Introduction   The curriculum is all the planned activities we organise in order to promote learning and personal growth and development. In includes not only the formal requirements of the National Curriculum, but also the range of extracurricular activities that the school organises in order to enrich the experience of the children. It also includes the hidden curriculum, or what the children learn from the way they are treated and expected to behave.   We aim to teach children how to grow into positive, responsible people, who can work and co-operate with others while developing knowledge and skills, so that they achieve their true potential. The curriculum is designed to be broad and balanced with continuity and progression throughout all aspects of learning. Active learning is encouraged through the provision of a wide range of teaching and learning opportunities. The National Curriculum and the QCA syllabus for RE are an essential part of our work. The curriculum is designed to promote the spiritual, moral, cultural and physical development of our pupils and to prepare them for opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of adult life.   Aims and Objectives   The aims of the school curriculum are: to enable all children to learn and develop their skills to the best of their  ability; to promote a positive attitude towards learning, so that children enjoy  coming to school , and acquire a solid basis for lifelong learning; to teach children the basic skills of literacy, numeracy and information  technology (IT); to enable children to be creative and to develop their own thinking; to teach children about their developing world, including how their  environment and society have changed over time; to help children understand Britain's cultural heritage; to enable children to become positive and participating citizens in a  rapidly changing technological society; to fulfil all the requirements of the National Curriculum and the QCA  syllabus for Religious Education; (see footnote*) to teach children to have an awareness of their own spiritual  development and to understand right from wrong; to help children understand the importance of truth and fairness, so that  they grow up committed to equal opportunities for all; to enable children to have respect for themselves and high self-esteem,  and to be able to live and work co-operatively with others.   Organisation and Planning   The curriculum is planned in three stages. There is an agreed long-term plan from the Foundation Stage to the end of Key Stage 1. This indicates topics taught each term, and to which groups of children. This is reviewed on an annual basis. With medium-term plans, we give clear guidance on the objective and teaching strategies we use when teaching each topic. As we have adopted the National Literacy and Numeracy Strategies, we take our medium-term planning directly from the guidance documents. We use the national schemes of work for most of our medium term planning in the foundation subjects.   Our short-term plans are those that our teachers write on a weekly or daily basis. We use these to set out the learning objectives for each session, and to identify what resources and activities to use in the lesson. In both the Foundation Stage and Key Stage 1 there is an inter-disciplinary topic approach to curriculum planning. We plan the curriculum carefully, for coherence and full coverage of all aspects of the National Curriculum and early learning goals. There is planned progression in all curriculum areas and the key skills are fully integrated into our schemes of work.   The Foundation Stage   The curriculum in the reception class meets the requirements set out in the revised National Curriculum at Foundation Stage. Our curriculum planning focuses on the Early Learning Goals and on developing children's skills and experiences, as set out in this document. The six areas of learning are:- personal, social and emotional development communication, language and literacy mathematical development knowledge and understanding of the world physical development creative development We support the principle that young children learn through play and by engaging in well-planned structured activities. Teaching in the reception class builds on the experiences of the children in their pre-school learning. We value and promote positive partnerships with nurseries and other preschool providers in the area.   Monitoring and Assessment   All children need the support of parents and teachers to make good progress in school. We strive to build positive links with parents of each child through regular home activities and our shared home reading scheme. We keep parents informed about the way children are being taught and how well each child is progressing through termly meetings and an annual written report for each child. Children's progress is regularly assessed by their teachers and a Foundation Stage Profile is completed for each child at the end of the Foundation Stage. Thereafter, as nationally, an average pupil is expected to progress at the end of Key Stage 1 to level 2. The most able children to level 2a or to level 3. All pupils are entered for the National Curriculum Standard Assessment Tests and Tasks in English and Mathematics and the results, with assessments in Science, are reported to parents.   Throughout their infant education a profile is kept of each child's progress as well as a portfolio of their work.   Footnote* In accordance with the law parents may ask to withdraw their children from RE lessons and indeed from the daily act of Collective Worship. Should parents make such a request their child will be supervised during that time by a member of staff elsewhere in the school. The trustees endorse this policy and ensure it is regularly monitored and revised.