The Templars Way - Curriculum Intent

We want our children to know how it feels to belong.

 We want them to belong to Templars Primary School, to belong to their community and belong to the wider world of opportunity. The Templars’ Tailored Curriculum has been carefully crafted to make our school a place of belonging - complementary to our commitments to rigorous safeguarding, restorative behaviour practices and to our core values of care, respect and honesty.

Welcomed into our place of learning, our pupils can feel confident that they will belong, fit in and are safe in their identity.  Our curriculum takes every opportunity to relate firstly to their immediate locality of Tile Hill and Coventry. Every child, every day will be given every chance to ask, “How does what, and who I am learning about, relate to me and where I belong?”  Through subject disciplines children learn that they are part of wider communities – of authors, geographers, historians and engineers, of mathematicians, linguists and scientists - selected to provide the diversity to inspire every child. As each child makes progress though the curriculum the geographical lens widens to explore the wider world of boundless promise and opportunity.

Carefully selected teaching pedagogy ensures that all children, regardless of their differences, know that Templars is the place where they can contribute, where they can be heard, where they belong; every child, every day, every chance.

The Templars Way - Curriculum Implementation

The Templars Tailored Curriculum is a knowledge-rich curriculum; we plan carefully what we want our children to know and how we ensure they remember it. It is our mission to harness the innate talents of our children, take them beyond their everyday experiences and give them the empowering knowledge that unlocks doors, providing a foundation for future success, reaching deep understanding and creativity. 

Knowledge through teaching.

Themes are taught through subject lessons and each lesson locates the learning within the subject discipline.

Curriculum Intent Documents for each subject have been collaboratively created by subject co-ordinators, informed teachers and SLT who regularly review a list of knowledge, the memorising of which will provide a foundation for grasping a subject.

Knowledge organisers in most subject areas are a useful tool to support children and parents with the bare minimum of facts and vocabulary for a theme.

Learning to Learn Weeks

Four weeks per year, following the Autumn half terms and the first Spring and Summer terms, are dedicated to Learning to Learn.  During these weeks, teachers address the needs of Templars pupils by:

• Creating a calm, collaborative classroom environment
• Teaching children to safeguard themselves through Protective Behaviour work
• Teaching, through practice, whole-school Templar’s Relentless Routines
• Reinforcing Templars ethos, rules and values
• Teaching behaviour expectations
• Promoting Templars reading culture
• Setting the culture and boundaries of PSHE routines
• Setting expectations for presentation in books including handwriting
• Conducting a range of AFL activities to inform planning of topics in response to need and interests of class, including a Knowledge Harvest
• Teaching of some Maths objectives to allow for effective retrieval practice throughout the year
• Teaching Learning Behaviours and Templars Language for Learning

Timetables, planning and particular foci are prepared by SLT in advance and made available on Sharepoint.

Curriculum Relentless Routines

Each theme is implemented through a framework as follows:

Provisional Planning: Initial review of Curriculum Intent Document for each subject for each theme in advance of term beginning, to address the needs of teachers by:

• to become familiar with subject knowledge and skills of theme
• to identify the key vocabulary of the theme
• to identify their own subject knowledge needs
• to share initial ideas of teaching pedagogies, visits and visitors (at least one per theme)

The Knowledge Harvest: a motivating stimulus which empowers learners to realise they already know many things. It must be used during Learning to Learn Week prior to a theme start to provide a baseline. It may be returned to in the last week of the first term and finally in assessment week at the end of a theme for spaced learning, to make connections and stimulate new questions.

Pre-Learning Tasks ensure that learners are directly involved in the planning process. Well planned pre-learning tasks should help to bring out what learners already know; what misconceptions they may have and what really interests them.

Teachers should take account of the outcomes from pre-learning tasks to plan the major area of study. It should help teachers recognise which knowledge and transferable skills learners have already developed that could be used to initiate new learning with a level of confidence.

Pre-Learning tasks take place in Learning to Learn weeks and can take a variety of forms. Sharing pre-learning tasks helps to get parents and carers directly involved in their children’s learning, alongside a topic web which is sent out in the first week of a new topic & knowledge organiser for each subject made available on the school website.

Return to Knowledge Harvest as a Mid-Theme formative assessment

• Provides an opportunity for spaced retrieval practice
• Provides a check for the teacher, and the pupil, on progress
•  May locate misconceptions for remedy
• To inspire new pupil led questions and lines of enquiry

Return to Knowledge Harvest at End of Theme assessment of learning

• To integrate assessment and learning by:                    
• Providing an opportunity for spaced retrieval practice
• Consolidating learning by applying knowledge in new situation
• Demonstrating progress
• Evidencing achievement for purposes of accountability

Spark Day:  An immersive day to spark curiosity creating a culture of wonder and enquiry at the beginning of a theme following Learning to Learn week Aut1, Spr1 and Sum1.

Teachers model being ‘experts of wondering’ (knowledge comes later!) in order to engage learners and ignite a passion for further knowledge, enabling pupils to make connections with prior learning and stimulate new questions. The aim is to make these days a rich starting point for forthcoming work as well as a memorable experience for all children.

Spark days are integral to improving the learning behaviours of Templars pupils and designed to ensure that learners are immediately ‘hooked’ by the new topic. Activities are designed and delivered to create a powerful stimulus that immediately grabs the learner. Finally, Spark days are a further pre-learning task to help to bring out what learners already know; what misconceptions they may have and what really interests them.

Teaching and Learning: Continuity and progression in the curriculum is built around Curriculum Intent documents within subject disciplines, broken into year group expectations. This guarantees that the learners’ essential knowledge and skills are being developed, alongside National Curriculum requirements (where appropriate), whilst allowing teachers a great deal of autonomy in teaching pedagogy.

Links are made with other subjects where applicable and in addition, there is an expectation that teachers apply English, Mathematics and Computing  skills where it is appropriate to do so.

Research underpins Templars teaching and learning: principally Cognitive Load Theory, Spaced Retrieval Practice, Rosenshine’s Principles of Instruction and Dual Coding but teacher autonomy is encouraged in lesson delivery

All subject disciplines are expected to be taught over the course of a term but lessons may be blocked if preferred

Knowledge Organisers, topic webs and homework ideas ensure expectations are shared with parents and carers every half term

Topics are termly – this allows for slower, deeper learning and greater flexibility to embrace a wealth of non-topic and national initiatives such as National nursery rhyme week, World Book Day, charity days, Human Rights day etc. often linked to British Values and SMSC teaching.

Assemblies are integral to the teaching of SMSC and British Values (see rota)

Theme Development

Lessons have three main teaching purposes and involve a blend of teaching pedagogy, appropriate to each subject:

• Knowledge: The need for a strong knowledge base; the cultural capital that we accrue from vertical transmission; the things that we all must know to function in the modern world. (Call and response, quizzing, deliberate practice)
• Fluency: The need to question, debate and discuss ideas; to form our own opinions and to have authentic experiences; to value the processes by which we learn for the way they can help build our character. (Interleaving, deliberate and spaced learning)
• Depth: The need to be able to communicate our ideas and knowledge in a variety of forms; to create and perform with confidence and flair.

Boost Day:  During the week following Learning to Learn Aut 2, Spr2 and Sum 2 this is a repeat of Spark Day – an immersive, inspirational day of thematic experiential learning to reignite learning in the theme.

Assessment Week:  This is a review and reflection week to provide a further recall opportunity for learners and to             strengthen long term memory and to strengthen teacher assessment and confidence in assessment

• White Rose assessments in maths
• Reading Detectives assessments
• Review of Extended Writes
• Double Page Spreads of Science and/or Humanities topics
• Class quizzes
• Return to Knowledge Harvests
• N.B. These assessments take place following data submission as a supplement to teacher assessment thus avoiding ‘teaching to the test’ and narrowing curriculum. Target Tracker strands may be adjusted as a result in time for future summative assessment. 

Be Our Guest Event: In the penultimate or last week of Aut2, Spr2 and Sum2 this is a celebration of learning involving parents and carers and at least once a year to include the wider community.

This aim is to allow pupils the opportunity to recall and reflect on their learning, reinforcing knowledge and vocabulary and to develop a sense of pride and achievement in learning.

These events are integral to improving the learning behaviours of Templars pupils and in addressing school priorities of character development, self-confidence, pride in achievement and commitment to learning.

Days ensure that learners have an opportunity to recall and reflect on their learning as they prepare for the event.

Events provide an opportunity for pupils to develop communication and presentation skills with a real purpose including engaging the wider community.

Extra-Curricular Clubs

We offer an extensive range of free clubs including a comprehensive range of sporting activities – football, cricket, tennis, swimming, rugby, netball, rounders, athletics, dance. We also offer Musical Theatre, Coding, Cookery, STEM, Young Engineers, Nature Study, Crafts, Art, Chess, Polish and many more. Children are canvassed to ensure that the school provides an appealing choice of clubs. We want all children to have had the experience of belonging to a club.

Trips and Visitors for 23-24 (so far!)

SMSC and British Values

The fundamental British values of: democracy; the rule of law; individual liberty and mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs are prioritised at Templars Primary School as are key elements of Britain’s culture, history and society.

The concept of belonging underpins our school aims and ethos, motto and curriculum intent reflecting our commitment to developing the self-knowledge, self-esteem and self-confidence of our pupils in a way which goes way beyond PSHE lessons. The three school values of Care, Respect and Honesty underpin our restorative approach to behaviour and anti-bullying approach which unequivocally encourage pupils to accept responsibility for their behaviour. Furthermore, the Templars No Outsiders Statement – written by our pupil anti-bullying ambassadors- reflects our commitment to all British values.  

The School Council, Pupil School Improvement Team, Anti-Bullying Ambassador scheme, Digital Leaders and PE Leadership programme enable pupils to show initiative and to understand how they can contribute positively to the life of the school. These positions are highly sought after and are applied for through a fair and democratic application process. An excellent mentoring programme involving all members of staff is embedded to support our most vulnerable learners and their families.

Pupils and staff also take part in a range of initiatives to improve the lives of those living and working in the locality of the school and to society more widely. Activities in recent years include an annual community ‘Be Our Guest’ events to showcase our learning; litter picks at Coventry Cathedral; Macmillan Coffee morning; Christmas carols at local care homes; supported work placements for pupils from our neighbouring Hereward College and a host of other examples. Please visit our Community Tab which is maintained by our leader for Parental Engagement and Community Liaison.

Pupils are positively prepared for life in modern Britain following their immersion in our unique curriculum which has been created in a completely collaborative exercise involving all stakeholders including Templar’s Junior Leadership Team who have written the Curriculum Subject Locators which are routinely referred to in lessons.

RE and PSHE are prioritised in our school timetables but the teaching of values and SMSC education permeates all subjects at Templars. Subject leaders have annotated curriculum intent documents for each subject to remind teachers of opportunities to explicitly refer to British values within knowledge statements. For example:

Year 5 (RE)

To know that the freedom to choose and hold other faiths and beliefs is protected in law

Year 6 (PSHE/History)

To know that the law of the land is different to a religious law 

Many examples of how British values are embedded in the curriculum can be found in year group pages and curriculum introductions. ‘Carefully selected teaching pedagogy ensures that all children, regardless of their differences, know that Templars is the place where they can contribute, where they can be heard, where they belong; Every child, every day, every chance.’ Curriculum leaders regularly revise documents, most recently for diversity, for example reading resources have been updated and refreshed with aim of all of our pupils being able to see themselves and each other reflected in texts.

Flexible long term planning allows Templars to include a number of whole-school initiatives to reflect British values and cultural heritage and to celebrate different cultural traditions to enable pupils to acquire an appreciation of and respect for their own and other cultures.

Educational trips have been carefully selected to provide exposure to a range of cultural experiences linked to pupil’s learning reflecting both British heritage and diversity including a castle, stately home, pantomime, fort, farm, zoo, the seaside, camping, a refugee restaurant. Visitors too are selected with particular reference to cultural capital, diversity and SMSC links including the regular visits from the police, our MP and local Magistrates.

Our exciting but balanced approach to RE, is more than supplemented by a rounded assembly programme covering PSHE themed assemblies,  our No-Outsiders agenda, a celebration of a range of cultural and religious festivals from a variety of religious and non-religious choices and a responsive mix of current affairs.

Finally, British values are evident at Templars through many of our policies particularly on safeguarding, equalities and governance and in our transparent and accountable recruitment processes. Actively promoting British Values also means challenging pupils, staff or parents and visitors to the school who are expressing opinions contrary to fundamental British Values, including ‘extremist’ views. The deputy headteacher is the designated member of staff - please refer to Templars Guidance for Radicalisation and Extremism available on request. 

Inclusion

Teachers set high expectations for all pupils. Appropriate assessment informs ambitious targets and the planning of challenging work for all groups. A range of teaching pedagogy has been specifically selected and training provided so that teachers plan lessons to support pupils with SEN and/or disabilities study every National Curriculum subject, wherever possible, and that there are no barriers to every pupil achieving. Teachers also take account of the needs of pupils whose first language is not English and/or speech and language deficits. Lessons are planned so that teaching opportunities help pupils to develop their English, and to support pupils to take part in all subjects.

Please see our curriculum policy, subject pages and year group pages for further information.