Curriculum Rationale

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Whittle Curriculum – Introduction:

Our bespoke curriculum is tailor-made for children living in Coventry and Warwickshire.  It provides contextualised learning of key knowledge and skills, alongside opportunities to develop life skills, across a broad and balanced range of subjects. 

Our curriculum is designed to be:

and, above all:

Exciting – Engaging, motivating learning experiences for all our children.

Ambitious – Challenging and aspirational across all curriculum areas.

Relevant – An ‘up-to-date’ curriculum that has relevance locally, nationally and globally.

Memorable – So children remember important knowledge and skills ready for their next stage in life.

At the forefront of our approach is our strong belief that primary-age children should have real breadth and balance within their learning.  All children should have the opportunity to experience a range of subjects and activities, so that all can find their talent, passion and success.

Principles of the Whittle Curriculum:

  • Develops children’s knowledge and skills across a broad and balanced range of subjects/
  • Builds knowledge and skills coherently both within and across well-sequenced lessons, units, themes and years.
  • Identifies and explicitly teaches key vocabulary in context.
  • Includes every opportunity for reading and oracy development across curriculum areas.
  • Builds challenge across years through a combination of new and applied knowledge and skills.
  • Provides regular knowledge checks to activate prior learning and create connections.

Curriculum Organisation:

Characteristics of Effective Learning at Whittle:

Throughout all areas of the curriculum, in EYFS and Years 1-6, we develop characteristics of effective learning within provision and practice:

  • Playing and exploring – our children investigate and experience things and ‘have a go’
  • Active learning – our children concentrate and keep on trying if they encounter difficulties and enjoy achievements
  • Creating and thinking critically – our children have and develop their own ideas, make links between ideas, and develop strategies for doing things

Spiritual, moral, social and cultural development at Whittle:

The Whittle Curriculum provides daily opportunities for children’s spiritual, moral, social and cultural education. These are incorporated within planned lesson, assemblies and wider opportunities within the school day. Provision includes:

Spiritual Development Opportunities:

  • reflecting on faiths, beliefs, feelings and values
  • learning about themselves, others and the world around them
  • using imagination and creativity in their learning

Moral Development Opportunities:

  • understanding the consequences of behaviour in actions
  • recognising the difference between right and wrong
  • appreciating the viewpoints of others

Social Development Opportunities:

  • using a range of social skills in differing real-life contexts
  • co-operating with others
  • engaging with British Values

Cultural Development Opportunities:

  • understanding and appreciating their own heritage and that of others
  • understanding and respecting the range of different cultures locally, nationally and globally
  • participating in artistic, musical, sporting and cultural events