Wider World Curriculum for the 21st Century 

Intent

Twickenham Primary School is a place for outstanding academic excellence. Our school motto 'Be all you can be' is the basis of everything that we do.

We are a school where every child aspires to attain academic achievement to the best of their abilities. We believe all our children will develop a lifelong love of learning through engagement in our exciting and ambitious curriculum, taught by excellent teachers.

Our curriculum is broad and balanced, and progressively builds on skills, knowledge and conceptual understanding year on year. Our teaching, assessment and feedback leads to long-term learning and prepares our children for secondary education and beyond.

Our curriculum is wrapped around our core values of cooperation, growth, integrity, kindness and respect. The learning that takes place at Twickenham goes beyond the National Curriculum to ensure that children are exposed to the awe and wonder of the world around them. ​

Our children are the heart of our curriculum design.  Our curriculum is well sequenced, ambitious and connected. It recognises individuality and encourages cooperation and community mindedness. The big ideas that sculpt and shape our curriculum prepare children academically, socially, and emotionally for the next steps towards adulthood.

Implementation

As a school, we use the National Curriculum as a starting point, and deepen further using adapted projects from Cornerstones Curriculum Maestro. Projects are flexible and have been adapted to consider the needs, strengths, and community context of our children. 

Our curriculum framework ensures our children make progress. Our design scaffolds specific skills within a cross-curricular project each term. This is achieved through a 4-step process of: Engage, Develop, Innovate, Express. This process offers a distinctive learning journey, which builds upon prior knowledge and understanding. At the end of the project, the children participate in opportunities to reflect on their learning and explain key information they have learnt and remembered. The children can connect key concepts across subjects and develop skills and understanding they need for subsequent learning.

At the heart of our curriculum is the drive to expose our children to quality experiences and lessons with a large element of choice and need for independent, critical, and creative thinking.   

We believe that our curriculum gives children real opportunities to develop key social skills, to develop integrity, to demonstrate respect, celebrate diversity and understand the values that underpin a democratic society.

Subject driver Geography

The aim of our geography-led projects is to inspire children’s curiosity and fascination about the world that we live in and its people. We aim to ignite a love of learning and equip children with the geographical skills to develop their knowledge through the study of places, people, natural environments and human environments.

Children’s knowledge and skills develop progressively as they move through the school, not only to enable them to meet the requirements of the National Curriculum but to prepare them to become competent geographers in secondary education.

Subject driver History

The aim of our history-led projects is to engender in the children a sense of understanding of themselves and our world through comparison and contrast with the lives of past peoples and cultures. We aim to develop the children’s sense of the past as a direct influence on us and as an ongoing story of its own.

Timelines are used throughout the school so that key events are placed in the correct periods of time, therefore developing chronological understanding. 

We will develop their knowledge and skills progressively as they move through the school, in line with the National Curriculum requirements and in a way that sets them up for future historical learning. 

Impact

Enjoyment of the curriculum promotes achievement, confidence, and good behaviour. Pupils have a strong desire to embrace challenges and to be resilient learners.

Our children make connections across their learning: between subjects, between year groups, between themes learnt within one year. Our children embed their learning and recall knowledge. They can apply, justify and communicate their knowledge and learning effectively using relevant and appropriate vocabulary. 

The Cornerstones curriculum enables subject leaders to monitor coverage of subject areas across the school, so that teachers can plan to provide the greatest breadth and balance. These strategies enable teachers to plan for intervention and challenge within the wider curriculum.

As our new curriculum develops, children are expected to make good or better progress in all foundation subjects. Children are assessed during every lesson, which enables our teachers to plan the next steps for each child.  Teachers assess against the learning objectives and the basic skill requirements for each year group. This enables pupils to make progress within individual lessons and over time.  Progress is reported to parents and carers at parents’ evenings and end of year reports. 

  At Twickenham Primary, we will measure the impact of our curriculum through:

• attainment and progress data
• attendance rates
• behaviour records
• pupil interviews, book scrutinies and subject observations
• curriculum reviewing and the sharing of good practice with peers 

Geography

In EYFS, children begin to develop an understanding of the world around them. They have lots of opportunities to explore their physical environment, both in school and in the local area. They will also learn about the important role of family and the wider community in keeping them safe and happy.  

In Key Stage 1, children continue to develop a keen understanding of the world around them and their place within it. They are introduced to key geographical concepts and vocabulary, and will develop a range of skills, such as making and reading maps and completing fieldwork activities in the local area.

Traversing further into human and physical aspects of geography, children in Key Stage 2 will enjoy topics including, ‘Misty Mountain, Winding River’, ‘Coastline’, ‘Rocks, Relics and Rumbles’, and ‘Frozen Kingdoms’. These topics are enhanced with a range of first hand geographical experiences including hill climbing and inspecting waterways.

All aspects of the National Curriculum are carefully planned into our topics, ensuring that key geographical knowledge is taught progressively, building on prior learning and preparing for new challenges.  Our detailed analysis grid shows exactly where and when each programme of study is taught. 

A link to our whole school plan can be found below:

Geography Plan 2021/2022 

History 

Drawing upon their personal experiences and settings, characters and cultures encountered in familiar stories, children in EYFS are introduced to key historical concepts, such as the past and present. They are invited to share their own experiences, and begin to explore and understand the experiences of others through discussion, story-telling and visits from members of the wider community.

In Key Stage 1, children continue to develop a strong understanding of the past and their place within it. Children will learn more about our local area as part of a local history study (‘School Days’ topic) and be inspired by some of the amazing people who have shaped the world that we live in. They also learn about the English and British monarchy from AD871 to the present day.

As the children reach Key Stage 2, they dive into a chronology of the history of Britain, learning how aspects of life have changed from the Stone Age, right through to the Tudors and Victorians. Pupils will explore the legacy of Celtic and Roman Britain, Viking invasions and will sail across seas to Ancient Egypt, Far Eastern Dynasties, and Ancient Greece.  A more recent historical study is completed in our ‘Britain at War’ topic.

All aspects of the National Curriculum are carefully planned into our topics, ensuring that key historical knowledge is taught progressively, building on prior learning and preparing for new challenges.  Our detailed analysis grid shows exactly where and when each programme of study is taught. 

A link to our whole school plan can be found below:

History Plan 2021/2022

Expressive Arts and Design

Music

In the Early Years Foundation Stage, music forms an essential part of children’s creative expression. They are introduced to a wide range of songs, rhymes, and spoken-word poems and stories, and are given opportunities to play with and explore a range of musical instruments.

Playing and enjoying music continues in Key Stage 1. Children will develop essential skills, such as playing musical instruments to a beat and performing songs in front of others. In Year 2, music is a particular focus during the Beat Band Boogie topic, when children will explore everything from the work of famous composers, to making their own instruments and performing in front of their families.

During their time in year 4, all children learn to play a brass instrument. They can then continue this study, if they choose to, in year 5 and 6. Currently, we have children studying every single brass instrument, including French horns and trombones. Other instrumental music lessons are available for the study of the guitar.

Detailed Coverage Analysis - Music

Art and Design 

“Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up.” Pablo Picasso

Our art curriculum engages, inspires and challenges pupils, equipping them with the knowledge and skills to experiment, invent and create their own works of art, craft and design.

Children are given opportunities to explore their ideas by experimenting, inventing and creating their own varied works of art using a range of materials. They learn how to draw, paint, sculpt and explore other art, craft and design techniques.

We study examples of famous art works and explored different styles of art using different media to build appreciation, critical thinking and understanding of aspects of art and design.

Through interconnecting our art with our history and geography driver topics, we can teach our children how art and design can reflect and shape our history and contribute to the culture, creativity and wealth of our nation.

Our definition of art and design is:

Art consists of paintings, sculpture, and other pictures or objects which are created for people to look at and admire or think deeply about.

Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS)

As children’s creativity begins to flourish in EYFS, they are given the opportunity to create, design and explore using a wide range of media and materials. All children are encouraged to develop new skills, such as mark making, painting and modelling, and enjoy expressing their creativity in both the indoor and outdoor learning environment.

Children are encouraged to practise their handling, moving and control skills (for example, by painting or using clay). Materials are accessible through continuous provision for children to develop and explore their ideas and to be imaginative. 

Key stage 1 (Years 1 and 2)

At Twickenham Primary School, we use the content of art and design teaching and learning as set out in the 2014 National Curriculum for primary schools in England. Pupils are given opportunities to use a range of materials creatively to design and make products through drawing, painting and sculpture. They explore different techniques in using colour, pattern, texture, line, shape, form and space.

Another important aspect of the art and design curriculum is learning about the work of a range of artists,

Children will be inspired by the work of a range of artists, craft makers and designers. They will have the opportunity to use different tools and materials to make a wide range of sculptures, models, paintings and drawings. They will learn about the art processes - describing the differences and similarities between different practices and disciplines, and making links to their own work.

Key stage 2 (Years 3 to 6)

The content of our art and design curriculum in Key Stage 2 builds on what children have learned in Key Stage 1. Children develop and improve their skills in drawing, painting and sculpture using a range of different materials. They record their learning and have opportunities to review and revisit ideas. They continue to learn about great artists, architects and designers in history.

Design and Technology

In EYFS, children are given the opportunity to explore many of the basic skills and concepts that underpin Design and Technology through model making and play, both indoors and outside. They will enjoy trying and cooking new foods, and learn how to use basic kitchen equipment safely.

As they progress into Key Stage 1, children continue to develop their design and technology skills. They will begin to design and create their own models, such as large scale dinosaur junk models, exploring and evaluating the features of a good design. They will also develop their creativity in the kitchen, making bread and tasting and developing a range of healthy foods.

Pupils in Key Stage 2 will become more aware of kitchen facilities and will experience cooking and baking through their topics, from Roman soup to healthy snacks. Along with skills in the kitchen, children will have the chance to use a variety of materials to create and build, such as their very own class rocket! 

Detailed Coverage Analysis – Design & Technology