Our strapline of ‘Everyone Matters and every day counts’ continues to be the mission for the school. We aim to create and sustain a learning community where all children, and all other stakeholders, truly matter and come to school with a desire to use each and every day as an opportunity to learn, develop and enjoy what they do.

How do we do this?

Informal

Curriculum

Formal

 

It happens by a well-connected and deliberately planned curriculum.

As the children step through the gates each day, there are intentional acts taken to cultivate and bring this to life. Some of these are through a carefully sequenced and progressive curriculum for each subject area; whereas others are particular ‘moments and opportunities’ that are created and intentionally built within every -day school life. This could be singing proudly and consistently in singing assembly, it could be an opportunity to compete in cross school competitions or purposeful conversations in corridors linking to our golden behaviours. It is the blend of both the informal and formal curriculum that is at the heart of the school.

What binds our curriculum together?

Whilst each subject has its own clear objectives (drawn from the national curriculum), key vocabulary and start and end points, we believe that there are threads that help bind all curriculum areas together. By having a connecting tissue running right across our curriculum approach, it ensures that it is tailored and right specifically for an Eastbrook child in this locality. The three areas that leaders believe essential in weaving into the life blood of the school at every opportunity are:

Community

We believe it vital that children love and have a clear affinity with where they live. To do this, we must create opportunities for them to live and breathe the local environment. Situated a mile from the sea, learning to swim is a life skill and one even more important with our location. Therefore, learning to swim from Y1 to Y6 is essential. Visits to residential homes, Hiking Heros (on the south downs) and Shoreham Port all aim to shape pupils into looking after one another and have a sharp awareness of the landscape with which we live.

Character

With a rapidly changing society, where it is increasingly difficult to predict precisely what the world of work may look like when our primary aged children conclude their education, it is critical that we deliberately focus intent on timeless characteristics that will hold Eastbrook pupils in great stead irrespective of the context. Whilst technological advances are going to accelerate and bring forth countless opportunities, we are unable to crystal ball gaze into the future. Therefore, building a curriculum that reinforces characteristics (ie: resilience, self- awareness, and kindness) is essential and fully stands the test of time. Our PSHE and PE curriculums, tailored and our explicitly taught ‘Behaviour Curriculum’ knitted together alongside our school golden behaviours drive these deliberately across all ages of the school.

Curiosity

‘I have no special talent. I am only passionately curious’ (Albert Einstein)

Equipping children with a thirst for knowledge and a desire to find out concepts for themselves, is one of the greatest life skills we can support our children to build and understanding. It is woven across subjects consistently to persistently reinforce its importance. Within Mathematics, and White Rose, it supports pupils dissecting knowledge and exploring understanding in contrasting ways (not just building fluency). It also comes to the fore strongly within our ‘Forest School’ provision where children have the chance to ‘test out’ methods of ‘den building’ or ‘fire lighting’ to work out what is most suitable.

Put simply, as a child travels through the school and when they leave Eastbrook for the next stage of their learning, we want them to be immersed in the deliberate intention to build locally engaged and global citizens by celebrating and championing: Community, Character, and Curiosity.