The curriculum at Eastlands

CURRICULUM INTENT: 

At The Welbeck Federation of Schools, we are proud to have a knowledge-based curriculum which equips our children with the tools they need to go on to be well rounded individuals who can make the most of all opportunities and challenges that come their way. Our curriculum is engaging, exciting and innovative, encompassing and celebrating all curriculum areas and is designed to build resilience, independence and perseverance. 

Our curriculum has been designed to provide learners with the knowledge, skills and the eloquence to become responsible and effective members of the community locally and internationally and in doing so, transform life chances in a way which supports positive outcomes for our pupils.  

The topics have been designed to complement and build on one another with clear progression and links so that in subsequent year groups, they will be able to explore concepts deeper, applying their knowledge in different contexts. 

Our community is at the heart of our teaching and learning and topics have been selected to embrace the wider community in which we live - celebrating our history and heritage – as well as expanding children's cultural knowledge of people, places and events that they wouldn't ordinarily visit or know about. 

At The Welbeck Federation of Schools we are very clear that our curriculum is underpinned by secure self-evaluation and inspires and motivates our children. 

Our three key drivers are:  

• To promote independence and resilience in learning 

• To broaden and extend our children’s understanding of the wider world 

• To develop the communication skills of our children  

These three aspects are at the heart of our curriculum and as the long term plans show, they help us to focus on key skills in all subjects, as well as covering the full content as outlined in the National Curriculum.  

The Why ... 

1. Knowledge frees up your brain's capacity for thinking 

Cognitive scientists have found that our brain works at different speeds, depending on whether we have learned something already, or whether we are relying on "working memory". Working memory is new information you can keep in your head and is very limited (holding between three and seven pieces of new information). That is why learning your number bonds by heart is useful. Completing more complex calculations is made more simple if knowledge of number bonds is already 'locked in'. 

2. We learn new things by connecting them to old things 

The way in which the brain stores new information, and makes inferences and discoveries, is by connecting to existing stored knowledge (schema). You cannot have skills without knowledge, because you cannot evaluate something you do not know anything about. You also cannot come up with new ideas without jumping off existing ones.