Curriculum Intent

Our curriculum ensures learning is effective, exciting and, above all, relevant to the needs of our children. We are proud of our children at Ingrow Primary School and we put them at the heart of everything we do. We praise their accomplishments loudly and grizzle softly. We strive to provide a positive and caring environment where children are safe and ready to learn. Ingrow Primary has four very simple school values:

Throughout their time with us, we encourage each child to discover and appreciate their own strengths and achievements to ‘Be the best that they can be.’

While emphasis is placed on children securing firm foundations in the core skills of English and Maths, we place great value on developing the ‘whole child’. We therefore provide a broad and balanced programme of study in all curriculum areas to help children become caring, well-educated, neighbourly citizens and lifelong learners. Through our child-led, knowledge-based curriculum, we advocate bringing learning to life, both indoors and out, with an emphasis on engaging, relevant and purposeful learning throughout their school experience with us.

Our high expectations of children begin in the Early Years Foundation Stage. As a teaching team, we designed our curriculum with our children very much at the heart of it. We looked at the children’s strengths on entry, their previous experiences and the Ingrow community to help us identify gaps in knowledge and skills. This then allowed us to design a bespoke curriculum to ensure we met the requirements of what our children need to know to become well-rounded, inquisitive world citizens and equip them for life as they grow up in Keighley and beyond.

In our Foundation Stage Unit, we want our children to explore, follow their curiosities and lead their own learning as much as possible. Therefore, our curriculum is taught through a careful balance of child and adult led learning. Adults build on children’s fascinations and questions and are there to act as a facilitator to move the learning on. We aim to interact when necessary and helpful, rather than interfere and disturb the children’s natural learning process. Teacher-led sessions are kept short and precise providing the discussion and taught input required. This is then followed up by purposeful, carefully thought-out practical sessions so the children can have hands-on practice of the concepts introduced therefore allowing them plenty of opportunity to practise and apply their new skills.

As children enter KS1 and KS2, their key skills in English and maths continue to be built upon and opportunities for application across the curriculum are given. The children’s love of English is developed through an imaginative and experiential curriculum; with their reading supported alongside a wealth of high-quality, carefully chosen authors and literature to expand their repertoires. Maths skills are carefully built upon through a mastery approach with an emphasis on mental strategies and problem solving to truly challenge children at all levels.

In KS1 and KS2, the learning of the wider curriculum becomes enquiry based to encourage confident, independent application of taught skills through well thought-out activities that are supported by carefully chosen resources and high quality facilitation from adults. Through this, we strive to promote reading as a pivotal part of the children’s acquisition of knowledge as we truly believe that this is the key to unlocking lifelong learning. Our bespoke wider curriculum is specifically tailored to the children of Ingrow ensuring they are proud of their backgrounds as well as broadening their horizons and promoting high aspirations for their futures. Our curriculum offers a wealth of diverse yet relevant topics to explore aimed at sparking children’s sense of curiosity and wonder, developing their critical thinking skills and establishing a sense of identity in our ever- changing world.