Curriculum

The curriculum at our school is broad and balanced, providing opportunities for pupils of all abilities and backgrounds to learn, enjoy and succeed.

From our pre-school to Year 6, we offer a curriculum that meets the needs of all pupils, and leads to high standards of academic and personal achievement.

We follow the National Curriculum 2014: teachers base their planning on these objectives and children should achieve these objectives by the end of the academic year in question.

Our curriculum recognises the history of our locality and the diversity of its community; acknowledges the school’s vast grounds and rich opportunities for outdoor learning, embraces new technology and challenges global issues.

National Curriculum for parents

Intent

At the end of Year 6, pupils will have the skills and knowledge to be exceptional citizens and succeed in life by equipping them with the essential skills of collaboration, communication, investigation, motivation, self-management and problem solving.

Our values – kindness, honesty and respect, determination, courage and ambition – permeate the teaching of every subject area and underpin the inclusive nature of our broad and rich curriculum.

We have structured our inclusive ambitious curriculum through a long-term map that demonstrates the sequential progression of knowledge and skills. It is a spiral curriculum that builds on prior knowledge and gives opportunities for children to distil, crystallise and consolidate their learning. Each subject has clear end points for every year group and the end points enable pupils to meet our curriculum intent. The curriculum equips pupils with the knowledge and cultural capital they need to succeed in life.

It is our firm belief that every child should leave Dollis with:

• the knowledge, skills and education that prepares them for secondary school, adult life and the world of work
• a sense of responsibility as a future global citizen
• ambition and an awareness of their limitless potential and
• a thirst to be a motivated learner for life. 

Implementation

Our teaching is based on sound pedagogy (cognitive science, Rosenshine's principle of instruction and Doug Lemov's SLANT) enabling pupils to understand key concepts, presenting information clearly and promoting appropriate discussion.

Teachers check pupils’ understanding effectively, identifying and correcting misunderstandings, and ensure that pupils embed key concepts in their long-term memory and apply them fluently.

The teaching of subjects follows the curriculum map design. Subjects are delivered in a way that allows pupils to transfer key knowledge to long-term memory. They are sequenced, so that new knowledge and skills build on what has been taught before, and enable children to work towards defined curriculum end points.

Assessment is used to check pupils’ understanding and it supports the teaching of the curriculum.

Impact

All children, including SEND and disadvantaged pupils, make good progress at our school. Our pupils are being prepared for the next stage of education through:

• Experiencing the ‘Dollis Promise’: this is the cultural capital provided in each subject area in its curriculum content, breadth and balance  
• Coaching though the Compass for life to be resilient, ambitious and aspirational
• Meeting the expected standard (or higher) at the end of the Early Years Foundation Stage, Year 1 phonics check, end of Year 2, and end of Year 6 (SATs).

Would you like to know more?

To find out more about our curriculum, you are welcome to email our school office: office@dollisprimary.com