Our Curriculum:

its intent and purpose

'Growing together with God's love to bring hope to the world'

We want our children to love learning as much as we love learning. That’s why we are here. As a church school, rooted in God’s love and respect for Christian values, we want the young people of Hope Brook to learn and flourish as inquisitive individuals prepared for life in the world – today and in the future.

Core Principles

We want our children to be inspired by our well planned curriculum that is designed to deepen their understanding and broaden their perspective on life.

• We want our children to deepen their learning through a curriculum that builds on the skills and knowledge they already have
• We have high expectations of all our children to achieve the best they can in the knowledge that achieving the expected standard is the best preparation for the next stage of learning
• We want our children to have high expectations of themselves to become independent, curious and inquisitive learners
• We want our children to learn from the past to inform their future
• We want our children to value the ‘arts’ and have the opportunity to share and demonstrate their skills

In recognition that we live in a small rural community,

• We want our children to have the opportunity to extend their experiences of life and their knowledge of the UK and the world as part of a global community
• We want our children to have high aspirations, recognising the possibilities, the value and the challenges of living in a rural community

In recognition of the challenges facing young people,

• We want our children to value having a healthy mind and body
• We want our pupils to demonstrate self-confidence, know how to have a ‘voice’ and, respect themselves as much as they respect others, recognise the importance of self-worth, and understand how to maintain their own well-being
• We want our pupils to be prepared for a world where rapidly changing technology is the norm

At Hope Brook our curriculum starting point is the Primary National Curriculum (core and foundation subjects) and the Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum (for our pre-school and YR). These objectives are combined with our core principles to develop carefully planned termly topics. Our curriculum is carefully designed to ensure all our children achieve their full potential, are respectful, have healthy bodies and healthy minds, and are well prepared for the next stages of their education and their adult life.

We prioritise success in reading, writing, spelling, grammar, science and mathematical understanding, together with confidence in the use of I.T. However, we pride ourselves on our ability to balance this with a broad and enriched curriculum that allows our children ample opportunities to explore art, D.T., music, history, geography, R.E. and French.

Active learning

Sport is a key element of our curriculum and all types of physical activities are given a high priority in all year groups. We encourage physical activity throughout the day, through our playtimes, our daily mile sessions, within PE lessons and through our programme of outdoor learning. We want all our children to be physically fit and have enjoyed many successes at sporting competitions.

Outdoor learning activities are carefully planned across the school. Our younger children experience weekly activities that range from seasonal walks around the local village to creative natural art. Children can be found making dens, exploring scientific concepts or cooking at our fire pit. These sessions are the perfect opportunity for children to develop their creativity, team work, decision making skills and their ability to assess risks.

Our PSHE curriculum has been developed to ensure all our children have the skills they need to be a successful member of both our school community and our modern British society. Alongside this, and underpinning everything we do, is our commitment to supporting our pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.

The structured curriculum 

All teachers work together to plan the year’s curriculum, using the National Curriculum’s programmes of study. Wherever possible, units of work are enhanced by experiential learning opportunities to allow our pupils to explore their learning. Trips outside of school are a way we can enrich our children’s learning opportunities, giving even more depth and value to the experiences they receive in their classrooms. They maintain the motivation to learn and also support the children in retaining even more knowledge. Our planned trips include visits to Cotswold Wildlife Park, Pizza Express, We the Curious, Weston Beach, Soudley Castle and London. In Year 4 and Year 6, children are offered the chance to go on a residential trip. Year 4 venture to TRAC outdoor activity centre and Year 5 and 6 venture to the PGL outward bound activity centre on the Isle of Wight. These trips have a huge impact on the social and emotional development of our children and help them to build their skills of resilience, team building and, at the same time, make lasting memories!

Enriching our learning

We like to offer our children a wide variety of learning opportunities – which might last for a day or a week. Examples include French week, School Environment Week, Arts Week, Reading for Pleasure Week and World Book Day.

Every class will experience whole class music tuition at some point during their time at Hope Brook. So far, we have experienced lessons using percussion instruments, brass and ukuleles.

We want our children to understand the challenges faced by some communities, both in the UK and in other parts of the world. As well as teaching them about these challenges, we embrace opportunities to support charitable work through such events as Children in Need and Sport Relief.

Our local area

We are proud to be part of a village community. We have good links with various groups in the village and aim to support any opportunities that are available in the village. We value the close links we have with our local church – All Saints. Our vicar is a regular visitor at school. She visits at least once a week to keep up with the pupil’s achievements and to find out what is going on at the school. We hold regular services at the church, such as Harvest and Easter, and the choir contribute to some of the family services. Our children visit the church many times during their time at Hope Brook, to investigate the building, its surroundings and to become familiar with activities that take place within this historic building that is such a key feature of our village.

All of the above contribute to our whole school curriculum and together, give our children an exciting and inspiring start to their education. Our overarching intent ensures that our pupils are well equipped with knowledge, are confident creators and can make informed articulate decisions, which will prepare them for their journey ahead.