Our Curriculum

The aims of the school curriculum as stated in the Education Reform Act are: 

“to promote the spiritual, moral, cultural, mental and physical development of pupils at the school and society; and to prepare such pupils for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of adult life”.

Yew Tree Primary embraces these aims and delivers a creative curriculum based around the "Cornerstones Curriculum".

Further details of the curriculum for each year group can be found in the class pages.

At Yew Tree Primary School all class teachers are responsible for providing a curriculum that is suitable for all pupils in the class, including those with Special Educational Needs or Disabilities (SEND) with support from the SENDCo.

We have high expectations for all pupils and are committed to ensuring our curriculum complies with the Equality Act 2010 and the Special Educational Needs and Disability Regulations 2014. Our inclusion statement emphasises the importance of providing an inclusive learning environment for all pupils including those with SEND. Additional information on this can be found on our SEND Information Page (which contains a copy of our Accessibility Plan) and our Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED) page.

Assessment Information

At Yew Tree Primary School our teachers assess the children's progress in line with the curriculum expectations for their year group. Our focus is very much on identifying the next steps in children's learning and using this to plan a personalised curriculum which enables all children to achieve all aspects of the curriculum in line with age related expectations (ARE).

At various times in the year, all year groups from Year 1 to Year 6 undertake more formal assessments in Reading, Grammar and Spelling and Mathematics. These assessments enable the teacher to identify learning gaps as well as show individual progress within the subjects. An individual standardised score gives an indication of how well each pupil is achieving against their age related expectations

We track children's progress against the ARE expectations for their year group using a tracking system called Insight. We are constantly developing our use of this tool and parents are given access to information at certain points in the year (information is sent home to parents).

When we report this information to parents/carers we shall use terms which indicate where children are in relation to their OWN year group expectations (see table below). We ensure we provide every opportunity for children to broaden and deepen learning in the curriculum for their own year group rather than move them on to a different set of expectations.

In our Early Years Foundation Stage, teachers gather evidence to support their assessments using Tapestry. Please speak to your child's class teacher for further information and to gain access to your child's learning journey.

Statutory Assessments

There are a number of times during their time at Yew Tree that children will undertake statutory assessments. Information about these can be obtained by looking at: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/standards-and-testing-agency

We also offer a number of sessions throughout the year to help parents/carers understand what is involved for their children. Information about these sessions is available below.