Amanda Spielman, the former Head of Ofsted, described a curriculum as ‘the yardstick for what school leaders want their children to know and be able to do by the time they leave school’. Across both federation schools, this encompasses all that we do with and for children… in terms of content, delivery, assessment and wider opportunities.
Broader information about our approach can be found below, and considerable detail as to our approaches, content, delivery and connections can be found in the curriculum policy – please see the Federation Policies page.
Curriculum design is an ongoing federation priority, particularly now that we are trying to harness the opportunities of two schools in collaboration. We continue to invest significant time and resource in building a knowledge-based curriculum that ensures that all our children are ‘taught to remember things that are worth remembering’. The bedrock of this is the National Curriculum ( 2014) – this shows the statutory objectives for the knowledge and skills we teach at Stukeley from Years One to Six. If you would like further detail on our curriculum, please contact Rachel Stephens, our Curriculum Leader ( rstephens@newton.cambs.sch.uk ).
The following information gives a snapshot of what we cover, followed by coverage documents demonstrating the whole-school view on this. Specific detail can then be found on each subject area. Further information is available on the year group pages.
We offer a broad, balanced and academically rigorous curriculum for all our learners. Children in the Early Years Foundation Stage are taught using the EYFS framework with an emphasis on developing key skills, knowledge and understanding through direct teaching and structured continuous provision.
The statutory national curriculum is taught across Key Stages 1 and 2. Our curriculum is designed with knowledge at its heart to ensure that children develop a strong vocabulary base and understanding of the world. The curriculum promotes long-term learning and we believe that progress means knowing more and remembering more. We have a curriculum built on current research on how memory works to ensure that children not only have access to ‘the best that has been thought and said’ but are taught this in a way that ensures children can remember the curriculum content in future years. We use knowledge organisers, sequenced workbooks and other bespoke resources to ensure children know exactly which information is expected to be learned over the course of their study in a particular subject. One of our central aims of the curriculum is to ensure that our children are both “interesting and interested”. We want them to be ‘interesting’ to talk to because they know a great deal about the world and ‘interested’ in finding out more. We understand that knowledge is ‘sticky’, in other words, the more children know the easier it is for them to know more. This is why we place particular emphasis on children knowing by heart.
Phonics
All staff have recently trained on ‘Little Wandle’ and this is our approach to teaching phonics in FS/Y1. Children in Year 2/3/4 receive additional phonics teaching if they have failed to pass the phonics check in Year 1/2 or we believe they need more consolidation.
English
We use Jane Considine’s ‘The Write Stuff’ across both schools. We are clear as to which features of writing (sentence structures, spelling, grammar etc..) are introduced and developed in which year group.
The ability to read (and then understand) is seen as the foundation to ALL learning in both schools – it is imperative that routines are in place to ensure all children can read fluently as soon as possible. Children access our ‘Accelerated Reader ‘ texts and quizzes as soon as their independent reading is sufficiently fluent.
Mathematics
We primarily use the White Rose Maths Hub plans and resources to ensure that there is appropriate breadth and depth in our maths curriculum. Children have lots of opportunities to practise the basic skills and memorise key number facts such as number bonds and times tables to help them develop greater fluency in their mathematical development.
Languages
When the children enter Key Stage 2 they begin to learn French. This is a statutory part of the national curriculum and helps the children to improve their understanding of how language works and to broaden their horizons.
RE
At Stukeley, we follow the Cambs Agreed Syllabus for Religious Education. The aim is to develop an understanding of different religions and to promote tolerance of others. Our teaching often focuses on the key stories from different religions. If parents have any questions about our RE teaching, please ring the school to make an appointment with our RE leader.
Wider Opportunities
We offer a huge variety of clubs and additional opportunities at both schools – information can be found on specific school websites.
Preparing for SAT tests
Children in Year 2 and Year 6 take SATs in the Summer term to check how they are progressing with their learning. SATs include tests of reading, grammar and mathematics. We want all our children to achieve good results in these tests as they are good indicators of their general ability in Maths and English. While we value the tests, we believe that a broad curriculum helps children to succeed rather than narrowing teaching to focus on English and Maths. We pride ourselves on ensuring that Year Six children have as much access as possible to the full range of subjects in the lead up to the tests in May.
If you are interested in finding out more about the SATs, please speak to your child’s class teacher. There is also SATs-specific information on the year group pages. For more information and examples of exam papers, you can visit www.sats-papers.co.uk