Curriculum Overview

Our school curriculum continues to evolve and crystallise following the many reflections and contributions of both our leaders and children. Please click on the expanding headings below to understand more how our curriculum is organised.

Intent

As a school we have constructed a curriculum that is ambitious and designed to give all learners, particularly the most disadvantaged and those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) or high needs, the knowledge and cultural capital they need to succeed in life
Our curriculum is coherently planned and sequenced towards cumulatively sufficient knowledge and skills for future learning and employment
We have the same academic, technical or vocational ambitions for almost all learners. Where this is not practical – for example, for some learners with high levels of SEND – our curriculum is designed to be ambitious and to meet their needs
Learners study the full curriculum and we ensure our children are taught a full range of subjects for as long as possible, ‘specialising’ only when necessary

Implementation

Teachers have good knowledge of the subject(s) and courses they teach. Leaders provide effective support and training- including for those teaching outside their main areas of expertise
Teachers present subject matter clearly, promoting appropriate discussion about the subject matter they are teaching. They check learners’ understanding systematically, identify misconceptions accurately and provide clear, direct feedback. In doing so, they respond and adapt their teaching as necessary, without unnecessarily elaborate or differentiated approaches
Over the course of study, teaching is designed to help learners remember the long term the content they have been taught and to integrate new knowledge into larger concepts
Teachers and leaders use assessment well, for example to help learners embed and use knowledge fluently or to check understanding and inform teaching. Leaders understand the limitations of assessment and do not use it in a way that creates unnecessary burdens for staff or learners
Teachers create an environment that allows the learner to focus on learning. The resources and materials that teachers select – in a way that does not create unnecessary workload for staff – reflect the provider’s ambitious intentions for the course of study and clearly support the intent of a coherently planned curriculum, sequenced towards cumulatively sufficient knowledge and skills for future learning and employment
A rigorous approach to the teaching of reading develops learners’ confidence and enjoyment in reading. At the early stages of learning to read, reading materials are closely matched to learners’ phonics knowledge as we integrate the materials from our agreed synthetic phonics scheme- Unlocking Letters and Sounds.

Impact

Learners develop detailed knowledge and skills across the curriculum and, as a result, achieve well. Where relevant, this is reflected in results from national tests and examinations that meet government expectations.
Our children read widely and often, with fluency and comprehension.

Enquiry Based Topics

Our children have consistenly communicated they prefer an enquiry based approach to curriculum organisation therefore every half term begins with new question or line of enquiry.

During an academic year we have agreed on the following focus for each enquiry:

x 2 History focused enquiries/topics
x 2 Geography focused enquiries/topics
x 1 Science focused enquiry/ topic
x 1 Design & Technology focused enquiry/topic

All of our topic questions along with the accompanying Knowledge Organiser are provided to our families.