Curriculum Intention
At Livingstone Primary and Nursery School, we aim to provide a broad and balanced curriculum which will enable each pupil to reach their full potential through high-quality teaching and targeted interventions. We are a school with a multicultural intake of pupils and a Resourced Provision for Pupils with ASD. Being inclusive is at the heart of our practice and, through the teaching of Literacy and Numeracy, pupils are given a skill set that enables them to access an enriched range of learning experiences and provides a gateway to the foundation subjects.
By looking at the starting points of our children, we aim to create a curriculum reflective of a diverse community, which starts with familiar experiences and expands outwards to encompass new learning. Our range of topics and learning objectives is relevant to the children and is designed to engage their interests (pupil voice). Sporting activities, educational visits, workshops, and extra-curricular experiences enhance their subject knowledge, provide them with opportunities that they might otherwise not experience, build their ‘Cultural Capital’, and help bring their learning to life.
Implementation
We have created coverage sheets for each subject to ensure that we teach the learning objectives set out in the National Curriculum.
Our curriculum has been designed for a range of learners, with the aim of providing equal opportunities for all. In every subject, learning objectives are presented to the class as a range of differentiated ‘Chilli’ challenges: ‘warm’, ‘hot’, ‘spicy’, and ‘on fire’. Under the guidance of the teaching staff, pupils access learning objectives at an appropriate level and work towards a higher challenge. We use a system of marking and assessment for learning to monitor the impact of the teaching and learning in every lesson.
We use ‘Read Write Inc’ Phonics, ‘Read Write Inc’ Spelling, Accelerated Reader and Talk for Writing to underpin the teaching of Reading and Writing; Maths Mastery and White Rose resources are used to teach Maths.
In Science, detailed Unit Guidance has been produced to support teachers’ knowledge of the subject progression and to provide a breakdown of specific year-group objectives. This includes a sequence of work with learning objectives and lesson ideas, including online resources, to ensure that there is no cross-over of curriculum objectives.
Foundation subjects are taught in one or two-week blocks with clear learning objectives based on the National Curriculum. Wherever appropriate, learning is enhanced and made more meaningful through links to the local area and our children’s own experiences. Progression of skills is evident across each strand of learning and progress is monitored across all year groups. Knowledge Organisers are created for each unit of work and information is both embedded and retained by all pupils through regular checking, quizzes and games.
Our P.E curriculum map ensures all children are getting full and varied coverage; they are taught by specialist coaches, Level 5 teaching assistants, and teachers. We ensure children receive high-quality sport experiences including competitive events, and we offer a range of different extra-curricular clubs during and after school across all ages to raise our pupils’ aspirations. We achieved a Gold standard in the School Games Mark.
Music is taught as part of the curriculum and as an enrichment activity. We use Charanga for non-specialists. Year 3 are taught musical instruments as a whole class, and we have peripatetic teachers who provide music activities for individuals pupils. We have a school choir, and Year 2 and Year 4 pupils perform each year at the Barnet Music festival.
French is our modern foreign language and is taught in KS2 by a MFL specialist teacher who also teaches weekly Spanish sessions in the after-school club. Until lockdown, we had links with French schools through Erasmus and organised an annual trip to Paris for our Year 5 pupils.
Subject leaders plan foundation subject teaching with the teaching staff and lead a programme of training, monitoring, evaluation, and review in partnership with the Senior Leadership Team. All subject leaders are given the opportunity to keep developing their own subject knowledge and encouraged to make good use of external organisations, online resources and Barnet LA(BPSI) training to access up-to-date pedagogy. They also maintain links with local Barnet schools through the BELA partnership for moderation of learning outcomes.
The outdoor environment and the local community are considered a resource for active learning for all our children. We use the local leisure centre for swimming courses and the surrounding woodlands for scientific work. In addition, the school grounds have been developed so they can be used to enrich different curriculum areas, particularly Sport and Forest Schools.
We regularly include workshops and visits as key elements of our programmes of study. We also supplement teaching by including additional lessons in English and Maths to pre-teach and consolidate learning objectives and provide lessons in Art, Yoga, Dance and Spanish as part of the extended day provision (Cabin Club).
We believe that the best outcomes for our pupils are achieved by working in partnership with our parents/carers. We send out curriculum booklets which set out the learning programmes for each year group. We run Impact meetings to inform parents/carers about how we teach Maths and English. We also host open days, ‘Read with Me’ library sessions, workshops, and consultations to keep parents informed on how they can improve pupil outcomes through home learning. Our approach to homework has been designed in consultation with families and combines working on core skills with developing creativity. We have set up Parent Rep and Parent Champion groups to ensure that we have good channels of communication and that even parents who are hard to reach are engaged.
Impact
Our approach to delivering the curriculum, combined with our commitment to pastoral care, provides a holistic environment in which our pupils can thrive emotionally, socially, and academically. The impact of our curriculum is measured by the progress made by our pupils, evaluated through regular monitoring, assessment, scrutiny, and termly Pupil Progress Meetings. Through our teaching of our curriculum, we develop values and transferable life skills designed to help children leave our school as well-rounded young people, ready for the next stage of their educational journey.
Parent's and members of the public can find out more about the school's curriculum in the 'Nursery and Reception' section, the 'Livingstone Curriculum Years 1 to 6' and in the Curriculum Booklets.