At Thwaites School, our curriculum is designed to bring our vision—Enjoy Learning, Achieve Success—to life. We want every child to enjoy coming to school, develop a genuine love of learning and achieve their full potential. Our curriculum is ambitious, broad and inclusive, giving pupils the knowledge, skills and personal qualities they need to succeed at Thwaites, at the next stage of their education and in later life.

Our new curriculum was introduced in autumn 2025. We have selected high-quality, carefully sequenced curriculum schemes and adapted their delivery to meet the needs of Thwaites pupils and our mixed-age class structure. Learning is organised so that pupils build securely on what they already know, make meaningful connections between subjects and develop increasingly detailed knowledge and understanding as they progress from Nursery to Year 6.

As a small village school, we are able to know every child exceptionally well and provide individual attention, support and challenge. Our mixed-age classes give pupils valuable opportunities to learn with and from one another, develop independence and take on responsibilities within the school community. Teaching is adapted carefully so that all pupils—including those with special educational needs and disabilities—can access the same ambitious curriculum and achieve success.

Our location and community are important parts of our curriculum. We make purposeful use of the local landscape, natural environment and village community to enrich pupils’ learning. Outdoor and nature learning, educational visits, visitors, residential experiences, enrichment days, competitions, clubs, music, sport and the arts help bring learning to life. These experiences broaden pupils’ horizons, develop their interests and talents, and create lasting memories.

Our school values of kindness, engagement, collaboration and resilience were introduced in 2026 to reflect the qualities children need to thrive within our curriculum and beyond. Pupils are encouraged to participate actively, work successfully with others, persevere when learning is challenging and treat everyone with kindness and respect.

By the time pupils leave Thwaites School, we want them to have secure knowledge and skills, confidence in themselves and curiosity about the world. We want them to be independent, resilient and thoughtful learners who collaborate well, embrace new experiences and are fully prepared for the next stage of their education.

How Our Curriculum Is Organised

Thwaites School is organised into two mixed-age classes:

• Class One: Nursery, Reception, Year 1 and Year 2

• Class Two: Years 3, 4, 5 and 6

Our mixed-age structure is one of the strengths of our small school. It allows staff to know pupils exceptionally well and enables children of different ages to learn alongside, support and inspire one another. Teachers plan carefully to ensure that learning is appropriate to each pupil’s age, stage of development, prior knowledge and individual needs.

Our wider curriculum is organised through rolling programmes that reflect the different age groups within each class:

• Nursery follows a two-year rolling programme: Cycles A and B.

• Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 follow a three-year rolling programme: Cycles A, B and C.

• Year 3, Year 4, Year 5 and Year 6 follow a four-year rolling programme: Cycles A, B, C and D.

During the 2026–27 academic year, all pupils are following the relevant content from Cycle B.

These rolling programmes ensure that pupils experience the breadth of the curriculum while building knowledge and skills progressively. Important ideas and concepts are revisited at increasing levels of depth, helping pupils make connections and remember what they have learnt.

Within each shared curriculum theme or subject area, teachers plan age-appropriate learning and outcomes. Nursery and Reception pupils are taught in accordance with the Early Years Foundation Stage framework, while pupils in Years 1 to 6 follow the National Curriculum. Teaching, resources, questioning, support and challenge are adapted so that every pupil can participate successfully and make progress from their individual starting point.

English and mathematics are planned carefully to reflect the curriculum expectations for each year group. Across all subjects, teachers assess what pupils already know, identify any gaps or misconceptions and adjust teaching accordingly. This ensures that learning in a mixed-age class remains ambitious, coherent and appropriately challenging for every child.

Our curriculum overviews for Class One and Class Two can be found below. These show the subjects, topics and units taught during each curriculum cycle.

Assessment and Inclusion

How We Assess Learning

Assessment is an important part of teaching and learning at Thwaites School. It helps teachers understand what pupils already know, identify misconceptions or gaps and plan what should be taught next.

Day-to-day teacher assessment is the main way we identify what pupils understand. Teachers gather information through questioning, discussion, observation, pupils’ work, planned recall and feedback during lessons. This enables them to respond quickly and adapt teaching when necessary.

From Year 1 to Year 6, pupils also complete termly assessments:

• PiRA assessments for reading

• GaPS assessments for grammar, punctuation and spelling

• White Rose end-of-term assessments for mathematics

These assessments provide additional evidence and are used alongside teachers’ professional judgements. They help identify areas of strength, gaps in knowledge and pupils who may need further support or additional challenge. We also use school-designed reading assessments to assess pupils’ understanding and application of the VIPERS reading-comprehension skills taught in school.

Assessing Writing

Writing is assessed through a carefully structured process. Teachers introduce a particular genre, such as narrative writing, and explicitly teach the relevant structure, presentation, grammar, punctuation and vocabulary.

Pupils then apply these skills, alongside the generic writing expectations for their year group, to produce an independent piece. They follow a writing process that includes planning, drafting, revising, editing and completing a finished piece.

The English lead assesses finished pieces against both the expectations for the particular genre and the wider writing expectations for each pupil’s year group. This helps the school build an accurate picture of pupils’ strengths and next steps in writing.

Pupil Self-Assessment

In foundation subjects, pupils use our child-friendly POG trackers to reflect on their progress against the lesson objective and success criteria. POG is our assessment character, named after the three colours children use:

• Pink – Developing: “I am starting to learn this, but I still need help.”

• Orange – Secure: “I can do this on my own most of the time.”

• Green – Advanced: “I can do this confidently and could help someone else.”

This encourages pupils to think about their own learning, recognise their progress and identify when they may need further support.

Parents and carers are kept informed about their child’s learning and progress through parents’ evenings and an annual written report.

Inclusion and Adaptation

Thwaites School is committed to providing an ambitious and inclusive curriculum for every pupil. Because we are a small school, staff know each child exceptionally well and can respond carefully to individual strengths, needs and barriers to learning.

Depending on a pupil’s age, prior attainment or individual needs, teaching may be adapted through:

• Adult support

• Scaffolds and prompts

• Practical resources and equipment

• Visual aids

• Breaking learning into smaller, manageable steps

• Additional practice

• Targeted intervention

Pupils who demonstrate secure understanding are challenged through more complex questions and tasks, probing discussion, deeper reasoning and opportunities to apply their knowledge in unfamiliar contexts.

Pupils with special educational needs and disabilities have individual pupil profiles. These are updated termly following each assessment period and are informed by the views of teachers, pupils and parents or carers. Profiles are shared with the SENCO and reviewed in depth each term. Where appropriate, the school also works with external professionals to obtain specialist advice and support.

We continually strive to identify and remove barriers so that every child can participate fully in our curriculum, enjoy learning and achieve success.

Phonics and Early Reading

At Thwaites School, we recognise that secure phonics knowledge provides the foundation children need to become confident, fluent readers and writers.

Phonics teaching begins in Nursery and takes place every day. We follow Twinkl Phonics, using an age-appropriate and carefully sequenced approach that enables children to build their knowledge of sounds progressively.

Children apply the sounds they have learnt by reading fully decodable Twinkl Rhino Readers books. Books are carefully matched to each child’s current phonics knowledge so that pupils can practise successfully, develop fluency and build confidence.

Children are expected to read at home every day. This regular practice is an important part of learning to read, and we value the support parents and carers provide.

Teachers assess children’s phonics knowledge regularly. If a pupil is at risk of falling behind, additional support is provided promptly. Depending on the child’s needs, this may include extra practice, small-group teaching or individual intervention.

Religious Education

Religious education at Thwaites School is taught in accordance with the Cumbrian Agreed Syllabus for RE 2023, supported by Kapow Primary resources.

Through RE, pupils develop knowledge and understanding of different religions and worldviews. They learn to ask thoughtful questions, consider different perspectives and discuss beliefs and ideas with curiosity and respect.

Wherever possible, learning is enriched through visits to a variety of places of worship and opportunities to learn from members of different faith communities. These experiences help pupils deepen their understanding and appreciate the diversity of beliefs and traditions within modern Britain and the wider world.

Parents and carers have the right to withdraw their child from all or part of religious education. If you are considering withdrawal, please contact the headteacher through the school office. We will arrange a meeting to discuss your request, clarify which elements of RE you wish your child to be withdrawn from and explain the practical arrangements. This discussion does not affect your right to withdraw your child.

Telephone: 01229 772554
Email: admin@thwaites.cumbria.sch.uk

Curriculum Overviews

Our curriculum overviews show the subjects, topics and units taught across each rolling programme:

• Nursery Curriculum Overview – a two-year programme covering Cycles A and B

• Class One Curriculum Overview – a three-year programme for Reception, Year 1 and Year 2, covering Cycles A, B and C

• Class Two Curriculum Overview – a four-year programme for Years 3 to 6, covering Cycles A, B, C and D

During the 2026–27 academic year, all pupils are following the relevant content from Cycle B.

The overviews provide a clear picture of the breadth and content of our curriculum. Within each unit, learning is planned and adapted according to pupils’ ages, year-group expectations, prior knowledge and individual needs.

You can view our complete curriculum overviews below.

For further information about our curriculum, including the content taught in a particular subject or year group, please contact Mr M. Redhead through the school office:

Telephone: 01229 772554
Email: admin@thwaites.cumbria.sch.uk

Paper copies of curriculum information are available free of charge on request.