Five Elms Primary School

At Five Elms Primary School, our curriculum is designed to reflect our vision of creating a creative, engaging and inclusive learning environment where every child feels valued and empowered to succeed. Rooted in our core values of Can Do, Resilient, Expectation, Aspiration and Motivated, our curriculum inspires curiosity, ambition and a lifelong love of learning.

Our curriculum provides strong foundations for learning, ensuring that every child develops secure knowledge, skills and understanding across the breadth of the National Curriculum. Through high-quality teaching and carefully planned learning experiences, children build the academic and personal confidence needed to succeed at primary school, transition successfully to secondary school, and thrive in a rapidly changing world.

Phonics and early reading are a fundamental priority at Five Elms Primary School. Little Wandle is our chosen Phonics and Early Reading Programme. We use Little Wandle consistently across the school to provide a systematic, structured and progressive approach to phonics and early reading, ensuring that children develop the knowledge, skills and confidence they need to become fluent and enthusiastic readers. Our approach to phonics and early reading is underpinned by high expectations, regular assessment and carefully matched reading opportunities so that every child is supported to make strong progress.

At Five Elms, learning is exciting, engaging and thought-provoking. We encourage children to ask questions, explore ideas and take risks in their learning. By creating a safe environment where mistakes are valued as part of the learning process, pupils develop resilience, independence and a strong “can-do” attitude.

A key feature of our curriculum is the development of high-quality language and communication through our work with Voice 21. We prioritise oracy across the curriculum so that children learn to articulate their ideas, listen respectfully to others, debate thoughtfully and express themselves with confidence. Strong communication skills enable our pupils to become effective learners and confident contributors within their community and beyond.

Our curriculum is further enriched by a wide range of meaningful experiences that extend learning beyond the classroom. Educational visits, creative arts, performances, clubs and special projects provide pupils with opportunities to explore their talents and interests in greater depth. Through these experiences, we aim to offer children the breadth, ambition and enrichment often associated with the very best educational settings, ensuring that every pupil at Five Elms benefits from a rich and inspiring school experience.

Our curriculum also ensures that pupils develop a deep understanding of their local community in Dagenham and the wider world. Children explore local, environmental and global issues, learning to appreciate and respect the rich diversity of cultures, languages and beliefs within our school and society. Through this, we nurture pupils who are compassionate, inclusive and ready to become responsible global citizens. We want our pupils to develop strong relationships, positive social skills and a clear sense of right and wrong. Through our curriculum and school values, children learn to recognise fairness, challenge injustice and understand how they can contribute positively to society.