We care for ourselves, each other, our school and the world around us.

Our curriculum is all the planned activities that we organise in order to promote learning and personal growth and development. It includes not only the requirements of the National Curriculum, but also the range of extra-curricular activities that the Dassett organises in order to enrich the learning experience of our children. It also includes what the children learn from the way they are treated and expected to behave.

We aim to teach children how to grow into positive, responsible people, who can work and co-operate with others while developing knowledge and skills needed in life, so that they achieve their true potential.

At The Dassett we … REACH

Revisit familiar skills and knowledge.

We review our learning regularly. We respond to our learning and share our knowledge. Our teachers re-teach us material.  We use retrieval activities, quizzing and targeted questioning in order to achieve this.
Explore new ideas with enthusiasm.

Our teachers ask us lots of questions and we ask them. Our teachers explain using lots of examples. We can explain what we have learnt. We do lots of practical work. We are given lots of opportunities to explore and guide our own learning.
Aspire and achieve our goals.

Our teachers give us clear guidance so that we can succeed. They praise us when we do. They prepare us for independence. The encourage us to enjoy our learning and become life-long learners.
Challenge ourselves and each other.

Our teachers give us clear instructions and they have high expectations. We learn in manageable chunks so that we are not overloaded. This way we can keep what we have learnt.  
Help each other succeed.

Our teachers give us the chance to think aloud. They model many examples for us and let us practice. They give us clear feedback on what we have done well. We explain our understanding to each other, to check our earning. They monitor our independent work.  

HOW IT WORKS?

Children progress through four stages of learning in each topic and companion project – Engage, Develop, Innovate and Express.

The 2014 National Curriculum is the minimum requirement for our curriculum and says of itself that it is an 'important element of the school curriculum' but it is not the whole curriculum. We believe that the experiences, knowledge and skills that the children of The Dassett develop cannot necessarily be accomplished within the boundaries of the National Curriclum subjects only. We offer the children memorable experiences, lessons and overarching systems that embed our key values. All of these elements make up our school curriculum. 

Our curriculum encompasses everything that we do to develop the pupils at the Dassett to prepare them for the next steps in their lives and their education. The curriculum is therefore extremely broad. Although teachers plan carefully for the lessons and experiences that happen at the Dassett, they are also subject to change. Our teachers are reflective; they make changes that are necessary to adapt the curriculum to the needs of individuals, cohorts and to the time and place that the children live in. They adapt the curriculum in light of new thinking, new technologies and current events so that children are better prepared for the rapidly changing world in which we live.

Teachers map out the curriculum across the entire academic year, developing medium term plans, linking subjects where possible. This information is displayed within our class plans.

Activities are carefully selected according to the age and needs of individual children. At the Dassett, we endeavour to make learning fun with a huge emphasis on active learning, children doing, making and experimenting. We also have 'Theme' days and weeks in order to enhance the curriculum and make learning as motivating, enjoyable and memorable as possible.