In its broadest sense, our curriculum is the totality of objectives, activities and experiences pupils encounter during their time at Walkington School.
At its core is the National Curriculum, but it is also much broader than that; it also incorporates statutory elements such as relationship, sex and health education and our local RE syllabus. It covers our assemblies, our extra-curricular activities, our character development goals…in fact everything we engage our pupils in at school falls under this very broad term.
No two schools will have the same curriculum, given we use our knowledge and experience of our community and catchment to tailor what we do to their specific needs. We take care to structure activities in a way which constantly builds upon prior learning, at a pace which both engages pupil interest and promotes deep and lasting understanding of concepts, knowledge and skills.
While every subject, and indeed every single lesson, will have its own specific learning objectives, our overall curriculum aims are as follows:
- For every child to become a successful and confident learner
- To help every child get the most out of life, both now and in the future
- For every child to feel happy and confident being who they are
Our curriculum compass is also strongly guided by a model know as ‘Global Competency’, which is articulated and advocated by, amongst others, the OECD (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development). We believe the cornerstones of this model – knowledge, values, attitudes and skills – helps us prepare our pupils to thrive in the complex and increasingly interconnected worldwide society they will call home in the middle of the 21st Century. We are acutely aware that we are preparing children to live in a world we cannot yet fully see or describe, and genuinely hope they will not only inhabit this world but have the desire and skills to positively shape it.
We are also at pains to point out that our curriculum is a constantly changing entity, and can never be mapped and published as a ‘finished’ article. Instead, it is constantly being reviewed and improved by staff at all levels, both through formal review and the ongoing reflection of staff and the experience of pupils.
While this site contains a wealth of resources aimed at helping you see how our learning is structured and builds, the best way to really understand it is to make an appointment to visit the school and speak to us about our latest plans and the thinking behind them, and best of all take a walk around school and see our learning in action.
