Pilsley Church of England Primary School aims to provide a broad, balanced and motivational curriculum that enables our children to become confident, responsible and independent learners. Through our curriculum we aim to develop children’s caring, creative and critical thinking skills through an ethos of inquisitiveness, enquiry and enterprise with high quality relationships, caring attitudes and a sense of fairness.

As a Church of England school the key principles being a child a God are embedded in all areas of school life. Underpinning all that we do is our school's vision and PRAISE statement which instils our core values of Perseverance, Respect, Achievement, Independence, Service and Enthusiasm. These are carefully developed through our Collective Worship and curriculum themes which as a result consolidate the British values of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty, mutual respect and tolerance. This approach not only helps prepare our children for their future life, but it enriches the daily life for everyone at Pilsley, teaching us to understand, respect and enjoy the diversity in our community and the wider world. We teach Religious Education through 'Understanding Christianity', a modern resource that encourages children to form their own opinions and be inquisitive as they explore key theological concepts.

Principles

The underpinning principles of our curriculum are to:

1. Achieve high academic performance, ensuring each child reaches their full potential.

2. Inspire excellence and aspiration, through engaging, exciting and stimulating activities and environments;

3. Develop and challenge every child to acquire the knowledge, skills and attitudes they need to succeed as learners throughout their life;

4. Ensure equal rights of access to each area of the curriculum, irrespective of ability, gender and ethnic or cultural backgrounds;

5. Instil the values of democracy, liberty, respect and tolerance.

Curriculum Development

Pilsley Church of England Primary School recognises that the early years are an important time in a child's life, as it is during this time the foundations for all learning are laid. By the age of three when children start in our nursery, they have already developed a range of skills, and an understanding of the wider world, according to their cultural heritage and home experiences. It is upon these early foundations that we build our learning. Working in partnership with our families and our community we provide children with the time and opportunity to develop and master new skills and knowledge in a safe and secure environment. We provide language rich learning opportunities to develop early communication skills as well as opportunities for both indoor and outdoor learning to develop children’s communication, physical, personal and social skills.

Whole school policies are essential in ensuring continuity and progression. For example, our calculation policy ensures that each year group embeds and builds on the skills from the previous school year, employing consistent language and use of resources, models and images.

Our school has embedded the 'Cornerstones Curriculum' into our methodology, which encourages children to experiment and explore as well as pursue their own interests within their wide range of topics. Although content is important, and is taught incorporating the statutory requirements of the National Curriculum, we are continually developing skills and attitudes regardless of the content covered. One feature of our curriculum is that each theme has a “big question” as its central route of enquiry. Themes start with an engaging opener, the “big start” and conclude with a “big finish”, which they present to their class, key stage, whole school or parents.

Children's sense of achievement is increased as they work towards their goal and they see tangible evidence of the skills they have learnt, developing a sense of pride in their work as well as becoming reflective learners, identifying ways in which they can improve in the future. The curriculum is deepened and developed further through the provision of a wide range of enrichment visits and activities, which take place termly in each class. For example, Forest schools sessions, links with Devonshire Educational Trust at Chatsworth as well as visits to the theatre, museums, wildlife parks and castles to name a few. We also provide opportunities for children to participate in adventurous activity on residential visits in Year 2, Year 3, Year 4, Year 5 and Year 6.

We believe that Primary education is not just about targets and results in league tables, nor is it simply a preparatory step for secondary school; it is much more than that. As a school we believe that by developing skills, knowledge and attitudes, our children will become individuals who can access and enjoy learning throughout their lives. Our aim is to provide our pupils with knowledge and skills necessary to take advantage of opportunities, responsibilities and experiences in later life. We want children to have a memorable learning experience at Pilsley that encourages and inspires them to achieve their potential and fosters an attitude of “wanting to learn” as well as “needing to learn.”

For more information about what we teach in each year group and how you can help your children with their learning, please contact the relevant members of staff, see below :-

EYFS, Year 1 and Year 2- Mrs Alicia Thompson

Year 3 and Year 4 - Mrs Sara Townsend and Mrs Georgina Anderson

Year 5 and Year 6 - Mrs Helen Field and Miss Jenny Davison

For more information about the Cornerstones Curriculum please visit their website, see link below. https://cornerstoneseducation.co.uk/products/cornerstones-curriculum-england