STEAM Curriculum

We are relentless in our pursuit of excellence, and as a result are always looking for ways we can develop and refine our curriculum offer. Based in Oxfordshire, we are situated within a national area for STEM subjects and we aim to create awareness of these local opportunities for our children. Our curriculum has been reviewed, refined and successfully tested over the years and provides children and staff with a powerful and unapologetically ambitious start to their educational journey. This curriculum has been adopted by the GLF Multi Academy Trust and is now known as the GLF Curriculum.

Our interdisciplinary curriculum ensures that explicit links are made between the different subject areas as children move through the curriculum, maximising both retention of learning over time and the understanding of how knowledge is used in the wider world to solve problems. The curriculum has been designed to revolutionise teaching and learning in our school: the children work collaboratively each term towards creating a final project outcome, utilising the knowledge and skills that have been developed during the learning journey, before sharing their hard work with parents and carers at a termly showcase event. 

We believe our curriculum is equipping and exposing children to a very modern way of working; inspiring a future generation to pursue careers in an ever-changing world. During a curriculum entitlement experience to The British Motor Museum, a Year 1 child informed their teacher, "I would like to be a mecanical engineer when I grow up.". It is those aspirations we want to further engender and cultivate in the children in our school. As a result, we have carefully chose the people we learn about to ensure that all children can see themselves and their cultures in our curriculum. We also select industry examples that celebrate and include both local and national cultures so that all children, who naturally have different starting points and life experiences, benefit equitably from the same high-quality, inclusive and aspirational curriculum.

Through our STEAM curriculum we teach the disciplines of the Arts, Design and Technology, Geography, History and Science. Through our education offer, we empower children to acquire and internalise disciplinary behaviours; there is a constant interplay between knowledge learnt, skills acquired and the ability to effectively express oneself. 

Oracy

The very intent and core purpose of our curriculum is to empower children. We know that children’s language development impacts on all curriculum areas. Without high-quality teaching that includes a deliberate focus on oracy and the direct instruction of vocabulary, children from disadvantaged backgrounds fall further and further behind (Roulstone, Law et al 2010). Therefore, oracy is the golden thread that connects everything in every subject. The ability to speak eloquently, articulate ideas and thoughts, collaborate with peers and have the confidence to express your views are all vital life skills that support success in learning and life in general. We aim to provide a robust foundation for the development of oracy skills through direct instruction of vocabulary and a vast range of oracy.

We believe that a focus on oracy will enable us to:

• develop a high level of vocabulary in children to expose the depth of their acquired knowledge and skills;
• ensure that all children, irrelevant of starting points or barriers, make strong progress and are ambitious in their pursuit for excellence and achievement;
• ensure that there are specifically designed, taught, and experienced opportunities for all children to work on their oracy skills and vocabulary retention.