Our Curriculum Vision

At Priory, our curriculum is underpinned by our school values of Curiosity, Hope, Opportunity and Trust and our commitment to Opportunity for All.

We provide a broad, ambitious, inclusive and knowledge-rich curriculum that enables every child to develop the knowledge, skills and understanding they need to succeed. Our curriculum reflects the diversity of our school community, ensuring that children can see themselves represented in their learning while developing an understanding and appreciation of the wider world.

We want children to make meaningful connections between different areas of learning, understand how their learning relates to their lives and the wider world, and discover and develop their individual strengths, interests and talents.

We recognise that children learn and develop in different ways and at different rates. Our approach is responsive to pupils' starting points, strengths and needs, ensuring that every child is supported and challenged without placing an artificial ceiling on what they can achieve.

Our Values in Action

Curiosity – We nurture children's natural inquisitiveness, encouraging them to ask questions, investigate, explore ideas, make connections and develop a lifelong love of learning.

Hope – We inspire children to believe in themselves, develop resilience, aim high and recognise the positive contribution they can make to the world around them.

Opportunity – We provide rich and varied learning experiences that broaden children's horizons, develop their confidence and enable them to discover new interests, talents and possibilities.

Trust – We build positive, respectful relationships that create a safe and supportive environment in which children feel confident to take risks, learn from mistakes and become increasingly independent.

Our Enquiry-Led Approach

Enquiry is an important feature of our curriculum, particularly in subjects such as history, geography, science and religious education.

Our curriculum units are structured around carefully chosen questions that encourage children to think deeply, develop their understanding and make connections between what they already know and what they are learning.

Each unit begins with an overarching enquiry question, supported by smaller questions that help children build the knowledge and understanding needed to explore the bigger ideas. Children revisit these questions throughout their learning, allowing them to reflect on how their knowledge and understanding have developed.

Through this approach, we encourage children to be curious, think critically, use evidence, explain their reasoning and recognise that some questions may have more than one possible answer.

Our enquiry-led approach combines the explicit teaching of essential knowledge with opportunities for children to investigate, discuss, apply their learning and develop increasingly thoughtful and informed responses.

Our Approach to Teaching and Learning

We want every pupil at Priory to experience teaching that is ambitious, inclusive, purposeful, active and responsive.

Children are encouraged to be active participants in their learning. Through carefully planned experiences, they have opportunities to ask questions, explore ideas, discuss and explain their thinking, solve problems, collaborate with others and work independently.

Our teaching combines clear explanations and modelling with opportunities for practical experiences, investigation, creativity and the application of knowledge and skills in different contexts.

Teachers regularly assess children's understanding and use this information to adapt their teaching, address misconceptions and provide appropriate support and challenge. We recognise that children may need different approaches or levels of support to access their learning, and we aim to develop their confidence and independence over time.

• Termly curriculum overviews for each year group can be found on the year group pages in the pupils section of the website.

• Subject specific curriculum overviews can be viewed in the sections below.