Acre Heads Primary School Curriculum

Our Thematic Curriculum

At Acre Heads, we believe that our curriculum should prepare our pupils for life after primary school. We want the children to leave us with the skills, knowledge and attitudes that will enable them to become the most successful citizens they can be; understanding and caring for the world in which they live. We believe the most effective learning takes place where children are able to explore a subject using a variety of approaches and we aim to cater for all styles of learning.

Our thematic curriculum is delivered with different learning styles in mind and our principal aim is to develop the children’s knowledge, skills and understanding. Our themes are embedded across the curriculum, ensuring cross-curricular links are made wherever possible. We plan using the broader objectives from the National Curriculum and the smaller steps from our school long term planning documents to ensure progression in skills and knowledge as pupils move through the school. We expect everyone to develop and show a sense of responsibility and self-discipline whether alone, together, at work or at play, and to support policies on equal opportunities. We actively promote the British Values of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty, and mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs to prepare our pupils for life in modern day Britain. We also provide opportunities for our pupils to learn about the contribution of Britons to innovation, excellence and changes in the world.

Thematic Curriculum Structure

Acre Heads’ Thematic Overview Map

Download a PDF copy of the THEMATIC OVERVIEW MAP

Intent

That all pupils are provided with excellent and engaging learning experiences that lead to consistently high levels of pupil achievement.
That all pupils enjoy and value the curriculum we deliver.
That all pupils develop lively, enquiring minds and the ability to question.
That all teachers and other professionals are ‘lifelong learners’, committed to an ongoing development of their own knowledge and skills to optimise the pupils’ learning experiences.
That a positive, caring environment, where achievements at all levels are acknowledged and valued, is prevalent throughout the school.
That all pupils from the earliest opportunity, are encouraged to develop the attitudes of self-belief, determination, teamwork and resilience.

Implementation

The school follows the Foundation Curriculum for Early Years (EYFS Framework), and the National Curriculum for the rest of the school, incorporating a creative, coherent and immersive approach that is designed to enable all children to learn and apply the knowledge and skills taught.

This provides the necessary framework upon which we design and map our broad aims for each year group and the sequential progression we want children to achieve over time. We consider carefully how to help all children to build and remember a web of interconnected and relevant knowledge. We believe that an ‘immersive’ approach to learning through thematic topics and core texts, allows children to understand how learning is connected across subjects, topics and core concepts. In the same way, skills are taught and lessons are designed to challenge children to apply their knowledge and skills to solve problems both together and independently.

We also recognise fully the need to ensure that any ‘gaps’ in a child’s learning are addressed and therefore adopt, whenever possible, a personalised approach to teaching and assessment of the curriculum. This, in turn, helps children to understand that they can ‘step back’ and revisit learning to ensure that they are able to progress successfully.

Impact of our Thematic Curriculum

Our curriculum is high quality, well thought out and planned to demonstrate progression. Teachers assess children’s work by making informal judgements during lessons. On completion of a piece of work, the teacher assesses it and uses this assessment to plan for future learning. Written or verbal feedback is given to the child to help guide his/her progress, in line with the school’s marking policy. When appropriate, teachers formally assess children against age related expectations at the end of a unit of work.

We measure the impact of our curriculum through the following methods:

A reflection on standards achieved against the planned outcomes.
Opportunities to celebrate learning throughout the year which demonstrate progression across the school.
Pupil voice.
A clear love of learning across the school that children apply across the curriculum.
The development of skills and attributes that pupils can use beyond school and into adulthood.

National Curriculum

The national curriculum sets out the programmes of study and attainment targets for all subjects taught in Key Stages 1 and 2. All local-authority-maintained schools in England must teach these programmes of study.

For further information regarding the national curriculum, visit the gov.uk website to see the PRIMARY National Curriculum.

Acre Heads Curriculum coverage of the national curriculum objectives: NC Objectives and Coverage

For further information regarding the curriculum within your child’s year group, please click the links below:

“After Art Week, I enjoyed exploring the style of David Hockney and applied his style of art in my portfolio.”

Max, Year 6

“During my computing lesson, I designed an algorithm that identified the steps needed to code the Bee Bot.”
test

Jake, Year 2

“During my History theme, I enjoyed the visit to the York Chocolate Story and finding out that Chocolate is referred as the ‘food of the gods’. The phrase has its roots from the Mayan religion.”

Evan, Year 3

“During my music lesson, I composed a simple melody and performed it to my class and year group.”

Lucy, Year 5

“I love my French lessons, I can ask someone their age in French, Quel âge as-tu? I can also reply to simple questions in French too.”

Lexi, Year 3

ACRE HEADS PRIMARY SCHOOL