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Whole School Curriculum

The curriculum at Ashdon Primary School is purposefully constructed to provide a clear progression model linked to expectations set out in the National Curriculum. Our curriculum map shows the learning journey undertaken from the Early Years through to Year 6. In the Early Years (Reception) we follow the statutory guidance of the EYFS framework; for Years 1–6 we follow the National Curriculum.

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As a small village school with mixed-age classes, we operate a two-year curriculum cycle (Year A and Year B) to ensure all pupils receive full curriculum coverage whilst benefiting from our close-knit learning community. Subjects are taught in topics and/or units that are carefully planned and sequenced to enable the development of knowledge and skills alongside gaining understanding of key themes and ideas. Vocabulary acquisition is a key element of this approach.

Each subject is valued as its own discipline with clear progression, and where appropriate, meaningful cross-curricular links are made to deepen understanding and help pupils make connections in their learning.

The sections below outline what we teach, how we teach it, and what pupils learn as a result of our curriculum.

 

Click on the image below to look at the 'Whole School Curriculum Vision'
Click on the image below to look at our current 'Whole School Curriculum Map - Year B'.
Vision Logo.GIF
Curriculum Map Logo.GIF

CHALLENGE - What we teach at Ashdon:

 The Ashdon Primary School curriculum aims to enable pupils to:

  • Develop as confident, curious learners who value education, make effective progress across all subjects, and achieve their full potential regardless of their starting points or additional needs.

  • Build deep knowledge and understanding through a carefully sequenced curriculum that develops from EYFS through to Year 6, embracing the opportunities and challenges of our mixed-age class structure.

  • Become well-rounded individuals who understand how to live safe, healthy and happy lives, whilst developing the cultural capital, resilience and skills needed to thrive in their next stage of education and beyond.

  • Experience a rich, broad and balanced curriculum that values every subject as a discipline in its own right, from core subjects to specialist teaching in music and PE, and encompasses British values, wellbeing, and community engagement.

  • Develop a genuine love of learning and reading through exposure to quality texts, expert teaching, and enrichment opportunities that extend beyond the classroom and into our rural village community.

CARE - How we teach at Ashdon:

  The Ashdon Primary School staff use the curriculum and aims to enable pupils to:

  • Purposeful planning and sequencing: Learning is carefully planned to build upon prior learning and develop deeper understanding from EYFS to Year 6, with particular attention to ensuring progression within our mixed-age classes (R/Y1, Y2, Y3/4, and Y5/6).

  • Clear progression frameworks: Subject-specific progression documents, based on the National Curriculum, account for how our curriculum is both spiral and interleaved. These documents map prior knowledge, key objectives, essential vocabulary, and key themes, ensuring both knowledge acquisition and skill development.

  • Cognitive science-informed practice: We focus on both the journey our curriculum takes children on and the application of cognitive psychology principles to build up knowledge and skills systematically, with opportunities for retrieval, spacing, and interleaving.

  • Consistent teaching approaches: A dialogic approach where teachers 'Think Out Loud' is embedded across the curriculum, ensuring pupils can engage deeply with their learning, articulate their thinking, and develop metacognitive skills.

  • Specialist teaching: Professional PE and music teachers deliver high-quality instruction, with all pupils receiving expert PE teaching weekly and progressive music tuition (ukulele, recorder, glockenspiel, and music theory).

  • Tailored support: With 19% of our pupils identified as SEND (including 2 with EHCPs), our curriculum is delivered through Quality First Teaching alongside targeted support from our dedicated team of 6 teachers, 1 HLTA, and 4 TAs.

  • Flexible grouping: English and mathematics are taught to Y2, 3, and 4 together in the mornings, allowing for focused teaching whilst maintaining age-appropriate expectations and challenge.

  • Wellbeing at the heart: The My Happy Mind programme and our RSHE/PSHE curriculum ensure that emotional literacy and wellbeing are explicitly taught and modelled throughout school life.

CELEBRATE - What the pupils have learnt:

  Our curriculum ensures that pupils:

  • Achieve ambitious standards in reading, writing, and mathematics that ready them for their next stage of education, with progress carefully tracked and celebrated across our small school community.

  • Develop as confident readers with a genuine love of reading, having been exposed to quality texts across the curriculum and received systematic phonics teaching and guided reading support.

  • Acquire deep subject knowledge through a broad, balanced, and well-structured curriculum with clearly sequenced learning that ensures progression in each subject, respecting the integrity of each discipline.

  • Build strong foundations through our mixed-age class structure, which allows younger pupils to learn from older peers whilst ensuring each year group meets age-appropriate expectations.

  • Demonstrate wellbeing and pride in all that they achieve, supported by our whole-school focus on mental health, resilience, and the My Happy Mind programme.

  • Develop cultural capital through a broad range of enrichment opportunities, specialist teaching, community links, and experiences that extend their understanding beyond our rural village setting.

  • Apply their learning across subjects, making connections between different areas of the curriculum and demonstrating understanding through dialogue, written work, and practical application.

  • Understand how to be safe, healthy, and happy with knowledge of British values, respectful relationships, and their role as responsible members of their school and wider community.

Further Curriculum Information:

EYFS Stat Framework Logo.GIF
Primary National Curriculum Logo.GIF
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