Curriculum Statement

Park Hill Junior School is in the heart of Croydon, an area with a rich social and culturally diverse community; we use this as a basis for our curriculum which celebrates diversity and utilises the skills, knowledge and cultural wealth of the community whilst supporting the pupils’ spiritual, moral and cultural development. Our purpose is to provide a caring learning environment with high standards and expectations, where children grow into responsible, resilient, independent learners.

Our aims are clear:

Preparing our children with knowledge and skills for their future
Helping our children to be curious about the world around them
Our curriculum will encompass the diverse and unique community in which we live and work.

Our school ethos is firmly rooted in our values – resilient, rigorous, aspirational, respectful and kind.

We strive to develop a love of learning through our 5Rs – Having positive relationships, Being resilient, Being resourceful, Being reflective, Being respectful.

We expect our children to always aim high and adult expectations for all children reflect this.

Curriculum intent

The uniqueness of every child is recognised and valued. As such, our curriculum embraces the community from which it exists, recognising and celebrating the diverse backgrounds and experiences from which our children originate. We constantly adapt our learning journey to meet the needs and interests of our children, offering an excellent education underpinned by a broad, culturally rich and powerful curriculum to ensure that all pupils are well-equipped for the next stage in their education.

Our curriculum is underpinned by the teaching of basic skills, knowledge, concepts and values. However, creativity is pivotal at Park Hill Junior School. We constantly provide enhanced opportunities to engage in learning and to celebrate and develop the individual talents of our pupils, recognising everyone as unique with their own ambitions, skills and dreams. We aim to provide an environment that encourages lifelong learning. This is reflected in our achievements, outcomes and awards.

Community involvement is also an essential part of our curriculum as we celebrate local traditions, beliefs and culture, learning new skills to enable children to take an active role in events throughout the year. Children leave Park Hill Junior School with a sense of belonging to a tightly-knit community where they have the confidence and skills to make decisions, self-evaluate, make connections and become lifelong learners. Children leave our Park Hill family as confident individuals, well-equipped to participate fully in the next stage of their education, as global citizens.

Curriculum implementation

Our carefully crafted curriculum balances the national expectations and an all-encompassing range of experiences, allowing our children to flourish.

Skills and knowledge are taught discreetly in subject areas so that our children gain a broad understanding of each subject and know exactly which subject they are studying. However, the curriculum is designed to embed transferable skills throughout, without weakening essential skills-based learning. The outstanding quality of our classroom environments serves to stimulate and engage higher order thinking. At Park Hill Junior School, we also recognise the importance of feedback, both adult and peer, as an integral part of the teaching and learning cycle, and aim to maximise the effectiveness of its use in practice. We are also mindful of the research surrounding effective feedback and research from cognitive science regarding the fragility of new learning. In response to this, planning is flexible and responsive to pupils’ needs. Our teaching strategies enable all abilities and groups to challenge themselves, knowing that they need to remember what they are taught to enable them to apply this in different contexts.

Curriculum impact

Park Hill Junior School uses rigorous triangulated monitoring throughout the year to gauge the impact of the curriculum design.

We plan our lessons with clear learning questions. We base these upon the teacher’s detailed knowledge of each child, striving to ensure that all tasks set are appropriate to each child’s level of ability. Our lesson plans make clear the expected outcomes for each lesson. We make a note of those individual children who do not achieve the expected level for the lesson, and we use this information when planning for the next lesson. We also keep this information as a record of the progress made by the class.

Day-to‐day, ongoing assessment is a crucial method of assessment which provides instant feedback to the teacher and ensures progress within every lesson. Assessment for Learning (AfL) strategies are used in all lessons. These strategies provide a clear picture of a child’s level of understanding and ensure that teachers can quickly assess when a child does not understand and needs greater support. Lessons are flexible enough to allow teachers to adapt to the needs of the child. AfL is also used to inform planning for subsequent lessons.

Progress is assessed regularly. At the end of each term, assessment data is gathered and progress is checked by subject leaders and the Senior Leadership Team. Children are expected to make good or better progress in all subjects and this individual progress is tracked. In cases where children are identified as making ‘slow progress’ in English or Maths, rapid interventions are put in place to address gaps in learning.

The impact of our curriculum is seen in:

High standards: consistently performing at above national and local averages.
Strong progress; improving year-on-year.
Quality experiences which are memorable, worthwhile and challenging.
Teaching which is personalised, innovative and child-led.
Learners that are resilient, independent and confident global citizens.
Individuals who value and respect one another and have an appreciation of a diverse community.

Overall, the child is at the centre of everything we do at Park Hill Junior School and will be provided with an opportunity to be the best they can be at all times.

At Park Hill we believe the cornerstones of our curriculum to be integral to all aspects of learning. Through our broad and balanced curriculum, children are taught the National Curriculum subjects using themes. Overviews of these themes can be found here:

Parental support

If you have any questions/queries about the curriculum, please speak to your child's Class Teacher or Year Group Leader.

Each term we will display the curriculum overviews (found above) and produce knowledge organisers for the upcoming themes. You may wish to talk about the themes at home with your child, or perhaps arrange a family outing to increase awareness and understanding of a subject.

Updated: June 2024

Statement to be reviewed: June 2026