“Learning Together, Aiming High”

Our Curriculum

The School affirms its commitment to the Foundation Stage Curriculum in the Reception Year and the National Curriculum in Year 1 to Year 6. By careful planning, pupils enjoy continuity and progression throughout the school in all subjects. Although these subjects may be taught individually, classes normally work through topics. Since knowledge is inter-related, a topic, skills based approach to learning links many areas of study. Topics are chosen to give a balance, i.e. if there is a historical emphasis one term, a scientific topic will follow the next term.

At Kington St Michael CE Primary School all class teachers are responsible for providing a curriculum (National Curriculum on the DfE) that is suitable for all pupils in the class, including those with Special Educational Needs or Disabilities (SEND) with support from the SENDCo. We have high expectations for all pupils and are committed to ensuring our curriculum complies with the Equality Act 2010 and the Special Educational Needs and Disability Regulations 2014. 

We place equal importance on each area of a child’s development, and recognise and value the importance of structured play, practical and meaningful activities to allow children to learn with enjoyment throughout the school. Learners are encouraged to assess their own work, look for areas to improve and challenge themselves—always trying to do their best. Activities are planned to develop skills, enable learners to adapt skills in different contexts and take as much responsibility for their own learning as possible. Creativity is encouraged and we aim to provide learning experiences that are meaningful and memorable.

"Teachers and teaching assistants work closely to plan activities that stimulate and excite their classes, responding wherever possible to pupils’ interests. Whole-school topics from time to time such as ‘Chocolate’ or ‘The Romans’ allow different age groups to share their learning and teach each other. The rich and varied theme-based teaching throughout the school ensures that pupils’ achievement in literacy, reading and mathematics is rapid and sustained."

(Ofsted report, 2014)

National Curriculum

The national curriculum was updated in September 2014. It is designed to provide children with an introduction to essential knowledge and helps engender an appreciation of human creativity and achievement through teaching programmes of study for each National Curriculum subject. Schools are free to choose how they organise their school day, as long as the programmes of study are taught.

Although our curriculum is delivered through a topic based approach, we do not follow a prescribed or set programme of topics as many schools do. We like to keep our learning fresh and relevant. Teachers are able to choose their topics according to what the children are interested in, what they as teachers are interested in and what is happening in the world around us. We ensure that the children are involved in the suggestions, discussions and planning that guide our choice of topics.

By using our unique Cohort Curriculum Planning and Tracking document, we can ensure that all children are being taught the required curriculum, are progressing through the required skills and are not repeating sections unnecessarily.

We utilise the outdoor environment in all our learning - having the benefit of a nature area and pond, class gardens and vegetable patch, amphitheatre, playtrail and local woods that are used for tracking, orienteering, shelter building, art work and more.

By clicking on the different areas of the curriculum below, you will be able to find out more about specific subjects.