Our curriculum at West Row Academy

Intent

At West Row Academy, we have designed our curriculum with the intent that all of our pupils encounter, engage with and study the content which is considered integral to a well-rounded and holistic education. We have designed our curriculum with the whole child in mind; we aim to motivate our pupils to:

• be curious about the world around them and have thirst for learning
• be imaginative and creative and value the arts
• be respectful of their school, community and wider world
• be passionate about learning and develop resilience when things go wrong
• be brave enough to try new things
• be kind and helpful and appreciate other people
• be safe and healthy: physically, mentally and emotionally and build positive relationships with others and themselves
• be emotionally literate, empathise with others and be sure of their integral value as a person
• know right from wrong and develop personal integrity
• ignite a love of reading, writing and maths
• understand and feel that they belong and are part of their local community

We have chosen to use the Curriculum for Unity Schools Partnership (CUSP) because it is a knowledge-rich curriculum which is connected, cumulative and coherent.

• Connected – the curriculum is built around cognitive load theory, the principles of instrcutions and evidence-informed practice
• Cumulative – learning is not an event; it must be knowledge rich, vocabulary rich and skillful
• Coherent – it is systematically and sequentially planned with explicit instu=ruction which supports acquisition of curriculum content

The content in our curriculum has been carefully chosen by subject experts and has been sequenced in a meaningful way that enables children to make connections and progress from unit to unit, term to term and year to year. We recognise and value each subject and teach them discretely, ensuring that our children develop a deep understanding and love of each distinct discipline. Where appropriate, links are made across disciplines to enable children to make meaningful connections. We have made adaptations to this curriculum in order to include local history, geography and other locally relevant subject content for our pupils.

Knowledge, skills and vocabulary to be taught are specified through:

• Our whole school curriculum overview outlines the units covered in each subject across the year in all classes
• Subject curriculum maps: detail exactly what we cover in each subject, with additional detail showing what is covered in each lesson
• Knowledge organisers: outline the substantive knowledge, concepts and disciplinary knowledge taught in each unit, and how each unit fits in with the bigger curriculum picture
• Cummulative quizzes and vocabulary progression resources: ensure revisiting of concepts and high-quality language are embedded in all curriculum areas

Implementation

Our intended curriculum is translated over time in the classroom following a structured approach and Quality First Teaching: each lesson follow a six-part structure: Connect, Explain, Example, Attempt, Apply, Challenge. They start with a prior learning review, where children are supported to retrieve prior knowledge and make connections. We have an emphasis on explicitly teaching vocabulary, and each lesson starts with introducing, orally rehearsing, and engaging with key vocabulary (e.g. looking at the etymology of new words). Key vocabulary is contextualised throughout the lesson and children are given opportunities to apply these new words. Our teachers enact our intended curriculum using research-based pedagogy, such as Rosenshine’s Principles of Instruction, to ensure information is presented in small steps, clearly explained and effectively modelled, and children have many opportunities to talk, answer questions, explain their learning and work independently. Throughout lessons, teachers assess/monitor pupil responses and provide effective feedback

At West Row Academy, teaching and learning provides a rich and varied learning environment that allows all children to develop their skills and abilities to reach their potential, regardless of their socio-economic background, ethnicity or gender. 

Our Quality First Teaching aims to:

· provide a safe, secure and supportive learning environment;

· enable children to become confident, resourceful, curious, independent and reflective learners

· develop children’s self-esteem and self-belief

· develop self-respect and respect for the ideas, attitudes, values and feelings of others

· promote kindness toward themselves and others

For more detail about Quality First Teaching at West Row Academy, please see our Quality First Teaching statement.

Impact

As we have clearly specified what we want our children to know, do and remember, when reviewing impact, we assess against the Knowledge Goals laid out in the intended curriculum, enabling us to check whether children can remember what we set out for them to learn. We carry out subject-specific monitoring and curriculum reviews to assess impact and use these to plan for future development.

As we know that curriculum impact, implementation and impact go hand in hand, one cannot be successful without the other and the curriculum cannot be successful without careful thought in all three areas. We are always reflecting upon the impact of our intent and implementation and identifying ways in which we can improve outcomes for our children. Our curriculum work is never finished – it is at the very core of our purpose and our children deserve the very best curriculum we can create.

If you would like to know more about out curriculum, please click on one of the links below. If you still require further support please contact our school office and ask to make an appointment with our curriculum leader, Ms Guggiari.