When our children start their Springfield journey, we aim to plant a special seed that we hope stays with them for life: a love of learning. We want all of our children to come to school every day excited about learning new things, confident to try new experiences and enthusiastic about facing new challenges. Woven through our curriculum are rich and engaging learning experiences which we hope become life long memories – both in the knowledge, skills and understanding our children develop, as well as the joy and sense of achievement they experienced whilst growing. By igniting their curiosity, we hope that our children will go into the world open and receptive to learning and growing throughout their life.

Springfield is a community school – it’s in our name. Our curriculum has been carefully designed to serve and reflect our diverse and vibrant community where everyone belongs and is included. Our children and families speak many languages and come from many different parts of the world.  A significant number of our children have two places they call home. Through our curriculum, we embrace what unites us: that we all belong to Britain and Britain belongs to all of us. We believe our children deserve to feel a strong sense of connection to and pride in their home. Hand in hand with this, we celebrate our diversity and look beyond our borders to celebrate the different heritages and cultures which make our community so special and to broaden our children’s horizons further so they leave us knowing that there is much we share, and though we are different, we are equal.

As a Rights Respecting school, we value our children’s rights, as set out in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. This ethos is woven through our curriculum, and we seek opportunities across different subjects to explore what it means to be caring, thoughtful and respectful citizens. Our goal is that a child with Springfield roots, goes out into the world both with a sense of their rights and their responsibilities towards their community and the planet. We know it is important that our children understand the challenges that shape the modern world, and the power they have to make positive change, be it environmental, political or social.

With the love of learning firmly planted, our curriculum supports children to develop strong foundations which set them up for future success. As a school with a large proportion of children who speak English as an additional language, our curriculum is designed to ensure that our children develop into confident speakers, readers and writers, and that they read widely and develop a real love for books that lasts a lifetime. We have placed the development of language at the heart of our curriculum so that our children form strong roots from which to grow, whilst celebrating the variety of languages our children speak at home. So that each child grows firm roots in EYFS and KS1, early reading is taught expertly, with no child left behind. As children move from KS1 to KS2, reading continues to be taught with rigour, supported by our carefully-mapped reading diet and read-aloud spine. We firmly believe every child has a right to be read to, every day. This time each day is precious, prized and protected. As well as developing high standards of literacy, we want our children to leave us as confident mathematicians, with numerical fluency and flexible problem-solving strategies that help them navigate the world around them and which open doors to other areas of learning.

Whilst our children develop mastery in core subjects, our curriculum reaches far beyond those limits. Through the broad range of other subjects we teach, our children acquire far-reaching branches that help them reach out further into the world. Through our carefully-planned geography curriculum, our children enjoy opportunities to celebrate their local area and to understand its place in the world. We take our children beyond their immediate local context as they learn about the city of London and the wider study of the UK, and further afield, as they learn about what it means to be a global citizen.   In history lessons, we introduce our children to the story of this island and explore threads such as invasion and settlement, technological advancement and legacy. We also explore the history of ancient civilizations so that they begin to develop a global perspective and can begin to make sense of the trials and triumphs which have shaped the world today. In subjects such as art, DT and music, we place a high emphasis both on creativity and technical skill. We want our children to have the knowledge and skills they need to appreciate works of great art, music and architecture and create, compose and construct works of their own. Our RE and PSHE lessons are important spaces for learning about difference and how to be respectful and tolerant citizens, whilst P4C lessons give our children the chance to ask questions and explore issues that may invite different viewpoints and deep thinking. In science, we build on our children’s innate curiosity and help them make sense of the world around them both through the explicit teaching and through guided experimentation and observation. We want our children to leave our classrooms with a keen eye for what makes the world such a fascinating and special place. At Springfield, we know how lucky we are to have a large and varied outdoor learning space. As our children learn and grow, we take opportunities to use our surroundings for rich learning experiences – our children learn about seasons, plants, habitats, light and so much more outside, where it is real and tangible. Where our children are immersed in experiences that take them outside their classroom we aim to ignite their curiosity and encourage their imagination.

Through each child’s journey through our curriculum, we encourage them to reach their branches further outwards. By the time they leave us, we aim for them to be prepared for the next step in their growth and ready for the broad range of subjects their secondary schools offer. We also want our children to leave us confident and positive about their futures. During their time at Springfield, we work hard to encourage our children to use their voices –in dialogue-rich lessons, on the playground with friends and to speak up to share their successes, ask for help and stand up for what they know to be right. Our children have the right to be heard and to know that their voice is valued. Our curriculum equips them with the knowledge, skills and understanding they need for success and happiness in their own future, and to play their part in having a positive impact on the world. As a community, we stand tall and proud as a whole forest of trees, with deep and far-reaching roots. We know we can learn together, grow together and make a difference.