Cornerstones Curriculum

At Marlborough Junior School, we believe in creating a stimulating environment which allows all our children to learn in a way that motivates and interests them through inspirational learning activities and high-quality teaching.

Our creative curriculum at Marlborough revolves around the Cornerstones Curriculum. The Cornerstones Curriculum is a creative and thematic approach to learning that is mapped to the new 2014 Primary National Curriculum to ensure comprehensive coverage of national expectations. Our new curriculum will be delivered through Imaginative Learning Projects (ILPs) which will provide a rich menu of exciting and motivating learning activities that make creative links between all aspects of our children’s learning.

We believe children learn better when they are encouraged to use their imagination and apply their learning to engaging contexts. Our new curriculum will provide lots of learning challenges throughout the academic year that will require children to solve problems, apply themselves creatively and express their knowledge and understanding effectively across the curriculum.

Cornerstones also provide a rigorous essential skills framework that outlines the end of year expectations in all subjects. 

How it works

Children will progress through four distinct stages of learning in each ILP – Engage, Develop, Innovate and Express.   

Engage: At the ‘Engage’ stage, children:

• Gain memorable first-hand experiences, such as going on a visit or inviting a special visitor to school.

• Enjoy ‘WOW’ experiences

• Get an exciting introduction to a topic or theme

• Begin researching and setting enquiry questions

• Get lots of opportunities to make observations

• Develop spoken language skills

• Take part in sensory activities

• Have lots of fun to fully ‘engage’ with their new topic.

Develop:

At the ‘Develop’ stage, children:

• Improve their knowledge and understanding of the topic

• Develop and practice their new skills

• Compose, make, do, build, investigate, explore, write for different purposes and read across the curriculum

• Research their own questions and those set by others

• Follow new pathways of enquiry based on their interests

• Complete homework activities that support their learning.

Innovate:

At the ‘Innovate’ stage, children

• Apply skills, knowledge and understanding in real-life contexts

• Solve real or imagined problems using everything they’ve learnt

• Get inspired by imaginative and creative opportunities

• Revisit anything not fully grasped at the ‘Develop’ stage.

Express:

At the ‘Express’ stage, children:

• Become the performers, experts and informers.

• Share their achievements with parents, classmates and he community

• Evaluate finished products and processes

• Link what they have learnt to where they started

• Celebrate their achievements!

At Marlborough we have carefully selected inspiring, engaging and exciting topics from the Cornerstones Curriculum that involve a range of different contexts (See ‘whole school topic plan below).

We value the help, support and skills that our parents contribute to delivering our creative curriculum.

Click on the links below to find out more about each ILP

Marlborough Junior School Long Term Plan – Thematic curriculum – Cornerstones