Living, Loving and Learning with God

Hurst Green Church of England School and Nursery Curriculum Statement

Christian Values and Ethos

The curriculum at Hurst Green is underpinned by our Distinctive Christian Values

We believe that every child has the right to ‘Live, Love and Learn with God’.

Forgiveness: To gain the skills to forgive each other and move on just as Jesus did.  We encourage making deliberate decisions that release feelings of resentment and allow progress in our relationships within school.

Perseverance: We support and educate our pupils and staff to help build their resilience and give them the tools and confidence to never give up and reach their full potential regardless of ability, background and circumstance.

Compassion: We respect everyone, showing empathy for all living things and value the qualities of each other.

Friendship: All members of the community at Hurst Green School have a sense of belonging and are given the opportunity to flourish, accept and embrace each other.

Wisdom: We aim to provide all children with a wide and rich curriculum that enables all children to succeed and help them to develop their unique talents.

Trust: To provide a safe environment where each child (and all members of the school community) knows how to keep themselves safe from harm and can name an adult in school they can talk to and share their concerns.

Curriculum Intent

At Hurst Green we are committed to providing a broad and balanced curriculum with breadth that allows all of our pupils to be able to achieve the following:

Secure development and achievement by:

• Providing opportunities for pupils personal development
• Allowing pupils to achieve their personal best
• Providing ‘first hand’ learning experiences

Preparing pupils for ‘life beyond Hurst Green’ by:

• Challenging, motivating, inspiring and leading to a lifelong interest in learning
• Preparing pupils for secondary school
• Providing opportunities to develop a local, national and global awareness

With our pupils wellbeing at the forefront we deliver a curriculum that fulfils all statutory requirements.  Teaching and learning opportunities are carefully planned to enable children to develop the necessary knowledge, understanding and skills to contribute successfully in the modern world.

Hurst Green is a village school with access to a wealth of stimulating learning opportunities including historical sites, countryside and woodland.  By taking children’s learning outside the classroom we aim for children to recognise, value and engage with the rich cultural heritage that surrounds them.  This ensures that children have access to rich first hand experiences that helps to bring learning to life.

We regard reading as an essential building block for learning across all subject areas.  Taught reading skills are embedded and applied across the curriculum through Learning Journey’s. The provision of quality rich texts, along with supportive teaching, immerse children in a wealth of literature.  It is crucial that children develop a strong vocabulary that enables them to articulate their opinions, academic understanding and emotions. Key vocabulary is mapped across the curriculum and opportunities to revisit and embed learnt vocabulary are planned for.

Our aim is for each child to confidently enter the next stage of their education with the necessary skills, knowledge and mindset to reach their academic and personal potential.

At Hurst Green C of E Primary we use the  National Curriculum for Years 1 to 6.  Children are assessed regularly by teachers in the classroom. These judgements are moderated by standardised tests.

The Foundation Stage Children (Nursery and Reception) follow the revised EYFS curriculum. This is made up of the three Prime areas of learning:

• Communication and language
• Physical development
• Personal, Social, and Emotional Development

And the four Specific areas of learning:

• Literacy
• Mathematics
• Understanding of the world
• Expressive arts and design

We aim to secure maximum progress of all children in every area of the curriculum. The pace of work will be different for each child, as a child’s progress is dependent on their understanding of each concept before the next step can be taken. Where it is needed, specialist help or advice will be offered by outside agencies including: Educational Psychology, Speech and Language Services, CAMHs, etc.

National Curriculum Guide for Parents

For more information concerning our curriculum please contact Miss Flack via the school office.