Chol (Secular)
Curriculum Vision
Ready, Respectful, Safe
Our curriculum is knowledge-rich.
Our curriculum has high expectations for all learners.
Our curriculum allows pupils to build on prior knowledge and learn new skills.
Our curriculum has reading at the heart of it; our children are exposed to diverse and relevant books and authors.
Our children are confident and articulate and leave us ready to become valued members of society.
At Menorah Foundation School, our children are at the heart of everything we do; we continually review our practice to ensure that they are offered the best learning opportunities and experiences available. Recently, we reviewed our curriculum offer at MFS and our staff have been working hard to develop a cohesive, engaging curriculum which is broad and balanced. It is our aim that when pupils leave MFS, they are motivated to learn and are equipped with the essential skills and knowledge they need to succeed in the next stage of their educational journey.
Our Chol (Secular) curriculum follows the National Curriculum and curricular areas are mapped out in a way that ensures there is a progressive and consistent approach to how our children learn. Building on our understanding of cognitive science and the science of learning, we have designed a curriculum that enables our children to make connections and retrieve knowledge throughout their school career so that they can build on and deepen their schema. Our research-led approach offers our staff high quality professional development, which builds expertise in teaching and learning, and specific subject areas.
We have high expectations and firmly believe that every child is entitled to an ambitious curriculum that is accessible and supports them to reach their full potential. All children access age related material and are provided with scaffolds to access learning, fostering independence as our children make decisions about their own learning journey. In addition to this, children have access to challenge material that deepens their understanding of concepts.
Our ambitious and inclusive curriculum is rich in vocabulary with key terminology being explicitly taught and used in all lessons. Reading is at the heart of our curriculum and opportunities are threaded throughout; high quality texts are used to deliver English lessons and reading opportunities are planned for in the wider curriculum. Our diverse and carefully selected texts reflect the diversity of our wider community and broadens our pupils’ worldview. Each text has been carefully selected to challenge our children, introduce them to a wide range of high-quality authors and complement the knowledge being taught.
Our Chol and Kodesh (Jewish Studies) departments work closely together and we have organised our Chol topics to make links with Jewish themes and festivals where possible, making learning very real for our children. At MFS, we want our pupils to have an understanding of the world and for them to be equipped to live respectfully and confidently in a multicultural society. By creating a curriculum that builds on our children’s cultural capital, we help them to respect and value different cultures and backgrounds. We aspire for our children to be articulate and confident to express themselves, make their voices heard, embrace British values, and become valuable members of our society. They will be ready, respectful and safe in our developing world.
How We Teach Chol at MFS
Retrieval
- Our teachers embed learning by building fluency and moving acquired knowledge from the short term to long term memory.
- Each lesson starts with a prior learning focus - children complete a retrieval practice quiz.
- These quizzes allow teachers to identify gaps in knowledge and for misconceptions to be addressed before learning new material.
- Teachers use progression frameworks to plan these quizzes and build on learning from previous years.
Vocabulary
- The teaching of key vocabulary for each subject area allows children to access the curriculum and deepens their understanding of concepts.
- Key vocabulary is sent home ahead of new learning.
- Key vocabulary is revisited at the start of each lesson.
- Children are encouraged to use key vocabulary when formulating written and oral responses.
- Reading is prioritised in all areas of the curriculum and opportunities are planned for. Children use reading to learn.
- Magpie Books are used by children so they can build a bank of rich vocabulary.
Modelling and Practice
- Teachers provide opportunities for skill application.
- Concepts are broken down into small steps to avoid cognitive overload for our pupils.
- New concepts are modelled by the teacher, with them thinking aloud to support and extend all learners.
- Fluency is built by following these steps: modelled work, guided practice and independent practice - I do, we do, you do.
- Working Walls (with worked examples) and scaffolds are used to support children and foster independence.
Questioning
- Questioning is used to check understanding and ensure learning is active.
- Use of questioning allows for immediate feedback.
- Cold calling is used to promote engagement and to ensure a range of children are questioned.
- Questions are used to challenge; they extend and deepen children’s understanding of concepts.
Assessment
- Assessment For Learning strategies are used so that teachers can immediately address misconceptions and plan for next steps for the whole class and for individuals.
- Questioning is used to check for understanding.
- A live marking and whole class marking model is adopted so that children are provided with immediate feedback about how to improve.
- Children are involved in the assessment process: self assessment and peer assessment opportunities are planned for.
- Interventions take place as a result of assessment and ensure children are equipped with the skills and knowledge they need to make progress.











