The Waterfield Curriculum

Waterfield Primary’s curriculum is designed to engage learners through a wide breadth of study; developing fluent and semantic knowledge that enables all children to be confident learners, ready for their next stage of education and who will ultimately take their place in society as successful global citizens of tomorrow.

Curriculum Aim – Our Intent 

Through consultation with our school community the aims of children undertaking the Waterfield Curriculum journey includes for them:

  • To become enquiring learners, who obtain the knowledge and skills they require to access the next stages of education both in school and in later life.
  • To find happiness and joy in their learning, understanding that learning occurs through a wide variety of experiences and contexts, which require dedication, growing independence and resilience.
  • To become productive British, global and digital citizens who understand the world around them, who celebrate differences and who embrace the world’s ever evolving culture.
  • To be safe in the knowledge that as part of The Collegiate Trust we will all work together to deliver exceptional education where our high expectations are exemplified through the ‘Waterfield Community Values’ of showing kindness, respect and a hardworking attitude.

The principles underlying Waterfield’s curriculum align with those of The Collegiate Trust. The TCT Curriculum Principles are central to our vision of improving the life chances of young people by delivering an exceptional education for all in a nurturing learning environment which leads them to excellent academic outcomes and happy and successful futures. To deliver this our schools share a common belief that this comprises: 

  • academic rigour  
  • creative and cultural learning  
  • development of skills and qualities  

This vision is embedded deeply in our shared commitment to thoughtful curriculum design. We strive to give every pupil the knowledge, skills and experiences they need to succeed academically and thrive as confident, compassionate individuals in an ever-changing world. 

 

Curriculum Design 

Taking the National Curriculum as our starting point, we exceed the ambitions of this by building our curriculum around the following principles:  

  1. Entitlement – No matter which classroom or school pupils are in, at The Collegiate Trust they will receive their entitlement to a high-quality, ambitious, and coherent curriculum. 
  2. Inclusion – We aim to bring all pupils into an ambitious and inclusive curriculum, where the full breadth and depth is made accessible to all, regardless of gender, race, religion, culture and belief, disability, socio-economic background and starting point  
  3. Representation – Our curriculum reflects the diversity of the world we live in and promotes a sense of identity, belonging, respect and empathy that takes pupils beyond their immediate world 
  4. Mastery – All pupils achieve a deep, secure and lasting understanding of the essential knowledge and skills they need to be successful. Careful sequencing of threshold concepts and skills means that they can build on foundational knowledge with confidence and make meaningful connections. 
  5. Relevance – Our curriculum evolves with the changing world to prepare pupils for life in a dynamic, interconnected world. 
  6. Personal Development & Character – Through an intellectually rich curriculum and enriching experiences, we develop pupils’ curiosity, confidence and character, foster a lifelong love of learning, and support their wider development 

 

Waterfield’s curriculum has been coherently planned to sequence concepts in all curriculum areas that enable children to progress. Children access key concepts and skills to develop their knowledge, skills and understanding as historians, geographers, artists, scientists etc.

Waterfield Primary’s ambitious curriculum has been specifically designed to enable children to re-visit and embed skills, knowledge and themes throughout their time at our school. The sequentially planned learning journey from Early Year to 6 allows children to apply what they have remembered into to the next stage of their learning, deepening their understanding and strengthening learning skills to support children to become life-long learners.

Each individual learning episode and experience intertwines and knits together to form knowledge… as this knowledge is learnt and remembered it can then be applied, thus building the process of ‘Learning’.

Clear end-points have been set at each year level to ensure that all children are able to progress and demonstrate their understanding, allowing for them to be ready for the next stage of learning.

 

We believe that the development and refinement of effective curriculum is never complete and should never be done in isolation. It requires a collaborative approach where subject communities, made up of educators with diverse experiences and expertise, play a crucial role in shaping an ambitious and evolving curriculum.  The Collegiate Trusts Subject Professional Networks bring together and capitalise on expertise across, and outside of, our schools. Colleagues actively engage in subject discourse so that curriculum design is led by deep thinking and a shared purpose to ensure that development remains responsive to the evolving needs of pupils and the broader social context. 

Curriculum Breadth – Waterfield Vehicles for Learning

Underpinned by progressive knowledge, skills and understanding in reading, writing and mathematics, Waterfield has taken an ambitious approach to creating interesting and relevant ‘Vehicles for Learning’. Our ‘Vehicles for Learning’, often titled with a ‘Big Question’, comprise of the British National Curriculum subjects, high quality texts, classroom behaviours, environments and encompass all the wider opportunities the children experience each term. This allows teachers and children to realise the learning opportunities in every interaction, experience and aspect of the school day the children encounter.

Drawing upon our unique locality near the Millpond and Gatwick, Waterfield children explore themes, ideas and questions that build upon their cultural capital and embrace a global outlook. Revisiting these key themes, children deepen their learning through advancing vocabulary, knowledge retrieval and a broadening understanding of the world in the past, present and future. Waterfield has worked hard to ensure that our curriculum is personal and responsive to the needs of our children, in their own context, drawing on our locality and reflecting the world of today.

Our Vehicles for Learning include a wide range of subjects and disciplines, with effort made to ensure high quality literary texts and key facts underpin the children’s journey at every stage. Each Vehicle for Learning enables the children to experience an engaging ‘launch activity’. Central academic subjects are supported through an emphasis on the Arts, which are used to broaden children’s experiences and to inspire them. Parents are encouraged to share and celebrate their children’s learning from each ‘Vehicle for Learning’ at open afternoons.

Underpinning Waterfield’s curriculum is our firm belief in everybody ‘Aiming high and Achieving their Best’ through showing kindness, respect and applying a hardworking attitude.