Curriculum Overview

At Cordwalles, we are restless in our pursuit of excellence and are always looking to refine our curriculum offer. We have a strong, ambitious and effective interdisciplinary curriculum in place which ensures that explicit links are made between different subject areas. We are a research and evidence-based school, and everything in our curriculum is deliberately chosen to ensure inclusive practise is at the heart of our offer. We work closely with Pine Ridge and Lorraine Infant schools to maintain consistency in curriculum throughout their KS1 provision and our KS2 offer, providing children with a powerful and unapologetically ambitious start to their educational journey. 

"Carefully considered development of the wider curriculum to ensure that pupils benefit from a rich and broad range of experiences"

Ofsted 2022

The GLF Wider Curriculum

We are one of a few schools in the country offering such a dedicated and bespoke approach to our curriculum, ensuring that children are inspired and equipped to join a world being transformed by the work of the STEM careers which continue to drive change and innovation. The new curriculum has been designed to revolutionise teaching and learning in our school: the children work collaboratively each term towards creating a final project outcome, utilising the knowledge and skills that have been developed during the learning journey.

The GLF Wider Curriculum is designed to make logical and meaningful connections between the different disciplines (Art, DT, History, Geography and Science.) A coherent curriculum ensures that the content, skills and learning experiences are aligned and integrated in a way that enables children to develop and embed their learning into the long-term memory.

The very intent and core purpose of our curriculum is to empower children. We know that children’s language development impacts on all curriculum areas. Without high-quality teaching that includes a deliberate focus on oracy and the direct instruction of vocabulary, children from disadvantaged backgrounds fall further and further behind (Roulstone, Law et al 2010). Therefore, oracy is the golden thread that connects everything in every subject. The ability to speak eloquently, articulate ideas and thoughts, collaborate with peers and have the confidence to express your views are all vital life skills that support success in learning and life in general. We aim to provide a robust foundation for the development of oracy skills through direct instruction of vocabulary and a vast range of oracy.

We believe that a focus on oracy will enable us to:

• develop a high level of vocabulary in children to expose the depth of their acquired knowledge and composite skills

• ensure that all children, irrelevant of starting points or barriers, make strong progress and are ambitious in their pursuit for excellence and achievement

• ensure that there are specifically designed, taught, and experienced opportunities for all children to work on their oracy skills and vocabulary retention

"Pupils are well prepared for the next stage of their education" 

Ofsted 2022

Through our education offer, we empower children to acquire and internalise disciplinary behaviours; there is a constant interplay between knowledge learnt, skills acquired and the ability to effectively express oneself.

Learning Environment

At Cordwalles, we pride ourselves on the culture of our school. Our Universal Offer is instrumental in ensuring that we meet the needs of all pupils, particularly those with vulnerability factors. When you visit our school, you will experience "a harmonious ethos around classrooms and corridors"  where "pupils work hard, enjoy learning and take pride in their achievements" (Ofsted, 2022). You will also notice the deliberate choices we make in reducing cognitive load, through: clear and direct instruction and questioning; uncluttered environments and displays; effectively planned lessons which take small steps approaches to achieving mastery. Our school values of Respect, Endeavour, Succeed are intrinsically lived on a day-to-day basis and we work tirelessly to support the mental and physical wellbeing of all stakeholders.