At Harden Primary School, we value the uniqueness of each individual child, recognising and nurturing their potential for learning. Our aim, through our tailor-made curriculum, is to enable each child to fully participate in current and future society as a responsible, self-confident citizen. We use our local village community, and the surrounding areas to enhance and make learning purposeful.

We believe that our curriculum offers a balance between understanding and using knowledge as well as developing and applying skills, leading to better understanding and progression for the pupils.  Our curriculum has been designed with the following principles: it is personalised around what our children need, maximising our locality; it is outward-facing, setting learning in local, national and global contexts wherever possible; it aims to celebrate diversity to emphasises unity and it is rooted in authenticity and context so that learning is relevant, purposeful and sequenced, because we want children to know certain things at certain points of their life.

Core Learning

Core learning is integral to the expectation of excellence that runs throughout our curriculum, ensuring that we demonstrate high standards to the children, and that they have high expectations of themselves. There is an emphasis on reading and writing throughout our curriculum, with maths being taught discretely, making cross-curricular links where appropriate. We ensure the effectiveness and demonstrate impact of our core learning through rigorous assessment in our cyclical benchmarking model. ‘Hook’ texts are used to engage children in their learning across the curriculum, giving all children access to high quality texts to promote a love of reading.

Life Skills

Children at Harden leave school with the skills to support them with lifelong learning to ensure they can access wider opportunities in their future lives. Our children will be challenged, in an environment where they feel safe, and where any mistakes are viewed as part of their learning journey to build rig and determination to succeed. Our children are taught how to work in teams, where each team member is valued and has a role to play in order to achieve a collective goal. This enables them to develop excellent communication skills and provides our children with opportunities to explain and discuss their ideas, allowing them to become reflective and considerate learners.  This is achieved by providing a curriculum that motivates and inspires children, so that they have a thirst for learning, and an intrinsic desire to achieve their goals.   Character development, independence, collaboration and building resilience are key elements that our curriculum offers and combining this with developing the whole child in a structured approach to teaching well-being and mental health, we believe we are preparing our children for the wider world.

Enrichment

Our curriculum encompasses enrichment with the expectation that our children will work within, and be, active members of the community. This is embraced and encouraged by members of our governing body, local businesses and parents, who work with our staff to plan community projects and topical days. In doing this, we are creating future global citizens, who will be equipped for the challenges and opportunities of life, in a fast-changing and interdependent world.

As part of the curriculum design, we have considered:

• Developing sequential, progressive learning skills, where pupils know more and can do more, building on what they have been previously taught.
• Local context of our school and its history, as well as forward facing to our future and enriching the lives of pupils and our community.
• Considering depth, breadth and curriculum content, so that children have a rich understanding of our world.
• Having a clear purpose for assessment, and the way in which that is used.
• Listening to pupil’s voice so that this feeds into the curriculum and the children learn about things that they are passionate about.

Here is a copy of our curriculum that is further supported by each year groups long term plan: Curriculum at Harden Primary

At Harden Primary School we aim for the children to develop an enthusiasm for and enjoyment of Science. We strive to develop their knowledge and understanding of important scientific ideas, processes and skills and encourage them to relate these to their everyday experiences. We teach children different ways of thinking, how to find out things and how to communicate their ideas effectively. We strive to make the children confident learners, to explore values and ideas through Science.

Science Curriculum Aims

At Harden Primary School, we aim to develop pupils’ enjoyment and interest in science and an appreciation of its contribution to all aspects of everyday life. To build on pupils’ curiosity and sense of awe of the natural world by using a planned range of investigations and practical activities to give pupils a greater understanding of the concepts and knowledge of science. Introduce and adsorb pupils in the language and vocabulary of science and to develop pupils’ practical skills and their ability to make accurate and appropriate measurements. To use science as a tool to develop pupils’ use of information and communication technology (ICT) in their science studies.

Here you will find our Science Curriculum

Please see links below for Maths Curriculum.

Maths at Harden Primary

A high-quality music education should allow pupils to experience a wide range of musical styles both when listening and performing music. It allows children to consider how music influences our emotions and can be used in storytelling and in films/TV shows to create atmosphere. Children gain an understanding of how music has influenced people throughout history and is used in different cultures. Teaching should equip pupils with knowledge about different kinds of instruments and how sounds can be changed considering pitch, volume, tempo and specific rhythm patterns. As pupils progress, their growing knowledge about the different musical styles and instruments will allow them to create and compose music of their own using more complex features.

Our teaching focuses on developing the children’s ability to understand rhythm and follow a beat. Through singing songs, children learn about the structure and organisation of music. They are taught how to sing and perform in rounds and in parts. We follow the model music curriculum of “Sing up”.

Musical performances happen throughout each week through music lessons and the coming together in assembly, and throughout the year including – Harvest, Christmas, Easter, celebration assemblies, parent events, year 6 performances as well as extra-curricular opportunities through the choir. The choir take an active part of bringing the local community together and forge links between the different stakeholders of the school. Children are also given instrumental lessons as part of the curriculum during year 4 and 5 learning to play brass instruments and recorders.

Click here to view the Music Development plan summary for Harden Primary School.

At Harden Primary School, we are committed to providing a broad and balanced curriculum, which includes Religious Education (RE) as a key component. RE offers pupils the opportunity to explore a range of beliefs, religions, and world views, encouraging respect, understanding, and tolerance for different perspectives.

We recognise that parents and carers have the legal right to withdraw their child from all or part of Religious Education, in accordance with the Education Act 1996 and the School Standards and Framework Act 1998. This right allows parents to opt out if they feel that the content covered does not align with their personal beliefs or wishes for their child’s education.

If you wish to withdraw your child from all or part of RE, we kindly request that you inform the school in writing. We will then arrange a discussion to understand your concerns and explore potential alternative arrangements for your child during RE lessons.

While we respect every family's beliefs and decisions, we encourage parents and carers to consider the value of RE in promoting inclusivity, tolerance, and cultural awareness.

For further information or to discuss the process, please contact the school office.

At Harden Primary School, we are committed to supporting the mental and emotional wellbeing of our pupils and staff. It is important that pupils learn that mental and emotional wellbeing is a normal part of life in the same way that physical health is and they know how and where to get help during times that they may need additional support. We believe that positive mental health is everybody’s business and that we all have a role to play. Having a positive mental health is the ability to face life’s challenges with confidence, to manage them effectively, being responsive to the emotions of one’s self and others and to learn from these experiences.  

We aim to meet the needs of all our pupils through our aims, ethos and school values, our curriculum and our wider curriculum. We are proud to be a ‘My Happy Mind’ school which is taught alongside our PSHE curriculum.  We believe in teaching the science and then embedding habits around mental wellbeing in a fun and positive way. Rather than focussing on the ‘issues’ or challenges overtly we take a preventative approach by giving children the understanding and tools to cope when times get hard. Research shows that preventative approaches are both more accessible for children and are more likely to lead to lasting change. The programme is taught across the whole school and is taught weekly, ensuring that regular directed time is devoted to developing mental wellbeing. You can find out more about the programme here: http://myhappymind.org/aboutandapproach/ 

Mrs Ruddock, Head Teacher, says “My Happy Mind is delivering a shift in children’s understanding of mental health and wellbeing. My Happy Mind helps children understand how their brain works and supports them in developing positive skills and habits to be their very best selves! The children utilise the designated session each week, but it has now become embedded in all of our practice across the school and curriculum. We are proud to be a My Happy Mind school.”

We are proud to announce that we are a “myHappymind Bronze Accredited School!

This means that as a school we consider the mental health and well being of our children as one of our top priorities. We have created a whole school culture that helps build our children’s resilience, confidence and self esteem as well as teaching them how to self regulate in those stressful times. This Accreditation badge has been awarded thanks to all the effort our staff, children, governors, and parents have put in to bring the lessons of myHappymind to life all around our school!

After exploring the information on our website, if you would like any further information about the curriculum for your child’s year group, please contact their class teacher, who will be happy to discuss it with you. If you have any other queries or questions about the curriculum, please feel free to contact school at parents@hardenprimaryacademy.co.uk