Curriculum
Long Term Plans and Skills Progression Documents
Intent
At High Firs Primary School, our curriculum leads to the necessary development of language and communication skills which our children require to succeed in life. Through our curriculum, children become confident, resilient and independent learners who have a passion for learning and who are able to express their opinions and beliefs once they leave the school.
We have designed our curriculum to:
- Be ambitious
- Be broad
- Be carefully sequenced
- Create opportunities for repetition and recall
- Encourage the development of cultural capital
Implementation
At High Firs, we have used the National Curriculum alongside specific year group topics. Skills are taught progressively across year groups leading to knowledge building over time. Learning always builds on prior knowledge whilst working towards clearly defined end points.
Learning is purposeful, exciting and topic based. Sequences of learning are provided by subject leaders, progressing knowledge, skills and understanding. Maths and English are taught daily in each class. Learning is sequenced to build upon previous knowledge and understanding. Reading, phonics, vocabulary and spelling are taught systematically to master fluency, comprehension and both written and spoken language. Interventions are used to support pupils with additional needs and when gaps in learning have been identified. All interventions are evaluated for their efficacy and impact.
The community and wider area surrounding High Firs is important, and is reflected in outcomes and opportunities we provide for the children such as: trips, school events involving parents, assemblies and fundraising events. Trips booked for the children will be of high quality. The intention of such trips is to provide the children with cultural capital and to give them experiences that enhance their learning.
Impact
Our children retain knowledge over time through high quality teaching that regularly recaps and takes account of prior learning from previous year groups, previous terms and the previous lesson. The impact of the school’s curriculum can be seen in the children’s books and the outcomes for all groups of pupils within the school. Everything we do is with the child in mind, and strong relationships are built between pupils and staff which create an atmosphere for learning which is conducive to success.
Pupils’ progress is measured through ongoing assessment and through three key assessment points during the year. Work is planned to address misconceptions and gaps in learning are identified to ensure that the curriculum effectively meets the needs of all pupils.
EARLY YEARS FOUNDATION STAGE Curriculum
ENGLISH Curriculum Skills and Progression
PSHE & RSE - Curriculum Skills
Phonics and Reading
At High Firs, we use ‘Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised’ which is a complete systematic, synthetic phonics programme.
The Little Wandle programme starts teaching phonics in Reception and continues into Year 1. This ensures children build on their growing knowledge of the alphabetic code, mastering phonics to read and spell as they move through school. We track progress carefully and quickly put in place ‘keep-up’ sessions for those in need of additional support. To find out more about the programme please access the link for the parents’ section of the Little Wandle website: https://www.littlewandlelettersandsounds.org.uk/resources/for-parents/
Ideas for how parents can support their children at home can be found in this presentation.
Further information on our curriculum can also be found in our Prospectus and on the individual class pages.
Parents who have any queries regarding their child’s curriculum are invited to speak to their child’s class teacher in the first instance. Queries by any other parties may be made via the school office.