Curriculum - What do we teach, when and why?
We work hard to make our curriculum exciting, challenging and memorable. We want children to go home every night full of stories about what they have done in school and feeling a sense of achievement. We use drama a lot to encourage children to see important events 'from the inside' and to empathise with others.
During their time with us, we aim that they will:
- become articulate and confident, ready for the next phase in their education
- develop resilience and be mentally and physically well
- make healthy and safe choices
- communicate effectively, read confidently and widely and have excellent mathematical skills
- be inquisitive, love learning and thrive on challenge
- see themselves as global citizens, show empathy, kindness and compassion and understand the consequences of their own actions
- explore and embrace ways to express themselves creatively
Implementation
Some subjects are taught discretely, as completely stand alone programmes of study, and are often taught by specialist teachers. Examples include PE, Spanish and Music. We make links to other subject areas if appropriate, but often it makes more sense to study these subjects in isolation.
Other subjects are taught discretely, but we find that that they do sometimes link very well to other areas of the curriculum. Some examples are RE, PSHE, Computing, Art, Design Technology and Science. English and Maths are good examples of subjects that are taught separately, but applied often through other subject areas, to deepen learning.
Humanities (Geography and History) are very closely interlinked in our curriculum and generally form the basis of our work in Mantle of the Expert. We believe that by co-creating stories of important people and places from the past and present, the children learn to make links to their own experiences and widen their understanding of the world. They encounter questions that challenge their thinking and values and they begin to grow as global citizens.
Mantle of the Expert
Mantle of the Expert (MoE) was developed by Dr. Dorothy Heathcote right here in Newcastle. Essentially, it is a method by which children can understand the curriculum in a meaningful way through taking on the role of a team responsible experts carrying out important commissions set by an imagined client. These commissions are the tensions which add complexity to the learning, keep the tasks interesting and promote new tasks for further learning. It provides an exciting context for learning, empowers children and gives them a purpose to write, problem solve and investigate.
Learning through mantle is highly structured and is built around the national curriculum programmes of study and our schemes of work for different subjects. This ensures the 'core' learning of each subject is mapped out in a meaningful, progressive way and Mantle of the Expert is a way to bring learning to life by using drama for learning.
Developing as confident citizens
Our school is a rich, multi-cultural community and we learn to value each other's cultural and religious differences. There are around 26 different languages spoken by our children and we celebrate how we are all different, all equal. Our PSHE curriculum weaves through many other subject areas and can also be found below.
We would recommend that you look at our Class Blogs to see our curriculum in action every week. On there, you'll see pictures and hear from the staff and children about what goes on in class every day. You'll see how we teach all of the subjects of the National Curriculum and how we bring the curriculum to life through Mantle of the Expert.