The Lime Primary Curriculum

The Lime Curriculum

Intent 

The Lime Trust Curriculum has been carefully planned and sequenced through inter-school Hub collaboration to provide all pupils with knowledge and skills, which are progressive for each stage of their learning journey.  The broad and balanced curriculum is underpinned by high-quality texts and research-based evidence. The new knowledge and skills build on what has been taught previously with explicit links made throughout, enabling learners to make connections.   The Lime Trust curriculum is developed, taught and assessed to support pupils in building their knowledge and then applying that knowledge as skills. Leaders at all levels continually take into consideration the outcomes that pupils achieve as a result of the education delivered through a triangulated approach. 

 The curriculum in the Early Years has been designed with the intent of providing a broad and balanced curriculum that deepens and consolidates learning over time.  The learners in our Early Years setting are given equal opportunity to access high quality learning experiences, environments and rich provision that improve outcomes, widen aspirations and support learners with the foundation blocks of knowledge and skills they will need to be successful in achieving their next steps. The central concept that underpins the curriculum focusses on learners gaining an understanding of their position in the world, beginning with our youngest learners in Nursery developing an awareness of themselves and that they belong to their setting and school. As pupils progress through Nursery into their Preschool year, they develop understanding of the concept that they are a member of their local community through key knowledge and skills being developed in the areas of Understanding the World and Personal, Social and Emotional Development. In Reception, through the learning themes and planned curricular outcomes, the curriculum builds to develop a deeper sense of self-assurance and knowledge that they are members of a community, their city and global citizens of the world, thus preparing them for their future pathway.  

The Lime Curriculum aims to provide a wealth of aspirational experiences that address social disadvantage and therefore support pupils in later life.  There is clarity around the end points the curriculum is building towards and what pupils need to know in order to reach these.  The Lime Curriculum has been planned and sequenced with the flexibility to reflect each school's local context and address gaps in pupils' knowledge. 

 

Implementation 

In the Early Years, themes of learning have been carefully selected for each developmental group of learners in the Early Years phase, starting with basic conceptual themes, moving to seasonal themes providing a platform to build knowledge and understanding of change, the world and foundational vocabulary that supports learners to be ready for future curriculum expectations in Science, Geography, History and Maths. Themes for Reception are built around broader contexts that provide learners with knowledge and skills in areas that interest and engage, whilst raising expectations that these young learners gain understanding of wider world topics, such as climate change and human rights. Throughout the Lime Early Years Curriculum, there is a focus on transitions woven into the themes, to support learners on their journey in school and next steps. A bank of high-quality core texts have been identified for each of the learning themes, from which, texts are selected to suit the unique learners in each cohort and to meet interests of the individuals. The Early Years curriculum has a strand of age-appropriate additional books that can also be accessed to enhance and supplement teaching and learning; these texts have been selected to reflect the diversity of the school communities and/or characters that face adversity.  

The Lime Curriculum is designed and delivered, underpinned by in depth research, to ensure pupils are able to transfer key knowledge to their long-term memory.  Teachers are supported and developed through high-quality CPD and Curriculum Hubs. cpd and high-quality curriculum resources support teachers to improve their knowledge of the subjects that they teach.  Curriculum Hubs provide valuable opportunities to share expertise and collaborate.  

Teaching and learning is of the highest quality, enabling pupils to understand the key concepts being taught. Information is carefully scaffolded, and information is presented in a clear and concise format, ensuring key concepts are embedded in the long-term memory and applied fluently throughout the curriculum.  

 Learning across the curriculum is monitored by leaders at all levels through a triangulated approach, formulating evidence of pupils' learning and achievement. 

Robust assessment, both formative and summative, is effectively utilised to check pupils' understanding in order to inform teaching. Feedback, retrieval practice and assessment are vital areas that support pupils to embed and use knowledge fluently and develop their understanding.  

Vocabulary and the teaching of vocabulary is a vital component to the success of pupils across all National Curriculum subjects. Vocabulary relates to reading comprehension, but impacts equally on curriculum areas that require specific word knowledge such as mathematics and science. A range of interventions and strategies are used to develop vocabulary across the curriculum. 

 

Impact 

The impact of the Lime Early Years curriculum is that we develop learners that are well-prepared for the Key Stage One and Two curriculum, with secure knowledge and skills they can link to future concepts. The curriculum design, supported by professional collaboration across the Trust EYFS Hub, ensures that it is flexible enough to meet the unique needs of each school's individual context, whilst maintaining high expectations and aspirations at its core.  

The structure and sequence of the Lime Curriculum will lead to pupils learning more and therefore achieving good results. The curriculum ensures that all pupils make progress in that they know more, remember more and are able to do more.  They can acquire the knowledge and cultural capital they need to succeed in life and become happy, well-rounded, confident individuals. 

All learning across the curriculum builds towards an end point which enables pupils to be prepared for the next stage of their education. 

Effective delivery of the Lime Curriculum, along with experiences within and beyond school, is evident from pupils' confidence and aspirations for the future. 

 

For further information about any aspect of our school curriculum please speak with your child's Head of Year or a member of the Senior Leadership Team or email the school at larkswoodschool@limetrust.org