What is a Curriculum?
Our curriculum is at the heart of our teaching and learning at Norbriggs. A curriculum determines what a child will understand and what they will go onto to do with this understanding. This includes not only what they will learn in the classroom, but also what they will learn beyond it as part of our personal development and enrichment offer.
Our Curriculum Vision and Intention
At Norbriggs 'Every Child Counts' and so our curriculum reflects this belief. In order 'to nurture and value the whole child, so that their aspirations thrive in a safe and caring environment', our curriculum will be ambitious and inspiring so it can meet the needs of the Norbriggs community.
Our aspirations are no lower for our most vulnerable pupils. We strive for excellent teaching because great teaching changes lives.
Alongside this, a clear progression of knowledge and skills, interwoven through engaging topics of work, will enable our children to achieve a high standard.
EYFS
Our Early Years curriculum is designed to give children the best possible start to their learning journey.
From Nursery (3–4 years) and into Reception, children explore all seven areas of learning through hands-on experiences that spark curiosity and independence.
Stories, songs and rhymes are central to our approach, building rich language and memorable learning.
High-quality adult interactions underpin everything we do, supporting communication and language, physical development, and personal, social and emotional skills. In Reception, children begin early reading and writing through our systematic phonics programme Read Write Inc., alongside carefully sequenced maths and writing teaching.
Our goal is to create a safe, nurturing and stimulating environment where independence develops and students become confident learners ready for Year 1.
KS1
In Key Stage 1 (Years 1 and 2), our curriculum builds on the strong foundations established in Early Years. We follow a Continous Provision approach into KS1 because we believe that play, interactions and relationships are the fundamental way in which children learn.
We maintain a strong focus on early reading, writing and mathematics, ensuring children become fluent, confident learners. Pupils continue Read Write Inc. phonics alongside opportunities to develop fluency and a love of books.
Writing is taught through our consistent approach of 'Collect, Connect, Create', combining grammar in context with purposeful outcomes. Maths teaching is carefully sequenced through the use of White Rose Maths, supported by daily fluency sessions to secure number bonds and core arithmetic skills.
Our curriculum is rich in vocabulary and oracy, enabling children to express ideas clearly, listen attentively and grow in confidence as speakers—preparing them for the next stage of their education.
KS2
The curriculum in Key Stage 2 (Years 3–6) builds upon the foundations of Key Stage 1.
After completing Read Write Inc., pupils move to Reading Practice, focusing on high-quality texts which support wider topic and learning areas, and using reciprocal reading strategies to deepen comprehension. Reading fluency continues to be developed through echo and choral reading, alongside tracking words per minute.
In Maths, we maintain a focus on arithmetic and times tables, preparing pupils for the Multiplication Tables Check in Year 4. Alongside this, pupils tackle increasingly complex problem-solving and reasoning tasks within our mastery approach.
Beyond English and maths, pupils study a broad and ambitious curriculum including:
Art, Computing, Design Technology, Geography, History, Spanish, Music, Physical Education, PSHE, Religious Education and Science.
As pupils progress through Key Stage 2, they develop independence, resilience and the ability to produce work of greater complexity and depth. By Year 6, they are ready to sit their final assessments with confidence and transition successfully to secondary school.