Curriculum Intent: Our Why?

Our Vision for the Curriculum at Acre View Primary School

Acre View Primary School strives to be an inclusive community where we support the children in ‘Soaring for Success’ in all aspects of school life. We value each child as an individual with a unique potential for learning.  Their natural curiosity is fostered through a creative and ambitious curriculum that excites and challenges; and enables all to be independent, resilient and successful learners.

Our curriculum nurtures and prepares children educationally, socially, morally and physically for their continuing learning journey, where doors will be opened rather than closed to future success.  Supported by a culture of equality and aspiration, we aim to remove disadvantage so that every child believes in themselves and can thrive.  Through the curriculum children develop an understanding of citizenship and are empowered to make valuable contributions locally and globally.

We understand that the curriculum, both within taught lessons and beyond them, should create an environment where questioning, academic risk-taking and the freedom to learn from mistakes are all encouraged. Our intent is that our curriculum will develop in our children the qualities of responsibility and independence, and a sense that learning can excite and strengthen them throughout their whole life.

The Aims of our Curriculum

We want children to develop a love for learning, enabling them to become lifelong learners. At Acre View Primary School, we take pride in celebrating that we are all learners; and that every child can achieve their full potential. Through a rich, broad and balanced curriculum, our aim is to make all aspects of teaching and learning exciting, engaging and motivating; ensuring all children have the best possible start to their school life.

Through careful and considered planning, we aim to provide:

• A broad and balanced provision that promotes aspiration and ambition
• A structured and progressive framework for the acquisition of knowledge and understanding, and the development of skills which leads to maximum progress for all children and long-term learning
• Ensure all children are literate and numerate, recognising that a focus on reading, writing, speaking and listening and mathematics is fundamental
• High-quality learning experiences, which engage, excite and motivate children in the classroom and beyond
• Enrichment experiences where learning and teaching can take place beyond the classroom and involve the wider community
• Opportunities that promote pupils’ personal development and encourage them to extend their interests beyond school
• A wealth of relevant resources – in classrooms, outdoors, in the local community and the wider area, including visits and visitors
• Development of children’s enterprise skills for them to grow into innovative, creative, strategic-thinking individuals who are equipped with skills that underpin employability
• A self-reflective learning environment which enables children to know and understand what they are learning and why, and allows time to engage, reflect and review – including peer and self-evaluation

Effectively supported by qualified, highly skilled and enthusiastic teachers, the curriculum aims to foster:

• An enjoyment of and commitment to learning
• Essential Reading, Writing, Speaking & Listening, and Maths skills they need to access learning across the curriculum
• Attitudes, understanding and skills to become successful, resilient and independent learners
• Curiosity and creativity
• A culture of high aspiration of all pupils for future career options.
• Resilience and promote children’s positive mental health and wellbeing
• Positive learning and social behaviours through the teaching, development and understanding of British Values
• Children’s spiritual, moral, social and cultural development
• Appreciation and concern for the environment
• Effective, rigorous processes to monitor and assess progression in attainment and application of skills 

Curriculum Implementation: Our How?

How we achieve our Curriculum Vision

Knowledge underpins and enables the application of skill. We strive for children to learn new skills alongside knowledge, ensuring that both are explicitly developed.  Recognising that knowledge and skills are intertwined, we take a cross-curricular approach to maximise links across subjects and to ensure teaching and learning is relevant and meaningful.

Using National Curriculum, age-appropriate progression in knowledge and skills for each core and foundation subject has been identified and mapped out across the primary phases.  Priority is given to the development of English and Maths skills of all our pupils. We use high quality resources and schemes including:

• Read, Write, Inc
• Read, Write, Inc Fresh Start
• Support for Spelling
• Literacy Counts – Ready Steady Write and Steps to Read
• White Rose Maths
• White Rose Science
• Learning Means The World

Our vibrant and rich curriculum is designed so that the subject-specific skills are scaffolded within a cross-curricular theme or context each term.  Themes are delivered on an annual basis in the Early Years and on a two-yearly rolling programme for KS1, Years 3 & 4 and Year 5 & 6.  Topics are carefully designed to capture the interests and imaginations of our children, using our ‘Learning Means the World Curriculum’.  To ensure that progression and balance is maintained, the programmes of study are developed into plans which clearly highlight the learning objectives, assessment opportunities, differentiated tasks as well as links to other subjects.

We teach discrete subjects with the aim of preserving the unique nature of each subject and allowing children to gain a better understanding of each subject discipline, making connections where they are appropriate.  

Our staff receive the highest possible quality CPD to ensure the curriculum is robust, and we work with other schools to ensure the standards are maintained.

Curriculum Impact: The Difference Our Curriculum Makes

At Acre View Primary School, we strive for all pupils to achieve their absolute potential, by having high expectations across all aspects of school life. Our stimulating curriculum prioritises core skills in English, Maths and PSHE whilst actively encompassing the acquisition of knowledge and skills across all areas of the National Curriculum. The innovative practice across the school provides a strong foundation and opportunities for children to collaborate and develop social skills both indoors and out. This curriculum design ensures that the needs of individual and small groups of children can be met within the environment of high quality-first teaching, supported by targeted, proven interventions where appropriate. In this way, it can be seen to impact in a very positive way on children’s outcomes.

The impact and measure of our curriculum is to ensure children not only acquire the appropriate age-related knowledge linked to the curriculum but also skills which equip them to progress from their varying starting points.  In shaping our curriculum this way, progress is measured and evidenced for all children, regardless of their starting points or specific needs. Enjoyment of the curriculum promotes achievement, confidence, and excellent behaviour.

When our children leave us, as well as being ready for the transition into the KS3 curriculum, we aim for them to have a wealth of transferable skills which have been developed throughout their time at primary school in an inclusive and nurturing environment.  Our children enjoy lessons, and we believe this early love of learning stimulates children to become life-long learners.  Our work on promoting social skills and character traits through our PSHE and Relationships curriculum, enables children to become excellent role models and aspire to be the very best they can be.  Developing their independence, motivation and attitudes as learners, and their sense of responsibility as future citizens is at the heart of our teaching and learning.

We ensure quality-first teaching enables our children to develop their long-term memories and define their progress as knowing more and remembering more.  Teachers and staff work hard to plan a broad, balanced, and ambitious curriculum which is expertly delivered to ensure a child’s entire school experience enables them to develop a deep body of knowledge which will see them through to further study, work and a successful adult life, in whatever pathway they choose.