Bletchingley Curriculum Intent

Our curriculum is guided by the school’s Core Values—to always be caring, respectful, and self-disciplined—and is brought to life through our Star Learning Behaviours. It is highly ambitious for all pupils, instilling intellectual curiosity and a drive for challenge while aligning strictly with the National Curriculum objectives.

We prioritise closing the vocabulary gap through a language-rich environment and a focus on reading fluency, ensuring children are equipped with the knowledge and cultural capital they need to succeed in life. Our approach revisits and builds upon existing knowledge and skills, using enquiry-based learning to encourage depth of thinking, elaboration, and independence. By considering each child’s context and circumstances, we provide an inclusive, adaptive education that involves the whole community and prepares children for the next phase of their journey as determined and collaborative learners.

Bletchingley Teaching, Learning, and Curriculum Policy

Our Philosophy and Core Values

At Bletchingley, we promote three core values that underpin all aspects of school life: Always be caring, always be respectful, and always use your self-discipline. These values provide the foundation for our Star Learning Behaviours, which characterise every Bletchingley learner:

• Curiosity (Cat): Cultivating enquiring minds that question the world.

• Pride (Peacock): Aspiring to excellence and aiming higher in all endeavours.

• Independence (Hedgehog): Building the resilience to lead one's own learning.

• Determination (Tortoise): Developing the stamina to achieve mastery and reach long-term goals.

• Collaboration (Bee): Building cooperative and interpersonal skills through social interaction.

• Challenge (Mountain Goat): Embracing difficult tasks to extend thinking and connection.

Our Aims

In partnership with families, we aim to develop happy, confident individuals who possess a secure foundation for lifelong learning. We strive to:

• Achieve mastery across the National Curriculum through well-sequenced progression.

• Appreciate human achievements and respect the diverse beliefs and experiences of others.

• Support children in making informed choices regarding their health, safety, and wellbeing through a robust PSHE framework.

 

Curriculum Delivery and Implementation

We deliver our curriculum through a broad, balanced, and inclusive approach, rooted in enquiry-based learning.

Engaging Learners: We use key questions at the start of topics to stimulate deeper thinking and activate prior knowledge. Using tools like KWL grids, pupils explore, record, and present learning in meaningful ways.

Evidence-Informed Strategies: Our teaching is grounded in Rosenshine’s Principles of Instruction, focusing on:

• Daily, weekly, and monthly reviews to promote long-term memory.

• Presenting new material in small steps with effective modeling and scaffolding.

• Checking for understanding through high-quality questioning, such as cold calling and probing questions.

• Achieving high success rates through guided and independent practice.

Metacognition and Adaptive Teaching: To ensure every child succeeds, we utilize metacognitive strategies, including explicit strategy instruction and structured reflection. Our adaptive teaching involves:

• Pre-teaching topic vocabulary to support those with additional needs.

• Using visual timetables, scaffolds, and pacey transitions to maintain engagement.

• Think-pair-share techniques to encourage collaboration (Bee) and active participation.

 

 The Learning Environment

We provide a nurturing environment that promotes social, moral, spiritual, and cultural (SMSC) development. This is supported by:

• A language-rich environment to bolster comprehension and communication.

• A wide range of extra-curricular activities designed to build cultural capital.

• Ongoing professional development to ensure staff deliver the highest quality of teaching.

 

Impact: Why We Do This

Our ultimate goal is to produce active, responsible citizens who are:

• Motivated learners equipped with the skills and attitudes to navigate modern life.

• Confident individuals capable of looking after themselves and contributing positively to their communities.

• Equipped with numerical understanding, reading fluency, and a deep knowledge of the wider world

 

• "The teachers are really kind"
• "We get to do lots of outdoor learning because we have loads of outdoor space"
• "I like using the laptops" 
• "We have lots of grounds to play in" 
• "The teachers give you lots of support" 
• "We have fun lessons" 
• "We do lots of different activities" 
• "We get to do a lot of PE" 
• "The games are really fun" 
• "The food is really nice" 
• "We have a great selection of books" 
• "I really like the teachers" 
• "I like cooking things on the fire in forest school" 
• "I like eating lunch outside"
• "I love doing gymnastics with Chris" 
• "We get rewarded for good behaviour"