Our Curriculum Rationale at Catterline School

When a school has a rationale for its curriculum, it means that everyone involved with the school can answer the

question, “What do we want for our children and how will we work together to achieve this?”

Our curriculum rationale has evolved in response to this question and developed to outline our goals, aspirations and

vision for the future. We want to get it right for every child in our care by improving outcomes for all, through

establishing trusting relationships, ensuring all children feel they belong, raising attainment and achievement and

providing our pupils with every chance to be the best they can be. This sentiment is echoed in our School Vision, “Be the

best you can be – explore, dream, discover, shine!

Our curriculum rationale’s design has the four Capacities, as well as the seven principles of curriculum design at its

heart. It effectively enables children’s development of skills and knowledge across all areas, takes account of the

school’s local circumstances and of local and national advice. It is both a flexible framework and working document

which leaves scope for teams and individual teachers to introduce well-considered innovations to meet the needs of all

learners and for the school to keep it under review to ensure it is fit for purpose.

We want our children to develop across the four capacities and all aspects of the SHANARRI Wellbeing Wheel to

become successful learners, confident individuals, effective contributors and responsible citizens. Our curriculum

rationale is built around the four contexts for learning from the Scottish Curriculum for Excellence; all curricular and

subject areas - with a key focus on literacy, numeracy and health & wellbeing, inter-disciplinary learning, opportunities

for personal achievement and the ethos & life of the school. These over-arching areas shape the essence of our

curriculum and work in unison with our school motto, “Be the best you can be – explore, dream, discover, shine!”

Integral to our commitment to, ‘Getting it Right for Every Child’, are our refreshed school aims and core school values,

(our SHINE Values), which have been created in consultation with all stakeholders. Our school’s Nurture Values have a

focus on the need to be smiling, healthy, inclusive, nurturing, enthusiastic, whilst our Learning Values focus on us all

believing in the power of self-evaluation, high expectations, inquiring minds, no fear and everyone learning. These

values are integral to the work of the school and at the heart of celebrating our shared successes and achievements

together.

Our curriculum rationale ensures the whole school community has a shared understanding of what we are trying to

achieve. As the school moves forward, it recognises the importance of taking quality time to evaluate and review

curriculum innovation and learn from evolving best practice. Actively sourcing good practice and continuing to have

staff involved in strategic development at school, cluster and authority level allows for true reflection and the

opportunity to refine and further develop a curriculum which meets the ever-changing challenges of the 21st century.

Central to the work of our school community are our pupils and families - our most important partners. Together, we

work together to evaluate our developments and successes as well as to identify our areas for further growth. We enjoy

close links with the wider community and partner agencies and also welcome their feedback in all we do.

We have unique qualities here at Catterline School. Leadership opportunities are encouraged and developed for both

pupils and staff. We have high expectations and aspirations for all; we want everyone to succeed. We make best use of

opportunities for outdoor learning, and we use digital technologies to enhance learning opportunities for all. We are

proactive in promoting a “Rights Respecting” approach and are fully committed to ensuring everyone within our

community is working together, supported and challenged to achieve their potential.

Across all learning experiences we continue to ensure we are meeting the design principles of Curriculum for Excellence

and plan to meet the entitlements. Within our school improvement planning we also ensure consideration is given to

the National Improvement Framework and the key drivers for improvement.

For all children, our aims for daily learning experiences include:

• A positive ethos where all are valued, respected, nurtured, included and treated fairly by all.

• Active learning where we encourage our pupils to think for themselves, solve problems and work collaboratively

with others

• Motivating contexts for learning where all are inspired to learn with appropriate levels of challenge and/or

support

• Effective questioning where higher order thinking skills are promoted and learning extended and deepened

• Effective feedback where all are encouraged to be leaders of their learning who know where they are in their

learning, who understand their next steps and who know how they are going to achieve them.

Within our school we want all children to become assessment capable learners. We do this through a variety

assessment approaches, including; self, peer and teacher assessment opportunities, pre-unit unit assessments, post-unit

assessments, formative assessments, periodic assessments and standardised assessments. We continue to develop our

moderation practices to ensure high-quality assessments demonstrating application of learning, as well as ensuring valid

and robust professional judgements made by staff. The use of child- friendly, succinct and co-written learning

intentions and success criteria form the basis of our lessons.

Our curriculum rationale is underpinned by our desire to secure, “excellence and equity” for all at Catterline School. It is

our goal to motivate and inspire all children to achieve and be the very best they can be and to aim high. We strive to

ensure all pupils are nurtured and supported so that they continually develop and progress. In doing so, this impacts

positively on our core business of improving and raising attainment and achievement for all.