The curriculum at Bell Farm is balanced and broad, giving children the opportunity to acquire and master key skills and knowledge in core subjects such as English and maths whilst also developing skills, knowledge and understanding across the full range of subjects offered through the National Curriculum. It is primarily driven by the use of high quality texts, chosen through the Power of Reading Scheme. These texts are used to set the theme or topic for the term or half term during which they are used. Other subjects are then linked to this theme where appropriate, so lessons can be cross-curricular and learning is ‘joined up.’ We do not, however, make links between subjects unless they are clear and beneficial and we may teach some subjects in isolation from these themes, developing the necessary skills and knowledge without linking to the overall theme.
Two other key themes run through our curriculum – we follow a rights respecting ethos and as such children will learn about our Values of the Month and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of a Child, and we place a high value on outdoor learning, so learning will often take place outside of the classroom, with children developing a range of personal skills such as collaborative working and problem solving whilst also learning the skills and knowledge required in the specific subject.
Please look at our curriculum overviews to find out which objectives from the National Curriculum are taught in which year group. Knowing this will help you to gain a better understanding of what children are expected to have learned by the end of each year, and also help you to support your child at home by talking about what they are learning. We hope you find them useful.
Maths is presented separately by year group, English provides the objectives for the year in both reading and writing whilst all other subjects are broken down into half-termly objectives and the topics through which they are taught.
If you would like any further information about our curriculum, please do not hesitate to contact the school where your child’s class teacher or any member of the senior leadership team will be happy to help. If you currently do not have a child at Bell Farm but would like more information about our curriculum, please contact Miss Robbins on the ‘General Enquiries’ number at the top of this page and she will put you in contact with the with the best person to help you.
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