Learn About Our Curriculum

At Ernesettle Community School, we are proud to have an ambitious, knowledge-rich curriculum which supports our children in becoming independently minded, confident and kind citizens of the future, who aspire to ‘go out into the world and do well, but more importantly go out into the world and do good’.

Reading sits firmly at the heart of our curriculum. Books are the golden thread that link knowledge, imagination and language across every subject. Whether children are discovering what it means to be a ‘Significant Explorer’ or studying the legacy of the Benin Kingdom in Year 6, they are guided by enquiry questions that invite them to explore deeply and think meaningfully.

Our curriculum is proudly shaped by our locality. Being in Plymouth is not just a backdrop — it is a living, breathing part of our curriculum design. From the legacy of Brunel to the echoes of the Plymouth Blitz – we deliberately weave our local story into every phase of learning so children know where they come from and can confidently find their place in the wider world.

A unique and vital part of our offer is our resilience curriculum, which deliberately provides pupils with opportunities to build character, develop teamwork, and experience the world beyond the classroom through activities such as overnight stays at the National Marine Aquarium and residentials to Dartmoor.

We are passionate about equipping our young people with the strength of character, high standards, and inner grit needed to thrive in today’s world.

Through these unplugged adventures, we aim to help children discover the value of real-world experiences, preparing them not just to succeed—but to contribute meaningfully and courageously to society.

Our curriculum is far more than just a clearly sequenced set of facts.

The concepts are the holding baskets for all we want our children to learn and this is developed through narrative and high-quality texts. When we structure the information we wish to present under a broader narrative structure, each piece of knowledge becomes important.

Nothing in our curriculum has been left to chance. Every unit, every concept, every question has been carefully selected and placed in a logical sequence to ensure children learn more and remember more over time.

Without each Area of Study, the story won’t make sense. Like a novel, it is possible to read it quickly to get the gist of the story but the deeper themes, conventions and nuances won’t be appreciated. The Inspire Curriculum as narrative is just like this: each piece of knowledge builds on the next and takes on deeper meanings and understandings as children progress both within and across year groups.

Key concepts such as legacy, civilisation and trade run like golden threads from Reception to Year 6, helping children revisit and deepen ideas with increasing sophistication. For example, in EYFS, children explore designing bridges and solving problems inspired by storybook inventors — laying the groundwork for their study of Brunel in KS1’s Significant Inventors unit, which later connects to Railways and Global Trade in KS2.

The concept of civilisation begins with storytelling and imaginative play in Splendid Safari before developing into concrete comparisons in Ancient Egypt, the Benin Kingdom and Ancient Greece, where children explore what makes a civilisation thrive or fall.

Trade and sustainability are first explored through simple market play in EYFS, then deepened through Global Trade, Natural Resources, and environmental geography like Amazon Rainforest and Biomes. These concepts are revisited in different contexts with increasing depth, allowing children to build a secure web of knowledge, not isolated facts — ensuring every learning experience is part of a bigger picture.