Curriculum Implementation

Subject Leadership

The role of the Subject Leader is pivotal in the successful implementation of our curriculum. Each subject has a Subject Leader with clearly defined roles and responsibilities. All Subject Leaders have the knowledge and expertise lead their subject effectively. They are responsible for the curriculum design, delivery and impact in their subject. Subject Leaders and Senior Leaders regularly review and quality assure each subject to ensure that it is being implemented well and coverage, breadth and balance is excellent.

Continuing Professional Development (CPD)

Subject Leaders have regular opportunities to attend high quality training.  Following training, Subject Leaders feedback what they have learnt and, as a team, we then discuss the impact of this on a class teacher, subject leader and whole school strategic level and agree next steps. As Wanstead Church School is a small school, Subject Leaders often have more than one subject area to lead and subject leadership roles can change frequently.  Because of this, the Headteacher allocates regular time to support Subject Leaders on a one-to-one basis. Early Career Teachers (ECTs) shadow a Subject Leader as part of their induction and CPD from their second year.

Planning

The curriculum at Wanstead Church School is carefully mapped out to ensure that children acquire knowledge, vocabulary and skills in a well-thought out and progressive manner in every curriculum subject ensuring sufficient coverage across each subject.  New learning is based upon what has been taught before and prepares children for what they will learn next. Links are made between curriculum areas wherever possible to support children in making connections within their learning.

Reading

The teaching and acquisition of reading skills is prioritised at Wanstead Church School to allow children to access the full curriculum.  Children in the Nursery class focus on developing their speaking and listening skills and this is built upon in the Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 classes with daily phonics teaching sessions. Where a child has been identified as not on track to achieve Age Related Expectation, intervention is put in place through 1:1 reading support and small group phonics activities.  Children who do not pass the Phonics Screening Check in Year 1 are also immediately identified for planned intervention and targeted support to help them reach the expected standard by the end of Year 2.

Throughout their school life, children at Wanstead Church School engage with rich and thought-provoking texts that encourage a love of reading.  Alongside this we prioritise the teaching of reading skills through dedicated comprehension and whole class reading sessions.  We expect our children to be competent and avid readers so that they can access our broad and balanced curriculum and become lifelong independent learners. 

Assessment

Assessment at Wanstead Church School is designed thoughtfully to shape future learning.  It is not excessive or onerous and is part of the day-to-day working practices of the classroom.  Teachers ensure that children embed key concepts in their long-term memory.  Key skills and objectives for curriculum areas are revisited throughout the year and applied in different contexts.   Assessments are reliable and are moderated by the Senior Leadership Team to ensure that expected outcomes are being met. Wanstead Church School uses a variety of assessment resources to support summative assessment and the children experience age-appropriate ‘test’ style conditions at least once a term to prepare them for end-of-year formal assessments. Please refer to the Teaching, Learning and Assessment Policy for more information.