At Crowland Primary School we creatively teach our children but with a clear focus on, ‘basic skills’ i.e English and maths. Our Early Years team plans an exciting curriculum-linked to children’s interests – topics include, ‘Fairy Tales’ and ‘Super Heroes’. From Year 1 the children study topics linked to our ‘International Primary Curriculum.
At Crowland Primary we understand that the society we live in is diverse and therefore, our curriculum and life within school reflect this. For our pupils, we aim to continually weave the thread of social, cultural, moral, and spiritual British values throughout day-to-day school life. This has been something that we have been doing at Crowland for the past two years. We aim to build a community that is cohesive and that challenges any ideologically that seeks to undermine that cohesion. Underpinning these are the values and understanding of democracy, law, individual liberty, respect, tolerance, tradition, and heritage.
We will achieve this by:
- Ensuring no child leaves Crowland without achieving National Expectations
- Aiming high and supporting each other to realize dreams and aspirations
- Instill positive values, morals, and a sense of belonging in each other
- Inspiring each other to become life long learners
- Support children to achieve the highest standards in their learning
- To give children an awareness of their diverse local community, the country in which they live, and the wider world
- To provide a clear, stimulating, creative environment where children feel safe, happy, and valued through their journey at Crowland
Throughout our Nursery and Reception, the children follow the Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum (EYFS). The EYFS Curriculum covers the development of children through to the end of the reception year. Within the Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum, there are three prime areas: Personal, Social, and Emotional Development. Physical Development. Communication and Language.
In Reception, we use a range of learning strategies. Our classes provide the children with an environment where they can express themselves and extend their imagination and understanding of the world around them. We encourage the children to think and ‘problem solve’ for themselves as well as direct their learning in ways that interest them. Through play and focus activities, children learn and develop their personal, social and emotional skills to equip them to become inquisitive and independent learners.
The outdoor learning experience is also really important at Crowland. We have an extensive outdoor learning area that is solely for the use of the Early Years, giving our children access to a wide range of activities and outdoor learning equipment. We like our children to spend as much time as possible outside, so sometimes they will get wet and dirty, but this is all part of the learning experience.
As part of our transition, we plan to visit all children at their homes to understand the skills they have developed and acknowledge the important role families play in this. We work closely with the children and their families to ensure there is a strong link between home and school.
At Crowland Primary our pupils are actively encouraged to make choices, knowing that they are in a safe and supportive environment. As a school, we educate and provide boundaries for young pupils to make informed choices, through a safe environment and an empowering education. Pupils are encouraged to know, understand and exercise their rights and personal freedoms and are advised how to exercise these safely, for example through our e-Safety and PHSE lessons.
As part of our curriculum, we place a huge emphasis on the social and emotional learning of our children and feel we send them off to secondary school as well-rounded individuals, ready to undertake the next stage of their life.
Mutual respect is at the heart of our values. Children learn that their behaviors affect their rights and those of others. All members of the school community treat each other with respect. This is an absolute expectation and forms the basis of our vision statement. The school’s motto is Together Everybody Achieves More (TEAM) and everybody understands their responsibilities within this. Children are expected to demonstrate good manners and courtesy to everybody and this is celebrated. Children often represent the school within the wider community and understand their responsibilities towards everybody. The school actively seeks to promote mutual respect within the whole community, with links to the aging population, local enterprise, and pre-school. The school has further links with schools in different contexts, ie rural Devon and Sierra Leone, and works to promote respect for everybody. The school through its International Primary Curriculum makes comparisons between other countries and cultures in the world.
