Curriculum Intent and subject long-term plans

Curriculum Intent

Our school values essentially underpin the curriculum design at Bledlow Ridge, additional our curriculum offers children a wide variety of experiences, skills and knowledge. These allow them to thrive during their time at our school, and as they move onto further stages of education.

Our aims are for pupils at Bledlow Ridge School:

  • to reach their potential academically and physically and socially
  • to have the knowledge and cultural capital they need to succeed in life
  • to remember more of what they have learnt, transferring key knowledge to long-term memory and apply it fluently.
  • to be confident and self-motivated children who recognise their self-worth.
  • to have the skills to be independent in their learning.
  • to develop and demonstrate of our six school values - curiosity, resilience, health, empathy, respect and confidence
  • to instil a sense of worth and pride in their own, and others, achievements.

When considering the characteristics we want children to have when they leave Bledlow Ridge School we immediately think of children who have a love of learning, a natural curiosity and an ability to use what they have learned to solve problems and tackle challenges that may not have an obvious solution. 

Our Values underpin our Curriculum and have recently been created by the school community (September 2022)

They are:

1. Curiosity

2. Health

3. Confidence

4. Resilience

5. Empathy

6. Respect 

We want every child to take an interest in what they are learning and for it to mean something to them. Subject ‘Road Maps’ provide logical progression of learning. The children are challenged to achieve an outcome, and they will need to decide what they will need to learn to accomplish this. This approach encourages problem-solving skills and the principles of linking subject knowledge and learning together to use them to their full effect.  It also means the class can pursue learning beyond what is specified in the National Curriculum if it is relevant to the outcome. This involvement promotes our school values that we want from the children at the school. We intend to teach a curriculum that involves children and allows them to make links between key areas of learning; remember more and give a firm foundation from which to develop further.  

Our curriculum is designed to foster links between subjects. Themes are planned each half term and curriculum areas are blocked together to support pupils' retrieval practice. For example, History and Geography subjects are blocked, therefore allowing half a term for a Geography focus, where knowledge and skills taught can be retrieved and remembered, followed by half a term for a history focus. Likewise, Design and Technology and Art are also blocked subjects. This time allows skills and knowledge to develop over the half term, where teachers focus on ensuring that pupils remember more, know more and subsequently, can do more. 

Regular enrichment activities throughout the year provide pupils with a broad and balanced curriculum. Enrichment activities focus on key areas of the curriculum. For example, we have had workshops from outside providers to mark the beginning of Black History Month. Pupils were taught about generation Windrush, this learning then continued into the classroom through drama and written activities. There are termly #TimetoTalk days with a specific theme planned. This gives pupils an opportunity to understand how to communicate and listen effectively. Other enrichment activities include #WeareArtists, #WeareAuthors, #WeareActive.

The impact of this approach is evident in the performance information of the school and the positive attitudes of children towards their learning.

The approaches mentioned above ensures that the school avoids a narrowing of the curriculum. The implementation of the knowledge and skills pupils acquire and the focus on retrieval practice mean that children at Bledlow Ridge School remember what they are learning and can enjoy a broad, balanced and rich curriculum in every year group of the school.  

The school uses the Little Wandle Phonics programme. For more information, please refer here

If you would like further information about the school curriculum, please contact the school office. Below are our curriculum overviews.