What is the Bromham Curriculum?

Bromham Primary School Curriculum Vision

Aim

'Building For The Future on Firm Foundations'

(Matthew 7: 24-27)

We believe that we recognise the unique potential of every child, so they should be able to have a curriculum that allows every child to access a full range of learning. We strive to build strong foundations for children in the different subjects, and by providing them with opportunities, they can with confidence aim high, so that they flourish.

What is the Bromham Curriculum?

All children at Bromham CofE Primary School are taught a curriculum which prepares them for successful secondary achievements including the most ambitious academic outcomes. Our lessons are designed to give all our pupils the knowledge which will empower them to understand and interpret the world and grow in God's love into informed and interested citizens of both their own and the wider community.

We recognise that the national curriculum 2014 at primary level, demands knowledge of dozens of topics and that content knowledge is the most important factor related to teacher effectiveness. We teach a Knowledge Rich curriculum which is supported by research, and offering class teachers an opportunity to engage in rich subject matter with cohesive learning questions and in some cases prepared, challenging and appropriate resources. A subject lead, in conjunction with the senior leader that oversees the curriculum, plans the intended curriculum, the resources, some materials and learning questions. We want our teachers to spend their time engaging pupils, explaining difficult concepts and where necessary scaffolding or adapting their explanations with skill and professionalism. We want our teachers to focus in their working day on the enacted curriculum.

The teachers of Bromham engage with research based on Sweller’s Cognitive load theory and Ebbinghaus forgetting curve, which supports the theory behind the design of our curriculum. We block units to ensure we revisit and retrieve information throughout the years in order to move information taught from their working memory to their long term memory, through designing ways to build schema to support their retention of key knowledge across the curriculum. The curriculum links theory from Rosenshine, 2012, principles of instruction. The teachers model and sequence new learning, to be able to return weekly, monthly and then yearly. They scaffold and guide learning, before checking for understanding. Some subjects use the power of dual coding through knowledge organisers and learning strips to support children’s retention and recall of information. We also focus on essential vocabulary and concepts. Vocabulary pages are used to draw attention to Tier 2 and 3 vocabulary covered throughout the curriculum.

We recognise that the curriculum development is a state of constant refinement and improvement and as such we constantly adapt it to ensure we are teaching the children the most ambitious curriculum. 

Role and Responsibilities

Overview of Curriculum Planning

Entitlement - Attributes

All subjects should have:

• A subject specific intent, impact and implementation statement
• A long term model of progression, which specifies content in each year group
• Intentional sequence of progression
• Lessons which explain and include the key aspects of cognitive science to ensure knowledge enters the long term memory. The development of teachers as experts explaining the lesson content.
• A range of texts used across the curriculum both fiction and non-fiction, which are appropriately matched to the year group.
• Specific vocabulary development which is introduced and developed through the course of the subject.
• Some subjects to have knowledge organisers and knowledge strips, which itemise and clarify the core content, through dual coding, which is expected to be learnt by the end of the unit of work.

At Bromham, we have designed a strategy to allow our curriculum to be developed, sequenced and delivered in a workable format, which allows teachers to design lessons to engage the children. We are working on subject development and subject leader responsibility with CPD to support, allowing for robust and careful sequencing of content which gives children multiple opportunities to revisit and embed important knowledge and concepts.

Curriculum     
Subject Planning

Teachers at Bromham CofE Primary School work together to create coherent overall high level aims of a curriculum – once pupils have learned the subject within these lessons they will have made progress. Once the high level aims have been mapped and challenged for coherence and appropriateness or relevance (in this respect meaning its part in the coherent journey of a subject across the school).

The subject lead provides knowledge organisers, learning strips, learning questions or sequence of lessons alongside an overview of the blocked units to enable teachers to focus on spending the vast majority of their time thinking about how to teach the lesson, ask questions and to ensure comprehension and retrieval of previously learned knowledge which links to this learning.

Specific CPD sessions are in place, so that we are continually reviewing the implementation of the curriculum and adapting where necessary as we go along.

The school is committed to continually improving the curriculum with an ambitious drive to create a coherent and academic curriculum for its pupils.

Timeline

Implementation of the curriculum quality assured through learning walks, book looks, pupil book studies and a cycle of CPD and development opportunities. The following timeline runs alongside the Curriculum Development Action Plan.

Year 19/20

• SLT worked on researching different opportunities to develop our curriculum.
• The Deputy Head Teacher worked with Alex Bedford from Unity Trust Schools Partnership to develop a curriculum overview for all foundation subjects.
• The school received CPD and is continuously working with Alex Bedford from CUSP, Herts for Learning consultants in Maths, Talk for Writing consultants and other specialist advisors. Ongoing throughout the years.
• Training and Implementation of Accelerated reader, Sounds Write training for all Key Stage 1 staff and Reading Lead. Working with Sounds Write trainers and CUSP CPD. Ongoing throughout all years.
• External CPD for all staff on developing the curriculum and how the lead the curriculum as a subject lead.
• Working with Peter Pan Teaching Alliance to develop Early Years Provision.
• New Foundation curriculum CPD with Deputy Head (research principles) and Alex Bedford
• All teachers to implement the Unity Trust planning in Geography, History and Science. KAPOW for computing, DT and Art.
• Teachers to use Curriculum Visions to enhance reading in foundation subjects.
• Teachers to be using the basis of spaced retrieval practice in lessons.
• Staff Meeting after two weeks and book looks to discuss
• Staff Meeting (March 2020) – continue to develop the implementation of the new planning documents.

Year 20/21

• Ongoing training with Herts for Learning, Talk for Writing, Pam Heath and other advisors to embed this. (ongoing throughout the year).
• Refresher training with Alex Bedford – continue working with Alex and Unity Partnership to develop the curriculum across the year.
• Curriculum Leaders to work with the Deputy Head to go through their subjects and produce action plans.
• Review the Curriculum Coverage and delivery – continue to develop as necessary.
• Book Looks and Learning Walks.

Year 21/22

• Ongoing training with Herts for Learning, Talk for Writing, Pam Heath and other advisors to embed this. (ongoing throughout the year).
• Pupil Book Study Training for all staff with Alex Bedford - continue working with him and the Unity Partnership to develop the curriculum across the year. 
• Curriculum Leadership support offered to all staff and five sessions delivered to specifically support teachers new to subject leadership. Increased SLT monitoring of subject leaders. 
• Advantage schools training sessions on backward planning, to improve the quality of substantive and disciplinary knowledge and reducing cognitive overload of information. 
• Book Looks and Learning Walks.
• New Assessment for all foundation subjects in place. 
• Website curriculum pages developed. 

Year 22/23

• Ongoing training with Herts for Learning, Talk for Writing, Pam Heath and other advisors to embed this. (ongoing throughout the year).
• Curriculum Leadership support offered to all staff and five sessions delivered to specifically support teachers new to subject leadership. Increased SLT monitoring of subject leaders. 
• Training on Retrieval within lessons through reading Kate Jones Book, and an online session with her.
• Book Looks and Learning Walks.
• EYFS CUSP investigated to be implemented fully in 23/24

 Year 23/24

• Ongoing training with Herts for Learning, Talk for Writing, and other advisors to embed this. (ongoing throughout the year).
• Subject Leader time increased frequency and spaced across the year.
• Subject Leadership Development training for all.
• Curriculum Leadership support plan in place.
• Book Looks and Learning Walks completed. 
• Subject files now online and subject leader conversations planned in to reduce workload and replace subject leader file checking
• New CUSP updates e.g. &iLearn 
• Fully implemented the new EYFS changes from CUSP

Autumn 2024

• Ongoing training with Herts for Learning, Talk for Writing, and other advisors to embed this. (ongoing throughout the year).
• Focus on Talk for Writing in all Staff Meetings; more leadership monitoring 
• External advisor Mark McCourt to visit and support with Maths development 
• All new staff Sounds Write Trained
• Support for new subject leads in Autumn Term
• New assessments for Foundation Subjects all in one place and a stricter monitoring schedule. 
• Book Looks and Learning Walks completed. 
• Train new staff on CUSP and introduce Base Slide Decks in Geography (potentially Science and History if successful.

Spring 2025

• Book Looks and Learning Walks completed. 
• Curriculum Conversations 

Summer 2025

• Pupil book studies, Book Looks and Learning walks to be completed in all subjects. 
• Next Year cycle of blocked units planned and revised.
• Agreed focus for 2025/26 academic year on curriculum developments.