Our curriculum implementation
Topic Projects
The curriculum through focused learning projects that run across a 2 year cycle. This will enable a child to cover key concepts and skills covered in their key stage and progress their subject skills. Our curriculum is planned on an annual basis, taking into account the class arrangements and cyclical nature of the key skills, knowledge and understanding the children are required to learn as outlined in our key skills curriculum map (see separate tab).
(These curriculum maps are a work in progress and regularly reviewed and updated)
Our termly curriculum focus projects outline the breadth and balance of learning experiences that will be covered as we explore these questions.
These topic projects are broken into focused areas of learning, encouraging the children to Discover, Explore and Create. Each aspect covers key curriculum areas and allows children to emerge themselves in their learning and wider subjects. Alongside the stand alone core subjects (Maths, English, Science, RE, PSHE/SRE and PE), children get focused learning to allow them to access deep learning knowledge.
Deep learning promotes the qualities children need for success by building complex understanding and meaning rather than focusing on the learning of superficial knowledge that can today be gleaned through search engines. Deep learning teaching prepares children to be curious, continuous, independent learners as well as thoughtful, productive, active citizens in a democratic society.
Simplifying the weekly subject coverage to allow for a more in depth period allows children to become fully immersed in. They are fully engaged in an authentic experience that helps them deepen their understanding and develop cognitively complex learning skills and habits of mind. And, finally, their learning has a value beyond school – they are working from potentially real-world experiences like those that students may face later in life as engineers, designers, or general problem solvers.
Our deep learning curriculum reduces the number of curriculum areas covered across a week, providing a breadth of information. This allows all children to access each subject, allowing all children to process meaning and understanding, on making connections and building relationships between important information and ideas, and on promoting advanced analysis, interpretation, and application. Some children, especially those with barriers to learning can struggle with the limited time spent on a subject before they move onto the next within a week – this approach allows all children the opportunity to immerse themselves in one subject for a set period of time. There are should be many opportunities for pupils to process information and ideas as they develop and use literacy and thinking skills. Children will be less passive and more engaged in the learning process. Opportunities are planned to apply what is being learned to real life situations beyond school.
Our blocks of learning are:
| Discover | History & Computing Curriculum focus |
| Explore | Geography, Languages and Music Curriculum focus |
| Create | Art & Design Technology curriculum focus |
These blocks are taught alongside core curriculum subjects ( Maths. English, Science, RE, PE and PSHE/SHRE. )
If you are interested in finding more about our curriculum, please contact the school office on 01797 252141 or email northiamoffice@quercusfederation.co.uk.