Curriculum Statement
Forest Curriculum rationale (Intent)
We have 5 clear aims which are inextricably intertwined with Physical and Mental Wellbeing and Building Learning Power. We want our children to be:
- Ready to learn: Children have a positive, confident attitude to learning. They are both physically and emotionally ready to learn.
- Resourceful: Children show initiative, ask well thought out questions and are prepared to use a variety of strategies to learn.
- Reflective: Children are curious, able and willing to learn from their mistakes and can describe their progress
- Resilient: Children are prepared to persevere and stay involved in their learning, even when the process is challenging.
- Reciprocal: Children are prepared to help each other and work as a team.
The curriculum at Forest Academy is designed to provide a broad and balanced education that meets the needs of all pupils and gives them the skills, knowledge and understanding to prepare them for their future lives.
It ensures that academic success, as well as physical and mental development and health and well-being are key elements that support the development of the whole child and promote a positive attitude to learning.
The curriculum celebrates diversity and supports the pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.
We recognise our role in developing children’s sense of justice and the associated skills and attitudes to become valued citizens of the future.
We aim to raise aspirations and eradicate social and economic disadvantage by providing enriching opportunities to increase cultural capital.
Our curriculum follows the 2014 National Curriculum and thematic topics are taught throughout the school. Themed topics are devised to teach defined skills, knowledge and understanding in a structured way that ensures progression through the school, consistency across year groups and coverage over time. The themed topics have been designed to complement and build on one another with clear progression and links so that in subsequent year groups, children will be able to explore concepts deeper, applying their knowledge in different contexts.
We recognise the changing needs and interests of our pupils and we are responsive to this, regularly developing existing topics.
Curriculum Statement (Implementation)
At Forest Academy, we offer a curriculum which is broad and balanced and which builds on the knowledge, understanding and skills of all children, whatever their starting points, as they progress through each Key Stage. The curriculum incorporates the statutory requirements of the National Curriculum 2014 and other experiences and opportunities which best meet the learning and developmental needs of the pupils in our school. The aim of our curriculum is for pupils to have the necessary skills to be successful, independent and motivated learners in readiness for their next stage of education. It is important that the curriculum prepares children for their future and builds on the four BLP dispositions to become resourceful, reflective, resilient and reciprocal learners.
Our Early Years Foundation Stage successfully prepares our children as they enter Year 1 through a robust transition period. In the autumn term, children learn through continuous provision to work towards the Key Stage 1 National Curriculum goals. Throughout this period and beyond, all children are still developing their phonic knowledge through the Storytime Phonics Programme and developing their fluency in reading through the daily reading as part of the English skills.
Foundation subjects are delivered using a thematic topic approach and assessed using the National Curriculum as a basis to ensure coverage and progression throughout the school.
All staff take responsibility for an area of subject leadership and inexperienced staff shadow more experienced colleagues to help them develop professionally. Staff are encouraged to attend appropriate CPD and experienced staff regularly provide INSET for teachers and TAs.
Teachers work collaboratively in age phases to plan sequential lessons. Immersion days and other enrichment activities are key to the curriculum design.
Subject leaders monitor planned lessons and offer advice, support and guidance to further improve planned lessons. Subject leaders visit classes to observe lessons, they monitor the work in books and spend time talking to the children about their learning. The school regularly uses Survey Monkey questionnaires to get feedback from the children.
The more able are challenged further in their learning and children who find aspects of their learning more difficult are appropriately supported so that they too are enabled to experience success (in line with the equality Act 2010 and the Special Education Needs and Disability Regulations 2014).
The spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of our pupils and their understanding of the core values of our society are woven through the curriculum.
The English curriculum is taught using Talk for Writing (T4W) in EYFS and KS1 which develops children’s writing skills through imitation, innovation and independence. Alongside this children experience lessons on grammar, punctuation, spelling and handwriting. In Key Stage 2, IPEELL is introduced to provide a structured approach to teaching and learning of all writing text types except poetry which is taught in a different but age-appropriate way.
Across KS 1 and 2, children have daily English skills practise where their focus rotates each day to include reading comprehension, spelling, punctuation and grammar.
The school uses core texts as a basis for English planning and usually, these texts relate to the thematic topic. The school uses Accelerated Reader in Key Stage 2 and has developed its own suggested text list for each year group, ‘The Forest Fantastic Reads’. These texts are chosen for their level of challenge, quality language and are all on Accelerated Reader. They have also been chosen with a view to promoting reading for pleasure.
Maths lessons are planned using the White Rose Scheme of learning. The plans are supplemented to provide both support and challenge to the children as required.
We want our children to become fluent in the fundamentals of Mathematics, through varied and frequent practice with increasingly complex problems over time, so that pupils develop conceptual understanding and the ability to recall and apply knowledge rapidly and accurately. At Forest Academy we have adopted a Mastery approach for teaching in Mathematics and teach the children using a variety of manipulatives. We teach concepts through concrete and pictorial examples initially before moving to the abstract.
We recognise the importance of recalling key number facts too, therefore our Key Stage One children focus on understanding their Number Bonds to 10, 20 and 100, and our Key Stage Two children focus on the rapid recall of their multiplication facts in preparation for their Multiplication Check in Year 4. Each week, the Key Stage Two children have dedicated time for multiplication practice, within the Purple Mash platform, using Monster Multiplication.
Daily arithmetic sessions and counting practise form part of our daily Mathematics learning. This ensures every child in our school is proficient in the methods required within the Mathematics National Curriculum and recognises the patterns evident in the number system through continued and progressive counting practise.
English and Mathematics are taught in mixed ability groups throughout the school. In all year groups, there are small group interventions in order to support pupils in gaining the key skills to become successful readers, writers and mathematicians. However, the emphasis is on quality first teaching which means minimal intervention is required. Teachers are encouraged to use pre and post teaching as appropriate.
Sports coaches support physical education. All subject leaders are given training and the opportunity to keep developing their own subject knowledge, skills and understanding so they can support curriculum development and their colleagues throughout the school. All subject leaders have release time to drive and monitor their subject. Themed weeks, whole school activities and opportunities within and outside school all enrich and develop the children’s learning. After school clubs, sports tournaments and events extend these opportunities further.
The outdoor environment is considered an opportunity for active learning for all our pupils. The school grounds provide opportunities to enrich different curriculum areas, particularly Science and Geography. We have a woodland area, an environmental area and easy, free access to Brandon County Park. The school has several trained ‘Forest Schools’ teachers.
Pupils have opportunities to share their learning with each other, their parents and carers and other learners through school-based and external exhibitions, performances, competitions and events involving other schools. Children’s work is celebrated in sharing assemblies with their peers. Parents are invited in to look at the children’s learning and leave positive comments on a golden orb. We have a Facebook page and Twitter where children’s learning and successes are celebrated each day. Parents and carers are encouraged to upload their children’s achievements on the Forest Flyer Facebook page. The Building Learning Power ethos is firmly embedded and ensures our children develop their independence and motivation as learners and their sense of responsibility as future citizens is at the heart of all our teaching and learning.
What is the impact? What does this mean for the children?
From their individual starting points, pupils are well prepared for the next stage in their education. We want our children to have the necessary skills, knowledge and understanding to be successful academically and socially. Our children will leave Forest Academy:
- Ready to learn: Children have a positive, confident attitude to learning. They are both physically and emotionally ready to learn.
- Resourceful: Children show initiative, ask well thought out questions and are prepared to use a variety of strategies to learn.
- Reflective: Children are curious, able and willing to learn from their mistakes and can describe their progress
- Resilient: Children are prepared to persevere and stay involved in their learning, even when the process is challenging.
- Reciprocal: Children are prepared to help each other and work as a team.