Tewkesbury C of E’s R.E.A.L Curriculum (Real Events for Active Learning) has been designed to inspire our pupils to live real, purposeful experiences to stimulate their minds and deepen their knowledge and understanding whilst enabling them to gain a clear idea of what makes each subject in our curriculum unique. Through this, pupils will embrace the opportunity to develop the skills and knowledge needed to become geographers, scientists, historians, musicians, artists and designers as well as having the opportunity to use their English, Maths and Computing skills as tools to further their understanding.
Learning opportunities will be delivered through progressive units that integrate both essential knowledge and skills, enabling pupils to deepen their understanding, enhance fluency, and master transferable skills. We believe that by immersing children in a block of learning, we are giving them the opportunity to go beyond surface-level understanding, giving them the chance to make decisions, to explore and to reflect upon their own learning, as well as providing additional challenge.
Pupils will learn as much about themselves as the world around them: our Christian values and learning powers will both support and extend pupils’ development into becoming caring, interested and resilient human beings, while the structure of the curriculum will provide the time and opportunity for them to demonstrate these values and behaviours.
Through these opportunities, Tewkesbury C of E children will become reflective, aspirational and independent learners for life.
Our pupils will have the opportunity to share their views about the learning opportunities offered to them, as well as enjoying a knowldge and skills-based curriculum that is flexible enough to have the content altered depending on current events that interest them both in the local and wider world. In addition, cross curricular links will be made where appropriate, but not tenuous ones, so the children truly understand how their learning in one area relates to another, allowing them to make connections that make learning purposeful and real. These connections will encourage children to transfer their knowledge and skills not only from core subjects to the wider curriculum, but also from the wider curriculum to enhance their learning in core subjects. Learning breeds learning.
Our pupils will have the opportunity to benefit from our unique location (supporting both historic and geographical qualities) as well as a strong skill set from the Tewkesbury C of E staff; this will be seen through visitors, visits and collaborative working with parents and community.
Class teachers will be as immersed in a topic as their pupils. This will be evident by the class environment, the use of planning time, purposeful cross-curricular links, effective use of AfL throughout the curriculum and focused summative assessments.
Subject leaders will have a direct influence on the delivery of their curriculum areas in the classroom and will use their expertise to drive standards and expectations.
Head teacher and Governors will have a deeper understanding of all subjects, therefore, giving more opportunities for challenge and building on success.
Each subject area will have a clear progression, defining the outcomes pupils are expected to achieve by the end of each year. These milestones, spanning all foundation subjects, establish key expectations for every learner. The skills and knowledge are structured in a clear, sequential order that is essential for pupils' ongoing development as they move through the school. This progression ensures that leaders can easily track, monitor, and evaluate the impact of teaching on pupils' progress.
In Reception, learning will be play-based and integrated into the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) framework. Through carefully planned, purposeful play activities, children will explore foundational concepts in subjects such as science, geography, and art, developing key skills in a way that encourages curiosity, creativity, and a love of learning. This play-based approach fosters deeper engagement and allows children to build their knowledge and skills in a manner that suits their developmental stage.
In Years 1-6, foundation subjects will be taught in blocks over three afternoons within a one or two-week period, depending on the subject. This approach allows learners to spend more time on each topic, mastering skills, deepening their knowledge, and reviewing and evaluating their learning to build upon their skill set. This structure provides all pupils with R.E.A.L (Real Events for Active Learning) opportunities to acquire knowledge, understanding, and skills across all aspects of their learning.
This curriculum empowers pupils to transfer their knowledge and key skills across different subjects, fostering connections and promoting cross-curricular learning opportunities. By allowing ample time for exploration, subjects are not rushed, enabling children to practice, refine, and embed their learning in long-term memory—building the foundation for future learning.
All pupils will have full access to the curriculum, allowing them to thrive within a rich and diverse learning environment. The curriculum challenges pupils to consistently apply a broad range of skills and knowledge, encouraging them to draw upon their learning powers and Christian values as they progress.
As a C of E school, Religious Education is at the centre of the children’s learning, and is taught in accordance with the Gloucestershire Agreed Syllabus. In view of this, it is taught weekly by the class teacher. This ensures the quality of provision and the high profile of the entitlement of this subject. The RE curriculum enables pupils to acquire a rich, deep knowledge and understanding of Christian belief and practice, as well as learning about the other world religions, through the exploration of the core religious concepts and questions.
Parents, members of the community and professionals will be invited into school to support in areas in which they have expertise, enabling pupils to work with the community and strengthen their opportunities and experiences.
All classes will end their learning in a meaningful way. Pupils will be encouraged to share and celebrate their learning in numerous ways such as a walk-in gallery, displaying work, making a class book, sharing with other classes, a quiz, gallery, making a film or in another celebratory way.
Immersing our children in a subject for an extended period of time lends itself to differentiation by opportunity through a mastery approach. Children who excel in a particular area can extend their understanding, including deepening the level at which they approach a concept and having an opportunity to design their own learning. Similarly, children who have difficulties within a topic will have the opportunity to repeat significant concepts in order to gain an important base of the understanding.
Having a curriculum that has been designed around skills and knowledge rather than pure content ensures the nature of the learning can be flexible enough to be adapted to slightly different contexts in order to meet the pupils' learning needs and their interests. Through placing a high emphasis on learning and using knowledge, the children will engender an appreciation of the best of human creativity and achievement. This will not only allow them to appreciate and understand the best endeavour in a range of areas, from music to engineering and art to sport, but will also open their eyes to the opportunities that they may be inspired to embrace.
The curriculum design and implementation will be continually monitored and reviewed to ensure that the intent is being fulfilled. Subject leaders at all levels have clear roles and responsibilities which impact upon curriculum design and delivery, as well as gathering evidence to evaluate the provision.
How well are children learning the content outlined in the curriculum? What evidence has been used?
How well are pupils prepared for their next stage of education? Where do they go next?
How do we know our curriculum is having an effect across all pupils, including those who are disadvantaged or have low attainment?
How well are key subject knowledge and skills consolidated before moving onto the next topic? How do we know?
How well-developed are pupils’ learning habits and learning skills? How do we know?
How do we use evidence of pupils’ learning to feed into our planning and adaptation of the curriculum?
This will be carried out through a monitoring cycle that incorporates pupil voice, lesson observation, learning walks, book scrutiny, pupil outcomes, assessments, governor monitoring, subject leaders’ report and feedback, alongside the advice of external experts and critical friends.
Ofsted – Good
