Curriculum

Curriculum Statement 2020/21

At Moreland our aim is to provide the very best education and the most exciting opportunities to inspire our children. The curriculum we offer is bespoke and is based upon our ‘Learning for Life’ vision which is central to every decision we make. This vision is based on our mission as we adults and children:

‘Reach higher than we dream to become the person we really want to be as we do the best we can for the world, for each other and for ourselves.’

At Moreland our inspiring curriculum is all about developing creative, critical thinkers with access to rich embedded knowledge who are equipped with the confidence, ability and desire to make the world a better place. Children are given opportunities to develop their knowledge, understanding and skills through:

1. An understanding of global citizenship in the 21st century including ecological awareness and responsibility, British values, consideration and respect for others, equality and rights and responsible and positive use of technology
2. Building Aspiration and Resilience including learning for life, exposure to jobs and careers and experiences of the working world, development of a Growth mind set and work ethic, opportunities beyond everyday life for all children and the development of enterprise skills
3. Equality of access to the arts including a culturally rich curriculum with creativity at its heart, making the most of London on our doorstep, creative partnerships that enrich the curriculum, all children learning an instrument and taking part in regular performances
4. Access to nature including Forest school, learning outside the classroom, residential trips and the opportunity to complete the National Trust’s 50 things to do before you are 11 ¾.

Key skills and competencies give children the means to successfully unlock learning and ensure they are prepared for the next stage of education. The 4 key competencies that we focus on are:

1. Communication – understanding and communicating ideas
2. Creativity – thinking outside the box
3. Critical Thinking – solving problems
4. Collaboration – working with others.

All of the above is built upon a foundation of solid reading, writing and mathematical knowledge, understanding and skills.

The 4 Pillars of Learning ensure our approach to learning and the curriculum is at the root of everything we do and is the base we build on. This is our approach to teaching English and Maths- an enquiry led approach to teaching and learning and the characteristics children need to develop to be successful learners.

• Pillar 1: Every child a reader and the Alan Peat approach to the teaching and learning of writing
• Pillar 2: Inspire Maths based upon Singapore Maths
• Pillar 3 : An enquiry led learning approach including P4C (Philosophy for Children)
• Pillar 4: Growth mind set and developing the characteristics for effective learning

English:

The teaching of English is at the heart of our learning and teaching and is essential to every area of the curriculum. We aim to develop a child’s love of reading through widespread reading for enjoyment. We promote and encourage children to discover the value of strong communication skills and the importance of reading and writing in all aspects of their futures. (More information can be found in the Curriculum Statement for English, including approaches to teaching Reading, Writing, Spelling and Handwriting).

Maths:

At Moreland we want our children to receive a high quality mathematics education that ensures all pupils are fluent in the fundamentals of mathematics, have the ability to reason mathematically and can apply their knowledge and understanding to solve problems. We also want them to have an appreciation of the power of mathematics and a sense of fun and curiosity about the subject. We use a mastery approach to teaching maths. Inspire Maths- our chosen Singapore Maths scheme uses accessible textbooks to introduce concepts in a highly scaffolded way through concrete, pictorial and abstract learning. This enables children to develop critical thinking skills, make mathematical connections and become confident mathematicians. The Singapore scheme is a whole school commitment.

Other Subjects:

We follow a topic based approach to the curriculum for Geography, History, Art and DT (with strong links to the Science, Computing and English curriculum also). We follow separate schemes of work for RE, PSHE, Computing, Music, Spanish and Science making links to topics where appropriate. Topics have been carefully selected so that there is even coverage of the National Curriculum, opportunities to explore ideas in depth, revisit and expand upon previous learning and make links between subjects. In English children study quality books, plays and poems that are chosen to deepen children’s understanding of the topic. All topics are built around planned practical learning opportunities such as field work, museum visits and workshops that enrich children’s learning further. We take full advantage of our location in the heart of London through curriculum topics that explore the richness of London past and present and Moreland are proud to be the Museum of London’s champion school. The organisation of the curriculum in this way helps knowledge to “stick”, to join up learning and ensure breadth and depth in the study of all subject disciplines.

Please see the Teaching and Learning policy and curriculum statements for each subject for more information.

A portrait of a Moreland Child

When a child leaves Moreland at the end of Year 6 we aspire for them to have developed the following characteristics:

We believe this approach will embed the school’s ‘Learning for Life’ ethos and support the development of happy children who are ready for the next stage of their educational journey, have high aspirations for themselves and a strong sense of respect and belonging for their community.

Written by Catherine Lawrence July 2020

We have developed our Recovery Curriculum as a response to the school closure in the Summer Term 2020. The aim of this curriculum is to support children's well being as they return to full time school and ensure they feel safe, secure and ready to learn. It uses five levers developed by Barry Carpenter, CBE, Professor of Mental Health in Education, Oxford Brookes University and Matthew Carpenter, Principal, Baxter College, Kidderminster.

The five levers are:

1. Relationships : we can't expect children to return joyfully, and many of the relationships that were thriving, may need to be invested in and restored. We need to plan for this to happen, not assume that it will. Reach out to greet them, us the relationships we build to cushion the discomfort of returning.

2. Community: we must recognise that curriculum will have to be based in the community for a long period of time. We need to listen to what has happened in this time, understand the needs of our community and engage them in the transitioning of learning back into school.

3. Transparent Curriculum: all of our children will feel like they have lost time in learning and we must show them how we are addressing these gaps, consulting and co-constructing with our students to heal this sense of loss.

4. Metacognition: in a different environments, students will have been learning in different ways. It is vital that we make the skills for learning in a school environment explicit to our students to reskill and rebuild their confidence as learners.

5. Space: to be, to rediscover self, and to find their voice on learning in this issue. It is only natural that we all work at an incredible pace- providing opportunity and exploration alongside the intensity of our expectations.

We consider our duties, under The Equality Act 2010 and the Special Educational Needs and Disability Regulations 2014 to make our curriculum accessible for those with disabilities of special educational needs.  Pupils receive a personalised curriculum which is relevant to their development and learning needs. The curriculum is planned and differentiated to meet the range of individual needs of all pupils. The curriculum is further modified on a short term planning basis to meet specific individual’s SEN including a clear pathway that illustrates and demonstrates the steps a pupil takes to overcome their challenges.  Our school has a clear approach to identifying and responding to SEN. We recognise the benefits of early identification – identifying need at the earliest point and then making effective provision improves long-term outcomes for the child or young person. All our pupils have access to a broad and balanced curriculum. We set high expectations for every pupil, whatever their prior attainment. Teachers at our school use appropriate assessment to set targets which are deliberately ambitious. We identify potential areas of difficulty and ensure these are addressed at the outset. Lessons are planned to address potential areas of difficulty and to remove barriers to pupil achievement. By planning this way, our pupils with SEN and disabilities are able to study the full national curriculum. Our school regularly reviews and evaluates the quality and breadth of the support we can offer or can access for children with SEN or disabilities. The quality of teaching for pupils with SEN, and the progress made by pupils, is a core part of our school’s performance management arrangements and internal tracking and monitoring.

Further details can be found in the following policies within our Policy Section:

SEN Policy

SEN Information report

Accessibility Plan

Single Equality Plan

We have slightly adapted the order of our topics for 20/21 in response to Covid 19. We have moved our whole school London topic to Summer 2021 to enable children to hopefully be able to attend the trips and visits connected with this topic.

The year group curriculum maps below do not reflect these changes. Please use the overview above to see which topics will be taught in which term. 

Growth Mindset