Our curriculum is designed to ensure that every child secures the foundational knowledge they need to succeed, while developing the independence, curiosity and resilience required for life beyond school.
We believe that strong outcomes are built on secure foundations.
Our curriculum prioritises what pupils know, remember and can apply over time, recognising that learning is cumulative and that gaps in foundational knowledge can limit future progress. Teaching is therefore carefully sequenced, revisited and reinforced so that new learning builds logically on what has come before.
Alongside this academic rigour, we value creativity, agency and aspiration.
Our curriculum is structured to balance explicit teaching with opportunities for pupils to think deeply, apply knowledge independently and take ownership of their learning. This balance ensures that independence is taught and scaffolded, not assumed.
Across the school, curriculum design and delivery are guided by three principles:
- Ambitious: high expectations for all pupils, regardless of starting point.
- Independent: pupils are supported to manage their learning with increasing confidence.
- Mastery: learning is secure, accurate and retained in long-term memory.
These principles underpin all subject areas and ensure coherence across the curriculum.
Four Interconnected Strands
Our curriculum is structured into four key strands that develop the whole child:
- STEM – Science, Technology (computing), Engineering (D&T), Maths
Exploring the world through enquiry, innovation, and problem-solving. - Creative Communication – Writing, Art, Music, Languages
Finding personal voice, storytelling, and self-expression. - Humanities – History, Geography, RE
Understanding human impact, culture, and ethical decision-making. - Personal & Physical Development – PSHE, PE, RSE & Wellbeing
Building life skills, resilience, empathy, and health.
These strands interweave across subjects, projects and experiences, ensuring a coherent, connected curriculum.
The QI Skills: Preparing for Life, Not Just School
At the heart of our curriculum is the QI Skills Framework: seven lifelong learning dispositions that help children thrive as learners and people:
- Me – Self-awareness and reflection
- We – Collaboration and empathy
- Will – Determination and resilience
- Why – Enquiry and critical thinking
- Wiggle – Flexibility, adaptability and active learning
- Wobble – Learning from mistakes and feedback
- What If – Imagination and creative thinking
These skills are woven throughout all four curriculum strands and underpin our pastoral approach, classroom culture and assessment of personal development.
What are QI Skills? What Parents Need To Know
Rooted in Place, Connected to the World
We begin with our local context: Cornwall, the River Camel, community stories and grow outward to explore national and global perspectives. Outdoor learning, real-world problems and community involvement make learning purposeful and grounded.
Every child at Nanstallon is seen as a capable thinker, a curious explorer, and an active contributor to the world around them.