Curriculum Intent

We believe that happy children who feel emotionally settled and want to come to school learn best. To support our children, we have a nurture and support programme that enables us to achieve this aim together with a family ethos. Our curriculum is mainly subject based, is ambitious and meets the requirements of the national curriculum. Our curriculum is broad and balanced and provides the knowledge and skills that pupils need for later life. It builds towards clear end points, and it’s clear what pupils need to know and be able to do to reach them. We plan and sequence our curriculum and build on what has come before. We fill in any gaps in knowledge and skills. Our curriculum offer is inclusive for all pupils and is designed at an age appropriate level.

We also offer a rich range of experiences to help children embed learning in the classroom and make it memorable. We provide opportunities for children who may not have access to everyday experiences which promotes equality of opportunity and helps to raise their aspirations.  We have organised the curriculum and assessment to enable children to achieve, to make links across curriculum areas and to retain the knowledge and skills they need to succeed.

Our curriculum allows children to:

• Read early, so they can quickly move from learning to read into reading to learn.
• Acquire a wide vocabulary that will unlock understanding over a broad range of subjects.
• Develop number fluency that will scaffold and support their problem-solving and reasoning skills.
• Develop resilience and be prepared to persevere and extend their own thinking.
• Have a good understanding of the faiths and cultures of others.
• Develop tolerance and respect for others regardless of race, faith or culture.
• Practice our school Values and develop healthy social and emotional attitudes.  
• Have well-developed local and wider historical and geographical knowledge and understanding expected for their age.  
• Gain the scientific knowledge, understanding and skills expected for their age.
• Take an interest and become involved in a broad range of environmental issues.
• Experience a range of musical and sporting opportunities both in and out of school
• Be well-prepared for the next stage in their learning journey.
• Have life skills and aspirations for the future.
• Engage with the natural environment
• Have a voice and see the impact of their opinions.

 

Curriculum Implementation

Conditions for Learning

We believe strongly that children learn best when they feel happy and safe. Children have to be keen to come to school and eager to learn before deep learning can occur. To this end we instil our Values in all we do. We work hard to promote pupil voice through our School Council and Headteacher Tea Parties. We support our most vulnerable children through our nurture programme using Sunshine Circles.  We expect good behaviour and promote Values Education to ensure positive attitudes.

The Curriculum

We believe the curriculum should be rich in knowledge, challenging, progressive and balanced in terms of skills and content. We enable children to gain the knowledge and skills they need to access the curriculum and gain a full understanding of the content and to retain this using distributive practices and duel coding.

We recognise the value of quality texts and the cultural capital they can add to learning. Our English curriculum is taught through quality texts. We prioritise the acquisition of a wide vocabulary across all subjects as the basis to support an accumulative understanding of the areas we teach.  

We teach maths to promote Mastery which is included in our document ‘How we Teach Maths at Gravenhurst Academy’

 We teach a subject specific curriculum that has clear age-related expectations of the outcomes required at each stage of the primary phase.  Our foundation subjects are led by an enquiry-based approach that encourages children to consider and question.

Cultural Capital

We provide children with a range of experiences in and out of school that add depth to their learning.

Impact of the Curriculum

Attainment and Progress

We provide children with an education that will prepare them well for the next stage in their learning journey. We ensure that whatever their starting point and whatever the barriers to learning, children are able to achieve their full potential.

Our curriculum is mainly subject based and is broken down into steps that indicate the expectations of knowledge and skills to be attained for each stage of the primary phase. We ensure children meet these expectations at each stage and that each stage provides the building blocks for the next stage, beginning with our Reception Class.

Transition

We ensure our Reception children are school ready and have acquired the developmental stages they need to proceed but also foster a love of learning, independence and resilience. 

Our children in Year 1 are provided with the phonic skills and knowledge they need to learn to read efficiently, so they can quickly read with understanding and enjoyment. We build the resilience needed in our KS1 children, so they are prepared for the demands of the KS2 curriculum and our children in year 4 are prepared for the academic and social and emotional demands of life at Middle School.

Social, Moral and Cultural Understanding,

The impact of the time and focus in this area is seen in the children’s attitudes to each other, to adults in school, to their conduct on school visits and trips and to the way in which they approach their learning. The children at Gravenhurst Academy are often complimented on their behaviour in the wider community, and we pride ourselves on this.

Our school is a happy community and through our Values Education and the ethos and culture of our school, we see Tolerance and Respect demonstrated on a daily basis.

Some of our children and their families have difficulties however through our nurture programme and pastoral support, we provide advice, support and practical help that impacts positively on the wellbeing of the family and the child.  

Equality Act 2010

With reference to the Equality Act 2010 and SEND Regulations 2014, children with SEND are supported in class with additional support/equipment as required. Their work is differentiated to enable them to work at their own level of ability in order to help them to flourish.

If you have any further questions regarding the curriculum at Gravenhurst Academy, please contact the school office on gravenhurst-info@bestacademies.org.uk