Our School Vision

‘Together we Dream, Believe, Challenge and Achieve’

Intent

Our curriculum is driven by the need to prepare our children for lifelong learning.  At SUN Primary School, we offer a rich and vibrant curriculum which is ambitious for all learners.  Through our curriculum, we develop the essential knowledge, skills and understanding which are the building blocks for later life.  Our curriculum encompasses not only the formal requirements of the National Curriculum, but goes beyond the experiences of the classroom to ensure that our children are exposed to the richest and most varied opportunities that we can provide.  Our aim is to enrich every child's school experience by creating an environment where they are encouraged to succeed and be the best they can be: where they can dream, believe, challenge and achieve.

At SUN, cultural capital prepares children with the essential knowledge and skills for their future, to live in the diverse, inclusive world around them. The exploration of new skills and experiences help to nurture resilience, curiosity, creativity and integrity.  The curriculum is further enhanced by our commitment to our Christian Values (including British Values) and, through these, we provide learning experiences which promote confident, self-motivated pupils, eager for lifelong learning who are considerate of the needs of others;

• Friendship and Forgiveness
• Peace
• Trust
• Compassion
• Fellowship and Community
• Thankfulness

Implementation

At SUN we strive to provide a broad and balanced curriculum that is diverse and inclusive, enabling all children to achieve. Children engage in our purposeful and meaningful curriculum to develop an understanding of our community and beyond. We instil knowledge and a progression of skills that is needs driven and relevant to the children at SUN. Through rich experiences and opportunities we incorporate learning beyond the classroom through visits, trips and visitors, who help us to fulfil our promise to enrich children’s learning as much as we can.

It is essential for all children to feel safe, secure and happy in order to achieve their best; to be able to flourish and to achieve. At SUN we are proud of our nurturing, supportive culture, where building relationships, upholding inclusivity and living by our values remain the priority for our school.

Impact:

The aims of our school curriculum are:

• To foster the children’s understanding of how we all dream, believe, challenge and achieve; encouraging curiosity, creativity, resilience and integrity in our learning enabling everyone to flourish
• To be inspired by those people in the past and present who have overcome adversity to achieve their goals across all the disciplines
• To promote a positive attitude and growth mindset towards learning, so that all children enjoy coming to school and embrace new challenges and possibilities; pushing their own boundaries to be the best they can be
• To enable children to develop their knowledge, understanding and skills; becoming independent thinkers and asking questions; acquiring a solid basis for lifelong learning
• To encourage children to be courageous advocates; being agents for change and standing up for what they believe
• To promote our Christian Values, British Values and Learning Behaviours so children take responsibility for themselves and their actions, and are respectful and tolerant and develop resilience
• To use our school, local and wider environments to enhance learning
• To fulfil all the requirements of the National Curriculum and the Locally Agreed Pan Berkshire Syllabus for Religious Education.

Cornerstones Curriculum

We believe that learning is most memorable for pupils when it is planned in a cross curricular way, enabling children to make meaningful links throughout their learning. Here at Sulhamstead & Ufton Nervet CE Primary School we provide a broad and balanced curriculum supported partly by the Cornerstones Curriculum, a nationally recognised approach for delivering outstanding learning opportunities for children. 

What is the Cornerstones Curriculum? 

The Cornerstones Curriculum is a creative and thematic approach to learning that is mapped to the 2014 Primary National Curriculum to ensure comprehensive coverage of national expectations. 

It is based on a child-centred pedagogy called The Four Cornerstones and is delivered through Imaginative Learning Projects (ILPs) and Knowledge Rich Projects (KRPs), which provide a rich menu of exciting and motivating learning activities that make creative links between all aspects of children’s learning. 

We believe children learn better when they are encouraged to use their imagination and apply their learning to engaging contexts. Our curriculum provides many learning challenges throughout the academic year that require children to solve problems, apply themselves creatively and express their knowledge and understanding effectively. 

Cornerstones also provide a rigorous skills and knowledge framework that outlines the end of year expectations in all subjects. These skills and knowledge are tied to activities and are age-related so that staff can track children’s progress and identify their individual learning needs.

The curriculum is continually reviewed and enhanced to ensure that it is flexible and responsive to the children’s needs. This ensures there is a relevant context for learning. The blend of discrete subjects, such as English and Mathematics, enriched by a plethora of other experiences, provides a vibrant mix that supports pupils’ learning. 

The Cornerstone 10 Big Ideas

At Sulhamstead & Ufton Nervet CE Primary School, we believe that children deserve a balanced curriculum that enables them to develop a deep understanding of all subjects and the interconnections between them. 

The rationale for the Cornerstones Curriculum takes the form of 10 big ideas that provide a purpose for the aspects, skills, knowledge and contexts chosen to form the substance of the curriculum. These big ideas form a series of multi-dimensional interconnected threads across the curriculum, allowing children to encounter and revisit their learning through a variety of subject lenses. 

Over time, these encounters help children to build conceptual frameworks that will enable a better understanding of increasingly sophisticated information and ideas.

Our Whole School Curriculum Map, with enrichment opportunities

whole school curriculum map 2025 2027.pdf