge acquired in different subjects in order to achieve their true potential. More able pupils are challenged further in their learning as teachers provide opportunity for them to apply skills and knowledge across the curriculum and across different units of work and use fluency and reasoning to develop their mastery skills.  Learning is adapted for children who find aspects of their learning more difficult so that they too are enabled to experience success and be the best that they can be. In addition to quality teaching in all year groups, there is provision for small group interventions to support identified pupils in gaining the key skills to become successful readers, writers and mathematicians.

Our curriculum is enriched with trips and visits and opportunities for children to learn through thematic weeks and from first hand experiences with the aim of developing successful, independent and motivated learners with a rich vocabulary.  Extra-curricular clubs offer children opportunities to take part in a range of activities including sport and music to promote creativity and enhance learning.

To promote positive learning behaviours and encourage children to become responsible members of society, British values, our school values (pride, courage, cooperation, responsibility, respect and independence) and PSHE curriculum are threaded through the curriculum and addressed in assemblies.  Our active school council provides a voice for our pupils and bring about changes to enhance provision for all of our pupils.  School council also helps to enrich the pupils’ understanding of British values, particularly democracy.

A specialist coach supports the teaching of physical education. All subject leaders are given training and the opportunity to keep developing their own subject knowledge, skills and understanding so they can support curriculum development and their colleagues throughout the school.

Mental health and wellbeing is promoted through: the delivery of the Jigsaw programme for PSHE and the use of the wellbeing room, which children can access if they feel they need to share a worry with an adult.  We also have trained Mental Health First Aiders in school to assist children when required.

To evaluate how well our children are learning and check that they are remembering more and applying more, we use a combination of formative and summative assessments, pupil interviews, work book scrutinies and lesson observations.

At Hardy Mill we want our children to make outstanding progress, show positive attitudes to their learning, understand their role and impact they can have on the wider world, appreciate our differences and beliefs, participate in the community and respect others.

The outcomes of national assessments and observations of our pupils demonstrate that they are very well prepared for the next stage in their education when they leave Hardy Mill and make good progress from their starting points.