Happy, successful children embracing "life in all its fullness"      (John 10:10)

To find our Curriculum Overview click here 

Our Curriculum Content

Here at Bradley C of E (VC) Primary School, we teach a broad and balanced curriculum, creatively planned to engage and excite our pupils. We seek to provide a wealth of opportunities, for pupils to practise and apply their English and Mathematics skills across the curriculum. We draw on a range of resources including the Inspire materials (Cornwall Learning), various ‘Online’ education packages, including Purple Mash and Mathletics, and we make use of our beautiful outdoor space as much as we can. Our Church School status, puts us in the fortunate position of being able to work closely with the diocese of Derby, our local church and vicar, to ensure that Christian values are embedded in our curriculum, and that our pupils benefit from the sharing of these values through daily collective worship (assembly).

We teach PSHE both explicitly in planned lessons, but also weave the strands of PSHE through everything we teach. We use a variety of resources, and try wherever possible to link activities to current issues, locally, nationally and globally. We use a variety of resources to teach children about staying healthy and safe, sex and relationships, and the threats associated with cyber-bullying, including child sexual exploitation. We teach our pupils about safeguarding, and visits from Childline and resources such as Barnardos  ‘Real Love Rocks’ materials, help us to deliver these programmes in a meaningful way for each age group. All resources are age-appropriate, and some topics are covered just with years 5 and 6.

It is our aim, in all that we do, to embed the fundamental British values of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs. In doing so, we hope to enable our pupils to develop and demonstrate skills and attitudes that will allow them to participate fully in and contribute positively to life in modern Britain.

In Reception, our youngest pupils follow the EYFS curriculum, which is integrated creatively into the KS1 program of study wherever possible.

Pupils in KS1 and KS2 study Mathematics, English, Science, RE (according to the Derbyshire agreed syllabus, 2014), PSHE & citizenship, PE (including swimming in both KS1 & KS2) Computing, History, Geography, Art & Design, Design Technology & French.  Subjects are woven in to themes, so that our pupils benefit from a rich tapestry of opportunity every day. The KS1 curriculum is taught on a 2-year cycle and a 4-year cycle is operated in KS2.

Pupils are taught in ability groups, rather than year groups, giving us the flexibility to ensure all pupils receive the correct level of support and challenge.

Phonics

At our school, we use the Read Write Inc. (RWI) Phonics Programme to give children a strong foundation in reading and writing. RWI is a structured, systematic approach that teaches children to read sounds, blend them into words, and develop reading fluency, comprehension, and confidence.

Phonics is taught daily in Reception and Year 1, ensuring that all children build secure early reading skills. Beyond Year 1, we continue to use the RWI Spelling Programme to support children in developing accurate and confident spelling. This structured approach reinforces phonics knowledge and helps children apply it to increasingly complex vocabulary and writing tasks.

Our goal is for every child to become a fluent reader and skilled writer, with a lifelong love of reading.

Our Rich Curriculum

Our very small classes, enable us to tailor work closely to pupil need. We always try to group pupils by ability, rather than ‘year group’. In this way, we can ensure that pupils are both challenged and supported appropriately.

We offer a broad and balanced curriculum across all years. We work hard to ensure that subjects are taught creatively, with as many opportunities as possible for real-life learning, in real-life contexts. Above all, we aim to make learning fun for our pupils.

As we are a small school we are able to offer music tuition to all pupils, weekly forest school for every child and swimming for all KS2 children.  Our curriculum is enriched with a wide range of exciting opportunities beyond the classroom. We take part in RDSSP sporting events across Derbyshire, encouraging teamwork, resilience, and a love of physical activity. We also value strong community links, with events such as our Bradley Restaurant, where parents and local residents are invited to enjoy food prepared by the children. Trips to Carsington Water offer outdoor learning experiences, while Enrichment Week provides pupils with the chance to try new activities and explore their interests.

The children are excellent cooks! We make pancakes to learn about fractions, scones to practise weighing and measuring, and dishes from around the world to explore different cultures. Our pupils have taken part in judo, mountain biking at Carsington Water, climbing at the University of Derby, and tennis coaching from Ashbourne Tennis Club.

We offer a wide range of visits and experiences to support pupils learning; As part of our broad and engaging curriculum, we offer a range of enriching educational visits and experiences. These include trips to the local steam railway as part of our Transport Through Time topic, and a visit to Carsington Water to explore science themes such as animals and habitats. To support our history learning, we welcome Anglo-Saxon visitors who bring to life the experiences of people from that era—this complements our topic based History beyond 1066. 

We frequently explore our local community, with visits to events such as the Well Dressings in Tissington and the Brailsford Ploughing Match. Our pupils are also active and enjoy outdoor adventures, including walking around Carsington Water, along the Tissington Trail, or even hiking to the top of Thorpe Cloud.

It is important to our school that we take advantage of the local surrounding area. We also have our own Forest School a short walk from the school site. The children love pond dipping, building shelters and toasting marshmallows around the firepit.