Malvern Wells Curriculum

Our curriculum is all the opportunities we provide our children which nurture the potential for a brighter future and it is underpinned by our 4 core values.

Our curriculum is delivered over a two-year cycle due to our mixed age classes (R/1, Y2/3, Y4/5, Y6) and is subject speicifc.

Links between subjects are made to ensure there is an engaging and relevant context within which to learn and enquiry questions are used as the driving forces for each half term. Our curriculum is sequenced and taught so knowledge is cumulative. We teach so knowledge builds over time and we recognise that knowledge leads to understanding. 

The curriculum at Malvern Wells is accessible for those with SEND where we ensure that we comply with our duties within the Equality Act 2010 and the Special Education Needs and Disability Regulations 2014.  Please refer to our Special Education Needs policy and our SEN Information Report for more detail.

Our curriculum is 'Malvern Centric; Globally Expansive' because we want our children to have deep knowledge about where they live and then compare it to places nationally and then globally as we are committed to preparing children for life in the modern world. Our topics are driven by  enquiry questions and seek to exemplify our four key values; community / compassion / courage / commitment. We teach some subjects discretely to ensure the children receive their full, rich and balanced curriculum entitlement.

Our vision demonstrates our commitment to each learner beyond their academic success. We believe our curriculum is bigger than the planned learning we deliver and encompasses the social learning, opportunities given and experiences provided. We are intent on building in opportunities to teach and practise life-skills because we recognise that often our children start school lacking independence, organisation skills and resilience. We prioritise extra-curricular activities because it supports children in developing these skills and we offer a plethora of activities for children to try, encouraging them to resiliently stick to something new. We give the children leadership roles through our Community Club and House Captain Roles which, again develop life skills.

Where better to see our curriculum in action than by talking to our children who talk with  passion about their learning and their experiences; they are ‘knowledge hungry’, independent learners with high levels of oracy. They show that they know more than they did previously and can remember more and build upon this whilst developing personally towards their brighter future.

How do we implement our curriculum?

All learning will start by revisiting prior knowledge and this will be scaffolded to support children to recall previous learning and make connections. Staff will demonstrate a strong pedagogy across a range of subjects modelling subject-specific vocabulary, knowledge and skills relevant to the learning to allow pupils to integrate new knowledge into wider concepts.

Teachers support children to practice new learning, utilise effective questioning for both understanding and also provide challenge to encourage children to think deeper and harder about their learning, check misconceptions and provide effective and swift, purposeful and impactful feedback. This allows all children to make progress at a pace appropriate for their needs whilst ensuring all children have full access to the curriculum and are challenged in their learning.

Learning Walls and displays are utilised effectively by all staff to provide constant and clear scaffolding for children and to also celebrate the fantastic work of the children and highlight their many successes. This may also be married with key vocabulary, key questions and facts to support the learning taking place in the classroom.

Assessment is ongoing throughout the relevant cross-cross-curricular projects to inform teachers with their planning, lesson activities and differentiation. Summative assessments are completed as required e.g. Reading Tests, Phonics Checks etc. and formative assessment is used live in the classrooms to provide purposeful feedback leading to improved progress which the children remember and act upon.

If you would like to find out more about our curriculum, do email our administrator at [email protected] to ask for further details.