Curriculum

We aim to create a firm foundation for a lifetime of learning, through our Christian values of Forgiveness, Equality, Caring and Thankfulness and an engaging curriculum.

Our children are enthused by engaging and exciting learning experiences, inspirational teaching and excellent relationships in a loving and caring environment where each child feels welcomed and respected as an individual.

This enables our children to flourish academically, whilst developing character traits that set them up for future success in learning and relationships.

I really do enjoy learning at BG. The rocket week, mindfulness, enterprise, the three-course meal, website, the poetry, art, Isle of Wight trip and the teachers make the learning extra special- pupil survey 2022

Our curriculum has many strengths and is enhanced further by specialist teaching in Music and Physical Education.

All our children learn instruments as part of their curriculum, whilst we also have the highest rates of individual music tuition in Merton (2022).

We were also the most successful Merton school for sporting achievement in 2022-23.

This is not just excellence for the elite, it is opportunity for all: post-pandemic, the aim is for all of our children to represented our school by the end of year 6.

Very exciting programme of learning and activities; amazing sports, music and mindfulness opportunities; most importantly a very genuine positive atmosphere, where the focus is on children feeling supported emotionally and encouraged to be kind and caring people.- parent/carer survey 2022

The teaching and learning is interesting, engaging and challenging (and the pastoral care is outstanding) - parent/carer survey 2022

We innovate in the curriculum to support our children. An example of this is the use of carefully chosen texts, excellent planning, research driven teaching (and more recently Chromebooks) to support the writing of our pupils.

We are blown away by the quality of the stimuli and core texts...planning is on another level (leading to pupils producing) incredible writing...you should be exceptionally proud of your work as a school - Local Authority Writing Moderator 2022

Our son has made superb progress in his learning and loves coming to school - parent/carer survey 2022

The foundation of most learning beyond the EYFS is reading, so we have an incredibly sharp focus on enabling all our children to read fluently and we support them in developing a love of reading. Our research focused, fully qualified librarian, expert teaching and our partnership with Wandle Teaching School Hub support this aim . Find out more about reading at BG here.

I really enjoy learning here because the teachers make it fun and exciting to do. They also make sure you understand what you're doing and are feeling okay with the learning - pupil survey 2022

Read on to learn more about our curriculum aims here.

Inclusion at Bishop Gilpin

This school is exceptional in terms of creating a safe and secure learning environment, encouraging children of all abilities to develop a sense of worth and achievement - parent survey 2022

At Bishop Gilpin, we ensure an inclusive culture for all children.

We identify early those pupils who may be disadvantaged or have additional needs or barriers to learning.

We ensure that we meet the needs of all children, drawing on other professional support where appropriate, ensuring all are able to engage in school life positively and achieve positive outcomes.

You can read more about our approach to inclusion here.

I love learning allot (sic) more because now that I know that I am dyslexic I have the help I need - pupil survey 2022

Early Years Foundation Stage

Children may enter our Nursery (age 3-4) and/or Reception classes (age 4-5) to experience the 'foundation stage' of learning at Bishop Gilpin.

This magical time in their lives sees our children progress from beginning to recognise and identify sounds, to becoming readers. We support our children to develop their character, as they also gain a new understanding of the world around them and their place in it.

As such, this time provides the foundation for future learning; so we do our utmost to we use published research to support our implementation of a carefully thought out curriculum offer to enable all our children to flourish. Through partnership, good parenting and high quality early learning provide the foundation children need to make the most of their abilities and talents as they grow up.

We were early adopters of the new EYFS Curriculum and have informally supported other schools with aspects of applying the curriculum in their settings.

Learn more about our Nursery here.

Schemas for Learning

We know that children understand the world around them by developing (schemas of) connected knowledge. At Bishop Gilpin we explicitly link the learning in subjects and between year groups under the following schemas. This ensures that children can make logical links between new learning and prior knowledge, developing their long-term memory.

Schemas for learning document 2023-24

Curriculum Aims

Year Group Curriculum Overview

For a full overview of the topics we will be studying in each year group please click on Curriculum Overview below:

Subject Curriculum Overview

For a full overview of each subject:

Atom Learning - Free KS2 kearning and 11+ preparation

We work in partnership with Atom Learning, the leading online Key Stage 2 learning and 11+ preparation platform, to provide Years 3 - 6 students who are eligible for Pupil Premium with free Atom Home accounts. Atom Home is normally £579.90 per year.

Atom Home helps children get familiar with the type of questions they may see on the 11+, and build exam technique and confidence. They'll be able to access KS2 and 11+ practice questions, learning resources, mock tests and practise papers through their Atom Home account.

If your child is between 7-11 and has been eligible for free school meals at any point in the last six years (please check with the school office if you are not sure), please fill in the form by clicking the button below.

Access free 11+ preparation and learning

For other families, there is a five-day free trial of Atom available - Atom learning

To obtain further information about our school curriculum, please contact our Learning and Teaching Curriculum leader via the school office (0208 946 6666).