Curriculum
I have come in order that you might have life—life in all its fullness. (John 10:10)
This is the precept upon which our Pilgrim School is founded. We are committed to enabling each member of our community to flourish.
Following the role model of Christ, we constantly strive to be His pilgrims:
forever compassionate, caring and inclusive,
forever trustworthy,
forever aspiring and adventurous,
forever respectful,
forever thankful,
forever us
… forever Pilgrim.
Our Pilgrim Curriculum Design Statement
Our Pilgrim Curriculum design has not been a snap decision or an overnight response ‘done to’ our school.
Over the last few years, Pilgrim has been on a journey together of developing shared ownership.
This is true from our collective and collaborative creation of vision, the evolution and continuous evaluation of our Pilgrim Progress and curriculum choices, the establishing of our behavior ethos and approach to community, as well as recognising our cultural capital.
It prompts our constant consideration of our identity:
Who are we?
How do we choose to live?
Pilgrim do not use schemes.
We carefully consider the attributes, knowledge and skills that we teach and learn.
Our curriculum is designed to enable our children to recognise the value in their community and their capacity to positively influence through the choices they make.
The curiosity approach in our Early Years invests in discovering a sense of awe and wonder.
These skills are progressively nurtured and cultivated throughout the school in order that the children can identify these moments themselves, value them, share them and recreate them.
This essence of understanding ‘who we are’ and ‘how we choose to live’ requires integrity and active ownership which secures not only academic success, but also a sense of belonging and an ability to flourish as an individual and a meaningful member of society.
Our ethos for learning at Pilgrim
Learning at The Pilgrim School is rooted in Character Education: the philosophy with which to develop knowledge, skills and attributes in order to flourish both as individuals and also as a society.
Our curriculum interests are led by our identity as a Christian school, capitalising imaginatively on the context of current affairs, heritage, experiences, and aspirations of our children (and staff), their community and their generation within the wider world.
The Pilgrim curriculum is a broad, balanced, and relevant education which provides continuity and progression and takes individual differences into account. Learning meets the requirements of the National Curriculum programmes of study
Our Curriculum Intent at Pilgrim
- enable each child to develop identity - a strong sense of ‘who they are’ and so ‘how they choose to live’
- create and maintain an exciting and stimulating learning environment
- ensure that each child's education has continuity and progression
- effectively differentiate learning opportunities
- provide a broad and balanced curriculum
- actively engage parents in the educational process
- inspire children to explore and develop passions, aspirations, strengths, responsibilities, and interests
- build on solid foundations for growing knowledge and applying transferable skills
- practise skills leading to independence, resilience, adaptability, deeper thinking, collaboration, and a curiosity for challenge.
Our Curriculum Implementation at Pilgrim
The teachers at Pilgrim purposefully choose not to be tied to a particular published scheme; instead, we have chosen to create the ‘Pilgrim Progress’: a bespoke series of documents which forms the backbone of our own curriculum, ensuring appropriate subject coverage and expectation, whilst allowing for personalisation particular to our Pilgrim children.
These essential documents are used daily, by staff and children.
A curriculum for us, created by us.
Within our curriculum, The Pilgrim School will:
- maximise every opportunity, every day, to reflect on our identity within a Christian school, using these values and virtues to help inform ‘who we are’ and consequently ‘how we choose to live’
- use staff expertise, experience, and professional knowledge to personalise a cohesive and progressive sequence for each subject
- root learning in real-life and meaningful experience, taking every advantage of useful links between subjects, cross curricular and outdoor opportunities
- continually adapt and refine teaching to match the needs and aspirations of our current cohort, keeping learning relevant and vibrant, and motivated by children’s interest
- develop team building and co-operative skills, whilst addressing topics such as diversity and physical, mental and emotional well-being
- develop mathematical logic, reasoning, and transferable skills, leading to mastery
- listen and read for a variety of purposes, including personal enjoyment, and convey meaning appropriately and effectively through speech and writing for a variety of purposes
- develop an enquiring mind and scientific approach;
- communicate knowledge and feelings through a variety of art forms, practising and applying techniques imaginatively and creatively
- use technology creatively, collaboratively, and safely, developing transferable and current skills
- investigate geographical, historical, and social aspects of the local environment, national heritage, and developments in the wider world
- explore beliefs of the major world religions
- introduce conversational French
- develop agility, physical co-ordination and confidence in movement and an appreciation for the outdoors
Our Pilgrim Progress adds to our on-going data picture of each of our children and of our school as a whole.
It informs next steps of teaching and learning for individuals and provides opportunities for collaborations and connections across the curriculum and across the school.
It informs to ensure efficient and effective continued targeted challenge and support.
Our Curriculum Impact at Pilgrim
The Pilgrim School children and staff have active ownership of their curriculum.
They will recognise how their knowledge and skills build and grow, and how they develop the interest and capacity to further this learning beyond our setting.
Pilgrim children have a sense of belonging, of their place in the world and of their responsibility and capacity to positively influence the future.
