Dalmally Primary School
Curriculum Plan
2014-15
Rationale and Design of our
Curriculum
Our curriculum at Dalmally Primary school is based upon our school vision,
values and aims as stated below, ensuring that our learners are at the centre.
This enables us to promote a positive culture and ethos for learning which
takes into account the entitlements of all learners.
Learner’s entitlements:
All children and young people are entitled to experience:
 A coherent curriculum from 3-18
 A broad general education, including well planned experiences and
outcomes across the curriculum areas. This will include an
understanding of the world and Scotland’s place in it and
understanding of the environment
 As senior phase which provides opportunities for study for
qualifications and other planned opportunities for developing the four
capacities
 Opportunities for developing skills for learning, skills for life and skills
for work
 Opportunities to achieve to the highest levels they can through
appropriate personal support and challenge
 Opportunities to move into positive and sustained destinations beyond
school
This sits in accordance with our school vision and values:
Our vision:
A school community that is happy, welcoming and inclusive to all, which
encourages all children to achieve the highest levels of success in all areas of
their learning
Aim high-the sky’s the limit
Our values:
Fun
We will endeavour to promote learning activities, which engage and stimulate
children, develop curiosity and promote thinking skills.
Effort
We will encourage everyone to give of their best in all areas of learning and
we will recognise this through a variety of ways. We will promote achievement
across all areas of learning within school and the community
Inclusion, Honesty and Fairness
We will develop a school ethos that is based on honesty and fairness,
ensuring all children are cared for and nurtured, who in turn will show
consideration, respect and love for others
Respect
We will promote a culture of respect between teachers and pupils, parents
and partners.
We are clear that the curriculum we provide should result in ensuring
that our children become successful learners, responsible citizens,
effective contributors and confident individuals.
As such we will recognise children’s achievements in each of the four
capacities and include these areas as targets. Evidence of this will be
shown in classrooms displays and personal learning logs.
Our curriculum will be underpinned by the seven principles of a Curriculum for
Excellence.
Principle
How will we implement this in our
learning and teaching?
Challenge and enjoyment
Learning experiences will be
delivered through active learning
(Active learning is learning which
engages and challenges children and
young people’s thinking using real-life
and imaginary situations
Breadth
Our curriculum plans will reflect a
broad curriculum, which ensures that
all 8 curricular areas are taken
account of and that experiences and
outcomes are taken account of early
in the planning process. Learning will
not be limited to the classroom and
teachers. Full use will be made from
other learning partners e.g. members
of the wider school community, other
learning centres and access to quality
outdoor experiences. We will deliver
the curriculum using short courses
and discrete subjects as well as
interdisciplinary learning topics- this is
outlined in our curriculum
map.(Appendix1)
In the very early years the
curriculum will be delivered
through play, the greater emphasis
of which will be on child led
learning but will also include adult
initiated and adult led activities
and experiences. (Appendix 2)
Depth
Learners will have opportunities to
deepen their learning through revisiting learning, applying learning to
new and unfamiliar contexts and
problem solving.
Progression
Curricular plans will promote higher
order thinking skills through the use
of blooms taxonomy as a tool for
planning and assessment. We will
Relevance
Coherence
Personalisation and Choice
use blooms taxonomy as a planning
and assessment tool in
interdisciplinary topics initially. Our
interaction and questioning with
learners will be underpinned by
blooms taxonomy.
Planned contexts for learning will be
appropriate to stage of development,
interests and learning needs
Children will have regular
opportunities to make links between
learning and therefore understand
and apply learning across range
contexts.
Curriculum planning will be flexiblelearners will be involved in making
decisions regarding what they want to
learn, what they need to learn and
have a strong voice in how they get
there.
Raising attainment through our curriculum
Literacy, Numeracy and health and wellbeing will remain important drivers for
progression and achievement. We strongly believe that attainment can only
be raised through high quality learning and teaching.
Attainment is an individual’s passport to personal, social, cultural and
economic opportunities. Raising attainment
means improving life chances. This does not mean just focusing on exam
results, but instead looking at attainment in its widest sense. It is this rich
attainment which enables all of our children and young people to make good
progress and develop the skills, ambition and know-how they need to improve
life chances
Raising Attainment-Curriculum for Excellence
Our shared strategies for raising attainment in these areas are shown below:
What we need to do?
How will we do it?
How will we
know when
we have been
successful?
Increase the ambition,
Through our ethos we will
Raised levels
aspiration
expect the highest levels of
of attainment.
and expectations of every attainment from every learner.
Staff and
child and
Through our dialogue with
pupils who
Young person
learners we will encourage,
are observed
praise and support children and to be
where necessary do or utmost
motivated and
to remove barriers to learning.
committed to
For children with additional
high quality
Deliver excellent learning
and teaching
in every classroom, every
day
Develop effective
leadership at all levels
Engage families and the
wider community
support needs this will mean
that we put in place necessary
measures of support through
specialist, focused intervention,
clear and concise support plans
and regular reviews of progress.
We will recognise and reward
achievements both in school
and out through achievement
assemblies, achievement
displays and children’s learning
logs.
Practitioner’s plans will take
account of the principles for
curriculum design, children’s
stage of development; they will
include opportunities for
challenge and differentiation.
Learners experiences will be
underpinned by active learning
and include access to a wide
range of resources, within and
outwit the classroom. Plans will
take account of significant
aspects of learning, the
experiences and outcomes and
skills development.
All staff will be an integral part of
self-evaluation discussions and
procedures.
Class teachers will be given
opportunities to develop
particular aspects of the
curriculum relevant to their
interests, skills and stage of
teaching. Opportunities for CPD
and collegiate discussion and
development will be part of this.
learning.
Attainment
and
achievement
will be
reflected in
children’s
learning logs
and
assessments.
Parents will be strongly
encouraged to be partners in
their children’s learning. Open
door policies will allow parents
to share successes and
concerns. Parents will be
encouraged to share and
discuss their child’s Learning
Logs with them. Parents will be
Parents and
community
members will
provide a
greater
influence in
taking forward
areas of
school
Motivated,
engaged
pupils with a
lifelong thirst
for learning
who attain the
highest
standards of
attainment
and
achievement
that they are
capable of.
Teaching staff
will embrace
leadership
opportunities
for areas of
expertise and
share their
professional
understanding
through a
number of
collegiate
opportunities.
encouraged to attend regular
“presentations of learning”.
Parents will be asked to
contribute to planning in terms
of making their own suggestions
of experiences and will be given
the opportunity to share their
own skills with children.
Focusing on literacy and
numeracy as
platforms on which to build
future learning
Use information
intelligently
to understand progress
improvement.
Feedback
from parents
will indicate
that they feel
valued as
partners in
their
children’s
learning and
have a good
insight into
the life and
work of the
school, and
the impact his
has on their
child.
Opportunities to develop skills in Assessments
literacy and numeracy will be
will reflect on
reflected in teacher’s plans.
ongoing
Opportunities will exist for
upward trend
children to apply their literacy
in attainment
and numeracy skills in real life
in literacy and
and relevant contexts as part of numeracy.
wider skills development.
Planning for
Interdisciplinary plans for
learning will
learning will always include a
clearly record
focus on developing literacy and the intended
numeracy skills.
positive
impact in
areas of
learning.
Record keeping will be
Information
manageable and relevant. Each will be
child has a personal “Learning
coherent and
Log” which will include
clearly
recognition and development of demonstrate
skills, shared targets for
progression in
learning, learning reviews and
pupil’s
parental comments.
attainment.
Class teachers will use class
Children who
tracking sheets of experiences
are not
and outcomes in order that
deemed to be
breadth of experience is
making
considered ( although this will
adequate
not be used as a definitive
progress in
assessment tool)
specific areas
The Head Teacher will record
of the
overviews of attainment for each curriculum will
child as part of whole school
tracking.
be identified
earlier and
appropriate
measures
taken to
ensure that
targeted
support is
implemented.
The Development of our Curriculum
We recognise that our curriculum plans will be ever developing in order to
meet the needs of our learners in a changing world.
As such we will evaluate and review our curriculum on an annual basis
through focused self-evaluation.
We will involve parents and children in contributing to these developments
and will take into account their views through discussion, questionnaires and
individual feedback at parent consultations.
We will seek to work with partners from other agencies and organisations to
develop our curriculum e.g. Eco Schools, Fair Trade organisations, Stramash.
Active Schools.
We will share our plans with our learners in an age appropriate way-visual
display on pupil noticeboard and discussion at our “Big Blether” assemblies as
well as through consultation with senior pupil leadership team.
Programmes and Courses
There will continue to be a strong focus on literacy, numeracy and health and
well-being through the delivery of programmes of learning. We consider these
to be our core elements of learning.
We will plan learning and teaching through two interdisciplinary contexts each
session. In doing so we will concentrate on 2/3 curricular areas ensuring that
we provide depth of learning.
Some curricular areas will be taught discretely (if not already covered in an
interdisciplinary context and will focus on skills development.) Curricular areas
that may be taught discretely may be:
Art
RME
Music
Science
In addition we may provide short courses in the following curricular areas
RME
Sustainability/Environmental education
Global citizenship
Technologies/I.T
Curricular programmes/courses will be planned with the following priorities in
mind:
Clear focused outcomes for learning that will pay due heed to knowledge,
skills and attributes and link to Curriculum for Excellence experiences and
outcomes.
There will be a particular focus on skills for life, learning and work.
Clear link to the four capacities (Successful learners, Responsible Citizens,
Effective Contributors, Confident Individuals).
Detailed opportunities for assessment –using blooms taxonomy as a vehicle
for learners and practitioners to identify learning and plan for deeper, more
challenging learning.
Through the use of blooms taxonomy we can also “measure” breadth,
challenge and progress in learning as well as using this as a vehicle to plan
for next steps in learning.
Achievement will be recorded through children’s “learning logs” and will form
the basis of learning conversations with children and parents.
Children’s achievements will also be recognised through our achievement wall
“Our Learning Journey” and through monthly family assemblies and
showcases of learning events.
Transitions
At Dalmally Primary school we collectively acknowledge the important of
smooth transitions at key stages i.e. moving from nursery education into
primary one as well as from P7 into S1.
It is also important that transitions throughout various stages of the primary
school are planned for. In doing this, we have asked ourselves the question
How will our curriculum reflect the needs of learners at points of transition?
Our plans are recorded in the table below:
Transition
Actions
Impact on learners
point
Starting nursery Ensure that information is
Learning experiences will
education
gathered from the parent and
be tailored to child’s
other agencies where
developmental stage and
appropriate about child’s
will promote
interests and needs through
personalisation,
initial profile. Ensure that
enjoyment and choice.
experiences and activities
offered are child led and link
closely with either pre-birth to
three guidance or Curriculum
for Excellence early levelwhichever is most appropriate,
Moving from
Ensure that the nurseryPlanned progress which
nursery into P1 learning log is used to
takes account of and
personalise learning for each
builds on prior learning
child and is used as evidence
of prior learning.
Moving
Learning logs alongside other
Planned experiences
between P1
assessment evidence (both
which is built on prior
and other
formative and summative) and
learning which leads to
stages
Moving from P7
into S1
class curricular plans are used
to inform future planning.
Using learning logs and other
assessment evidence work in
partnership with staff, child and
parents to develop individual
P7 profile for secondary school.
We will work with OHS staff to
develop a curricular transition
which takes full account of
breadth and progression
continual progression of
attainment/achievement
Smooth progression of
learning into S1
At the beginning of each session each teacher will plan a broad outline of their
curriculum for the year for their class which takes account of all the aspects
outlined above. Children will be consulted in aspects of the planning of their
curriculum e.g through identifying what and how they would like to learn in
terms of IDL topics. The class curriculum plan will be a working document
which will become more detailed as the year progresses as it is supplemented
through other planning and assessment formats.
An example of a class plan is attached, (Appendix 3)
Curriculum plans will be reviewed and evaluated throughout the year and
refreshed/updated on an annual basis.