Aims

At Totley Primary School, we are committed to creating an enriching and inclusive learning environment that empowers every child, including the most vulnerable, to succeed and flourish in all aspects of their development.

We are dedicated to preparing our pupils to become happy and well-balanced citizens with robust moral values and strong attitudes to learning, ready to make a positive impact on the world. By equipping our children with a strong foundation in reading, writing, oracy and mathematics, they are best placed to succeed across the curriculum. We place a strong emphasis on these foundational areas while valuing each subject highly, so that children are supported to learn and remember a breadth of carefully identified key knowledge.

Implementation

Our ambitious curriculum is knowledge-led and logically sequenced. This does not mean knowledge versus skills, facts versus fun, or creativity being overlooked. It is designed to instil a lifelong love of learning while equipping children with the knowledge, skills and values they need to flourish in an ever-changing world.

Learning is a journey, with small steps leading to great outcomes. Our approach to teaching English, maths and the wider curriculum follows a learning journey model. Children progress through clearly specified components before applying them to composite activities. Memorable experiences enrich our curriculum, and long-term memory is embedded through strategies such as retrieval practice and carefully interleaved learning.

We celebrate diversity and promote inclusivity and positive relationships, ensuring every child feels valued and experiences a sense of belonging. Through engaging lessons, educational trips and community involvement, we foster curious, self-motivated learners with the resilience to embrace future challenges.

Teachers at Totley constantly strive to improve their practice through collaboration, research-informed strategies, ongoing training and quality assurance. Teaching methods focus on enabling children to transfer knowledge and skills across the curriculum.

Impact and assessment

Effective assessment is central to excellent teaching and learning. The most important assessment information comes from formative assessment, woven into daily practice. Teachers use minute-by-minute strategies and leading indicators to understand where pupils are in their learning, where they are heading, and what steps are needed to get there.

Summative assessments take place three times a year to capture what pupils have learned over a defined period. Our assessment system is focused on supporting high-quality teaching rather than accountability. By combining frequent formative assessment with thoughtful analysis of summative outcomes, we ensure that learning journeys are clearly understood and effectively supported.

Assessment aims

  • Enable pupils to demonstrate what they know, understand and can do

  • Help pupils understand their next steps and how to improve

  • Allow teachers to plan learning that meets each child’s needs

  • Provide regular, clear information for parents and carers

  • Give leaders and governors insight to evaluate teaching and the curriculum

  • Ensure assessment information is used to plan effective learning opportunities for every pupil

Early years

Our Early Years curriculum gives children the best start to their learning journey. Reception children explore seven areas of learning through hands-on activities, building strong foundations in communication and language, maths, physical development and personal, social and emotional skills. Early reading, writing and number work is supported by the Read Write Inc. phonics programme and carefully sequenced maths teaching.

High-quality interactions, rich storytelling, songs, rhymes and motor skill development underpin our approach. Every child is nurtured to thrive, develop independence and become a confident learner ready for Year 1.

Key Stage 1

In Years 1 and 2, our curriculum builds on EYFS foundations. Early reading, writing and maths remain a strong focus, with continued phonics learning and opportunities to develop fluency and a love of reading.

Writing skills are developed through purposeful activities, and maths teaching is sequenced to secure arithmetic and problem-solving skills. A rich language environment supports oracy, enabling children to express ideas clearly and confidently as they prepare for Key Stage 2.

Key Stage 2

In Years 3–6, the curriculum builds on Key Stage 1 foundations. Reading remains a priority, with independent, shared and modelled reading each week, alongside the Accelerated Reader programme.

Maths continues with a focus on arithmetic, times tables, problem-solving and reasoning. Concrete resources support deeper understanding. Children also study:

  • Art

  • Computing

  • Design technology

  • Geography

  • History

  • Languages (French and German)

  • Music

  • Physical education

  • PSHE

  • Religious education

  • Science

By Year 6, pupils are self-propelled learners, producing increasingly complex work, ready for secondary school.

Homework

Reception and Key Stage 1

Reading forms the backbone of homework. Phonics books are sent home for short daily practice. Once phonics is secured, homework may be more varied.

Key Stage 2

Homework is weekly and reinforces classroom learning. Children are expected to read regularly at home and use Accelerated Reader to support comprehension and quizzing.

Find out more

For more information about our curriculum, speak to your child’s class teacher or email our curriculum lead, Chris Atkinson, at enquiries@totley.school.