We use Dimensions ‘Learning Means the World’ Curriculum as the main vehicle for achieving our outlined intent.

This curriculum is underpinned by four highly relevant world issues, known as the four Cs:-

Communication                  Conflict                    Culture                  Conservation

Communication

We believe that communication is a core life skill and that our pupils need to know how to communicate well, who to communicate with and what they should communicate, both now and in the future. This will help them grow as learners and build positive relationships, both socially and emotionally.

At Barwick-in-Elmet Church of England Primary School, we want our children to be knowledgeable and independent in expressing their views and we also want them to recognise the importance of listening to others who have different views or opinions. We want them to be able to use language to argue, reason and explain their thinking.

We want our pupils to use language that is appropriate to their audience as a means of increasing confidence, encouraging and supporting each other, through both verbal and non-verbal communication, as part of our unique school culture.

We also recognise that digital communication is an integral part of our pupils’ lives. As such, we have identified developing excellent communication skills as a priority for equipping our pupils for life’s daily challenges and for the future.

Culture

We are proud to be part of a village with a strong cultural heritage, and rich in local learning opportunities and experiences for our pupils. We want our children to value these and be proud of them. Given the demographic makeup of  Barwick-in-Elmet Church of England Primary Scholl we are determined to offer a spectrum of opportunities to teach our pupils to fully appreciate and embrace the cultural diversity found in wider society.

We want them to value diversity building on our values of Peace, Hope and Koinonia. We understand that the future for our pupils will be more globally focused and so, through our ‘Learning Means the World’ Curriculum, we want our pupils to break down barriers and challenge stereotypes. With a focus on teaching them to value and learn from differences, we want them to appreciate that they are part of a wider and diverse community beyond their immediate vicinity.

Conflict

Our core Christian value of peace is the foundation for the high standards of pupil behaviour at our school, of which we are very proud. However, we believe that a range of skills should be taught throughout the curriculum in order to build up resilience and help pupils cope with a range of difficult situations, to understand the consequences of conflict on both themselves and on others. Having a developed understanding of sources of conflict and the importance of seeing things from others’ points of view, we believe, will make a difference to their own choices as they learn more about conflict resolution. We also believe that our pupils' global understanding will be deepened by learning and understanding the causes and consequences of war in today's society.

Conservation

We can’t ignore conservation; it is a major issue for the future of our pupils and the wider global society. At Barwick-in-Elmet Church of England Primary School we understand the importance of developing an understanding of this at both a local and a global level. We are fortunate to be surrounded by wonderful opportunities within our school grounds to be able to develop conservation experiences that all our children can take ownership of. We believe it is essential to teach our pupils about their role in sustainability, as part of becoming responsible citizens. Our curriculum deepens understanding of this further by developing collaboration, creativity, problem solving and actions to inspire our pupils to become stewards of our planet. We need them to understand that this is about helping future generations, not just themselves.

Our curriculum narrative begins with Communication, as this underpins and links to the other three focus areas. We have followed this with Culture because we believe that understanding identity is so important. Next, Conflict which has a focus on the past, specifically learning from mistakes, and finally Conservation which looks to the future and a better, sustainable world.

We also encourage our pupils to have high aspirations by teaching them about human creativity and achievement through additional Competency Units about famous figures that focus on Creativity, Commitment, Courage and Community.