The curriculum at Lionel Walden Primary School is at the heart of the school. It is the vehicle we use to nurture, guide and develop our children to become eager lifelong learners. We want our children to understand that being knowledgeable and curious about the world around them will open their minds to possibilities and doors to avenues that can enrich their lives now and in the future. We do this by thinking hard about what we want our children to leave Lionel Walden Primary School with.
Through our curriculum, we intend to provide a challenging and engaging educational experience for all children that promotes a love of learning and prepares them for success in the 21st century. We aim to instil in our children a strong sense of curiosity, creativity, and critical thinking, and to equip them with the knowledge, skills, and values necessary to succeed in a rapidly changing world.
To achieve this, we will:
- Provide a broad and balanced curriculum that encompasses all core subjects as well as a focus on our local curriculum and extracurricular activities.
- Provide opportunities for all children to develop their skills in problem-solving, communication, collaboration, and creativity.
- Incorporate technology and digital literacy across the curriculum, to ensure that children are prepared for the digital age.
- Foster a culture of respect, kindness, and inclusivity in which all children feel safe and valued.
- Encourage a growth mindset and promote a culture of learning from mistakes.
- Provide a range of support and resources, to ensure that all children are able to reach their full potential.
Our curriculum is underpinned by the teaching of basic skills, knowledge, concepts and values. We understand the importance of getting the basics right first as these are the foundations in which further knowledge and skills are built upon. We know that giving children knowledge allows them to think in richer more creative ways, pulling on prior knowledge to create links and using this to think deeper. Having a thirst for wanting to understand more is what we are aiming for so that our children can become lifelong learners.
We know that some children experience barriers to their learning. This might be in terms of communication, interaction, anxiety or low self-esteem. Some may find it trickier than others to consolidate learning longer term and hence find making connections to new learning harder. It is our goal to think carefully about how curriculum lessons are planned and delivered, so as to tackle these potential learning barriers, allowing all to progress and flourish.
Promoting positive values is important to us as this encourages children to take responsibility for themselves and their actions, are respectful in their way and develop resilience to help tackle life’s ups and down.
Our strapline ‘Putting children first, progress though partnerships’ can be seen through our curriculum – from invited guests during science week, to our link with our local ‘Open the Book’ group. Parental involvement is also an important part of our curriculum and we encourage parents into the school at numerous events throughout the year. We also actively collaborate with other schools to share good practice.
Our community involvement is also an essential part of our curriculum as we celebrate local traditions such as the Doddington Carnival and our Christmas Carol Service at St. Mary’s Church. Children learn invaluable skills taking part in such events and helps them feel part of the community that they live in.
At Lionel Walden, we use the National Curriculum as the basis of our curriculum but very much add to this, ensuring that the needs of our school and community are taken into account.
Watching our children move on to their Secondary education with confidence and eagerness is what we strive for and what encourages us all to do the very best we can for them whilst they are at Lionel Walden Primary School
