Curriculum Drivers
Please Explore our Curriculum Drivers here at Hornsea Burton and Skipsea Federation.
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When identifying barriers to learning for our children, we found a concern regarding motivation and their value of education and learning. Already the school has been involved in Achievement for All, Growth Mindset and learning powers approach. The PSHCE Jigsaw programme was launched in Summer 2021 which helps build aspiration. The school believed strongly in the concepts of these projects, but we were looking to deepen motivation, inspiration and building aspiration in pupils.
The careers programme adds an extra dimension and reinforces initiatives in place to develop aspiration. The Career curriculum helps to provide a meaningful, relevant context to create opportunities at a greater depth level and to extend their writing, using a variety of genre linked to careers (reports; profiles; fact sheets; explanation; instructional; letters; persuasive; descriptive).
It is also a valuable vehicle in equipping pupils with the knowledge and cultural capital they need to succeed in life. it is one of the key ingredients a student will draw upon to be successful in society, their career and the world of work. It is about giving children the best possible start to their education. It is vital curriculum to enhance the experience and opportunities available to children.
As a recent article from Nesta said: “Children’s conceptions of who they are and what they could be are products of their wider socio-economic surroundings: influenced by social (who their families and friends are) and cultural capital (what they consider a reasonable and possible future to be”) https://www.nesta.org.uk/blog/great-expectations/
Through careers we involve parents and the wider community. We continue to establish local connections with the secondary schools, university and colleges, making the talk of further and higher education a part of their frame of reference and strengthening transition within school.
Research by Dr Elnaz Kashefpakdel, Jordan Rehill and Dr. Deirdre Hughes (Dec 2018) and Nick Chambers (November 2018) into teaching a career curriculum at primary level showed it helps children see the relevance of their studies, develops important skills needed in life and broadens horizons by raising aspirations. This is vital for the needs of our children.
Nick Chambers stated research showed the outcomes of delivering career-related learning were:
• Excite and motivate children about their learning by linking and embedding in the curriculum strong connections between education and the world of work
• Broaden children’s horizons and raise aspiration
• Help children see a clear link and purpose between their learning experiences and their future
• Challenge stereotypes that children and their parents often have about jobs and the people who do them
• Support the raising of standards of achievement and attainment for all children
• Help children learn more about their own talents and abilities and instill greater confidence
• Reinforce the importance of numeracy and literacy in later life
• Tailor career-related learning to the different ages and needs of all children https://www.educationandemployers.org/career-related-primary/
References:
https://www.educationandemployers.org/career-related-primary/
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“We must foster Global Citizenship. Education is about more than Literacy and Numeracy. It is also about citizenry. Education must fully assume its essential role in helping people to forge more just, peaceful and tolerant societies.”
Ban Ki-moon, United Nations Secretary General (2012)
We believe Hornsea Burton and Skipsea Primary Federation has a critical role to play in educating our pupils to be good global citizens where we prepare them for their futures in an increasingly globalised and interconnected world. Through our curriculum, teachers plan to make local to global connections with our children. We provide our learners with a safe space in which to explore complex and controversial global issues they encounter through the media and their own experiences. Our children are trying to make sense of a world marked by division, conflict, environmental change, inequality and poverty and we strive to equip our children with the skills they need.
The ethnic diversity in the East Riding is low with 96% of the population being White British. Hornsea Burton and Skipsea Primary Federation is typical of this area with a very low ethnic mix. The vast majority of pupils are of White British heritage, with English as their first language and their exposure to different cultures and diversity is very limited. Driving Cultural awareness and diversity learning through the curriculum enhances pupils’ awareness and interactions with diversity and supports mutual respect and responsibility towards others.
It assists pupils’ understanding of these ‘global’ concepts such as trade, sustainability and the environment and gives them confidence to think critically about them. This deeper understanding could potentially challenge pupils to think more clearly about their place in the world and provide them with the tools to deal with difference and inequality more readily. Developing children’s awareness of the world around them through the curriculum could also encourage children to make small-scale lifestyle changes and develop a greater interest in global issues becoming better global citizens.
Perhaps the most well-known definition of global citizenship comes from Oxfam UK (2015) which describes a global citizen as someone who:
• is aware of the wider world and has a sense of their own role as a world citizen
• respects and values diversity
• has an understanding of how the world works
• is passionately committed to social justice
• participates in the community at a range of levels, from the local to the global
• works with others to make the world a more equitable and sustainable place
• takes responsibility for their actions.
Cultural awareness and diversity learning at primary level develops learners as socially-aware, responsible global citizens. School that demonstrate best practice global learning include it into subject knowledge and curriculum content – particularly in subject areas such as Geography, PSHE and Citizenship. (Global Learning in Primary Schools in England: Practises and Impacts, Development Education Research Centre Research Paper No.9, 2012)
The need for primary schools to have a global rather than merely local perspective and to cultivate a sense of environmental responsibility was emphasised in the Cambridge Primary
Review (CPR) final report’s proposals for educational aims and the curriculum (Alexander, 2010, chapters 12 and 14).
The research conducted by Dr Fran Hunt, Institute of Education University of London looks at the impacts of global learning on schools and pupils. It indicates:
• The large majority of respondents think global learning has had a positive impact in their school. Benefits to schools include enhanced community cohesion, school ethos and pupil voice.
• The impact of global learning increases as global learning becomes more embedded within schools.
• The inclusion of global learning in curriculum content and as topic-based learning is perceived to have a positive impact on pupils.
• Involvement in global learning can increase some pupils’ attainment levels. This impact increases as global learning gets more embedded within schools.
• Staff see global learning as having a positive impact on pupil’s subject knowledge.
• Pupils with global learning more embedded in their school appeared more knowledgeable of global issues and their complexities. The evidence suggests global learning assists pupils’ understanding of ‘global’ concepts and gives them confidence to use them.
• Global learning impacts positively on a range of pupils’ skills.
• Learning about global issues does not necessarily translate to children’ involvement in social action, but is more likely to lead to encourage small-scale lifestyle changes and developing a greater interest in global issues.
• Global learning enhances pupils’ awareness and interactions with diversity and tends to support mutual respect and responsibility towards others.
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At Hornsea Burton and Skipsea Primary Federation we are aware that some children are coming to school not ready to learn or have different starting points, socially, emotionally as well as intellectually from other children. Children’s wellbeing has been identified as this may be a barrier to learning for some of our children.
Research shows that a child is able to learn best when they have strong self-esteem, a sense of belonging, emotional intelligence and resilience. Children need self-awareness, social awareness, self-management and relationship management skills. As a consequence of this we believe that if the child is unable to adjust to the needs of the school, then the school must adjust to meet the needs of the child so we have set Health and Wellbeing as one of our drivers.
We have developed nurturing classrooms to increase educational engagement, foster emotional wellbeing, reduce aggressive incidents and removing barriers to learning. Nurture provision increases the chances of having vulnerable and disadvantaged students remain in schools. The Department for Education 2014 stated school should be a safe and affirming place for children where they can develop a sense of belonging and feel able to trust and talk openly with adults about their problems. The role that schools play in promoting the resilience of their pupils is important, particularly so for some children where their home life is less supportive. We believe we need to get it right for every child.
“At the heart of nurture is a focus on wellbeing and relationships and a drive to support the growth and development of children and young people...” A nurturing approach has been promoted as a key approach to supporting behaviour, wellbeing, attainment and achievement in a number of policy documents. Some Local authorities have increasingly promoted a whole school nurturing approach in response to the needs within the school population, particularly with regard to closing the attainment gap, and have developed resources accordingly. We have adopted this approach.
Nurture schools are developed around six principles of nurture:
1. Learning is understood developmentally
2. The classroom offers a safe base
3. The importance of nurture for the development of wellbeing
4. Language is a vital means of communication
5. All behaviour is communication
6. The importance of transition in the lives of children and young people.
At Hornsea Burton and Skipsea Primary Federation, we offer Jigsaw as a scheme of work for Health and Wellbeing. Jigsaw 3-11 offers a comprehensive Programme for Primary PSHCE including statutory Relationships and Health Education, in a spiral, progressive and fully planned scheme of work, giving our children relevant learning experiences to help them navigate their world and to develop positive relationships with themselves and others.
With strong emphasis on emotional literacy, building resilience and nurturing mental and physical health, Jigsaw 3-11 properly equips Hornsea Burton and Skipsea Primary Federation to deliver engaging and relevant PSHCE within a whole-school approach. Jigsaw lessons also include mindfulness allowing children to advance their emotional awareness, concentration and focus.
At Hornsea Burton and Skipsea Primary Federation we believe all pupils should have the opportunity to live healthy and active lives. Sport and physical activity can improve our children’s physical and mental wellbeing and help them to develop important skills like teamwork and leadership.
This is supported by Department of Education School Sport and Activity Action Plan July 2019 which states:
• The importance of daily physical activity has been known for decades, but the challenge we face in a world of fast food and sedentary screen time has never been greater. One third of children are overweight or obese by the time they leave primary school.
• Data from Sport England’s Active Lives Children and Young People survey2 (‘Active Lives Children’) show that only 17.5% of children meet the Chief Medical Officers’ guidance for how much activity children should be doing (at least 60 minutes every day), and stubborn inequalities remain; children from some Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) groups and poorer backgrounds are less active, and so are girls.
• Shockingly, the gender gap starts at just five years old. Too many children are losing confidence, understanding and enjoyment of sport as they progress through secondary school, with activity levels decreasing throughout education.
Physical activity is a key part of developing a healthy lifestyle and plays an important role in maintaining a healthy weight. Schools have a vital role in creating environments which encourage pupils to lead healthy, active lifestyles.
The importance of physical activity in promoting children and young people’s mental wellbeing is equally clear; one in eight 5-to-19-year-olds has at least one mental disorder. Physical and mental health are inextricably linked; numerous studies confirm a positive association between physical activity and increased self-esteem, emotional wellbeing and future aspirations, and physical activity is also associated with lower levels of anxiety and depression. Active Lives Children data show us that children who are physically literate are happier, more resilient and more trusting of their peers, and we need to ensure that the importance of physical activity for mental wellbeing is recognised and understood by all young people.
The Department of Education School Sport and Activity Action Plan July 2019 also says:-
A positive experience of sport and physical activity at a young age can build a lifetime habit of participation and is central to meeting the government’s ambitions for a world-class education system. Physical literacy (building physical competency alongside confidence, enjoyment, knowledge and understanding) and high quality, modern physical education (PE) lessons that engage boys and girls of different backgrounds and abilities should be a fundamental part of every child’s school experience.
Ensuring young people have access to the right amount of daily activity can have wider benefits for pupils and schools, improving behaviour as well as enhancing learning and academic achievement. Sport has also been identified by the Department for Education as one of the five foundations for building character, helping young people develop resilience, determination and self-belief, and instilling values and virtues such as friendship and fair play. It can help children and young people to connect with their peers, tackling loneliness and social isolation and building stronger communities.
There is a growing body of research that links physical activity to improvements in achievement: Physical activity improves brain function; Games that are unpredictable and require problem-solving may also boost executive functioning (the skills that help the brain to organise and act on information), which can transfer to academic tasks.
A 2009 study found that short breaks for physical activity between lessons improved classroom behaviour and helps develop resilience, independent learning skills, tolerance and cooperation skills impacting group work within the classroom. Our daily mile break provides this opportunity.
At Hornsea Burton and Skipsea Primary Federation we ensure pupils receive at least 1 hours of high-quality PE provision each week. All children participate in a daily mile activity of 15 minutes as well as a 15-minute playtime where play leaders and staff support and encourage children to play games. Taking part in regular physical activity has lots of benefits for children’s physical health, mental health and wellbeing, and their learning (https://thedailymile.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/InternationalJournalOfObesity.pdf)
Inter school competition in connection with the Schools Sports Partnership allows our school to participate in a wide range of competitive sports. Several of these events are aimed at less active children and in both cases helps to widen the children’s experiences, developing pride in representing the school and a chance to shine.
Intra school competition operates on several levels. Extra-curricular clubs have a competition element and provide an opportunity to apply skills they have acquired over the course of the club. Wider school mass participation events give every child the chance to engage in competition. Our extra-curricular club provision is provided by internal and external providers. We endeavour to offer a wide range of sports.