At Southwood Primary School we recognise that all pupils are entitled to have access to a broad range of learning experiences which allow them to develop the knowledge, understanding, skills and attitudes necessary for their self-fulfilment and to enable them to play a full part as responsible citizens in the 21st Century. Our curriculum aims to provide opportunities for all pupils to learn and to achieve, irrespective of social background, culture, race, gender, differences in ability and disabilities.

The Southwood Curriculum

• The Southwood curriculum is designed to reflect the school’s local context by addressing typical gaps in pupils’ knowledge and skills, particularly for disadvantaged pupils. The curriculum offers an enriched reading experience rooted in high quality texts with a wide range of cultural experiences throughout the primary years.
• The school follows the national curriculum and all subjects are taught. Religious Education follows the locally agreed syllabus and PSHE is enhanced taking into account local safeguarding risk factors.
• The curriculum is enhanced through educational visits into and out of school together with the ‘Southwood 50 experiences’ which motivate and inspire pupils, giving all pupils, including those disadvantaged, ‘cultural capital’ opportunities and experiences they can draw on later in life, such as regular visits to museums and galleries in the local area and into London as well as a week-long residential visit to Wales for Year 6 pupils. Creativity is further enhanced through partnerships with local organisations such as Bow Arts with the latest art project focusing on particular decades of importance to the school’s history, such as the opening of the Becontree estate 100 years ago and living through the air raids of World War II.
• The school’s ‘dream’ theme is brought to life through an annual Work Week which aims to motivate and inspire pupils to raise their aspirations and become ambitious about their futures. The children experience a taste of work life linked to the local area, for example Year 5 visiting an eco-construction site on the Barking Riverside development and Year 1 visiting the local fire station.
• The curriculum is coherently sequenced and planned so skills and knowledge build on what has been taught before and key knowledge is transferred to long term memory in a sequential way.
• The curriculum is adapted for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

If you want to know more about our Southwood Curriculum, please phone or email the School Office. If you would like a paper copy of any of our curriculum documents, please contact our Office Manager (Mrs T. Page) via. the details on our Contact Page. These will be provided free of charge.

Please see below some of the statutory documents that support us in designing and implementing our curriculum.