At Chilton we use an enquiry approach to drive our learning…

We want our children to be passionate about their learning, be actively engaged and be confident to express their thoughts and opinions.  We believe that linking knowledge to life experiences and building bridges between their learning and the world around them will give our children the tools to achieve this.

Our curriculum is based on the ‘Curriculum of Hope’ by Debra Kidd.  Within this approach, we use the 5 pillars of practise to build our enquiry projects; coherence, credibility, creativity, compassion and community.  Our enquiries are ‘BIG’ questions that are complex and may have more than one possible answer.  The majority of our learning across the curriculum is interweaved to support our children to build an in-depth understanding of the multiple possibilities that come with an enquiry question.

• Our enquiries are coherent – relevant learning is interweaved and builds on children’s previous learning- there is a clear progression of knowledge and skills.  There are common themes that run through our learning across year groups.
• Our enquiries are credible -they are about real events, people and places that have been important and have made an impact.
• Our enquiries allow for creative thinking and opportunities to express ourselves in a creative way.
• Our enquiries support our children to develop an in-depth understanding of the complexities of real situations reaching active compassion rather than empathy
• Our school is rooted in our community; we understand the importance of giving back those around us.  
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Here are some recent enquiry questions that we have tackled:

Reception: ‘Why do we need seasons?’

Years 1 and 2: ‘Is everyone equal?’

Years 3 and 4: ‘Are all rivers the same?’

Years 5 and 6: ‘What can other cultures bring to our country?’

Our enquiries end with sharing our findings. We use Berger’s ‘Hierarchies of Audience’ to build motivation.  Our sharing events so far have included parent market stall events, a radio broadcast and writing/visiting our MP.