The Clockhouse Curriculum

'Clockhouse is a great school because our teachers are dedicated and make it their mission to make our learning fun.'

George (Year 5)

At Clockhouse Primary School we follow the National Curriculum (2014) through a bespoke vehicle that drives our thematic approach to learning and teaching. 'The Clockhouse Experience' provides a comprehensive, thematic, creative curriculum which is mapped out to ensure progression in learning and is followed by children from Year 1 to Year 6. Children in the Early Years Foundation Stage also follow a thematic curriculum based upon the statutory requirement of the EYFS.

Our Curriculum Rationale

What do we want for our children and how will we work together to achieve this?

At Clockhouse Primary School we have worked collaboratively to design our unique Clockhouse Curriculum which is underpinned by our whole school Vision and Values and is personalised to the needs of our school community. Whilst it is vital that our children learn what is in the statutory National Curriculum, at Clockhouse we know that our children need much more than this.

As a school we adopt a holistic approach which fully recognises that balancing our children’s needs with the statutory curriculum can be a challenge, but instead of the two acting in opposition we aim to ensure the content of the curriculum meets the needs of children whilst also fulfilling statutory requirements. In order to do this, we have established the ‘Key Curriculum Drivers’ for our school which are supported by our six Clockhouse Values. The aim of these are to ‘drive’ the decision making for our curriculum and ‘drive’ learning and teaching. As well as this we use these 'drivers' to underpin the development work we undertake in all areas of school life and to ensure our curriculum offer is enriched and personalised to meet the needs of our community and reflects our location here in Collier Row, Romford.

The below infographic shows our ‘Key Curriculum Drivers’ and how they are supported by our whole school values:

What are we trying to achieve through the Clockhouse Curriculum? (Intent)

At Clockhouse Primary School all we do is underpinned by the values. These values support our ‘Key Curriculum Drivers’. Our drivers are used to ensure all stakeholders know what we want for our children – our intent:

• Challenge – At Clockhouse, it is our intention to challenge all our children in all aspects of school life so that they achieve their optimum potential year on year. Through doing this we aim to make them resilient, determined and adaptable individuals who relish a challenge so that they apply these skills to life.
• Global Citizenship – At Clockhouse, it is our intention to ensure that our children understand global issues that affect themselves and others. This directly links to British Values which the school promotes throughout all its work. It is our aim to ensure that our children understand their global responsibility and the impact their decisions may have on themselves and others.
• Creativity – At Clockhouse, it is our intention to provide an innovative, memorable, cross-curricular and creative curriculum that motivates and inspires children to learn and adults to teach. In a world where we are educating children for jobs that have not been invented yet we need our children to be creative in order to adapt to the world that they live in.
• Aspiration – At Clockhouse, it is our intention to raise the aspiration of children and their families and inspire them to lead a fulfilled life beyond the local environment. We want to expose our children to the endless possibilities open to them and instil in them a desire to achieve.
• Well-being – At Clockhouse, it is our intention that children are Ready, Respectful, Responsible and Resilient citizens who develop strong values, morals and relationships so that they understand how to keep themselves and others safe and are able to live a positive and fulfilled life.
• Cultural Capital – At Clockhouse, it is our intention to provide our children with the essential knowledge that children need to prepare them for their future success and life in modern Britain. We want our children to be exposed to opportunities they otherwise may not have had and be equipped to be good citizens.

How is the Clockhouse Curriculum delivered? (Implementation)

• Our Key Curriculum Drivers, drive the delivery of our curriculum and these along with our values are interwoven into all that we do and the decisions for implementation that we take.
• The requirements of the Clockhouse Curriculum (including National and Local requirements) are mapped out at whole school level by Senior Leaders and Subject Leaders. Individual year groups then plan the curriculum to meet the needs of the pupils they are teaching. This is then adjusted for individual classes.
• Training and support from Subject Leaders ensures that staff have the necessary subject knowledge to deliver the curriculum.
• Where possible the school organises learning under a theme to allow children to make connections with learning across subjects. Where this is not possible or appropriate subjects are taught discreetly.
• The school has established ‘Golden Threads’ which run through the curriculum to ensure a progressive approach to learning and teaching as well as children being able to make connections with their prior learning and experiences.
• The curriculum is planned thoroughly, starting with the children's current knowledge and skills, so that real progress can be made and measured.
• As much as possible learning is linked to real-life experiences to provide the children with a context for their learning and how this relates to the wider world.
• Each term a variety of visits, visitors and themed days are planned in each year group to enrich the learning and create lasting memories via real life experiences. These are also carefully planned to expose children to aspects of life they might not have seen and fills gaps in their experiences.
• Throughout each theme ‘Wow’ learning is planned to engage children and where appropriate families are invited to join children in order to share this learning experience.
• Our own ‘Life Skills’ curriculum ensures children are equipped with key skills to support them in later life.
• Learning is assessed throughout in order to reshape and remodel learning and teaching as necessary.
• The spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of our children and their understanding of the fundamental British Values are woven throughout our curriculum.
• Throughout the year Focus Weeks are planned to further enhance learning and meet the needs of the community and reinforce our curriculum drivers e.g. ‘We Are… Week’ focusing in aspiration.
• Developing the children’s ‘sticky knowledge’ and automaticity is central to our approach. This allows for the repeating / developing of knowledge and skills and in doing so deepening children’s knowledge, understanding and skills.

What difference is the Clockhouse Curriculum making? (Impact)

• From their different starting points, all children will make at least good progress and achieve their potential academically, emotionally, creatively, socially and physically. Knowledge, understanding and skills will be secured and embedded so that children attain highly.
• They will be competent and efficient readers who can readily transfer their skills to a range of contexts.
• They will have strong communication skills, both written and verbal, and will listen respectfully and with tolerance to the views of others.
• They will take pride in all that they do, always striving to do their best.
• They will demonstrate emotional resilience and the ability to persevere when they encounter challenge.
• They will develop a sense of self-awareness and become confident in their own abilities.
• They will be kind, respectful and honest, demonstrate inclusive attitudes, have a strong moral compass and have a sense of what their role is in our wider society.
• Pupils will be ready for the next stage in their learning and life in modern Britain.

Find Out More

The school’s curriculum promotes and sustains a thirst for knowledge and understanding and also a love of learning. It is planned and organised on a half termly basis. English and Mathematics are taught on a daily basis for approximately one hour each. Where possible this is through a cross-curricular approach linked to the theme currently being studied by the children. Other curriculum areas such as Art, Science, Technology, Computing, History and Geography are taught through a thematic approach. PE and Religious Education are also taught at least once a week. All children experience Personal, Social, Health and Economics Education (PSHE) and Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) through a taught curriculum and through weekly planned ‘Circle Time’ sessions.

Our curriculum - 'The Clockhouse Experience' has been designed to ensure enriched learning but also to help teachers make all learning exciting, active and meaningful for children. Curriculum mapping is a collaborative process.

To find out more about our curriculum, please follow the three links below which provide the following information:

• 'The Clockhouse Experience' provides an overview of the holistic approach we take to our curriculum.
• 'The Clockhouse Curriculum' provides links to view the curriculum overviews for each year group.

Should you wish find out even more about the curriculum your school is following, please contact the school directly.

Please click on the links below to find out more about our curriculum, its enrichment and how parents / carers can help their children with their learning at home: