Curriculum Overview
Learning together, Growing together, Aiming high
Our school aims to provide its children with a wide and varied curriculum which allows them to have as many experiences as possible to help them to be engaged and actively involved in their education.
It is a school where all children are encouraged to express ideas and opinions, to look beyond themselves, to be independent, where a lifelong love of learning is the norm and all children reach their full potential, academically, socially and emotionally, in a rich, non-judgemental and supportive learning environment, providing high-quality education where all are challenged.
Curriculum 2013
In September 2013 the revised National Curriculum came into effect. The National Curriculum lies at the heart of the Government’s policy to raise standards. It determines the content of what will be taught.
Learning Challenge Curriculum
At Highwoods we use The Learning Challenge approach – it has helped us to match the curriculum to the needs of our children – it brings engagement and life into our curriculum. The key to its success is getting it right for our school, and keeping it under review to ensure it does not become routine.
Our imaginative curriculum successfully builds on pupils’ skills and knowledge as they move through the school. It meets the needs and interests of all pupils because it is effectively linked to national and local events. The imaginative curriculum underpins effective teaching across the whole school. Subjects are creatively linked and teachers present exciting activities which fire pupils’ enthusiasm. Learning in our school is fun, because every day is different.
Highwoods adopted a more skills-based ‘challenge’ curriculum which pupils enjoy and gain much from. Teachers are constantly adapting our ‘challenge’ curriculum and are teaching it with skill and enthusiasm.
Subjects are linked cohesively, giving meaning and purpose to pupils’ learning. Opportunities to extend pupils’ reading, writing and mathematical skills through other subjects are utilised regularly and effectively.
Stimulating writing tasks, often based on interesting and innovative questions, are helping to raise standards. The ‘challenge’ curriculum addresses pupils’ learning needs well by providing frequent opportunities for problem solving and skills development.
English
English is delivered through a text-led approach. Each class plans for literacy activities using a chosen book as the stimulus. The text can be fiction or non-fiction, classic or modern. Older children study the same book in detail for a term, whereas the text is changed more frequently for younger children.
The text is chosen to link to the learning challenge and follows a similar theme.
Speaking, reading and writing (including grammar and spelling) activities are inspired by the text and opportunities for drama are planned for.
There is a focus on writing across the curriculum with audience and purpose made explicit.
Phonics
The school uses Read Write Inc. Phonics as its foundation for phonics teaching.
This edition of Read Write Inc. Phonics draws upon experience gained in more than 4000 schools over 10 year
- More than phonics – integrated comprehension, writing, grammar, spelling, vocabulary and handwriting
- Engaging partner work, role-play and drama so every child participates in the whole lesson
- Brand new Storytime and Poetry Time to develop children’s knowledge of traditional tales and a wide range of poetry
- Simple assessment, clear tracking and straightforward grouping so every child learns rapidly at the right level
- Sustained Professional Development from Ruth Miskin Training to create an outstanding team of teachers.
Reading
Reading is at the heart of our curriculum. We immerse children in high-quality texts to instil a love for reading, a passion for discovery and a confidence to explore their imagination through our text-led curriculum.
We value reading as a key life skill and we are dedicated to enabling our children to become life-long readers. Through reading, our children have the opportunity to develop culturally, emotionally, intellectually, socially and spiritually.
Our core reading scheme is Oxford Reading Tree but this is supplemented by books from other publishers. We foster a love of reading and children take books home from our school library to share their reading activities with their parents.
Below are links to the Intent, Implementation and Impact statements for our curriculum subjects:
Click on the button to the left to view our overarching Curriculum Intent, Implementation and Impact Statement
Click on the buttons below to view the individual subject Intent, Implementation and Impact Statements
