Curriculum Intent Statement
Historically, Norton Junior School had a rich and varied curriculum that was cross curricular in design and high impact in provision and outcome. Despite this, we felt there was more we could do to make learning more relevant and engaging so we began to move towards learning that had a place in society and meaning to the pupils also. Through our partnership working with XP over the past academic year, we are developing our own 3D curriculum based on the guiding principles below… We are currently in transitional phase but we are working hard to ensure learning is only enhanced by this move and is in no way inhibited. In reality, we have seen children excel in terms of engagement and outcomes and we look forward to achieving a level of mastery that is something of which we can become incredibly hard.
Below is what we are working towards in terms of a curriculum offer and intent statement:
Curriculum Intent 2020
The curriculum at NJS is three dimensional. In short, our students achieve academic success which is enhanced through character growth and is expressed through the beautiful work they produce.
Our curriculum is standards based and academically rigorous.
Much of our curriculum is taught through cross curricular learning expeditions that are multi disciplinary and wide reaching in their connectivity, contextualisation and relevance.
This is evidenced through our sequenced Progress Mapping that outlines the subject specific knowledge and skills that are needed for students to access a progressively demanding curriculum thereby achieving academic success.
From these Progress Maps we meticulously track, in our Standards Maps, subject specific standards. Through this tracking we evaluate how deeply we have engaged with subject standards and identifying any areas that we need to consider in future planning.
The sequence of our curriculum is apparent in our Curriculum Maps that we have for each Year Group. These individual maps allow us to build on highly successful expeditions whilst allowing flexibility and creativity to respond to new opportunities. They also allow us to plan carefully for, and consider deeply, progression.
We formally review each expedition through our Expedition Review process. We rigorously assess the quality of provision in terms of challenge, the acquisition and progression of subject knowledge and skills, the connection of the learning to the world and the academic outcomes achieved by learners. This process allows us to iterate each learning experience by recommending changes and consolidating success.
As a result of these processes, our curriculum is carefully crafted to be coherent, broad and rich.
The synthesis of subjects in learning expeditions does not diminish subject integrity. On the contrary, we believe it enhances subject understanding and, because of the authenticity of learning experiences and the clear relationships and connections between subjects, deepens retention of subject knowledge, understanding and application. We are cognisant of the need to progressively build subject expertise that is not solely based on statutory assessment objectives as we believe this creates a curriculum that is narrow and poor rather than rich and broad.
Remember, we empower our students to act and impact on the world around them. This is built on the ‘powerful knowledge’ we plan into expeditions to ensure student agency and social equity. We want our kids to make their world a better place!
Our students engage in learning that is made public to heighten accountability. This is manifest in the outward facing work they create which always has a public audience.
Because student work is relevant, purposeful and authentic, this encourages students to craft their best work and grow their character. Our approach encourages the development of socially responsible citizens who care about each other and understand their agency for positive change in the world.
Our curriculum is designed to have a positive and enduring impact not only on our students but on the local community and the wider world.
