Our curriculum at St John’s Church of England Primary School is designed to grow strong roots and curious minds — Working together to build a firm foundation for learning and caring (Matthew 7:24–25). It is knowledge-rich, ambitious and explicitly shaped so every child makes sustained progress from Nursery to Year 6. The curriculum intent is underpinned by our Christian values (Love, Peace, Hope, Wisdom, Friendship, Honesty) and by three key principles:  our core Christian values, a love of learning and endless possibilities. These drivers ensure curriculum choices develop character, widen children’s horizons and prepare them for life in modern Britain.

To make learning visible and reliably effective we adopt the DELBAR structured learning cycle across the curriculum. DELBAR (Define — Explain — Learn — Build — Apply — Retrieve) gives teachers a consistent lesson and sequence structure that:

• defines precisely the knowledge and vocabulary pupils must learn (linked to our threshold concepts and values-driven drivers);
• sequences modelling and explanation so working memory is protected and new knowledge is scaffolded;
• builds practice and application tasks that require pupils to reason, make links and deepen understanding;
• embeds low- and no-stakes retrieval and spaced practice so knowledge moves into long-term memory and milestone outcomes are met.

Inclusion and access are central: planning anticipates barriers so adaptations for pupils with SEND and for disadvantaged pupils are explicit, visible in every lesson and evaluated for impact. Where pupils need additional practice to reach milestones, teachers use targeted scaffolds, worked examples and retrieval-rich catch-up sequences so the DELBAR cycle secures durable learning for everyone.

Reading and vocabulary are prioritised across subjects: expert tier‑2 and subject vocabulary are taught deliberately within the DELBAR sequence and reinforced through domain‑appropriate texts to widen pupils’ vocabulary and disciplinary understanding.

Our intended impact is that, by the end of each milestone, the vast majority of pupils will have sustained mastery of the planned curriculum knowledge and be able to apply it confidently. Subject leaders will monitor impact through termly POP (proof of progress) tasks, pupil conferencing and work sampling, showing that our drivers are realised in pupils’ knowledge, behaviour and aspirations.