Curriculum Rationale

We want all children at BPS to achieve their full potential and to be able to succeed in their next stages of education and life beyond. We want our learners to develop a love and enthusiasm for subjects taught, as well as a lifelong love of learning.  Our curriculum aims to be ambitious, balanced and inclusive so that all children leave our school in the best possible position to be successful in whatever path they choose in life.  

At Bournville, we continuously invest in time for teachers and leaders to think deeply about the curriculum and this must be an ever-evolving process of reflection, review and improvement. We aim to ensure children have knowledge that excites, challenges and empowers them.  

“A curriculum exists to change the pupil, to give the pupil new power. One acid test for a curriculum is whether it enables lower-attaining or disadvantaged pupils to clamber into the discourse and practices of educated people, so that they gain the powers of the powerful.”   Christine Counsell 

Starting School

Throughout the Early Years Foundations Stage (EYFS),  children access an exciting, child-led and experiential curriculum which is carefully planned to ensure engagement and progress through play.

Our fantastic 2+ Nursery and Pre-School aim to give children the best possible start to their school life.  The curriculum and environment in these exciting settings are carefully designed to develop the prime areas of Communication and Language,  Physical Development and Personal, Social and Emotional Development,   

We invest heavily in supporting the development of speech and language so that children can communicate effectively. As a Communication Friendly school, all EYFS staff are trained to identify and support any speech, language and communication needs. The environment is planned to provide language rich experiences and this is supported by high-quality adult interactions with Elkan trained staff. Our staff are also trained to deliver high quality interventions for SLCN as we recognise that early intervention is critical in this key area of learning.  

Physical skills are developed across the settings in a variety of contexts, mapped to our progression and adapted to meet the needs of the children.  The children in Nursery and Pre-School have access to an exciting range of outdoor provision including weekly forest school in our wildlife area. 

Personal and social skills are developed through play alongside children. Again, adults in the setting are skilled at using play to develop social skills.  Activities are built into the daily routine which give children the chance to develop personal and social skills.  Nurture provision through Theraplay and Sunshine Circles gives more direct support for this if needed for individuals.  

Learning through quality play is continued in Reception where the children have access to child-led provision that is planned and supported to further develop their skills in all the EYFS areas of learning.  In Reception direct teaching is delivered in key areas of reading, writing and mathematics.   

KS1 and 2 

In Key Stage 1(KS1) and Key Stage (KS2) our curriculum meets the requirements of the national curriculum. Key knowledge for each subject has been identified and sequenced across the year groups to ensure clear progression. Curriculum organisation means that knowledge and skills are re-visited and built upon to enable children to be confident in using the content in subjects.  

Curriculum Design

At Bournville Primary School our teachers strive to ensure that balance across the curriculum is maintained and that all areas of the curriculum are important and given equal priority. Our curriculum is designed to meet the expectations laid out in the national curriculum.  

The school offers a broad PSHE curriculum to support children in their cultural understanding and British values are built into the everyday teaching and underpin the ethos of the school. As well as this, we place a strong emphasis on supporting children’s social, moral and cultural development with comprehensive and bespoke PHSE provision and the Mind-Up curriculum to support mental wellbeing. A specific safe guarding curriculum has been designed, based on the risk factors that have been identified through our safeguarding audits and knowledge of children’s experiences outside school.   

A rich and diverse curriculum is designed to ensure that children are exposed to experiences that build powerful knowledge and skills. Our ethos is that all children will access this and teaching staff are committed to adapting provision to ensure that this can happen. 

The English curriculum is based on a deep understanding of quality texts that will enrich children’s language and understanding of the books they are reading and the world around them.  Wide ranging writing opportunities are planned, providing purposeful reasons to write and the wider curriculum builds upon these writing experiences and aims to provide children with deep knowledge that will equip them well for the next stages of their education. 

The Maths curriculum follows the Power Maths scheme of learning that supports teachers in the planning, preparation and delivery of maths lessons by breaking down the National Curriculum into steps. Small, cumulative steps build a solid foundation of deep mathematical thinking. This scheme of work provides a logical progressive sequence of small steps leading towards achieving age related outcomes. Learning sequences include fluency to ensure prior knowledge is reinforced and retained as long side teaching new skills and concepts. Children will gain the skills and knowledge to achieve in all areas of future life and compete equally alongside their peers, who do not come from the same disadvantaged backgrounds. 

When designing our curriculum the teachers identify end points and the key knowledge that children will acquire during a topic.  This knowledge is shared with our children and the sequences of learning are designed to ensure that all children achieve these end points. 

The Environment

The school environment is designed to enhance the curriculum.  High priority is placed upon outdoor provision for children at all stages of learning as the school is acutely aware that housing for many children restricts their access to outdoor space.  Children have access to a well-designed wild life area, quality sport provisions and large amounts of outdoor playground space which includes large playing fields, forest school and large playground equipment.  The curriculum is designed to challenge children beyond their own experiences. We aim to prepare children for their next steps in their educational journey by developing all areas of their academic profile alongside building their social and emotional intelligence. 

An Inclusive Curriculum

Bournville has a highly inclusive curriculum.  Children are given many different adaptations of the curriculum in order that the high levels of special needs children can access the learning.  Individual provisions are designed so that children can engage with tasks in class and become independent in their learning.  The school has high levels of children with social emotional, mental health needs.  As a result we have created a clearly planned and strategic approach to pastoral care, which is not only reactive to the changing needs of our children, but also proactive in anticipating potential support that our children may need.  This pastoral support includes, individualised plans for our children, a variety of ways to engage parents, nurture, independence and resilience interventions, as well as mentoring and social skills support.