The following information outlies our whole school curriculum - if you should require more detailed information please contact the school office on 02104 527484 where you will be signposted to the relevant member of staff.

Alternatively click on the link below where you will find detailed information about the National Curriculum.

DfE Website

Curriculum Accessibility for Equality and SEND

At Christ Church Ainsworth Primary School all class teachers are responsible for providing a curriculum that is suitable for all pupils in the class, including those with Special Educational Needs or Disabilities (SEND) with support from the SENDCo. We have high expectations for all pupils and are committed to ensuring our curriculum complies with the Equality Act 2010 and the Special Educational Needs and Disability Regulations 2014. Our inclusion statement emphasises the importance of providing an inclusive learning environment for all pupils including those with SEND. Additional information on this can be found by clicking the link below:

Special Educational Needs and Disability

Our School Curriculum

At Christ Church Ainsworth Primary School, from the moment our children set foot through the Nursery, until the day that they leave after a successful eight years of learning and growing together, we strive to give all of our children the best possible foundations from which they can reach their full potential.

We have a topic based curriculum that has been carefully designed and sequenced to allow all children to become confident and fluent with powerful knowledge and vocabulary. Our curriculum also enables our children to develop values, life-skills and character traits that will enable them to have a successful future. 

Reading

At Christ Church Ainsworth Primary School, we use the Oxford Reading Tree and a range of other reading schemes to engage children and create a reading culture within the school and home. We ensure reading books are suitably matched to our children's reading level.  We ensure that phonic books are selected to mirror the sounds that the children are learning in school, and are decodable.   Class texts to engage children in learning are used in English and Topic areas which provides a context for learning through areas of the curriculum. Reading for purpose and reading for enjoyment are both practised within school with the use of online reading programmes to develop children at their own level whilst focusing on the importance of real books and developing a love of reading for pleasure. Library sessions give children the opportunity to engage in reading for pleasure and take books home to enjoy. The school employs a ‘Hooked on Books’ approach towards guided reading which incorporates reading for meaning, vocabulary and comprehension and links to the approach used to teach writing.

Phonics

At Christ Church Ainsworth Primary School, we teach Letters and Sounds using a range of resources within the 'Jolly Phonics' scheme.  This multi sensory approach gets children off to a flying start with their phonics. Daily phonics sessions in KS1 in groups are fundamental to our teaching of reading and spelling. 

Maths

At Christ Church Ainsworth we use White Rose planning as the principal scheme from Reception to Year 6 to provide a structure to the teaching of mastery in Maths. The children are taught in small steps to develop a secure knowledge of the subject with the belief that everyone can achieve.

What do the Three ‘I’s of Our Curriculum Look Like?

Intent

We want our pupils to:

• know about the world in which we live (including the local and wider communities) and also the events that have shaped it in the past to make it what it is today.
• develop the skills to succeed.
• have the skills and knowledge to take advantage of the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences throughout their school career and in later life.
• achieve the best possible outcomes.

• progress and grow.
• to be ready for the next stage of their education.
• have the knowledge and skills to succeed.
• work hard and to the very best of their ability.
• read often and with fluency (age appropriate).
• have good Mathematical Knowledge that they can apply.
• reach their goals.
• be aspirational.
• become lifelong learners.
• be proud to be part of the Christ Church Ainsworth Community.

Our curriculum allows children to retain knowledge and vocabulary. It is not merely a set of facts for children to learn and then forget. It is carefully designed and planned in such a way that knowledge will be stored in children’s long-term memories, so that they can build on it and use it later in life.

We have introduced a broader, topic based curriculum that allows children to become confident and fluent with knowledge and vocabulary. Children are taught in such a way that they acquire knowledge that they can take with them for the rest of their lives, knowledge that they can use when forming arguments and judgements, or when reading and solving problems. Challenging opportunities to apply knowledge are embedded throughout our curriculum. Progressively planned learning enables children to constantly apply prior knowledge and build upon it.

We ensure that all children gain a wealth of experiences beyond learning facts in the classroom. We want our curriculum to inspire children to want to learn more, to provoke children’s intellectual curiosity and to create experiences of awe and wonder. 

We believe that knowledge leads to understanding, and that understanding leads to wisdom. Acquiring powerful knowledge enables all children to become grounded people with strong character traits, providing a stepping-stone to a successful future. Vocabulary is at the heart of our curriculum. We are consciously aware of gaps in pupils’ vocabulary and strive, through our curriculum, to allow all children to become confident and fluent with an extensive range of powerful vocabulary.

Implementation

We expect our teachers to:

• To be highly skilled and have good subject knowledge.
• To adapt teaching to meet the needs of all learners.
• To help all learners remember key ideas and concepts for long term use.
• To prepare all children for life in Modern Britain with an appreciation of their local community and the world at large.
• To expose all children to memorable experiences.
• To create an environment where pupils can focus on learning; an environment where all children can grow.
• To challenge all learners.
• To develop the children of today to be the successful and productive citizens of the future.

 A carefully designed, progressive curriculum provides opportunities for accelerated progress. Science, History and Geography are the driver subjects for  Learning Challenges  and provide the structure to learning, specifying key knowledge and vocabulary that we want all children to be fluent with. Acting as a planning and teaching tool, the Learning Challenges make it clear to teachers, pupils and parents what is expected to be learnt by the end of the unit and within lessons. All Learning Challenges are taught through a text (linking English with the topic) thus generating purposeful writing opportunities embedded in the key knowledge and vocabulary of the topic. Enrichment opportunities are purposeful and provide the opportunity for children to apply their knowledge. All topics start with something special and exciting to hook children into the wonder of learning. Enrichment opportunities such as class trips or external visitors are planned carefully to aid teaching and learning. Carefully planned entry tasks assess learning and provide the opportunity for children to show what they know. Enhancer subjects such as Art DT, cookery and Music add depth to the children’s understanding of the topic and have been carefully planned to demonstrate skill progression as children move through each Key Stage. Children also have additional discrete teaching in Computing, Music, French and PE developing progression in subject specific knowledge in these areas

Mathematics is taught as a discrete subject with its progression of knowledge and skills clearly mapped out across the school. Additional number fluency and key skills are practised on a daily basis.

Children are formally assessed in Reading, Writing and Mathematics at the end of each term.

Reading is at the heart of the Christ Church curriculum with teachers teaching through guided reading through a ‘Hooked On Books’ approach, whole class shared reading and reading comprehension.

Our writing and grammar are taught using ‘The Write Stuff’ teaching approach. Which uses set characteristics of writing to provide guided writing experiences of sentence types for children which they can then transfer to independent writing.

Learning is blocked across the school to show clear progression. Children will have individual books for Maths, Writing and for each half term’s topic in Science, History or Geography.  Children also have a handwriting, phonics (KS1) sketch book, RE and PHSCE is completed in one book, additional evidence of learning experiences are evidenced in class floor books.

Impact

Children can confidently recall key knowledge from current and previous areas of learning.

Children can confidently apply knowledge to their learning.

Children are confident using and applying high-level vocabulary.

Children are independent learners.

Children are articulate and confident to talk about a wide range of topics.

Children demonstrate many high-level skills, such as analysis, reflection and empathy through written and spoken tasks.

Children enjoy learning and are excited and inspired to learn new things.

Knowledge is retained in children’s long-term memories.

Children are well-rounded individuals who understand the importance of British values.

Children have excellent attitudes to learning.

Children show self-awareness when forming their own ideas and beliefs.

Children show respect for all and value difference and diversity.

Children are open-minded to learn and gain new ideas.

Children demonstrate appreciation and wonder of the world they live in.

We are proud of our

 Christ Church Ainsworth Family.

We hope you will be too!