At Drayton Community Infant School, we deliver a broad and balanced curriculum which encourages the children to have enquiring minds and become independent learners. We believe that our curriculum: 

• Develops inquisitive minds, a spirit of curiosity and a passion for learning 
• Equip the children with the skills to fully participate in an ever-changing world 
• Teach children to be respectful and productive members of the community 
• Have high expectations and self- belief to enable them to fulfil their potential 
• Encourage children to reflect on their learning and seek to extend themselves mentally, physically and spiritually 
• Teach children to persevere and learn from their mistakes 
• Encourage an understanding and respect for the environment 
• Celebrates our diverse society and celebrates differences 
• Empower children to have courage and confidence to take calculated risks 

We achieve this by providing a highly inclusive creative curriculum which enables the children to succeed in a happy and safe environment. All staff work together effectively to plan and deliver a curriculum that meets the needs of all children and follows the National Curriculum. Our curriculum is rich, purposeful and challenging for all children. Our learning environments develop creative and independent learners who are motivated, resilient and focused. 

The curriculum itself covers a wide range of subjects and provides opportunities for academic, technical, creative and sporting excellence. We plan topics using the texts from Power of Reading which are chosen to capture the interests and imaginations of our children. We make sure we know children’s abilities and interests well so that we can help them make as much progress as possible in all areas. Long term plans are made at the start of each year to ensure the requirements of the National Curriculum will be met, but the detail may change or develop as topics grow from children’s interests and enthusiasms. 

We enable Skills-based learning to be developed by linking subjects such as history, geography, art, design technology and music to the topic being studied which allows the children to make purposeful connections in their learning. We use every opportunity to involve reading, writing, maths, science and computing. 

Themed Weeks / Days 

Throughout the year, we plan fun, creative and exciting themed days/weeks which are woven into the curriculum to extend the breadth and balance of opportunities we offer our children. These include weeks such as Health and Wellbeing Week and Science week. 

Visits and visitors 

Educational visits and visitors to the School are essential elements of the wider curriculum. They provide memorable experiences and rich opportunities for learning, for wider personal development and well-being. Due to Covid-19 we have limited our visitors into school, and we have not been on any school trips during the outbreak. However, our most recent destinations Pre-Covid include Norwich Cathedral, Norwich Theatre Royal, Gressenhall and Norwich Castle.  

Clubs/Extra Curricula Activities 

Clubs can extend and enrich children’s learning but can also engage more reluctant learners. Staff help to run clubs and activities at some point during the year and outside providers are also used to extend opportunities as much as possible. The clubs that we currently run are Acorn Club, Arts club (Autumn 2) and Running club (Autumn 2). Throughout the year these clubs change to broaden the opportunity to learn different skills. 

Home Learning 

We use Seesaw for KS1 and Tapestry in EYFS to facilitate a home school link.  

In Key Stage 1 (Year 1 and 2) at the beginning of the term children are sent home a knowledge organiser, which introduces the children and parents to the new Topic being taught in school. You can find these on the Key Stage One Overview page on the Curriculum tab. In addition to this termly home learning projects are set to immerse the children in the new topic being taught. Alongside this in Year 2 weekly tasks are set on Seesaw to embed and consolidate learning in class. 

One of our main focuses at DCIS is reading and promoting a love of reading. Parents/carers, are expected to help and support us by giving their children the chance to practice or share reading with them, at home, at least three times a week. Reading records and books are checked carefully by teachers once a week.  

If you would like any further information relating to our curriculum, please speak to your child’s teacher. We also hold subject meetings throughout the year to inform parents/carers how you can support your child at home.  

Further Links 

The National Curriculum for England
www.gov.uk/government/collections/national-curriculum 

Useful Information for Primary School Parents
www.theschoolrun.com/primary-national-curriculum-2014