Curriculum intent statement

At Harston and Newton Primary School we want our pupils to become independent, confident and articulate learners, who are excited by the challenge of learning. All children should make good progress in their learning academically, socially, and emotionally and develop respect for themselves, others and the world around them.

   We believe that the curriculum should be broad and balanced, and are proud of our provision for music and PE.  Our curriculum is underpinned by the National Curriculum (2014). We enhance this with opportunities for first-hand learning in the classroom and the school grounds, and also through trips and visits. We know that learning is most effective when it takes place in a meaningful context for children, and we make links between subjects, where possible. For example, we select high-quality texts to study in English that are linked to the history or geography topic for the term.  

   As a village school, we have some mixed-age classes. Demographic changes in the area mean that our school structure needs to be reviewed annually. To accommodate this, we have mapped out the progression of key skills that children need to learn in each subject area, and ensure these are covered through careful tracking. English, maths and science are generally taught as separate subjects; there is a half-termly topic in each class, which has either a history or a geography focus. If natural links to other subjects (such as art, design technology and music) can be seen, we will use them. However, there are also occasions when it is more appropriate to teach these subjects separately, to ensure that all the key skills are developed. Children have the opportunity to solve problems and to work co-operatively, as we recognise these are key skills in the world of work.

   We take advantage of our proximity to Cambridge to build links with museums, science companies and private schools - to enhance the opportunities we offer to pupils. We have specialist teachers for music, PE and Spanish, the modern foreign language taught in Key Stage 2; we also have strong links with our cluster primary schools. We are always seeking to develop our curriculum provision; in 2019 we achieved the Primary Science Quality Mark, Arts Mark Silver and the Platinum School Games Award.