Curriculum

Pupils study a wide range of subjects at Swaffield. Leaders are ambitious that pupils receive enrichment activities across the curriculum. Pupils value these opportunities.

Ofsted

Curriculum Intent

At Swaffield School, our vision is to provide a creative, broad and balanced curriculum for our children, with high aspirations for all.

We believe in celebrating our unique and diverse community, as well as developing our pupils’ understanding of British Values. We aim to nurture, inspire and prepare our children so that they can achieve to the best of their abilities. We encourage our pupils to make the right choices in order to be kind, safe and responsible (our School Rules).

Our approach to teaching and learning is structured and systematic to ensure that the knowledge and skills required for each subject are developed year on year as the children move up the school. Building on strong foundations in the Early Years, our children are confident and secure learners as they make the transition into KS1. On leaving at the end of KS2, our children are well prepared for the next stage in their school life. They are articulate, confident and able to make links between their experiences in the school and the wider world.

Nurture

Our curriculum is designed to give our pupils opportunities to develop their knowledge and skills across the curriculum whilst promoting and supporting their social and emotional development.
We strongly believe that children's learning is most effective when they have a sense of emotional well-being and positive self-esteem. These will support pupils to feel confident to take risks in their learning and to recover when they experience failure or adversity.

Inspire

Our curriculum is designed to enable the children to raise their attainment and to achieve to the best of their potential
We want our pupils to develop lively and enquiring minds and a desire to explore and understand the world we live in
We want them to be able to express themselves creatively and to celebrate the diversity and creativity of others
We want them to develop a wide range of interests and to appreciate the need for a healthy lifestyle
To enhance our curriculum, we offer a diverse range of engaging learning experiences, with regular opportunities for memorable moments and events. These include trips, visitors to the school and events such as Round the World Day.

Prepare

Our curriculum is designed to enable our pupils to learn the essential skills of life, including reading, writing and maths, so they are well prepared for the next stage of their education and life
We provide regular opportunities for them to become effective communicators, both orally and in writing
We develop their personal, moral and spiritual values, including respect for others and an appreciation of British values
Our curriculum is designed to prepare them for the opportunities and responsibilities of life in an ever changing world
It is a curriculum which enables our pupils to learn about the community they live in, as well as learning about the wider world, which will help them to develop into global citizens in the future.

To achieve these aims, our curriculum is planned to be:

Broad - it provides a wide range of knowledge, skills and experiences across the curriculum
Balanced – each subject is taught discretely to ensure that sufficient dedicated time is afforded to all subject areas
Diverse and Relevant - so that what we teach is linked to the pupil’s experiences in the world and reflects the pupils themselves and the community we live in
Progressive – we provide a spiral curriculum, so that what is taught builds in a systematic way upon what has already been learned
Adapted and Ambitious - so that what is taught is matched to each child’s individual needs and is designed to challenge every child at their level

Implementation

Our curriculum at Swaffield is based on the EYFS framework and the National Curriculum and is designed to develop our children’s knowledge and skills across all subjects, with the aim of ensuring pupils are ready for the next stage of their learning. We pride ourselves on our broad, rich curriculum and Swaffield has always had a reputation for its amazing creativity in Music and the Arts. We have a number of accreditations – the Arts Mark Gold, the School Games Silver award, the Primary Science mark and the Music Mark.

A curriculum map for each year group which sets out which topics will be taught in each subject each term. This information is sent home to parents and published on the school website. In addition to this, there is a long-term plan for each subject area which shows which topics are to be taught in each year group, in each term. We review our long-term plans on a regular basis. Our lesson plans set out the learning objectives for each session, and identify how work will be adapted to meet the needs of all of the children, including those with SEND. We strive to provide a curriculum which has a variety of enrichment activities that are integrated into the curriculum plans for each year group throughout the school year, both in and out of the classroom.
We have adapted our curriculum to ensure it reflects the context of our school through careful choice of topics and activities. For example, pupils in KS2 use the CLPE Reflecting Realities Writing curriculum which enables them to explore a range of authors and poets from diverse backgrounds. Anti-Knife crime workshops and a talk by the Met Police Cyber Choices Team for Years 5 and 6 help to support our pupils with contextual safeguarding and keeping safe online. We use resources in our local area such as Battersea Arts Centre and Wandsworth Library as well as visiting museums and galleries in central London to support learning across the curriculum. Rail safety is taught across the school every year, due to the identified risk of our proximity to both Earlsfield Station and Clapham Junction.

Although we always celebrate Black History Month in October every year, we make sure that we teach Black History throughout the year. In History, for example, the children are taught about John Blanke, a royal trumpeter in the court of Henry VIII, who may have come from North Africa and Ellen Wilkinson, who came from a working-class family and became Minister of Education in the Labour Party in the 1940’s. We give the children an opportunity to listen to music genres from every continent and composers and musicians from diverse backgrounds which reflect the community in our school eg Master KG from South Africa, Calypso music from the Caribbean and Bollywood music from India. In Art and Design, the pupils learn about art and ethnically diverse artists across cultures and throughout history, for example, Yinka Shonibare and Zaria Forman.

We teach children about British Values and the Protected Characteristics through our Jigsaw PSHE scheme of work, assemblies and also through the wider curriculum including trips, events and visitors. Visit these pages using the links below:

British Values
Protected Characteristics

Reading for pleasure underpins the learning at Swaffield. This is exemplified through our story time for every class at the end of the school day, Head Teacher or SENCO story assembly every Monday and our lending library that is used by children on a fortnightly basis. We use the Little Wandle Phonics scheme to teach fluency in Reading across the school.

To ensure that the children retain the knowledge they have learned, they are given regular opportunities to revisit their learning, for example in the Pupil Learning Conferences which take place every other week. Children in one year group sit with children in the year group above or below and discuss their learning in a particular subject. The younger children ask questions and learn new information from the older children and the older children get a chance to ask questions and revisit the learning they did the year before. Teachers revisit previous learning at the start of new units and lessons and they also make cross-curricular links, for example using map skills when going on trips.

We have an outdoor classroom where the children can plant, grow and harvest different plants and vegetables as well as use the space for art, science or even story time. As well as this, all pupils have outdoor learning experiences at Paradise Cooperative, which is a local Forest School.

Our enrichment opportunities for pupils go well beyond the school day. We have a wide range of clubs that take place before and at the end of the school day as well as during lunchtimes. These are provided in-house by school staff as well as external providers. We offer tennis, ballet, coding, Arabic, cookery and Art to name but a few. A number of clubs are offered free of charge but for those that have a cost attached, children who are eligible for PPG are given a 50% discount or encouraged to pay whatever they can afford.

The Foundation Stage

The curriculum that we teach in Nursery and Reception meets the requirements set out in EYFS framework. We fully support the principle that young children learn through play and by engaging in well-planned adult-led as well as child-initiated activities. The outdoor environment has equal importance with the indoor environment and teachers plan for this accordingly.

Teachers regularly make assessments of the children. These assessments form an important part of the planning for each child and are also shared with parents on Tapestry.

Impact

Use this link to visit the Results page.

One way in which the impact of our curriculum can be seen is in the pupils’ attainment in statutory assessments at the end of each Key Stage. Our pupils consistently achieve either in line or above National.

A range of formative assessment strategies are also used in every lesson to build a clear picture of the progress our pupils make and to move their learning forward. They are assessed within every lesson using AfL strategies, which helps the teacher plan the next steps of learning. These include self and peer assessment, with children using success criteria to assess their own work or to tell their peers one thing they liked about their work and to give them a next step.

Each Foundation subject unit has a quiz and knowledge catcher, which is used at the start and end of each unit to assess children’s learning. Opportunities for children to present their findings will also form part of the assessment process in each unit. Measuring the impact of our curriculum is ongoing. We ensure there are regular opportunities to hear pupil voice, such as in Pupil Learning Conferences and School Council Meetings. In addition to this we have regular book looks and termly learning walks. We also analyse attendance rates, behaviour records and extra-curricular club attendance and gather feedback from parents.

Swaffield's Curriculum for 2024/2025

This is our whole school topic overview for the academic year. Below is an overview of the curriculum by year group. Please be aware that these may change a little during the course of the academic year:

Early Years

Nursery Curriculum

Reception Curriculum

Key Stage 1 (KS1)

Year 1

Year 2

Key Stage 2

Year 3

Year 4

Year 5

Year 6

SEND

See how our curriculum is adapted to those with disabilities or special educational needs by going to our Special Educational Needs and Disability page.

If you require more information or have any queries, please contact the School Office and we'll put you in touch with the relevant person.

Extended Curriculum

Every year at Swaffield we celebrate the children’s work in a variety of ways. This includes evening events where parents and guests are able to see an exhibition of work and enjoy a range of performances.

To enhance the curriculum, children have regular outings into the local area as well as visits to museums, galleries and other places of interest.

To enhance the curriculum, all children have regular outings into the local area as well as visits to museums, galleries and other places of interest. Year 6 children are given the opportunity to take part in a residential trip to an activity centre. We invite specialists into school such as theatre groups, puppeteers and musicians. We also have regular visits from the Police, Fire Brigade and other agencies.

To find out more about these and all current clubs and activities on offer please visit the Extra-curricular page or contact the School Office. All children are offered a wide range of extra-curricular activities both in school time and after school which help to develop particular abilities and interests of children. These vary from time to time but often include Cookery Club, French Club, Challenge Club, karaoke club, football and netball – some leading to inter-school competitions. There is also tuition for various musical instruments available.