O.U.R Curriculum Overview
As a Church of England school we are proud of our role in helping guide our children through their early educational journey as they develop a set of guiding principles which will help them as they move onto secondary school and beyond. We are a Christian community; happy, welcoming and caring and our children understand that mistakes are part of getting it right and sometimes you need to forgive and try again.
Olveston is a school where children have a love of learning, where expectations are high but more importantly every child and adult is valued as an individual; each recognised for their uniqueness. During their time with us, interests and talents will be developed. OUR curriculum (Olveston’s Unique Response) is underpinned by our six core values which are rooted in the Christian faith. However in a world of great cultural and faith diversity we want our children to understand and celebrate all similarities and differences. Our goal is that children leave us with ‘the roots of responsibility and the wings of independence’ – they will be empowered to live their own lives and have resilience to face a rapidly changing world.
To this end, OUR curriculum has been developed to ensure that alongside a secure foundation of knowledge and skills which will enable them to be lifelong learners, the children will leave us with:
Roots of Love
Wings of Independence
The Power Within
We achieve this through OUR Curriculum by creating:
- a sense of where they belong and how this fits into the wider world (character and identity)
- an understanding of their rights and responsibilities as citizens of the world (diversity and justice)
- an understanding of the idea that humans must interact with the environment in a way that ensures there will be enough resources left for future generations (sustainability) and
- an understanding of self and other. Underpinned with positive mental and physical well-being to live a fulfilled life. (spirituality)
- the ability to ask big questions, see the beautiful of the world around them and guided by their internal moral compass (spirituality and morality)
Our topics start with the child and what they know and then develop into a deeper and broader understanding of local, national and global perspectives. Every topic is carefully planned building on prior knowledge and understanding (metacognition). New ideas, concepts and important vocabulary are introduced in a timely and considered way to ensure we optimise learning potential.
Our Christian vision for our school is the key driver for how our highly successful curriculum, including our extra- curricular provision has been shaped. Our values are the vehicle for how we achieve our vision. Each of our curriculum areas is carefully designed to give our children a rich experience that develops their substantive (key subject knowledge) and disciplinary Knowledge (Subject ’skills’ – for example the skills a historian needs).
Weaved through the curriculum are OUR Golden Threads, which flow throughout the different subjects areas providing a rich tapestry of learning.
