Our Curriculum
At Brierley, we believe that every child deserves an ambitious, engaging and inclusive education that gives them the knowledge, skills, confidence and experiences they need to succeed.
Our curriculum begins with strong foundations in the Early Years and builds progressively through to Year 6. We want pupils to leave Brierley as confident, curious and resilient learners who are well prepared for the next stage of their education and for the wider world.
We have high expectations for every child. Whatever their starting point, background or additional need, we want all pupils to experience success, develop their individual strengths and feel proud of what they achieve.
Our Curriculum Design
Our curriculum is designed to be broad, balanced and ambitious for all pupils. We want children to develop secure knowledge and understanding across the full range of subjects, while also developing the personal qualities that will help them flourish both in school and beyond.
Our curriculum aims to:
Build strong foundations from the very beginning of a child's journey at Brierley.
Identify the essential knowledge, vocabulary and skills pupils need within each subject.
Ensure learning is carefully sequenced so that new knowledge builds securely on what pupils already know.
Revisit and strengthen important learning so that pupils know more, remember more and can apply what they have learned.
Develop confident and enthusiastic readers, with reading and vocabulary at the heart of learning.
Provide an ambitious curriculum for all pupils, including those with SEND, disadvantaged pupils and pupils who may experience barriers to learning.
Develop curiosity, creativity, independence and a willingness to have a go.
Encourage pupils to think deeply, ask questions, solve problems and communicate their ideas confidently.
Develop resilience, teamwork, responsibility and respect.
Broaden children's understanding of the world and provide experiences that extend beyond their everyday lives.
Prepare pupils academically, socially and emotionally for their next stage of education.
At the heart of our curriculum is a simple belief:
Every child can achieve, and every child deserves the opportunity to thrive.
Strong Foundations
Our curriculum journey begins in the Early Years.
We recognise that children's early experiences provide the foundations on which future learning is built. Communication and language, physical development, early reading, mathematics, personal development and positive relationships all play an important role in helping children become confident learners.
As children move through school, these foundations are deliberately built upon.
Teachers make connections with previous learning and ensure pupils have the secure knowledge and skills they need before introducing increasingly complex ideas. This creates a clear journey from early exploration and fundamental skills through to increasingly independent learning in Key Stage 2.
A Sequenced Curriculum
Each subject has been carefully considered so that pupils' knowledge and skills develop progressively over time. Subject leaders identify the important knowledge, concepts, vocabulary and skills pupils need to learn and the key end points they should reach.
Teachers regularly revisit important knowledge and help pupils make connections between what they have learned previously and what they are learning now.
We want our pupils not simply to complete activities, but to understand, remember and use what they have learned.
Reading at the Heart of Our Curriculum
Reading has a special place at Brierley. We believe that becoming a confident reader opens the door to the entire curriculum and gives children access to knowledge, ideas and experiences far beyond their immediate world. From early phonics through to increasingly sophisticated texts, pupils are taught to read accurately, fluently and with understanding.
High-quality books, subject-specific vocabulary, discussion and opportunities to read across the curriculum help pupils develop both their knowledge and their love of reading.
Ambition and Inclusion
Our curriculum is ambitious for every child. We recognise that pupils arrive at learning with different experiences, starting points and needs. Teachers know their pupils well and make thoughtful adaptations so that barriers to learning are reduced without reducing expectations.
This may include modelling, practical resources, carefully chosen scaffolds, additional explanation or practice, reasonable adjustments and targeted support.
For pupils with SEND, EAL, disadvantaged pupils and those who may experience other barriers, our aim remains the same:
access to an ambitious curriculum and the opportunity to succeed.
We believe inclusion is not about giving children a different or less challenging education; it is about providing the support they need to participate fully and achieve their potential.
High Quality Teaching
Our curriculum is brought to life through high-quality teaching. Teachers have high expectations and create classrooms where pupils feel safe to contribute, ask questions, make mistakes and challenge themselves.
Learning includes opportunities for pupils to:
Recall and apply previous knowledge.
Explore new concepts and vocabulary.
Explain and justify their thinking.
Work independently and collaboratively.
Solve problems.
Practise important knowledge and skills.
Apply their learning in different contexts.
Reflect on their progress.
Teachers regularly check pupils' understanding and use what they learn from assessment to adapt teaching, address misconceptions and decide what pupils need next.
Subject Leadership
Our subject leaders play an important role in ensuring the quality and ambition of the curriculum.
They understand how learning develops within their subjects and work with teachers to ensure that curriculum plans are clear, progressive and appropriately ambitious.
Leaders use a range of evidence, including pupils' work, discussions with pupils, assessment information, lesson visits and curriculum monitoring, to understand how securely pupils have learned the intended curriculum.
This information helps us celebrate what is working well, identify where pupils may need additional support and continually strengthen curriculum design and teaching.
Beyond the Classroom
Our taught curriculum is complemented by a wide range of experiences that help children make connections with the wider world. Trips, visitors, performances, Forest School, sport, residential experiences and other opportunities bring learning to life and help pupils develop confidence, independence and curiosity.
Our wider Personal Development and Wellbeing provision builds further on these experiences through leadership, clubs, the House System, physical activity, enrichment and opportunities to contribute to school and community life.
The Impact of Our Curriculum
We want the impact of our curriculum to be visible in what our pupils know, understand, remember and can do.
We expect pupils to become increasingly confident in talking about their learning, making connections with previous knowledge and applying what they know to new situations.
By the time pupils leave Brierley, we want them to:
Have secure knowledge and skills across the curriculum.
Be confident and enthusiastic readers.
Communicate their ideas clearly.
Think critically and solve problems.
Work successfully both independently and with others.
Demonstrate resilience when learning is challenging.
Be curious about the world around them.
Respect different people, cultures and viewpoints.
Take pride in themselves, their work and their school.
Be well prepared for the next stage of their education.
Our curriculum is about more than academic achievement.
We want children to leave Brierley with strong foundations, high aspirations, confidence in themselves and happy memories of learning.
Through ambitious teaching, rich experiences and a genuine commitment to inclusion, we aim to ensure that every child is known, every child is valued and every child has the opportunity to succeed.
