Our Curriculum for 'Life in all its fullness'

Jesus said ‘I have come that you may have life in all its fullness’ (John 10:10). He calls us to a full life in mind, body, heart and spirit. Therefore we believe the purpose of education is to nurture and enable every child to thrive and to be the person they are fully capable of being.

Our curriculum for life in all its fullness is designed to equip children to be curious and confident independent learners but also responsible, resilient and caring citizens in their community. As they leave Little Gonerby School, we want every child to be ready to take on the next steps in their journey to adulthood with a love of learning, positive attitudes and a rounded set of values and skills to guide them.

We recognise that the curriculum encompasses everything children experience at school. Whilst our curriculum will promote high standards and accelerate academic progress, it is also about uncovering and nurturing the talents within each child, developing core values and virtues, growth mindsets and essential skills for life. Learning is closely linked to our emotions, we learn best when we feel safe and happy, so as we state in our Aims, the curriculum is also about promoting happiness and fun! 

The key elements of our curriculum are shown in the image above and further details can be found below and by clicking on the links.

Our Values were developed by the whole school community, are rooted in the teaching of Jesus and underpin everything we do. Values are promoted through REAL Projects, subject curriculums especially Personal Wellbeing, Collective Worship and everyday interactions. Adults consistently model the Values and we celebrate children displaying our Values through praise and rewards.

Here are some quotes from the children about each Value

Respect - 'Respect is treating everyone the same' 'We listen when people talk to us, we say kind words'

Compassion - 'God cares about everyone and so should we', 'sharing, helping each other' 

Honesty - 'Honesty is not covering up the truth', 'be honest with yourself as well as other people'

In order to develop 'skills for a confident future' (School Vision) we identified six key skill-sets which the children learn and develop over their time at Little Gonerby. 

The children developed the characters and wrote stories to illustrate what each skill looks like in practice. 

We encourage all six skills on an ongoing basis. Children reflect on when and how they have used their skill to support their learning and can record this in their Skills books which they keep throughout the school. Each week, children nominate a classmate who they think have used their skills well, and this child receives a certificate in celebration worship.

Click on the animals above to find out more about each skill, or read the stories below (stories will upload as PDF, you may need to rotate the page to view correctly).

R.E.A.L. Projects at Little Gonerby

Learning through REAL Projects is a pedagogy that connects deep subject content with real world problem solving. REAL stands for

Rigorous

Engaging

Authentic

Learning

REAL Projects are rigorous because the children gain knowledge and skills by working for a extended period of time to investigate and respond to a big question, problem or challenge, and include high quality learning in core curriculum areas. 

They are engaging because they enable all children to create excellent work that matters beyond the classroom and immerse the children in the project through exciting launch events, visits and challenge based learning. Children are highly motivated and driven to learn because they see the purpose for their learning beyond pleasing the teacher.

They are authentic because all project outcomes are exhibited or presented to real audiences, often beyond parents and the immediate school community. The work matters and makes a difference in the real world.

3 principles underpin REAL projects

1. ALL students are capable of excellence, regardless of prior attainment, needs or background

2. schools and classrooms are communities of learners - teachers and students learn from each other

3. student work should matter beyond just grades or tests

REAL Projects have several core elements;

• an Essential Question that starts each project and sets the problem or challenge
• in depth inquiry and significant content
• peer critique and multiple drafting to create work of excellence
• student created final product
• public exhibition
• authentic audience

Take a look at some of our Project Overviews from the past few years work.