Reading is at the heart of our curriculum and supports all areas of school life. We believe that every child should have access to quality, inspirational reading material in order to develop a keen interest in the written word, which will stay with them throughout life. We strive to instil in our children a sense of excitement, fun and pleasure that can be derived through reading. It is recognised that reading permeates the curriculum so texts are sharply matched to challenge and engage all learners in all subjects.

Intent

Our academic curriculum sets out:

1. The ‘threshold concepts’ pupils should understand and criteria for progression within these.
2. Medium term overview - a clear list of the breadth topics that will be covered, including prior learning, key knowledge, skills and vocabulary that will be learnt.
3. Ambitious end points – identified in bold within planning;
4. Depth of understanding

The diagram below shows the organisation for our curriculum structure building on from the Early Years’ Foundation Stage curriculum.

1. Threshold concepts are the key disciplinary aspects of each subject. They are chosen to build conceptual understanding within subjects and are repeated and revisited throughout the year.
2. The curriculum breadth for each year group ensures each team has clarity as to what to teach and there is clear progression across the curriculum. As well as providing the key knowledge within each subject, it also provides for pupils’ growing cultural capital.
3. Ambitious end points define the standards expected to be met at the end of each year.
4. Within each year group, we plan and assess effectively to ensure that the vast majority of pupils reach the expected standard for their year group and, within the core subjects, have the opportunity to achieve greater depth.

Implementation

• Assessment information is used to identify clear starting points for all pupils and plan to accelerate progress for those who need it.
• Teachers are deliberate in their planning of what pupils will learn in order to support them in constructing meaningful links within their learning.
• Learning experiences, knowledge and skills are sequenced and woven together to allow pupils to form a deep understanding both within and between subjects.
• Retrieval of previously learned content is frequent and regular, which increases both storage and retrieval strength.
• At every stage possible, opportunities for the children to learn about the topics we cover through reading about them are identified and planned for.
• In order to secure understanding, key vocabulary is identified and explicitly taught.
• The gradual release of responsibility is planned for so that pupils are able to demonstrate their understanding through independent application.

Impact

The impact of the curriculum is that our pupils:

• are ready for the next stage of their learning;
• are able to express their views articulately, confidently and appropriately for a range of audiences;
• achieve highly relative to their starting points and peers nationally and locally;
• acquire a wide range of skills and interests;
• display empathy with issues and factors that affect humanity and the environment;
• demonstrate respect and tolerance for the views of others;
• have the knowledge they need to stay safe from harm, have strategies for managing factors that could compromise their safety, and know who to speak to if they are worried;
• lead healthy lives.

We track carefully to ensure pupils are on track to reach the expectations of our curriculum.