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Our Curriculum

At Berry Hill Primary School, we have an ambitious curriculum which is broad and balanced. We have a curriculum which places value on ‘doing less, better’. A curriculum is not measured by how many facts a pupil can retain but in how disciplinary knowledge allows pupils to build disciplinary skills and how, when applied to substantive knowledge we produce pupils who are able to apply their understanding and develop into critical thinkers. Our curriculum is designed to be relevant, thoughtfully-sequenced, designed in a manner which facilitates pupils to make links to prior and future learning, and which engages them with the world in which they live, in order that they will grow up to positively impact their community..

INTENT - What is our Curriculum Dream?

Berry Hill's 'DREAM' curriculum is underpinned by five pillars which are woven throughout our subjects:

Berry Hill's curriculum is underpinned by a sound pedagogy, through looking at:

An example of how this would work in practice would be in history. Through the lens of looking at the Vikings (which would be the substantive knowledge or the topic through which we are learning to be a historian), children would learn about the concept of chronology (conceptual knowledge). Once they have this knowledge of what chronology is, they can use this to order events and eras which would develop their procedural knowledge - enabling them to complete a process using all of their acquired knowledge.

IMPLEMENTATION - How do we make the dream a reality?

IMPLEMENTATION

Different starting points

Lessons are carefully planned taking children’s starting points and prior attainment into account, splitting learning into dual objectives covering Substantive and Disciplinary knowledge.  All lessons include additional challenge too. Learning is scaffolded to support all children to achieve their best.

Memory Tasks

At the start of lessons memory tasks are used to enable children to retrieve prior knowledge.

IMPACT - What is the impact of fulfilling our dream?

Through offering a range of enrichment activities, we enhance the curriculum further. Examples are below:

During the school day

After school clubs and events

  • Visiting speakers
  • Educational visits
  • Bikeability
  • Sporting events and fixtures with other schools
  • Music lessons
  • Supporting charities e.g. Mansfield Mind, YMCA, Children in Need
  • Residential visits

 

  • Journalist club
  • Choir
  • Football
  • Cookery
  • Sewing
  • Athletics
  • Tennis
  • Dance
  • Gardening
  • Maths and Phonics Clubs
  • Homework Club
  • Extended Drama opportunities 
  • Opportunities to support our national teams, such as visits to Wembley Stadium