Enrichment at The Breck
Our curriculum extends beyond the National Curriculum and includes a wide range of enriching experiences and opportunities both within and beyond the school day. This includes an extensive programme of after-school clubs, that support the core curriculum offer, as well as those which support extended curriculum opportunities like cookery, mindfulness, yoga, animation, whilst also extending the range of children’s experiences (Cultural Capital).  A primary focus of our curriculum is to raise aspirations, engender a sense of personal pride in achievement, and provide a purpose and relevance for learning.

The school takes pride in providing a highly inclusive environment, where learners demonstrate high levels of enjoyment in their education and make very good progress across the curriculum. Children at all levels are helped to achieve their potential. Those who are most able are challenged and supported through being offered tasks which provide opportunities for greater depth and those who can struggle are encouraged and given targeted support to embed skills, to develop at their own pace or simply to learn in a style that best suits their individual needs.

In addition to our exciting and stimulating cross-curricular themes, we also provide further enrichment opportunities to enhance children’s learning wherever possible. These include: 

Promoting Positive Mental Health & Wellbeing
We aim to promote positive mental health and wellbeing of every member of our school community and recognise how important mental health and wellbeing is to our lives, as is physical health. We recognise that children’s mental health and overall wellbeing can affect their learning and achievement.

A key aspect of our role in school is to ensure that children can manage times of change and stress, and that they are supported to reach their potential or access help when they need it. We also have a role to ensure that children learn about what they can do to maintain positive mental health, what affects their mental health, how they can help reduce the stigma surrounding mental health issues, and where they can go if they need help and support.

Positive wellbeing is promoted through the wider curriculum and all school activities. Through a carefully planned approach to PSHE, RSE and Citizenship our pupils are helped to acquire the knowledge and develop the skills and understanding they need to lead confident, healthy, independent lives, and to become resilient, informed and responsible citizens.

In addition, whole school approaches such as collective worship and circle time sessions are used to further develop the pupils’ knowledge of strategies. For example, peaceful problem solving is taught in circle time sessions to help pupils learn to control and manage feelings when there are disputes on the playground. Whole school events are held including Walk and Talk, Mental Health Awareness, and Anti-bullying Week. During these events, the focus is on mindfulness and resilience; teaching strategies for dealing with anxiety; and coping with change and transition.

Extensive range of lunchtime Clubs
We support children’s social and emotional development, and their well-being all with a view to increasing the range of experiences that children have, enabling them to make informed choices for adult life.  Activities are designed to be fun and cater for a wide variety of interests. Activities include, and are not limited to: art, craft, design, mini- enterprise, cookery, science club, chess club, computer club, history club, football, rugby, hockey, cricket, and ultimate frisbee clubs to name but a few.

Healthy eating
Healthy eating is promoted throughout the school. We have children’s garden areas and raised growing beds. The children grow a variety of fruit, vegetables and herbs and when harvested use these in cooking activities.

Whole School Theme Days/Weeks
Throughout the year, themed days/weeks are woven into the curriculum to extend and enhance the breadth and balance of opportunities we offer our pupils. These include, Anti-Bullying Week and Safety Day, Creative Arts Week, World Book Day, Black History Month, Sport & Health Week, Fair Trade Fortnight, RE Days and much more. 

Earth Garden & Outdoor Learning
Forest Schools is a Scandinavian initiative designed to encourage and inspire individuals of any age through an innovative, long term, educational approach to outdoor play and learning in a woodland environment.  As a school we are very fortunate in having our own woodland area.

All year groups plan for curriculum sessions to be delivered in The Earth Garden. Teamwork skills are developed through games and activities.  Individual skills and self-esteem are heightened throughout activities such as hide and seek, shelter building, tool skills, lighting fires or environmental art, the list is endless.   Each activity develops intra and inter-personal skills as well as practical and intellectual skills. 

Educational Visits and Residentials
School trips and visits are an integral part of the education of children at The Breck Primary.  We value the opportunities such visits offer our pupils and the commitment of staff and adults undertaking them.  Trips include class visits aimed at bringing learning alive and providing first-hand experience; extra-curricular outings take place for all year groups and include visits to The Houses of Parliament and The Natural History Museum for upper key stage 2 pupils, to visit.  Children across all year groups are offered visits that support and enrich curriculum delivery.

Children in Year 6 take part in a residential visit to Tower Wood in the Lake District.

Visitors into School & Workshops
Visitors have a valuable role to play and can contribute to many aspects of the life and work of the school.  They deliver talks, workshops and full day activities across a wide range of subjects, giving pupils access to outside experiences and expertise. Visitors provide a link with the wider community – children have the opportunity to work alongside artists, musicians, authors, health professions and others.

Homework
Homework can make an important contribution to a child’s progress at school.  As well as reinforcing learning in the classroom, homework helps children to develop the skills and attitudes they will need for successful independent lifelong learning.

Homework is set in-line with the school’s policy, with tasks planned to appropriately challenge all pupils.  Weekly activities focus on English and Maths to reinforce and consolidate skills taught.  Often whole-school homework is set which provides an opportunity for children to think creatively and produce their own form of response. 

Pupil Parliament & Voice of the Child
Volunteering is an activity that everyone can get involved in and benefit from.  We promote and encourage pupils’ active citizenship and positive contribution to the school and wider community. We offer lots of opportunities for pupils to take on new responsibilities and be involved in successfully supporting the life and work of the school.  These include elected representatives on our Pupil Parliament where children are responsible for some of the following key areas of the school: subject specific leadership, Environmental Eco work, Rights Respecting etc.  Older pupils can also apply and be interviewed for positions such as Playground Leaders and Librarians, and within classes children can volunteer to take on various responsibilities ranging from lunch duties, to helping with the organisation of equipment in Collective Worship. 

Rights Respecting School
We use the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) as a guide to further enhancing our curriculum.