Curriculum Rationale January 2020
“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.”
Nelson Mandela
Our Vision
Braehead Primary is committed to making a difference in the learning and lives of our children, understanding our learners must be equipped to seize learning opportunities throughout life, to broaden their knowledge, skills and attitudes to adapt to a changing, complex and interdependent world.
Our Values
Respectful Inclusive Safe Connected Kind
This is the Braehead Way.
Our Vision and Values were developed in consultation with children, parents and staff. At Braehead Primary we understand the importance of our shared values. They define us and are at the heart of all we do grounding us and guiding us. When facing challenges or difficult decisions our values light the way forward. We take time to learn our values and celebrate when they are demonstrated. We aim for our values to be a light within us and we encourage our children to shine brightly. Our sparkle can inspire others!
“As we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.” Nelson Mandela
At Braehead Primary we have established a nurturing and collaborative culture where we share our ideas and are challenged to learn and grow as we respond to our students. This has established a cycle of learning, collaboration and adaptation. Through this cycle we learn to think differently and be innovative which increases our capacity for improvement, ensuring we deliver a better future for all.
We take a holistic approach in empowering children to be responsible citizens within our school. We develop their knowledge and understanding, skills, capabilities and attributes to be active participants, able to make decisions which bring about positive change in our school community. All staff, Lunchtime Leaders and children are encouraged to identify learners who display our values and reward them with a House token. At assembly, Leading Lights are awarded by Class Teachers to children who have excelled and by House Captains to children who have demonstrated a key value through their actions. Risketeers monitor the playground to identify children who are displaying our values and reward them with a session in the Common Room. Digital leaders and sports leaders effectively contribute to our curriculum supporting learners and learning. Our aim is for all our learners to become global citizens, able to take up their place in the world, contribute to it confidently, successfully and effectively, understanding the rights and responsibilities of living and working in a global community to make a difference.
Braehead Primary is a nurturing school providing children with a secure environment. We value reflective discussion to support children’s mental health. We have a range of targeted interventions to support children’s emotional wellbeing delivered by the HWB Officer and SfL Teacher. We are introducing Braehead Young Workforce, an intervention with a focus on learning and achievement, to support those children who find maintaining our expectations challenging. Children and parents have a better understanding of mental health following an open event to showcase Me Time which offers children various activities
Structure and Progression
At Braehead Primary School we follow a Curriculum for Excellence. Our curriculum is delivered through high quality learning and teaching across eight curricular areas: Expressive Arts, Health and Wellbeing, Languages and Literacy, Mathematics and Numeracy, Religious and Moral Education, Sciences, Social studies and Technologies. Staff worked collaboratively to design our curricular framework. We bundled the Experiences and Outcomes together to ensure our children experience a broad, balanced, progressive curriculum. Class Teachers are given autonomy to design creative and motivating contexts underpinned by high quality learning. Our yearly curriculum follows a calendar of whole school curricular focus themes promoting a collaborative approach to learning and provide opportunities for learners to share their learning across year groups, levels and classes, giving our curriculum coherence and depth.
Stirling Council progressions support each curricular area. This year we have been developing our progressions for Languages and literacy. As a staff we decided to use the Highland progressions as this gave clarity in expectations for not only achievement of a level but also within a level.
One plus Two has been a priority for us. French is our plus one language. We now have a robust progression in place. To support this, we employed a French specialist. This has been a successful model where the specialist models a lesson in week one and it is followed up by Class Teachers in week 2. We were awarded the Confucius Hub for Stirling Primary Schools in 2018. Every pupil from P4 to P7 enjoys weekly Mandarin lessons. Our Mandarin Specialist Teacher not only leads Mandarin at our school but also across both the Stirling and Bannockburn Learning Communities. She is part of a national steering group developing Mandarin progressions and resources. She also supports staff across the Learning Communities to deliver Mandarin.
Parents are keen that children are proud of their Stirling roots and its role in our national heritage. They value the role the school can play in its community and we work hard to be an integral part of the Braehead community. We have strong positive partnerships with the Community Council, Stirling North Parish Church, Strathcarron Hospice, Annfield House, the Co-op and Waitrose and work with them to give our children the best learning experiences possible. This year we have embarked on some inter-generational projects: the Annfield literacy project where our children share stories with the senior citizens of Annfield House and the Funky French Café, where P7 children teach French to local senior citizens. Our school supported the Coop at Christmas time helping decorate the store and singing carols to the customers. These activities inspire community spirit. We have a strong PTA who support us in raising funds. The role of the Parent Council continues to develop as we encourage them to become more involved in the decision making in our school seeking their views on the progress of our School Improvement Plan and our Positive Relationship policy. Children’s enterprising skills are developed through relevant contexts. Classes are now running stalls at seasonal fairs and raising money for charities, developing skills for a young workforce.
Programmes and Courses
At the primary stages and in the nursery, almost all children have positive learning experiences. Learners benefit from working collaboratively in small groups and across stages, co-operating well with one another and sharing ideas together. They are becoming skilled in evaluating their own work and the work of others. Peer assessment and other collaborative learning enables learners to support and extend each other’s learning, for example by being aware of what is expected of them by looking at examples and devising and sharing success criteria. Approaches to formative assessment are shared in our Staff Handbook.Children take pride in sharing their learning with parents through class planned open events and spotlight jotters.
At the primary stages and in the nursery class, children are making good progress in their learning. Across the school children are supporting literacy and numeracy development through peer mentoring. This is building on an innovative RAC project last year developed by Mrs Parseghian. Peer Mentors supported phonics in class whilst Mrs Parseghian delivered parental workshops and sent resource sacks home to identified learners.
Teachers feel supported by the new planning approach and the progressions. We introduced a substance misuse plan and are working together to introduce the new RSHP resource. Within the 2 hours of physical education, most children are making good progress in developing skills across all aspects of PE.
Assessment
Staff set high expectations for children’s learning. We have improved approaches to planning learning and are developing a shared understanding of achievement of a level through moderation, planning meetings and Tracking and Monitoring. Staff work very well together to support children who require additional help in their learning. They are creative in their approaches to meet the differing needs of children and successfully make use of support staff.
Effective transitions from nursery to P1 are developing. Positive partnership with Bannockburn and Stirling High School is strengthened through developing Learning Community projects including moderation.
