Mission Statement
Our vision is to develop happy, inquisitive and resilient life-long learners who strive for excellence in all they do: learners who are respectful, polite and kind, and who take pride in belonging to our school and the wider community. We respect everyone and treat people the way we would like to be treated.
Our Vision
West Twyford Primary School prides itself in the richness of its diversity and is an inclusive school. We welcome, encourage and embrace parental and community involvement, by capitalising upon our diversity.
We nurture a culture of success and equality. Where there are barriers, we pride ourselves in embracing different approaches and seizing every opportunity to ensure high-quality learning tailored to the needs of the child. We value children’s individuality and creativity, and equip them with the skills, self-discipline, and confidence to succeed.
By maintaining high expectations of ourselves and each other, our children become equipped to encounter challenges with resilience and bravery. We encourage our children to be curious about the wider world and, using their strengths, contribute positively by being active citizens.
We believe in aspiration and academic success; however, this is only part of our vision. Children are taught to be ‘self-aware’ and to embrace a positive mindset. They evaluate themselves as learners, but also reflect on their qualities as individuals.
Language acquisition is central to our curriculum and children are exposed to a broad and rich vocabulary in every learning experience. We provide many opportunities for pupils to practice in and master the performing and visual arts and develop their speaking and listening skills through whole school concerts, presenting speeches and class assembly performances. We offer a range of memorable experiences including trips and access to natural environments.
Our whole school curriculum is underpinned by the following pedagogical approaches: enquiry-based learning, metacognition, problem solving, dialogic learning and critical thinking. Our children also adopt as range of learning behaviours that allow them to rise to the challenge of these educational approaches.
Our Learning Dispositions:
Curiosity
Resilience
Cooperation
Independence
Discipline
Creativity
Bravery
Making Links
Our School Motto - ‘Achieving Together’
Curriculum Intent
Curriculum Implementation
Our curriculum has been carefully designed to suit the needs of our school community. Skills and knowledge are taught discreetly in subject areas giving children a broad understanding of each subject. Children acquire the ‘big ideas’ (Threshold Concepts) in each subject area through exploring different knowledge categories. The level they are taught at is determined through the Milestones. Achievement is assessed through Proof of Progress Tasks. Our curriculum is designed to embed transferable skills, without weakening skills-based learning. Proof of Progress tasks are carefully designed to assess long-term memory and the acquisition of subject-based skills. (See Appendix I for more detail) Teaching is designed to support learners to remember the content they have been taught and to integrate new knowledge into larger concepts.
Our teachers have a good knowledge of the subject(s) they teach. Leaders provide effective support for those teaching outside their main areas of expertise. A professional development plan is in place to equip teachers to present subject matter clearly, promoting appropriate discussion about the subject they are teaching. They check learners’ understanding systematically, identify misconceptions accurately and provide clear, direct and timely feedback. In doing so, they respond and adapt their teaching as necessary, without unnecessarily elaborate or differentiated approaches.
Our teachers create an environment that allows the learner to focus on learning. The resources and materials that teachers select reflect our ambitious intentions for the subject being learnt and clearly support the intent of a coherently planned curriculum, sequenced towards cumulatively sufficient knowledge and skills for future learning and success.
Curriculum Impact
We plan our lessons with clear learning objectives which are comprehensible to children and communicated to them. We make a record of children’s achievement in the lesson, and we use this information when planning for future lessons.
Day‐to‐day, on-going assessment is a crucial method of assessment which provides instant feedback to the teacher and ensures progress within every lesson. AFL strategies are used in all lessons. These strategies provide a clear picture of a child’s level of understanding and, ensure that teachers can quickly assess when a child does not understand and needs greater support. Lessons should be flexible enough to allow teachers to adapt to the needs of the child.
The impact of the curriculum is monitored through a range of styles: pupil voice, test/data outcomes, planning, monitoring of books and displays, lesson learning walks, discussions with teaching staff, pupils and parents. The outcomes are joined-up, analysed and evaluated to assess impact and drive school improvement. Pupils, parents and staff are consistently and regularly consulted about the curriculum and the impact that it makes.
The desired outcomes of the curriculum will ensure that pupils are well rounded learners, ready to embark on high school education. They will be equipped with the foundations and skills to achieve success in later education. Pupils will understand what they are good at and have developed skills to face their challenges.
Appendix I
Threshold Concepts
Knowledge Categories
Milestones
Proof Of Progress Tasks