Curriculum

Our curriculum

The curriculum is organised to provide pupils with deep knowledge and skills to achieve cultural capital and success in life. Our curriculum aims to:

Provide pupils with the ability to develop a deep learning of knowledge and the mechanisms for retrieving and applying knowledge.
Inspire and challenge all learners to aspire to high achievement;
Ensure pupils’ knowledge is fully developed to support their social, moral, spiritual and cultural awareness to promote diversity and key values;
Develop pupils who are tolerant, respectful and understanding;
Provide equal opportunities for all pupils, with high expectations for every learner ensuring appropriate levels of challenge and support;
Develop key skills such as teamwork; independence, resilience; responsibility; and communication;
Provide pupils with leadership opportunities to develop strength of character and self-confidence;
Ensure pupils’ have wider opportunities to develop an interest and fascination in subjects and topics that interest them or that might interest them;
Consider barriers to learning, linked to the local context and the circumstances faced by individual pupils;
Promote an awareness of key issues such as healthy living; democracy and national and international events.

What subjects do we teach?

We teach a full range of subjects to all pupils and ensure sufficient coverage is given to each area to ensure the pupils receive a broad and balanced curriculum.

The subjects covered are:

Art & Design
Computing
Design & Technology
English
French for KS2
Geography
History
Mathematics
Music
Religious Education
Physical Education
PSHE
Science

How is the timetable structured?

Having tried various models, including teaching through a project based approach, we found that all methods had their strengths but often some restrictions. In September 2024, we moved to an intra-curricular approach and a timetable which allows sufficient and appropriate coverage to the wider curriculum subjects.

Each subject is timetabled for each pupil in KS1 and KS2. For example, pupils will have a science lesson; History lesson; Music lesson etc.

This design has been chosen to ensure pupils can access and be successful in areas where they might have a particular talent or where they can achieve more successfully than in traditional subjects. For example, where a child may struggle with reading, they may be a very talented musician or have a passion for History. In addition, this timetable structure enables all pupils to be fully prepared for transition to secondary education.

How do we ensure knowledge is secure?

Assessment opportunities are built in throughout each topic. This will mainly be in the form of on-going remember and retrieval assessments in lessons and throughout topics, though may also end of topic tests to assess knowledge. Lessons are structured to give students range of activities. There is a focus on constant re-visiting of knowledge both from recent and less recent lessons, to help constantly retrieve and build a bank of deep knowledge that can be recalled.

Using the intra-curricular approach through topics and schemas, the intention is to build up this knowledge across year groups. For example, in Year 1, students will look at knowledge categories of location, physical features and human features when studying The United Kingdom in Geography – those same knowledge categories will be taught through the topic of Continents and Oceans – thereby, giving the pupils the opportunity to make links and remember/retrieve knowledge from previous work.

Topics are mapped and sequenced across each subject and each year group so as to build on prior knowledge.

Teachers use detailed knowledge organisers for some of our wider curriculum subjects which link directly to the assessment tasks for each topic. An amended ‘pupil-friendly’ version is provided for the pupils as a basis for topics. Included is key vocabulary which focuses on everyday words; academic and subject-specific words.

Curriculum Impact

Outcomes will improve at the end of each key stage, including EYFS, and every pupil will make progress across the curriculum;
Pupils will have developed a deep understanding of different types of knowledge to support everything outlined in our curriculum intent;
Every subject and topic area will have a clearly defined end goal and assessment opportunities throughout the unit will indicate the development of substantive and disciplinary knowledge;
The wider enrichment and extra-curricular programme will have supported the development of every individual, giving them the cultural capital to be successful in the next stage of their education, whilst looking beyond to later career development;
Links with local industries and businesses will have supported pupils in giving them knowledge of opportunities, both local and national;
Barriers to learning will have been considered and addressed, particularly in relation to combating any issues raised by the local context of the academy, and particularly in relation to any pupils with additional needs and/or for whom the academy receives additional funding;
Aspirations have clearly been raised so every pupil leaves Kidgate Primary Academy knowing that they can be successful in whatever they want to achieve in life;
Pupils are tolerant, caring, understanding and active local, national and global citizens.