Curriculum

Our ambitious curriculum is built on very strong foundations based on the needs of our community and the context of our school.

Our school vision – ‘Care, Aspire, Succeed’ – is at the heart of the curriculum at Swinnow Primary School. It is our aim that all our children experience an exciting and empowering learning journey, underpinned by each year group’s relevant knowledge, skills and understanding.

We aim to provide a curriculum that is broad, balanced and relevant. It is adapted to provide for the varied abilities and needs of the children, ensuring inclusivity, curiosity and challenge. The statutory requirements of the 2014 National Curriculum and 2025 EYFS Statutory Framework are met. Each year, we identify key priorities which drive curriculum development.

We have carefully crafted the curriculum to reflect our children’s lives today. We incorporate hands-on experiences that promote curiosity, imagination and creativity. These experiences build over time across the curriculum, including both off and on-site activities. Through our ‘Care, Aspire, Succeed at Swinnow’ offer, the children have opportunities to benefit the local community, improve their confidence and expand their life experiences.

We celebrate differences and support our children to develop resilience, effective communication skills, empathy and healthy minds and bodies. We aim to build a sense of identity and belonging by teaching about life in Leeds and beyond - now, in the past and in the future – widening horizons, and nurturing aspirations, choices and self-belief.

There is a strong emphasis on children developing skills in reading, spelling, handwriting and maths. Basic skills are explicitly taught and regularly practised until they become automatic. Systematic, synthetic phonics is taught using the Animaphonics scheme.

Children’s reading experiences are enriched through carefully selected, high-quality texts that reflect the wider world. The school reading spine is designed to provide enjoyment whilst being inclusive, diverse and representative of our families and community. Staff model reading for pleasure and help children develop their own reading interests through discussion around texts and authors. The books in each year group include ambitious new words and a rich vocabulary, specifically chosen to broaden the children’s use of language.

Across the school, children have regular opportunities to develop their oracy skills. This includes structuring their thoughts, using appropriate vocabulary, demonstrating active listening, engaging with others and tailoring language for different audiences and purposes.

In EYFS, there are 3 main curriculum drivers:

To develop a love of learning through high quality texts

To provide opportunities for rich experiences

To develop confident communication skills

Staff in EYFS ensure high quality interactions impact positively on children’s developing skills and the characteristics of effective teaching and learning.

In KS1 and KS2, foundation subjects are taught in blocks. This provides greater opportunities for children to deepen their knowledge and understanding whilst focusing on the key facts to be remembered.

The curriculum is carefully planned and sequenced, so children build on the knowledge and skills they have learned previously towards clearly defined end points. The use of retrieval practice provides frequent opportunities for learning to be revisited and remembered. Our children know more, remember more and can do more. They become successful, independent and motivated learners, for now and in readiness for the next stage of their education.

CLICK HERE to read all our subject guides.