Roots & Wings Curriculum
‘A wise woman once said to me that there are only two lasting bequests we can hope to give our children. One of these she said is roots, the other, wings.’ – William Hodding Carter
At St Ives Junior School, our curriculum is designed to support all pupils in building knowledge, skills, and understanding in a structured and meaningful way.
In Years 3 and 4, children are taught in mixed-age classes. To support this, we follow a two-year rolling programme (Cycle A and Cycle B). This ensures that pupils experience a broad and balanced curriculum across the phase, with different topics covered in different years. Skills for each subject are mapped to show progression, and these are revisited throughout both cycles to build a cohesive and deep understanding. Pupils have opportunities to reinforce prior learning and explore concepts in greater depth, developing confidence and mastery.
The curriculum places a strong focus on vocabulary, including word roots, morphology, and ‘Big Ideas’, so that pupils can express their understanding with clarity. Learning is organised around ‘big questions’ and enquiry questions, helping pupils make connections across topics and think critically. Assessment is used to deepen understanding at all levels, through strategies such as the Frayer model or hexagonal thinking, allowing pupils to explore ideas, make links, and apply knowledge creatively.
In mathematics, pupils in Years 3 and 4 experience full coverage of the National Curriculum for both year groups, with lessons following a clear step-by-step progression. Daily teaching includes opportunities for pupils to engage in deeper learning, apply reasoning, and develop fluency.
In Years 5 and 6, pupils are taught in single-age classes, enabling learning to be tailored to the needs of each year group while continuing to provide challenge, enrichment, and opportunities for deeper thinking.
You can view our full Curriculum Overview (Cycle A & B) below:
Our Curriculum Drivers
Identity
We recognise that young people need space to explore, develop and strengthen their identities and we value the importance of creating a sense of belonging through our curriculum. We want our children to feel known and to know the connections between our culture and cultures from elsewhere in the world. At SIJS, we do this by making links between Cornwall and ‘elsewhere’ wherever possible, providing the connections are rich, relevant and help our children develop their schema of ‘connectedness’. Through our topics, books and experiences, children also learn about the identities of others and how their experiences, which might reflect the experiences of some of our students, have helped them develop as successful global citizens.
Diversity
We want our learners to celebrate differences and uniqueness of our school, local and global communities. Our ‘Roots & Wings’ curriculum has embedded within it a range of stories and people from a wide range of backgrounds, identities and experiences.
Curiosity
“Curiosity drives the creative mind. Wonder rewards it” – Ian Gilbert
Curiosity motivates us to learn and to explore. At SIJS, we want our students to be curious about the world around them; to look for things that are not always immediately visible; to be able to think critically for themselves. All foundation subjects are built around a ‘Big Question’. Each lesson, the children answer a smaller question that gives insight into an element of the ‘Big Question’ (see example below).
For every question our curriculum asks, we want to spark more questions, which, in turn, will inspire our children into a lifelong love of enquiry and finding out more for themselves. Through carefully sequenced learning sequences, our learners notice connections and new patterns. In the words of Ian Gilbert “Curiosity is about taking delight in discovering what is there… I wonder what there is? I wonder what? I wonder…”
Curriculum Accessibility
Our curriculum is designed to be inclusive and accessible to all pupils.
We adapt teaching and learning to meet the needs of pupils with special educational needs and disabilities in line with the Equality Act 2010 and the SEND Code of Practice. Adaptations may include:
- Differentiated tasks and resources
- Targeted support and interventions
- Assistive resources and reasonable adjustments
- Adaptive teaching
Curriculum accessibility is reviewed regularly as part of our provision for pupils with SEND.
More Info
For more information about our curriculum, please contact Mr Tudor, our Curriculum Lead at enquiries@stivesjunior.org.uk