Curriculum Policy. Aims: To ensure that

Transcription

1 Curriculum Policy Person Responsible Curriculum Leader in conjunction with the Head Teacher and SLT Date Adopted September 2014 Date of next review September 2018 Aims: To ensure that The curriculum meets the needs of all children regardless of race, gender, social group and ability. The curriculum facilitates the children s life for now and the future, helping them to develop intellectually, emotionally, socially, physically and morally as a global citizen. The whole school is an environment which stimulates every child s learning. A broad and balanced range of learning exists. Parent/carer s role in children s learning is embraced, encouraged and utilised. The school provides a curriculum which covers all statutory National Curriculum strands (English, Mathematics, Art & Design, Geography, History, ICT, Music, Science, D&T, MFL and PSHE). Our curriculum policy embraces policies and procedures for religious education, sex and relationships education, drug awareness, admissions, assessment, collective worship, homework, health and well-being, performance management, equality, SEND, and learning and teaching. The curriculum has at its heart the four curriculum drivers: Knowledge of the World; Physical and Social Wellbeing; Enterprise and Possibilities. The role of the staff and Governors: The Head Teacher will ensure that: All statutory elements of the curriculum, and those subjects which the school chooses to offer, have aims and objectives which reflect the aims of the school and indicate how the needs of the individual will be met. The amount of time provided for teaching the curriculum is adequate and is reviewed by the Curriculum Committee. The procedures for assessment meet all legal requirements, and pupils and their parents/carers receive information to show how much progress the pupils are making, how they compare to national expectations, and what is required to help

2 them improve. The Governing Body is advised on statutory targets in order to make informed decisions. The Curriculum Leader will: Co-ordinate the production and review of school policy and guidelines on the curriculum. Organise and lead training, support and advice on the management and implementation of the Curriculum Policy and practice throughout the school. Support and assist subject leaders to ensure they understand, and are actively implementing, the key aspects of the school s Curriculum Policy for their subjects. Contribute to the formulation, monitoring and review of the school development plan on curriculum related priorities. Plan and develop curriculum provision that reflects continuing curriculum development, embeds curriculum initiatives and responds to school priorities. In consultation with subject leaders, plan and develop the delivery of effective learning and enrichment activities that ensure learner access to wider learning, provide a challenging and enriching learner experience, enable learners to realise their potential and support the achievement of successful learner outcomes. Plan and develop curriculum delivery which provides learners with the most flexible, appropriate and effective resources for their learning. Provide regular progress updates to SLT in subject areas to ensure SLT are fully aware of all successes, issues and concerns of the subject areas. Support, facilitate and monitor the progress of subject development plans to ensure they make a significant contribution to the school development plan. Provide regular feedback for subject leaders in a way which recognises good practice and supports their progress against performance management objectives, resulting in a tangible impact on pupil learning across the subject. Promote a school culture with an ethos of high expectation for learner engagement, success and progression. Together with subject leaders to identify appropriate resources to support the curriculum and ensure they are used efficiently, effectively and safely. The Governing Body will ensure that: It considers the advice of the Head Teacher when approving the curriculum policy and when setting statutory and non-statutory targets. Progress towards annual statutory targets is monitored. It participates actively in decision-making about the breadth and balance of the curriculum. The Teaching Staff will collectively ensure that the school curriculum is implemented in accordance with this policy. They will ensure that they: Implement a policy which is regularly reviewed and amended as necessary. Provide advice, support and training for staff. Support the aims and values of The Hermitage School Curriculum. Effectively manage a curriculum budget. Implement a Subject Action Plan.

3 Monitor the effectiveness of teaching and learning in their subject. Report to the Governors and SLT as appropriate about their subject. Work in conjunction with the Curriculum Leader to support the development and implementation of the curriculum. The four curriculum drivers: These underpin our curriculum; aiming to bring about the most relevant learning experiences for children at The Hermitage School. The whole school staff and the Governing Body determined these to be what was to shape the children s learning based on what we know our children need. They are: Knowledge of the World; Physical and Social Wellbeing; Enterprise; Possibilities. It is with these in mind that we plan, develop and review our curriculum. These drivers are multi-faceted with a variety of skills at their core. Some examples are shown below although this is not an exhaustive list: Knowledge of the World - How things work; environmental awareness; how things have changed; global links. Physical and Social Wellbeing Social awareness/skills; confidence; selfesteem; resilience; cooperation. Enterprise - Entrepreneurial skills such as communication, drive, confidence and success. Possibilities Determination; adaptability; open-ended investigations; careers Our Curriculum: At The Hermitage, the National Curriculum is delivered as part of The Hermitage Curriculum. Guided by the four drivers, the curriculum focuses on what learning our children need. We recognise that children learn best when connections are made to the real world and across a theme. They need to see the impact of their learning; immediate and long term. Learning at our school takes place within a topic. Each topic is an overarching theme that the majority of subjects are delivered under in a cross-curricular manner. A full coverage of topics can be found later in this document. The learning is a series of sessions each week. These are all called Topic. Numeracy, ICT, PE, Games, Music, MFL, PSHE and RE are all taught within their specified place in each class timetable but where possible there may be links with the topic. At the start of each topic, an Entry Point is used to act as a hook to capture the children s imagination and attention. This is followed by a Knowledge Harvest which is used to understand what the children know at the start of the topic. As we progress through each topic, the Knowledge Harvest is referred to and updated using another colour to highlight and record the learning that has taken place. At the end of the topic,

4 there will be an Exit Point. The aim of this is to tie together the learning that has taken place throughout the topic. This may take form in a variety of ways inventive and engaging is the key. If engagement of the parents is suitable then this is highly encouraged; perhaps through an exhibition or an assembly to share the learning. We understand the need to ensure a progression of development in all the skills for each area of learning. The Subject Leaders at The Hermitage have developed these and they are embedded into our curriculum. Year Leaders, alongside the Curriculum Leader, will ensure that these skills are covered on a timely and routine basis. How each subject will look in the curriculum. Literacy: o Literacy is taught within each lesson of the topic. Even if the subject of the lesson is not specifically literacy, there will be an element of literacy that will be covered. o Children will experience a variety of fun and engaging writing experiences. o Year Leaders, alongside the Curriculum and Literacy Leaders, will monitor the teaching of various literacy skills. o The teaching of these skills will be taught within the topic theme and will not be a stand-alone lesson. For example, if the use of commas needs to be developed then the children could find themselves writing about something topic related but the use of commas is taught within that topic learning. o Genres are taught across each topic within the theme of learning. We teach genres frequently and are constantly revisiting them to ensure that children are fluent in a variety of writing forms. Numeracy: o This is taught as a stand-alone subject, totalling a minimum of five hours. o However where possible, links with numeracy skills will be made. o There will be times when numeracy skills can be taught within a topic lesson. This is encouraged to ensure that the children understand the reallife implications of this subject. Science: o This is taught within the topic; linking with the theme. o The skills that children need to learn will be covered each year and progress steadily. o The science learning that takes place is designed to be engaging and fun for the children with the children leading the investigation. History & Geography: o These subjects underpin a variety of our topics. o Children will be taught the knowledge that is contained within these areas in conjunction with the necessary range of skills. MFL: o French is taught for one hour each week within each year group. o The Rigolo programme supports the teaching of French and the progression of skills that the children need. PSHE: o We follow the SEAL programme of teaching however cross-curricular links are made within each topic when appropriate. o The drivers underpin our teaching of PSHE.

5 PE and Games: o The drivers help to support the teaching of PE and Games. o When appropriate, the learning and skills in these subjects will be linked with the theme of the topic. Religious Education (RE): o Where possible this subject will be linked with the curriculum. o Our RE teaches and celebrates the religions of the world. ICT: o The ICT learning within the school is linked with the themes of each topic.this will help to ensure that the children are receiving ICT learning that is relevant. o The ICT curriculum is relevant and up-to-date; responding to the changing needs of our learners. Music: o The Music learning within the school is linked with the themes of each topic. Our topics: Through wide consultation, our topics reflect the learning that children at The Hermitage need. These are as follows: Year 3: Footprints in Time Treasure Blitz n pieces Roots, Shoots and Fruits A Knight s Tale Year 4: From Bean to Bar Active Planet Under Attack! Wild, Weird and Wonderful Year 5: The Final Frontier War Game Off with er Head! We are Scientists Go with the Flow Villains and Heroes Year 6: The Coldest Journey Great Expectations The Generation Game Keen to be Green Outside In In addition to these topics each term we will have an additional week which supports Hermitage children further:

6 Autumn Term New Beginnings (at the start) Spring Term Learning (at the start) Summer Term International Week (at the end) These areas will continue to develop other key skills that the children need to develop; underpinned by the four curriculum drivers. Planning: Each year group has a long term overview which supports the direction of their curriculum. Each topic will have an overview which details the learning to take place within this theme across all subjects. Medium Term Plans will be completed in advance of the topic being taught and shared with the Curriculum Leader. Short Term Planning will be completed for each session. Planning will incorporate all of the skills as detailed in the progression of skills documents that Subject Leaders have created. Planning for the whole topic will be stored as one document. This will be saved in the topic folder on the relevant server section. Resources: Resources for the topic will be labelled in the following format: Week (insert number) Session (insert number) (Insert resource name and scaffold group). Resources for the topics will be stored in a central location for the year group in the topic boxes. The resources should be collected after each week, bagged in zip wallets clearly labelled and collected from the whole team to be stored.