Our Curriculum

This page provides an overview of our Federation curriculum. For more information and exciting content please see our Federation Curriculum page here. 

The Dales Federation of Primary Schools Curriculum Statement

Across the schools in The Dales Federation of Primary Schools, we have given much consideration to our curriculum, its content, delivery and the outcomes for our pupils. We seek to attend to the individual needs of the pupils at each of our schools - which will be different to the needs of pupils from other schools. We offer a rich, inspirational curriculum which takes account of the unique context of each of our schools and their individual communities.

Ofsted refer to ‘The Three 'I's: intent, implementation and impact and we interpret this as follows:

● Intent – What do we want our children to know?  The extent to which we demonstrate a rich and varied curriculum, set in the context of our schools and their individual communities; a curriculum which is not simply focused on teaching to the tests or achieving good exam results, but enables each child to flourish. That new learning 'sticks' to prior learning in a cumulative fashion because our curriculum is deliberately planned to enable this.

● Implementation – How we enable the acquisition of knowledge and learning.  That teachers present all aspects of this rich curriculum (not just English and maths) encouraging discussion and deep engagement of pupils, without an over-concentration on outcomes and with a far greater emphasis on learning processes and the continued building of knowledge. Teachers present specific 'bites' of knowledge, which have been carefully selected to ensure lessons are tightly focussed, building on what has come before and learning is not left to chance.

● Impact – The 'so what?' That pupils develop detailed knowledge and skills across the whole curriculum which builds over time - knowing more, learning more, remembering more. A greater emphasis is placed on the behaviour and attitudes of pupils and their responses to the rich, inspirational curriculum, with a much less ‘single-lens’ approach to data. Frequent reference to prior learning sets new learning in context, helping children to make sense of the new knowledge they are presented with.

To find our Curriculum Overview click here 

Our curriculum is coherent; it is logically organised in a way that the subject content is age appropriate and organised in a logical progression meaning that children are able to build on previous knowledge, committing it to long term memory through both an  immersive and a drip-drip approach. The curriculum is built through making clear and explicit connections - allowing children to understand the learning as it is relevant and straightforward.

The use of concepts mean that we are able to clearly see what we want the children to grasp and this can help us to plan the tasks and questions we want. It is paramount that there is an understanding that a concept is not a ‘one-off’ - taught for a topic and then not revisited. In order to get the most of a concept it is vital they are planned for and taught time and time again in a spiral like fashion. The understanding needs to be reinforced through different content.

In addition, it is important that the concepts are understood at different levels to ensure they are being covered in a progressive way.

Our children are happy at school because they enjoy their learning both inside and outside the classroom. We know that children learn in different ways and we use a variety of teaching strategies including whole class teaching, group work and individual support. Children learn not just from their teachers, but from other adults, other children across the school and their peers. They learn by listening, questioning and doing, working both individually and collaboratively.  Our curriculum helps to prepare our children for the 21st century world and also helps to promote British values of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect and tolerance for those with different faiths and beliefs, encouraging everyone within our community to respect others. 

Year 6 Annual Residential visit

Year 6 pupils will also encounter a diverse range of challenges and experiences, as they go on a week-long residential visit.

Our Curriculum – a little more information

Our smaller classes enable us to tailor work closely to pupil need. We always try to group pupils by ability, rather than ‘year group’. In this way, we can ensure that pupils are both challenged and supported appropriately.

We offer a broad and balanced curriculum across all years. We work hard to ensure that subjects are taught creatively, with as many opportunities as possible for real-life learning, in real-life contexts. Above all, we aim to make learning fun for our pupils.

The EYFS (Reception and Nursery) follow the Development Matters model, with a balance of opportunities for child initiated and adult directed tasks.  This is linked wherever possible to the curriculum followed in Key Stage 1 and throughout the school. This is to ensure continuity of learning from the very earliest experiences in school. 

Year 1 & Year 2, study the following subjects: English, Mathematics, Science, Computing, RE (following the Derbyshire agreed syllabus), PE, History, Geography, Art & Design, Design Technology, Music and PSHE.

Years 3 to 6 are taught in mixed year groups for all subjects: English, Mathematics, Science, Computing, RE (following the Derbyshire agreed syllabus), PE, Swimming, History, Geography, Art & Design, Design Technology, Music, PSHE and French.

Curriculum Plus

We provide many additional opportunities for children to develop their knowledge and skills through our curriculum plus programme which includes; RockSteady, Gardening Club, Forest School and Makaton. To find out more click here.

We find that because pupils are taught in mixed age and ability groups, they show a high level of caring, compassion and empathy for each other, no matter what year group they are in. This level of respect is extended to the adults who work with them and because all staff have high expectations of what pupils are capable of and can achieve, children do not differentiate between the different roles of individuals in school; they know that all adults in school are there to care, nurture and support them.

Our pupils learn to read music, and have the opportunity to learn to play a range of musical instruments. We offer our children the opportunity to learn to play a range of musical instruments including; flute, brass, piano and the drums. We have a school choir and work with Derby Cathedral Music Specialists. Music lessons are delivered by both our ‘in-house’ staff and also peripatetic music teachers.

We strive to provide the most creative, inspirational and motivating opportunities for learning that we can. We provide real-life contexts for children to apply their skills and solve real life problems.