Curriculum
We value our curriculum and believe that it is crucial in engaging our pupils and preparing them for the next steps in their education. We revisit it regularly to keep it 'fresh, relevant and exciting.' The last major review began during the 2022 Summer Term when subject leaders worked closely with Phase Leaders from across the school to ensure that our curriculum is appropriate for all our pupils and that it steadily builds on their previous learning. The changes are designed to stretch children's achievements and extend the range of topics they study. We are keen to ensure that it is a curriculum specifically for our pupils, here at Moat House, and have built in opportunities and experiences which go above and beyond the requirements of the National Curriculum.
The involvement of parents is essential in achieving these requirements. Our logo is "Working together" and with home and school collaborating it can help the academic progress of all our pupils.
We continue to ensure our approach is broad and balanced to provide our children with a range of opportunities to learn and achieve. We aim to develop an enjoyment of and a commitment to learning as a means of encouraging the best possible progress and the highest attainment for all our pupils. One of the areas we focus on is to build on our pupils' strengths, interests and experiences and to develop our children's confidence to learn and work effectively. We encourage children to become better at learning and help them to develop as learners. Our key drivers for our children are: Being resilient; Enjoying sport and the arts; Learning to take risks; Promoting equality for all; Developing talents; and, Being aware of possibilities.
At Moat House, we are committed to ensuring that our children learn the basic skills of reading and writing as quickly as possible. We recognise that without these skills they will be unable to access other areas of the curriculum.
One of our key priorities is to develop our children’s phonic skills and we use the "Read, Write Inc" programme to enable our pupils to learn to read. We are pleased with the impact that this scheme has had and the results have been really positive. This programme teaches children their sounds, as well as then using these sounds to learn how to read and spell words. As the children progress with their reading, they work through a variety of fiction and non-fiction books, which get more difficult, as the children grow in confidence. (There is more information further down this page.)
Our curriculum concentrates on English, Maths and Science, as we feel it is essential that all our pupils have the basic skills to succeed as they move through the school. We started the NCETM's Maths Mastery programme in 2021 and it is currently being rolled out across the school. Science and some Foundation subjects are taught through our bespoke curriculum, which is based on the Essentials Curriculum. In RE, music, PE, DT and MFL we base our curriculum on published schemes that follow the National Curriculum. The schemes are the Coventry and Warwickshire Agreed Syllabus for RE, Charanga for music, real PE (published by Jasmine), Kapow for DT and Rigolo to teach French. The children also engage in a number of topics throughout the year and this helps the curriculum become more “real” to them. Topics often contain a “WOW” day which may include the pupils going on a school visit, e.g. Warwick Castle, Coombe Abbey, the local library, Coventry Cathedral, Coventry Transport Museum or we invite “specialists” in that topic to come and talk to the children e.g. students from Warwick University supporting children with programming during their computing lessons. Comments from our pupils show that they really enjoy the topic work and look forward to the activities and tasks. On completion of the projects, classes present a class assembly to parents sharing some of the work they have produced. These assemblies are very well attended by our parents who appreciate all their children’s efforts and hard work.
To further enrich our children's learning we display a rotation of art work by artists ranging from Rembrandt to Picasso and Constable to Jackson Pollock. We also expose them to music from across a wide range of styles and genres during assemblies, music lessons and at lunchtimes, when children have the opportunity to listen to music composed by the likes of Mozart, Tchaikovsky, the Beatles or Michael Jackson (these are just a few examples), whilst eating their dinners. In recent years we have taken advantage of Warwick Arts Centre's classical series to enable children to attend and enjoy performances by the Halle , Chineke and Royal Philharmonic Orchestras; opportunities which the children may not have had otherwise. When Amy Dickson presented her Take a Breath programme to our Year 4 & 5 children, they were thrilled when she brought her saxophone to the final session and played them pieces that she has performed to audiences across the world.
A very important part of the curriculum is the PSHRE pastoral support which develops the principles for distinguishing between right and wrong and an understanding, respect and appreciation of different cultures, religions and beliefs. We believe that the Moat House values of working together, tolerance and respect are essential qualities for life. Our children have certainly shown these qualities as they move through the school. We also promote British Values: democracy; the rule of law; individual liberty; and, mutual respect for and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs and for those without faith.