The Poplars Curriculum: The Biggest Ideas
1. Faces, spaces, places
People on the move (migration); personal histories; homes and journeys; Tyrants and conquest. The relationships between and the interconnectedness of individuals and civilizations, from local and global perspectives.
The nature of the self; beliefs and values; personal, physical, mental, social and spiritual health; human relationships including families, friends, communities, and cultures; rights and responsibilities; and what it means to be human.
2. Express to impress, create to communicate
The ways in which we discover and express ideas, feelings, nature, culture, beliefs and values; the ways in which we reflect on, extend and enjoy our creativity; our appreciation of the aesthetic and the value of artistic expression. Role models through time and place.
3. Discoveries and making sense of our world
The natural world and its laws; the interaction between the natural world (physical and biological) and human societies; how humans use their understanding of scientific principles; and the impact of scientific and technological advances on society and on the environment.
4. One planet to share, care for and make fairer
The interconnectedness of human-made systems and communities; the structure and function of organizations; societal decision-making; economic activities and their impact on humankind and the environment.
To look at rights and responsibilities in the struggle to share finite resources with other people and with other living things; communities and the relationships within and between them; access to equal opportunities; peace and conflict resolution.
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The biggest whole school GROW events in 2025-26 |
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Work created will be collated and displayed (during the following half term) in the central corridor |
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Term |
Poplars Biggest Ideas |
Communication and Expression Curriculum team |
STEM team Curriculum team |
Global education and character development Curriculum team |
Text |
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Autumn 2 Human Rights Day (10 December) Annual collaborative project with the NPDL GMT/MENA cluster |
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Voices of the Elders: Gaining inspiration from the text, pupils will look at the artistic world wide tradition of rag dolls with their ‘powers.’ Pupils will design and make their own representations giving ‘powers’ linked to global citizenship. storytelling. Pupils will collect ‘stories and memories’ from older members of their families. Each school will select 1 student to share his/her story at the live event on 2nd March 2026 (9am Zoom call). In May, there will be a pan-cluster on line debate: ‘Why do people move?’ on the theme of migration. |
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Term |
Poplars Biggest Ideas |
Communication and Expression Curriculum team |
STEM team Curriculum team |
Global education and character development Curriculum team |
Text |
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Spring 2 World Book Day |
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For World Book Day 2026, we will further work on the oral storytelling tradition for the project ‘That is what the old people tell us’ from the book ‘Native American Tales Retold-traditional Native American stories told by our elders.’ The whole school event will also build on last year’s project ‘Voiceless and Vulnerable’ and look to giving respect and value to all living things. |
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Term |
Poplars Biggest Ideas |
Communication and Expression Curriculum team |
STEM team Curriculum team |
Global education and character development Curriculum team |
Text |
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Summer 2 International Poplars Farm Week Diversity- a voice for all |
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The shared text is entitled, ‘Where?’ and centres on diversity, a child’s worries and how we are all equal in the universe. |
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Previous whole school GROW events
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The biggest whole school GROW events in 2024-25 |
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Work created will be collated and displayed (during the following half term) |
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Term GROW values focus |
Poplars Biggest Ideas |
Communication and Expression Curriculum team |
STEM team |
Global education and character development |
Text |
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Autumn 2 Human Rights Day (10 December) |
One planet to share, care for and make fairer |
Voiceless and Vulnerable project linking human Rights with animal Rights/welfare, involving 7+ schools across Europe. We used the NPDL network and links to form a body of schools. Poplars Farm worked on as a whole school event.The project started with a quality shared text, pupils identified an animal at risk (vulnerable) due to human interference. Pupils then produced writing and artwork to share facts about their 'voiceless' They then found a charity helping their animal and raised funds to support and make a difference. We made a thinglink of a market place with each market stall showing a video of the pupils' work, interviews with the pupils etc. At Poplars Farm our vulnerable and charities were: Nursery-turtles in the polluted oceans-Turtle Hospital, Florida, USA. Reception-dolphins in the polluted oceans-Dolphin Research Centre, Florida, USA (the children met someone who had trained there and told the story of a baby orphaned dolphin saved from the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico) Year 1: frogs losing habitat- Save the Frogs, UK Year 2 urban foxes-The Foxman, UK Year 3: battery hens-RSPCA, UK Year 4: working donkeys- SPANA, worldwide Year 5: Red wolves on the verge of extinction, USA Red Wolf Conservation Society, USA Year 6: human impact on small animals, Kabul Small Animal Rescue, Kabul, Afghanistan All year groups started their studies with a quality text as a hook. Work produced formed a market stall for each year group to exhibit pupils' writing, poetry, and artwork. The Market of Hope exhibition was opened to parents, LA, community members. A film was produced by a parent (professional film maker) and shared extensively). The fundraising (organised by the pupils) was a success, with Y6 raising over $500 for KSAR. |
Variety of texts used by each year group based on their chosen vulnerable animal.
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Spring 2 World Book Day |
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The Last Wolf -school wide text. The text linked to deforestation and each year group chose different methods to communicate ideas and opinions . For example, Year 2 talked about habitats under threat and created a calligram about nature and habitats. |
'The Last Wolf' by Mini Grey.
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Summer 2 International Poplars Farm Week |
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“I am not a label project”-school wide The project commenced with a shared book: I am not a label. Each year group found a role model in the book to focus on. The book centres on role models across the world who have succeeded despite their own challenges (ie. loss of sight, bedridden, disabled), Pupils wrote poems about their chosen role model and created artwork to display on a giant label. Role models such as Frida Kahlo by Reception (Mexico) and Stevie Wonder, Year 3 (USA) The labels were collected to form a whole school exhibition (with a map to show where their role model is from) for parents, governors and the whole school community. |
“I am not a label” text used by all classes
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The biggest whole school GROW events in 2022-23 |
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Work created will be collated and displayed (during the following half term) |
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Term GROW values focus |
Poplars Biggest Ideas |
Communication and Expression Curriculum team |
STEM team |
Global education and character development |
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Autumn 1 Black History Month - |
Express to impress, create to communicate Faces, places and spaces |
Inspired by the book: “Black History: Discover Amazing People” Speaking event open to all pupils to deliver speeches on the role models outlined in this book, |
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Autumn 2 Human Rights Day (10 December) |
One planet to share, care for and make fairer |
Visual Voices - we will create a virtual art gallery with schools in the NPDL European and South African cluster. Pupils will create artwork in response to a human Right. Linked work will involve personal reflections as to why the Right is so important to them. |
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Spring 2 World Happiness Day |
One planet to share, care for and make fairer |
The focus will be around 'The gift of giving'. Discussions to take place around how selfless acts (strong focus on no monetary value) can make not only those who are receiving happy but also those who are giving. The book - What is given from the heart by Patricia McKissak https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ENL_S1RdIpA is a story about a boy who has no money to give but wants to help a class friend who has lost everything in a fire. He writes a book all about her for her to enjoy as he remembers a book that has brought him alot of happiness. This will lead into appropriate conversations around sustainability and upcycling. |
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Spring 2 World Book Day |
Express to impress, create to communicate |
Whole school text: cross curricular work created in response to the shared text. |
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Summer 2 International Poplars Farm Week |
One planet to share, care for and make fairer |
Why waste the world's water? Classes will look into different countries and explore how they save water. To involve our International partners. |
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A collaborative art piece by Willow Class (Year 4) in response to the song 'Colours' by the Black Pumas
