Curriculum Intent
Together we all learn to achieve and thrive in every way
How we learn at John Ball School
Know more, do more, remember more
We believe that the purpose of a school curriculum is to develop a body of knowledge and a toolkit of skills that children are able to build on, over time. This is with a view that when children leave the school they know more and can do more than when they started; and are able to recall this from their memory to build future learning on.
To achieve this, we provide rich and meaningful experiences creating an emotional connection between the learner and the learning. Our teachers are passionate about finding the ‘spark’ that ignites your child’s sense of curiosity for learning. We offer a breadth and depth of curriculum and extra-curricular experiences to allow each child the opportunity to discover the things that bring them joy, to have fun and enable them to learn, achieve and thrive in every way.
It is vital that our children learn the core skills required to access all of our curriculum which goes beyond the statutory National Curriculum. Our curriculum is designed to develop the whole child. As children learn more and do more; they develop more as a person, becoming a curious and active citizen, creative thinker and life-long learner who will contribute positively to our world.
When children are not developmentally ready for learning, we prioritise their personal, social and emotional development. For these children, learning will predominantly be focussed around their personal areas of interest, carefully crafted so they can progress and fulfill their learning potential by keeping a close focus on the precise next steps required to develop their core skills.
Our Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) policy outlines how our curriculum is made accessible for those with additional needs. You can view all policies on our dedicated policy page.
How do we organise the curriculum?
At John Ball, we have four faculties which individual subjects are part of. These are:
- Music
- Art
- LAMDA
- Forest school
- Play
- Reading
- Phonics
- Writing
- French
- History
- Geography
- PSHE
- SRE
- RE
- PE
- Science
- Design technology
- Maths
- Computing