Our Curriculum

Curriculum Intent Statement 

At Highbury Quadrant Primary School we have designed our curriculum with pupils’ learning at the centre. We recognise that a curriculum has to be broad, balanced and offer pupils opportunities to grow as individuals as well as learners.

Through a combination of learning approaches, we aim to ensure pupils enjoy learning and feel prepared for life after school. We also intend to offer our pupils new and exciting experiences through opportunities to work with other schools, visitors to the school and educational visits. These are all designed to build resilience, confidence and self-esteem.

We recognise that pupils should be challenged in their schooling; learning from failures and celebrating successes. We intend for our curriculum to be empowering, enabling pupils to develop their interpersonal skills, creativity and independence.

How the school intends to deliver the curriculum

We intend to deliver the curriculum through a variety of methods that are both classroom-based and beyond the classroom. Below, we have outlined how we intend to deliver this promise. We promote equal opportunities to all of our pupils in line with the Equality Act 2010 throughout our practices.

Classroom-based learning: Our staff value the different ways in which pupils learn and plan lessons to account for these differences. We encourage teachers to make cross-curricular links where possible within their lesson plans, so that pupils can draw upon knowledge from different subjects and understand how each topic plays a part in everyday life.

Teachers use different learning resources and methods to teach core content, e.g. the use of digital technology, collaboration and hands-on experiences. By using different techniques, we aim to ensure pupils are engaged with learning and accommodate pupils who learn differently to their peers.

The school carries out one-to-one teaching sessions for pupils who require additional support. Parents can request this, but the school prioritises pupils who have higher support needs. 

Class teachers work closely with support staff to ensure that targeted support is available for pupils who may require additional support. This might be a short term intervention or a plan to address more complex needs. Where needs are more complex we work closely with external agencies to attain a deeper understanding of need.

We carry out interventions for small groups of pupils with TAs. Within these interventions, TAs break down the content of the lesson in a more digestible way for pupils. The sessions can last between 15 minutes to one hour and groups contain no more than six pupils in a session. It is important to note that these interventions supplement the work of the teacher and do not replace it.

A full list of the subjects available to our pupils in each year can be found below.

How the school involves parents, pupils and the local community in curriculum planning and delivery

Our school values the input of its pupils, parents and the local community with regards to the planning and delivery of the curriculum. We believe pupils get a well-rounded education if everyone is involved in shaping it. This is why we send pupils and parents questionnaires on a termly basis which ask about factors such as what pupils enjoy about learning and lessons, what they find challenging, and whether they feel well informed on attainment.

We engage with the wider community by ensuring there are opportunities for pupils to participate in community projects, e.g. flower planting in local green spaces. We embed each project within the curriculum into the relevant subjects, e.g. the environmental impact of green spaces (plants and trees). This shows pupils the value of protecting and being involved in their community and establishes a link between the theories they learn in the classroom to practical examples in real life. 

 How the curriculum benefits pupils’ learning and personal development, in line with our core values of being:  collaborative, ambitious, resilient, innovative and nurturing.

Our curriculum has been designed for a range of learners, providing equal opportunities for all – by doing this, pupils will benefit in the following ways:

·         Learning how to lead safe, healthy and fulfilling lives

·         Understanding that failure is part of the road to success

·         Being rewarded for academic successes

·         Being supported with all transitions and feeling prepared for secondary school

·         Becoming responsible individuals who contribute to community living and the environment

·         Achieving to the best of their ability

·         Acquiring a wealth of knowledge and experience 

·         Becoming critical thinkers

·         Finding a sense of belonging within the school and its community

·         Learning how to cooperate with peers and respect one another

Curriculum overview by year group: