Our School Curriculum
What will my child learn in school?
At Viewley Hill our National Curriculum offer promotes high standards in all areas of learning and school life and is formed from the Programmes of Study outlined in the 2014 National Curriculum.
It is designed to help the children make links to prior and future learning through a cross-curricular approach. Children are taught through themes that have distinct subject drivers and purposeful links to other subjects allowing for greater development of skills within a strong and meaningful context.
At Viewley Hill Academy, we want our curriculum to ‘Awaken Curiosity and Create Success’ and so themes are planned with interesting and engaging experiences to get the children hooked into their learning. Our curriculum is is designed around questions that provoke the children’s interest and help give purpose for the learning. Children contribute to the planning through posing their own questions that can be explored through the theme or homework. At the end of each theme, we plan for opportunities children to showcase their learning to a real audience. This can be parents, the wider community or other classes in school. Examples include things like a carnival procession, a living museum, a VE party or a Stone Age market. The children love these experiences!
Our Aims
Our Curriculum has been created around 3 key aims:
- Breadth of study – a range of studies across the whole of the National Curriculum, giving children a wide and varied general knowledge as well as high academic performance in the core areas of maths and English.
- Depth of study – conceptual knowledge, skills and understanding developed in subject areas.
- Cultural Capital – experiences and opportunities to learn about the wider world beyond the curriculum.
These 3 broad aims ensure children can build a secure understanding of the world around them and are also transfer this and remember key information. We hope that children’s confidence is built upon year on year.
Our Approach
Most learning takes place within the context of a theme or topic. However, some subjects, or elements of subjects, need to be taught separately. These include: Mathematics, PE, Computing, PHSE and Phonics.
Themes run concurrently throughout the school which we find supports sibling and family links. Some last half a term and others are arranged for longer depending on the content to be covered. Where possible, Early Years themes link into National Curriculum. Because we have vertical year groups due to numbers, our curriculum is planned over a two year cycle: Cycle A and Cycle B, to provide coverage across the phases of Key Stage1, Lower Key Stage2 and Upper Key Stage 2.
Our key curriculum drivers are Reading, Writing, and Maths. These drivers ensure basic skills and knowledge allow children to access the whole curriculum and ensure that children are given frequent opportunities to develop independent, critical thinking skills. In addition, we place a great emphasis on building positive self-esteem and relationships with others so that our children develop a deep sense of belonging to our school family and our community.
Please click here to find out more about our school’s participation in sport and PE on the School Games Website.
