Curriculum

At Dinglewell Infant School our carefully-crafted curriculum is rooted in our school vision 'Together we Develop, Inspire, Succeed' and it is from this that our aims come:

• To develop a broad, balanced, inclusive and relevant curriculum to meet the needs of all of our children, whatever their ability
• To inspire our pupils with a creative curriculum and a range of opportunities that captures their interest and imagination, promoting a love of learning
• To ensure that all pupils succeed so that each of our children have the potential to achieve and be the best they can be

Our approach follows the National Curriculum (2014) and complies with our duties set out in the Equality Act 2010 and the Special Educational Needs and Disability Regulations 2014; making our curriculum accessible for those with disabilities or special educational needs. We follow a topic-based approach which is carefully planned and crafted by our staff to make learning inspiring, experiential, thought provoking, and fun.  

At the heart of all we do at Dinglewell we have six core values that drive our curriculum:

• Care 
• Cooperation 
• Creativity 
• Honesty 
• Respect 
• Responsibility 

As a staff we strive to nourish imaginations and nurture creative expression. To us, creativity means more than the arts alone; for us it is a way of thinking and an approach to life. 

Our pupils learn to develop adaptable, flexible and critical thinking and to express their own thoughts, feelings and ideas. Whether that's crafting a painting, explaining their reasoning, or resolving a conflict - we actively develop children's ability to confidently express themselves in a variety of ways and in an environment where they are encouraged to be themselves, take risks, and should they fail, try again. 

All learning is built on previous knowledge and pupils have a wealth of opportunities to develop links between topics and subjects. Progressive key vocabulary is woven into all subject areas and topics, to ensure that it is 'taught' not 'caught', and explicitly underpins the children's learning. Our topics are chosen to build a rich bank of knowledge and foster a love for learning. 

Every term class teachers in each year group provide a detailed outline of the topics and focus to be covered in each subject.

Please see Curriculum Overviews for Parents section below.

In Year 1 and 2, each topic has a choice of projects that you can complete with your child at home if you choose. The children relish the opportunity to share these projects with their teachers and friends towards the end of a topic.    

Parent Information Meetings were held in classrooms, after school, in September for each Year Group, to help you to understand our approach to learning in your child's new class. For those that were unable to attend the meetings, the teachers have put together a short slide show with the intention of helping you to understand our approach at school, and also how best you can support your child/ren at home. The slides are less detailed than the presentations themselves, but do give an overview. Please ask your child's class teacher if there is anything you're unsure about. 

Curriculum Overviews for parents/carers can also be found on the website at the beginning of each term or new topic (see above).

These give an overview of what will be taught in every subject over a specific amount of time. 

Year 1 and 2 overviews also offer a choice of home projects for you to support your child/ren with at home if you choose - these are very popular with the children and can be completed in a way that best suits your family. 

To find out about the content of the curriculum that we follow in Reception, Y1 & Y2 for every subject, click on the Reception, Y1 or Y2 Curriculum Content links below.