Curriculum

At Myatt Garden, we want all of our children to enjoy and excel. With this in mind, we have developed a curriculum that:

provides rich and meaningful learning experiences to engage children in their learning;
values creativity and critical thinking;
teaches key skills and knowledge through carefully sequenced lessons, allowing children to build on previous learning;
enables children to be active learners and learn by doing;
promotes the development of strong interpersonal skills.

Developing effective learning skills is at the heart of our curriculum and is introduced in the Early Years, through our Learning Zoo.

Children are then introduced to Growth Mindsets, and characteristics such as resilience, perseverance, reflection and effort are developed throughout the school. We never say, "I can’t do it" but we might say "I can’t do it YET".

We recognise that every child is unique and we celebrate the differences within our school community. We have only three school rules: Ready, Respectful, Safe. Through our teaching, learning and behaviour expectations, we give children the knowledge and understanding of how discrimination, racism and prejudice impact on others.

Curriculum Intent

We provide a rich, relevant and engaging curriculum, to ensure our children:

are ready to make the most of every opportunity offered in secondary school;
are challenged to achieve the very best they can and make progress in line with, or above, national expectations;
develop the characteristics of effective learners, such as curiosity, resilience, perseverance and cooperation, to enable them to be lifelong learners;
develop a strong sense of self, a sense of moral purpose and a respect for others;
grow into confident and responsible young people who can shape their own views and explain their opinions.

Implementation

We do this by:

ensuring clear progression, through a carefully sequenced curriculum;
providing context and purpose in our curriculum content, underpinned with specific knowledge and skills;
providing extensive enrichment opportunities such as trips, visitors, aspiration assemblies and school clubs;
teaching through topic themes where children have a context for their learning and are able to develop a deeper understanding;
teaching some subjects discretely;
allowing for flexibility within the curriculum, to respond to the interests and needs of children and in response to teacher feedback;
giving children the opportunity to take risks, both within the classroom and in the playground;
employing specialist teachers for PE and music.

Curriculum Impact

We measure the impact of our curriculum by:

reflecting on the standards achieved against planned outcomes;
celebrating the learning at the end of each topic, where children demonstrate the knowledge they have gained;
sampling children's learning across the school to demonstrate learning;
listening to the children’s voices, through our curriculum council;
annual tracking of standards across the curriculum and benchmarking against national and Local Authority standards;
identifying and addressing barriers to learning of individuals and groups, through pupil progress reviews.