Curriculum Overview
Our Curriculum Intent
At Dunbury, we believe that is it the right of each new generation to be better than the preceding one. We want our children to become nurturing compassionate global citizens who can make complex decisions in intelligent ways.
Our vision is foundation of our curriculum and therefore the roots of the tree. It has its biblical underpinning in Galatians 3:28, “for we are all one in Christ”. Our knowledge tree comes from the strength of our vision, keeping us rooted in the aspiration we have for our pupils and community.
The trunk and branches of the tree represents the core of our culture which is based on our values. Our values drive and steer us in building our school community as one in which we thrive and flourish. They underpin our behaviours and attitudes towards ourselves and others. They are the guiding light that we return to when we feel uncertain or challenged.
Our curriculum drivers are the leaves that provide the tree with energy to grow the knowledge of the national curriculum. They feed the learning through developing curiosity, language and resilience for learning.
Our Vision: Strength in difference, together we are one, together we fly high
Our six curriculum themes linked to our vision aim to develop our children’s awareness about: themselves and others; our world and our role as its custodians; and collaboration and aspirations.
Strength in self
We aim to teach children about the importance of physical and mental health and the five ways to well-being. We want to develop an understanding of the character strengths needed to be resilient and successful and provide opportunities to reflect upon the ‘inner person’ and how this makes them wonderfully unique and valuable.
Strength in difference
We want our children to develop a curiosity about the diversity in our world and communities and through this develop a growing empathy, concern and compassion for how to treat others. This includes understanding the inequalities in our communities and how to be inclusive and bring about positive change to combat equality and equity.
Together in our communities
Having started to develop a ‘theory of mind’ (an understanding that others have minds like our own and so have different thoughts feelings and views), we want to equip our children with the knowledge and understanding needed to develop self-regulation, make friends and negotiate. We aim to provide opportunities for children to reflect upon how they can have an impact on others and how others can have an impact upon them.
Together in our world
We want our children to see themselves as custodians of our world and environment. We aim to do this through providing opportunities to explore our responses to the wonder of the natural world and human creativity and investigate the human impact on the natural environment, recognising cause and effect.
Be Heard
At Dunbury we want to develop every child’s unique voice through broadening their language, developing good listening skills and an understanding of how to treat others with kindness and respect. We want our children to be able to communicate in a variety of ways to get their message across powerfully and politely.
Be Aspirational
At Dunbury we want our children to grow and flourish as unique and curious individuals with the resilience and determination to continually challenge themselves, to innovate, to aspire and to achieve highly. We aim to teach them that achieving our goals takes time and practice and failed attempts along the way are opportunities to reflect and reset.
Our Christian Values
Our curriculum and vision is underpinned by our core Christian values of friendship, respect, courage and trust. Our values underpin everything we do and the behaviour that we aspire to achieve on a daily basis.
British Values
We promote the fundamental British values of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty, and mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs.
Our Curriculum Drivers
When designing our curriculum, we took into account the needs of our learners and community, our vision and values, and the location of our school. These ‘big ideas’ or curriculum drivers are used to underpin the development work we undertake in all areas of school life and to ensure our curriculum offer is enriched and personalised to our children and their families.
Our Curriculum Maps
Our curriculum maps are the overview of how our curriculum drivers, vision, the national curriculum and the early years foundation stage are organised and connected throughout the school. As a small rural school with mixed age classes, we have laid out our curriculum on a rolling basis. As a child moves through the school they experience coverage of the curriculum through different topics. Beech and Maple follow the KS1 map, Cherry the Lower KS2 and Golden Willow and Scots Pine, Upper KS2
Please click on the links below to see our curriculum maps for this year.
2021 to 2022 Years A, C and E
2022 to 2023 Years B, D, and F
Curriculum Maps
Click on the class pages to see an overview of what your child will be learning this year.
Beech Maple Oak Cherry Golden Willow Scots Pine
Music tuition
We are fortunate to have very well-resourced music provision at Dunbury. In addition to this core curriculum, in Years Three and Four children embark on a programme of study with Dorset Music Service, studying an instrument which might be anything from the flute to the violin, from samba drums to trombones.
Children at Dunbury are offered the opportunity to learn to play an instrument through peripatetic tuition provided by the Dorset Music Service. If your child is interested in starting music lessons then please enquire for more details at the school office. Here is a link to the Dorset Music Service website where you can find information on instrument hire, funding opportunities, playing opportunities and much more:
Please note, if you are in receipt of certain benefits or your child is eligible for free school meals, we will may be able to provide some support towards music tuition as part of our Pupil Premium strategy. Please speak to the office for details.