CURRICULUM

An overview of North Clifton Primary School's Curriculum

A Values-Based Approach

At North Clifton Primary School every child's uniqueness is recognised, valued and nurtured. Our core values form the backbone of our curriculum and as such, our curriculum embraces the community within which it exists and we strive to recognise, embrace and celebrate each individual child and their diverse backgrounds and experiences.

Values: Intent, Implementation & Impact

Curriculum: Intent, Implementation & Impact

How we support our SEND pupils

Rolling programs:

Early Years & Foundation Stage

Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum

Our EYFS provides the ideal start for a child to develop their confidence as a fun loving, motivated and independent learner, within a safe, caring and nurturing environment.

Our school’s core values: Respect, Responsibility, Resilience are firmly embedded in our daily routine and our child-centred approach aims to support each child to develop holistically and at their own pace. We provide an enabling environment, promoting communication and language skills, whilst ensuring that learning is engaging and enjoyable. Learning happens through investigation, exploring and immersive, hands-on experiences, indoors and outdoors.

We teach the Statutory Framework for the EYFS (1st September 2025)

Every child is a unique child, who is constantly learning and can be resilient, capable, confident and self-assured
Children can be strong and independent through positive relationships
Children learn and develop well in enabling environments with teaching and support from adults, who respond to their individual interests and needs and help them to build their learning over time. Children can benefit from a strong partnership between practitioners and parents and/or carers.
Importance of learning and development. Children can learn and develop at different rates. The framework covers the education and care of all children in early years provision, including children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

Using the EYFS Framework and Development Matters, our curriculum has been designed by planning carefully thought out skills and knowledge to meet the needs of the children at North Clifton Primary School for all of the 7 areas of learning:

Prime areas:

Communication and language
Personal, social and emotional development
Physical development

Specific areas:

Literacy
Maths
Understanding the World
Expressive Art and Design

Early Years Pedagogy and Long term Plan

Early Years Progression of Skills

Early Years Tier 2 Vocabulary Development Reception

Early Years Tier 2 Vocabulary Development Nursery

Early Years Foundation Stage Statutory Framework (2024)

Parent's Welcome Booklet

Oracy, Communication and Language

Oracy is articulating ideas, developing understanding and engaging with others through speaking, listening and communication.

At North Clifton Primary School, we believe spoken language to be fundamental to the achievements of our pupils. We understand that communication and language are the roots underpinning success in reading and writing and that good communication skills can enhance every type of learning. This is why we ensure that all our children have as many opportunities as possible to fully explore their communication and language skills.

Oracy underpins our work across the curriculum as pupils develop the skills to reason, discuss, debate and present their learning in a variety of contexts with increasing skill and confidence. Our pupils are encouraged to explore ideas through discussion, to format their own reasoned arguments, to challenge each other’s opinions, to develop critical thinking skills as well as talk in full sentences with a clear and confident voice. It is our intention to provide an environment that is rich in talk and ensure that, by the time they leave North Clifton Primary School, all of our pupils are able to communicate effectively and confidently in a range of different situations, for a variety of different audiences.

Oracy, Communication and Language progression document

Useful Information:

At North Clifton Primary school, we believe an ambitious and rich mathematics curriculum is an important part of children's development throughout school, right from and early age.

The links below provide further detail about our maths curriculum:

Maths Intent, Implementation & Impact

National Curriculum and 'Ready to progress' mapping

Long term Plan Nursery-Y6

Calculation Policy

Foundation Stage Calculation Policy

Foundation Stage White Rose Maths Scheme of Learning Autumn

Foundation Stage White Rose Maths Scheme of Learning Spring

Foundation Stage White Rose Maths Scheme of Learning Summer

Maths

Reading

At North Clifton Primary School, reading is a top priority and is a key driver for our curriculum. Over the years, our reading results have been fantastic and we wholeheartedly believe that this is due to reading being at the very heart of our curriculum and by instilling a love of reading, children develop as well-rounded and successful individuals.

The links below provide further detail about our reading curriculum:

Reading Intent, Implementation, Impact

Reading Curriculum Overview

Whole school reading progression

Phonics and Early Reading

North Clifton Primary School has adopted the Little Wandle Systematic Synthetic Phonics approach which is rigorous, progressive and consistent from Foundation 2 to Year 2 and beyond.

Little Wandle Reading Progression Reception and Y1

To find out more about Little Wandle, please click HERE.

For our Phonics and Early Reading Policy, please click HERE.

Writing

At North Clifton Primary School, writing forms a crucial part of our curriculum. All children from Foundation Stage to Year 6 are provided with as many opportunities as possible to develop and apply their writing skills across all subjects. We want all pupils to be enthusiastic writers who enjoy showcasing their developing literacy knowledge and skills.

The links below provide further detail about our writing curriculum:

Writing Intent, Implementation & Impact

KS1 & KS2 Grammar Progression

Early Years, KS1 & KS2 Writing Progression

Wider Curriculum

Here at North Clifton we provide a broad and balanced curriculum to help encourage our pupils to develop as well-rounded individuals. The links below provide further detail on the wider curriculum taught at North Clifton.