If you would like further information or paper copies of our curriculum. Please contact the school office 

Curriculum Intent

Our ultimate aim is for every child to flourish in every subject to enable them to access the next stage of their learning and then to gain the life skills and qualifications to 'live life in all its fullness'.

At Heartwood CE VC Primary and Nursery School we offer a broad and balanced curriculum which enriches the children's vocabulary, provides them with both substantive, procedural and disciplinary knowledge through fun experiences and hands-on learning. Our curriculum is influenced by the principles and values of the Swedish curriculum, equipping our children with life skills and a love of the outdoors.

Our curriculum is called 'Making a Difference' as all of our learning guides our children to grow and develop into well-rounded and thoughtful citizens who make a difference to their community and society, locally and globally, and take social action whilst taking ownership of their own actions. 

Units of learning and components will work towards a purposeful act that will make a difference with citizenship at the heart, aiming to empower the children with the knowledge and skills to articulate their views and evidence. Children will present arguments using the knowledge that they have acquired and to put across their points of view. 

Our curriculum plan is strategically sequenced to ensure that children build upon their previous learning and gain the knowledge and vocabulary for their next sequence or component of learning, building towards end goals for them to flourish in the next phase of their education. Subject areas are built through concepts which enable children to develop schemas and make connections with their learning. 

Planning for learning sessions is built around composites which are broken down into components of knowledge and are embedded to promote automaticity for children to be fluent in the subject.  

The curriculum is created for the children of Swaffham and is a curriculum that aims to meet the needs of the community by focusing on speaking and listening, social skills, respect, responsibility and enhancing cultural capital. 

Curriculum Implementation

Subjects are taught in their own discipline which provides a curriculum that aims to inspire our children to become artists, historians, scientists, designers, musicians, computing scientists, mathematicians, writers, readers, geographers and sports men and women. Disciplinary and substantive knowledge are built-in through all subjects, interleaving together. 

Citizenship, including global, underpins the Heartwood Making a Difference curriculum. Through the different subjects in the curriculum, pupils are taught the knowledge, skills and emotional literacy to take responsibility for themselves and the environment.

Pupils are encouraged to be active citizens in the school and beyond. They are given opportunities throughout the curriculum to develop their sense of social justice and moral responsibility and understand how their behaviour can affect local, national or global issues, and political and social institutions. 

Curriculum Impact

At Heartwood CE VC Primary and Nursery School, the impact of our curriculum is demonstrated through pupils' ability to know more, remember more, and do more across all subjects. Our coherently planned and sequenced curriculum, 'Making a Difference', ensures that all children build cumulatively on prior learning, resulting in strong outcomes and readiness for the next stage of education.

Pupils achieve well because the curriculum is rooted in carefully identified end goals, with each unit structured around composites and components that support long-term learning. Knowledge is revisited and embedded to develop automaticity and fluency, enabling children to apply their learning confidently and independently. As a result, pupils are developing deep conceptual understanding, particularly through the use of overarching subject concepts and clear progression of disciplinary knowledge.

The curriculum is inclusive and designed to meet the needs of our pupils. It addresses key local priorities such as oracy, social and emotional development, and cultural capital. As a result, pupils gain the skills to communicate effectively, collaborate, and engage with a diverse and changing world.

Through curriculum-driven opportunities for social action, debate, and reflection, pupils develop a strong sense of citizenship and moral responsibility. They are confident in articulating their views, underpinned by the knowledge and vocabulary they have acquired. This ensures that they are not only academically successful but also personally and socially empowered.

The impact of our curriculum is evident in pupils’ engagement, the quality of their work, and their behaviour and attitudes to learning. They leave Heartwood equipped with the knowledge, skills, and character needed to thrive in the next phase of their education and to ‘live life in all its fullness’.