Topic – Wider Curriculum
The ‘wider curriculum’ refers to an experience of learning which goes beyond the limitations of the National Curriculum.
View our Wider Curriculum overview here. View our Design Technology overview here.
Wider Curriculum:
In our wider curriculum all about everything and anything. Our wonderful web of cross-curricular links allows us to create memorable and fulfilling learning opportunities for the children and staff at our school.
Each topic is collaboratively chosen by the children and the teaching staff, providing the children with a greater sense of ownership over their learning.
A ‘Checkpoint Grid’ is then completed, this allows the teaching staff to identify what the children already know about their chosen topic, what they would like to know and then it is returned to at the end of the topic to identify what the children have learnt during their half-term topic.
These girds are used by the teachers to help plan age-appropriate and challenging activities and lessons for the children to explore more about their topics.
WOW days are at the heart of our Wider Curriculum, providing an incredible stimulus to our topic. So far the children at St. Dominic’s have enjoyed loads of incredible WOW day activities: hot-seating Ebenezer Scrooge, Protesting Climate Change, Producing a banquet of healthy food smoothies and snacks and way more.
Hands-on, exploratory learning is essential to our Wider Curriculum lessons. As the topics are child-led, the children already have the impetus to develop their skills, understanding and knowledge of a broad range of topics that may not otherwise be covered in a classroom setting.
Our aim is to start the children on a learning adventure that will last their whole lives and instil a true love for learning.
History:
- Developing the children’s understanding of Britain’s history and that of the world around us. Our aim is to instil children with the knowledge of the past through reasoning and questioning, critical thinking, analysing evidence, considering a range of perspectives and making balanced judgements.
- We are also striving to enhance our appreciation of how local and wider societies have changed and adapted to suit people’s lives and beliefs. By comparing different civilisations, groups, periods and cultures and even identifying similarities, we are able to establish and better understand our role within the world.
- Through rich and challenging history lessons, we hope to provide our children with as many opportunities to explore how the earliest times have shaped modern day.
- Perspective and enquiry remain at the forefront of our historical teaching and learning.
Geography:
- Instilling a lifetime curiosity and fascination about the world we call home and the people and animals who share it.
- We are working to develop our understanding of the places, people, resources and environments, both human and physical, that can be found both locally and globally.
- Our aim is to explore the human and physical processes, learning about how a balanced relationship is required to help maintain the interests of all the planets inhabitants – through key themes such as sustainability, understanding and sharing new ideas, we aim to equip ourselves with the knowledge needed to live a globally conscientious life.
- Through varied, hands-on and thought provoking geography lessons, we hope to provide our children with rich learning opportunities that will provide them with the skills, knowledge and understanding that they will be able to apply in later life.
- First-hand experience will be an integral part of our sessions as the children will be encouraged to collect, analyse and present human and physical data in field work activities and trips with the aid of aerial photographs, maps, atlases, globes and Geographical Information Systems (GIS).
Art:
- Through art, craft and design children will be encouraged to explore famous artists work and their own creative expression.
- By creating an ethos of challenge and inspiration, our children are able to combine skills and knowledge to identify, experiment and create meaningful pieces of art, craft and design.
- As they journey through school, children are able to critical interpret their artistic experiences, asking questions like’ why’, ‘how’ as well as the initial ‘what’ and ‘who’.
- Through our cross curricular topics, our children can also continue to develop their understanding of how art has helped shape history, culture and current thinking.
- Our aim is for children to confidently draw, paint and sculpt as well as becoming more and more proficient in analysing and evaluating their masterpieces using the language of art, craft and design.
Design:
- In design, children are invited to explore their practical creativity through a range of rigorous, challenging and imaginative tasks.
- Children are encouraged to combine many of the skills they have developed across their learning (numeracy, literacy, art, computing, science, RE, History and Geography) to develop their products.
- Children will also be tasked with understanding and applying the principles of nutrition and safety when learning to cook.
- During their collaborative processes, our children will use the opinions, feedback and research they have collected to amend and improve their designs, ensuring they have considered audience as well as the product’s function within daily life.
- Our aim is to promote innovation, risk-taking, enterprise and imagination within our children through the analysis, creation and evaluation of incredible products produced during Design lessons.
Below are some examples of the exciting Wider Curriculum we are trying to build for our students.