THE FRUITS OF THE SPIRIT – OUR SCHOOL VALUES

we aim to achieve our Vision (rooted in Mathew 28) by living by our values.

 Impact on our Christian vision: Our Vision to help all flourish

This is our school. Let peace dwell here.

Let the rooms be full of contentment.

Let love abide here.

Love of one another, love of mankind, love of life itself and love of God.

Let us remember that as many hands build a house, so many hearts create a school.

The name of our school comes from the Bible reading John: 5

‘I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit.’

The fruits of the spirit are found in Galatians 5:

Love

Joy

Peace

Patience

Kindness

Goodness

Faithfulness

Gentleness

Self-Control

CURRICULUM INTENT STATEMENT

Fostering a love of learning and an enthusiasm for joining in with all aspects of school and a love of mankind.

Intent

At The Vine our curriculum and our teaching methods are carefully designed to maximise pupils’ knowledge retention, developing their skills (that will be transferable into the next stage of their education) and deepen awareness of the role we all play as 21st century citizens. 

As a school that has such a diverse intake and is ecumenical in foundation, the focus on being an international school runs through our curriculum. Our international learning has been recognized and awarded the Full International Award by the British Council for our outstanding work. The British Council’s planned Global Values play a key role in each year group across the whole school e.g.: rights and responsibility, conflict and peace, rights and responsibilities, fairness and equality and sustainability. Our International partnerships enhance what is taught; these include links with Spain, Kenya, Isle of Man, Australia, Antarctica and Japan, learning is shared and best teaching practice is celebrated Promoting the fundamental British values has enabled us to reinforce our current ethos. This enables our pupils to gain a greater understanding of local, national and global issues. We believe we effectively promote the pupils' spiritual, moral, cultural and social development and prepare them well for life in Britain and their role in the wider world. To further enrich our curriculum and build the pupil’s ‘cultural capital’, we also plan curriculum focus days, weeks and celebrations, visitors in and visits out to help provide "the essential knowledge that children need to be educated citizens" as defined by Ofsted 2019.

The key Wesleyan principle of doing “all the good you can, in all the ways you can” runs through the wider school week (e.g.: worship themes, an altruistic behaviour system, peer mediators etc.) as well as in taught lessons. Each year group focuses on a different and diverse courageous advocate throughout the year, helping to anchor learning to a key figure who has used their knowledge to improve the world (Dual Coding. Sternberg: 2003). End of year subject expectations are designed with the school vision in mind and even home learning encourages pupils to apply their learnt skills to help others (maths survey skills to record broken street lights, persuasive writing to petition MPs on climate change, DT project design skills in producing emergency packs for the homeless etc.). 

INCLUSION AND WELLBEING

We believe that educational inclusion is about equal opportunities for all learners, whatever their age, gender, ethnicity, impairment, attainment and background. We pay particular attention to the provision for and the achievement of different groups of learners. We work hard to support and nurture our pupils to behave responsibly, manage their feelings, build positive relationships, work cooperatively with others and demonstrate a resilience to challenge. We strive to develop happy, healthy and well-rounded individuals and provide many levels of support and guidance to achieve this. For those pupils who need it, counsellors are in school to provide support.

IMPLEMENTATION OF OUR CURRICULUM

Daily Pre teaching for pupils who may need a head start to ensure information moves from their working to long term memory means that they are supported in the proceeding lessons by having cognitive links already beginning to form. This theory is replicated in home learning, where questions are designed to steadily remind pupils of what they have learnt and reduce the chances of knowledge slippage (Spaced practice theory / distributed practice (Ebbinghause: 1913). This is further enhanced by the deliberate revisiting of previous knowledge in end of year expectations, per subject in lessons. 

In order to ensure that leaning is sticky and pupils can recall more of it when needed the progression plans for subjects are deliberately designed to recap and remind pupils of learning in previous year groups (identified on end of year expectations). Daily Post teaching enables teachers to remind pupils through visual questions (dual coding (Sternberg, 2003)) laid out on a grid clearly on a grid, focusing on Maths and English learnt earlier in the day, the week and that the term. Gaps can then be spotted and closed and pupils who have grasped the knowledge already can further embed it into their long term memory by having the recap phrased as a question (therefore meaning they need to use the knowledge in a different way- aiding memory). 

Basic skills are woven into each lesson, meaning that through rehearsal these skills can embed for pupils. Applying maths and English skills in other lessons (identified on the school curriculum plans) means that pupils not only develop these skills but they are also aided in the foundation subject by have the risk of cognitive load reduced.  Having a clear schema to place the new learning into (Sweller:1988) means that the new foundation information is   better remembered. 

IMPACT

The curriculum at The Vine has been designed by subject coordinators, wider staff and pupils to ensure that it is bespoke for the needs of our pupils (and their secondary school journey after us). The National curriculum, data outcomes, internal assessment, commercial curriculum aids and cognitive theories have been used to inform curriculum choices and sequencing design. We want to ensure that staff share best practice and that systems and techniques that are effective are communicated through the school. We are doing this by: developmental work led by MLT and SLT, snapshots, creating a coaching culture, working with improvement advisors, lesson studies and international placements. Teacher appraisal now includes a research based project. We endeavour to ensure that our pupils, staff, parents and carers develop a sense that the ‘world is my parish’ and that the whole community aspires to doing ‘all the good you can’. Our Vision and Values lay the foundations for the way The Vine school community builds positive relationships, demonstrates compassion and understanding and a willingness for forgiveness and reconciliation. Governors and staff share the vision to ensure that the school is committed to serving the community of Cambourne, nationally and globally and to strive to ‘open hearts and minds’.

At The Vine we believe we can ‘Make a Difference’

If you would like further information on the curriculum we teach, please contact the school directly.