Curriculum Intent

Curriculum Intent

At LCPS we are proud of the unique learning experience we have designed with and for our local community. We want our pupils to be academically successful as part of a broad education where they develop a range of skills, develop an understanding of their place in the world and are equipped to be lifelong learners.

Our learning journey is built upon our core values: Ready. Respectful. Resilient. These shape our behaviour and help us to be effective learners. They are taught explicitly through whole-school assemblies and are the foundation of our behaviour policy. In partnership with the children, parents, staff and governors, we chose Courage, Empathy and Integrity as our curriculum values. They promote bravery to take risks and speak our mind; help us to understand people and communities from around the world and encourage us to be honest to others and ourselves.

Through engaging content and research-based pedagogy we create learning that is memorable. All subjects are carefully sequenced combining knowledge and skills through a spiral approach - revisiting and building on prior learning with greater depth each time. We use instructional coaching to develop the expertise of our teaching team. Our lessons are designed using cognitive science techniques: retrieval practice, guided and independent practice and generative learning tasks. This ensures all children access and understand the key content in all lessons. Our support staff are trained to deliver high quality support to complement the work of the teacher.

We provide purposeful training to staff in line with school development priorities. Our excellent team share their practice locally leading on SEND training through Astra, curriculum design and school leadership for Bucks Side-by-Side and promoting STEM coordinating the Enthuse Project of eight other primary schools.

At Little Chalfont Primary School, we provide a practical and challenging approach to maths and science to complement the exciting and detailed English provision. Specialised teachers provide unique opportunities in DT, French and music. Enrichment is at the heart of what we do: we use Chromebooks to blog and code; we design and build products in our fully-equipped workshop; we develop our culinary skills in our children’s kitchen; we enjoy sporting fixtures and compete against other schools; we nurture our school garden growing fruit and vegetables all year round; we utilise our school grounds managing the pond and planting trees and we immerse our community in British Science Week.

We want our learners to be connected to their local community and shape our curriculum accordingly. Children learn about the history of the village and its place in Metroland; they visit the Chess Valley and Chiltern Hills identifying the unique geography that surrounds us; they study the works of local artist Paul Nash. Members of Chesham mosque visit our pupils. Local community groups, including Amersham Villages Community Board, help us to maintain our incredible edible garden project.

As global citizens, our children develop a knowledge of national and international current affairs through weekly Votes for Schools assemblies and lessons. We study the cultures and lifestyles of unique communities in Kenya, Brazil and America. We share experiences of our daily lives with our friends at Gerardo Cordoba School in Colombia. Through charitable collections and donations, we send pairs of glasses and shoes to impoverished villages in Uganda.

When children come to the end of their time at LCPS, they are ready for the next step in their education, equipped with a range of knowledge and skills; they are respectful of others and the diversity of ideas and opinions they will encounter and they are resilient, prepared for challenges and confident in their own abilities.

For more information about any aspects of our curriculum, please contact the school office (01494 762109 / office@littlechalfont.bucks.sch.uk) for the attention of Mr Morey, Deputy Headteacher and Curriculum Lead.