Curriculum
Teaching and Learning in the Curriculum
At Ghost Hill Infant and Nursery School we believe that every moment of a child’s time in school should be filled with rich experiences and memorable moments. We plan for our curriculum to go beyond just academic success, and offer a curriculum that gives all children at Ghost Hill Infant and Nursery School new experiences that help to enrich their learning, deepen their understanding of the world and develop enquiring minds and skills for life.
We want our children to be successful learners, confident individuals and responsible citizens. We encourage and support each child to achieve their very best through creating an atmosphere of trust, openness and respect which encourages an enthusiasm for learning and critical thinking. Through a curriculum based upon the characteristics of effective learning, we encourage children to explore, take risks, investigate, be creative, and discover the world around them. They are supported to respond to challenge within a learning environment that is secure, enjoyable, and sensitive to individual needs and where mistakes are embraced as part of a learning cycle. We give our children time for independent thought and action as well as time to work together.
At Ghost Hill our curriculum meets the expectations of the Early Years Foundation Stage Profile and the National Curriculum and has been mapped carefully by curriculum leaders to ensure this is well sequenced and progressive - shown through each subjects own progression map.
In Early Years, the building blocks of knowledge are used to create the foundations for the National Curriculum expectations at Key Stage One. These link closely to both the Early Years Foundation Stage Profile and Development Matters (This guidance sets out the pathways of children’s development in broad ages and stages).
In Key Stage One we offer a broad and balanced curriculum with both core and foundation subjects having a weekly focus. We teach Foundation Subjects through a carefully planned curriculum which uses Topics as a vehicle for their delivery. This helps to immerse and excite children in their learning and thus make learning more relevant and 'real’ for them. Subjects taught through topic include Geography, History, Art and Design, Design and Technology and Music. If the children’s learning can be further enhanced, cross curricular links are made to core subjects such as English, Maths and Science. The learning experiences we provide for the children are a balance of hands on practical activities and recorded work in the form of drawings, photographs, pupil voice or written text.
We work closely with our feeder Junior school and build our curriculum to support transition and to ensure there is no repetition; only preparation for the next stage in the children's learning. We liaise with subject co-ordinators and curriculum leads through moderation opportunities and regular communication to ensure the knowledge and skills we are teaching our children are enabling them to be Key Stage 2 ready.
Characteristics of Effective Learning
The Characteristics of Effective Learning are used across Early Years. They are:
Playing and Exploring > engaging
Finding out and exploring, using what they know, being willing to have a go.
Active Learning > motivation
Being involved and concentrating, keeping on trying, enjoying achieving what they set out to do
Creating and thinking critically > thinking
Have their own ideas, use what they already know to learn new things, choose ways to do things and find new solutions
For further information regarding the Early Years Foundation Stage Profile, please click on this link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/early-years-foundation-stage-profile-handbook
For further information regarding Develop Matters, please click on this link:
Development Matters - Non-statutory curriculum guidance for the early years foundation stage
To find out about the requirements of the current National Curriculum, please click on this link:
www.education.gov.uk/schools/teachingandlearning/curriculum/primary
