Curriculum Intent Statement
The Crescent is a school where we build on children’s learning with a curriculum full of relevant, inspiring and inclusive experiences. We nurture and challenge our children to believe and succeed. A child from The Crescent will leave Primary School equipped with skills and knowledge to succeed in the wider world.
We follow the International Primary Curriculum (IPC) made meaningful and relevant by harnessing the cultural opportunities our locality offers. We recognise that all children deserve the same life chances, particularly those who are disadvantaged and our curriculum is designed with a responsibility to build the cultural and intellectual capital of our children with a particular emphasis on language and vocabulary acquisition for all our children.
We know that children learn best when they want to learn. That's why all of the IPC's thematic units of learning are designed to appeal to children’s interests and help them to learn more about the world around them. Themes include Who Am I?, The Magic Toymaker, Buildings, Chocolate, Active Planet, Mission to Mars, and Time Tunnel.
Themed units help children to see how subjects are both independent and interdependent. This enables them to see the big picture of their learning, make connections across different subjects, and talk about a topic from multiple perspectives.
We value the importance of providing children with opportunities for enriching learning experiences which are part of their school experience. Our curriculum includes the ‘Pioneer Passport’ which we believe serves to purposefully close the experience and knowledge gap from home. We want children to be curious and excited by the awe and wonder of the world and we design our curriculum to infuse that excitement.
Our Key Stage One passport outlines seven activites to be completed by the age of seven (Seven by Seven), including visiting a farm, observing life cycles, creating a piece of art for an exhibition, building a den in a forest, and making a boat and floating it on a river.
Our Key Stage Two passport, which is eleven activities to be accomplished by the age of eleven (Eleven by Eleven), includes visiting a beach, castle, and art gallery, cooking a healthy meal, performing Shakespeare, learning a non-cirriculum sport, such as horse riding and visiting famous London landmarks.
We support all learners to realise their potential and strive to ensure that our curriculum will ignite their love of learning that will last them for life. We hope that children will have had the opportunity to discover and follow individual passions which they will continue to build on in their future.
By the time children leave us at the end of KS2 our children will be confident individuals who are actively and enthusiastically engaged on the journey to understanding how to contribute positively to their community and the wider society.
We encourage children to use our 6 school values- Responsibility, Kindness, Determination, Respect, Creativity and Honesty. Each of these have a weekly focus in whole school assemblies.
The International Primary Curriculum
You will find the programmes of study for each year group on their year group page but for more information about the IPC, head over to: https://fieldworkeducation.com/curriculums/primary-years
Character Education
Character Education is the wider personal development of a child beyond the academic education they receive in school. It aims to instil in pupils a number of key characteristics and values such as resilience, honesty, motivation and humility, all of which will help them in their adult lives.
What is character education at The Crescent?
Character education is about important life skills children need to learn for their spiritual, moral, social and cultural (SMSC) development. An important aspect of character education is the development of character traits, at The Crescent we focus on our six core values;
- respect
- determination
- kindness
- creativity
- responsibility
- honesty
Children will develop care and respect for themselves and others through Character Education. This important part of education is all about equipping children with skills that will set them up for successful adult lives.
Morals and values are key parts of character education. Children will learn about considering right and wrong, making informed decisions, exercising empathy, and reflecting on their thoughts and actions. These skills will help children consider:
- what role they play in their community
- how they can contribute to society
- how they belong in their community
Why is character education important?
Character education is important for many reasons. First and foremost, educating a child about character development is essential to improve their emotional wellbeing.
Character education also provides children with the best chance to be a successful adult, by equipping them with the skills to become a happy and productive member of society.
Furthermore, character education can help children become more successful academically. As stated by Ofsted in the Character Education Framework Guidance (November 2019):
‘Research suggests that there are enabling character traits which can improve educational attainment, engagement with school and attendance.’
Character education is, therefore, also important in terms of Ofsted inspections. Ofsted’s Character Education Framework Guidance is non-statutory, but all schools ‘have a statutory duty, as part of a broad and balanced curriculum, to promote the spiritual, moral, social and cultural (SMSC) development of pupils to prepare them for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of later life.’ Character education also forms part of Ofsted’s judgement of a school.
Contact Us
