Our School Curriculum

Shebbear Community School Curriculum

At Shebbear, our school curriculum is central to all we do. We want to ensure that we have a focus on developing strong basic skills, not least reading. However, we also want the children to learn through a broad school curriculum to include the humanities, science, the arts and through physical activity. We think that a broad curriculum which is based on the acquisition of a wide variety of knowledge and skills will enable our children to develop cultural capital which will support them as they move to the next stage of their education and beyond.

When planning the curriculum, the school takes into account the needs of all our children including those with special educational needs and disabilities. Lessons can be adapted and modified to meet individual needs. Central to our curriculum planning is ensuring access and equality for all of our learners.

In developing our curriculum, we have taken into account our local circumstances. This means that some of the themes are particularly pertinent to our rural location and reflect the day to day experiences of our children. However, we are similarly mindful of our rural and more detached setting, so ensure the children have wide access to different experiences and exposure to different cultures, people and countries.

Our curriculum is planned to ensure that children develop their skills and knowledge over time. The statement on reading and phonics explains how we teach and develop this most important skill. All of our plans are based on the national Curriculum programmes of study and objectives. The only exception to this is our RE curriculum which is based on the Devon Agreed Syllabus. Our curriculum for subjects other than English and mathematics is based on a two year cycle. This takes in to account our mixed age classes and ensures that the children have a full coverage of different topics over time. The plans below show the curriculum overviews. Each teacher then produces half termly plans which sequence the lessons so the children can build their knowledge. In order to take account of differing ages in each class, the plans are backed by skills development documents which indicate appropriate outcomes for the end of each year group.