Our Curriculum

Values and purposes underpinning the curriculum of South Petherwin School

‘Learning Today to Change Tomorrow’ 

All members of this school community - children, teaching and support staff, parents, governors - are committed to:

Developing every child, equipping them to contribute positively to the future and striving to be the best they can be by:

  • establishing a ‘can do’ approach to life-long learning and embracing change,
  • encouraging children to be resilient, take risks and rise to a challenge,
  • promoting emotional wellbeing through a sustainable, healthy and well-managed lifestyle,
  • and respecting the environment.

Providing opportunities for all learners to fulfil their potential within a safe, secure and inspirational environment by:

  • establishing a culture of high expectation,
  • making learning fun,
  • and valuing all individuals for their contributions and successes,
  • appreciating that mistakes are a valuable part of the process of learning,
  • enabling children to learn more and remember more in a knowledge rich curriculum

Raising achievement through memorable wow moments, as a result of quality teaching and learning, underpinned by:

  • an irresistible cross-curricular broad, balanced and creative curriculum,
  • a rich vocabulary,
  • putting reading at the heart,
  • outdoor learning,
  • celebrating our local area and Cornish heritage,
  • and nurturing individual interests, gifts and talents.

Making kindness, tolerance, understanding, compassion and action for others a priority; taking responsibility to make the world a better place by:

  • recognising the need for everyone to apply their skills for the sake of others and establishing an outward looking culture of care,
  • embracing all within the wider community,
  • working in co-operative partnership with others, beyond the school walls to as far as we can reach,
  • and understanding of need, injustice and promoting inclusion for all.

Curriculum Design

  • Our curriculum logo is a rocket, representing the four main strands of our curriculum intent.
  • The curriculum is personal to South Petherwin School and is built through a thematic, topic-based approach which makes connections in skills and knowledge within a variety of subject areas. 
  • Where relevant and possible, we offer enrichment activities to motivate, excite and inspire pupils in the form of ‘Stunning Starts’, ‘Marvellous Middles’ and ‘Fabulous Finishes’. These may take the form of trips, visitors, theme days, class assemblies etc.
  • We link our topics to key texts that will enrich language (indicated on topic plans as ‘the bookshelf’) and indicate essential vocabulary and knowledge to provide context to learning. 
  • Our topics will be learning challenges based around a key question ‘the big question’ as a starting point e.g. ‘What was it like to be a child during WW2?’, ‘What impact does plastic pollution have on our planet?’