Curriculum design

Our curriculum has been designed to ensure pupils converse with confidence, read with rigour and know and remember more about the world. We do this through prioritising language acquisition, vocabulary development and reading within every subject.

We ensure curriculum coherence and depth of learning through key threads, which are revisited every year from Nursery through to Year 6. Units complement these threads and run alongside the high quality, age-appropriate texts chosen to form our reading spine. Teachers know how the various pieces of our curriculum puzzle fit together across subject domains and over time, and are able to draw on this to deepen children's learning.

Our curriculum is led by the following principles:

Quality teaching every day: We prioritise teachers' ongoing development and foster a culture where teachers get to know every child extremely well, and so can provide tailored support as needed. We also promote a collaborative learning model where children teach and learn from each other as a way to develop their confidence and deepen their understanding. 

Reading at the heart of the curriculum: At Tindal we are passionate about reading, because we know that a child who excels in reading will excel across the whole curriculum. We strive to nurture lifelong readers who take pleasure in reading everything from literary classics to exciting new fiction and non-fiction works which inspire curiosity about the world.

Strong curriculum design: We provide a culturally rich and vibrant programme of learning. We continually establish links across topics to deepen understanding and give cohesion, and each subject contains carefully chosen skills, knowledge and vocabulary to expand children’s experience and thinking potential. In our lessons we provide both additional support to those in need of it and extra challenge to those who can be stretched further.

Enrichment and outdoor learning: We supplement our core curriculum with frequent local trips, workshops and visits. These culturally rich experiences enhance our children’s learning and make a marked difference once back in the classroom. We also endeavour to take learning outside and into nature as often as we can.

Our cultural values: These are threaded throughout our school life and revisited continuously. Through their promotion, pupils develop their confidence and resilience as they progress through school, take delight in challenge, and show kindness and respect to each other and the world around them.

Effective assessment provides vital information to improve teaching and learning outcomes. Our rigorous progress and target setting model supports this.

We provide children with regular feedback on their learning so that they understand what they need to do to improve, and our lesson plans are formed with a detailed knowledge of each pupil and their needs.

We also give parents/carers regular reports on their child’s progress so that teachers, children and parents/carers can all work together to raise the attainment of the child.