Intent

At St Ann’s Heath, we are committed to delivering a curriculum which is broad and balanced and provides our children with opportunities to gain essential knowledge, skills and understanding in order to achieve their full potential. While our curriculum encompasses the full requirements of the National Curriculum, our aim is to provide our children with a range of learning enrichment experiences to inspire and shape their futures.

Our curriculum is designed to be a dynamic and creative journey, with reading at its heart. We recognise the profound impact that a strong foundation in reading has on all areas of a child's education and their future success. Through a carefully selected range of high-quality texts, we aim to inspire a love for reading, encouraging children to explore diverse worlds, characters, and ideas.

We understand the importance of making meaningful connections between subjects to enhance understanding and develop children's schemata. Our creative curriculum is intentionally structured to weave these connections seamlessly, reducing cognitive load and allowing children to build a comprehensive understanding of the world around them. By fostering cross-curricular links, we aim to equip our students with the ability to apply knowledge in a variety of contexts, nurturing critical thinking and problem-solving skills.

Through our KS2 curriculum, we aspire to empower our students with the skills, knowledge, and confidence to become lifelong learners and active contributors to society. We believe in fostering a positive and inclusive learning environment where every child can thrive academically, creatively, and personally. Our commitment to a broad and balanced curriculum ensures that each child's unique talents are celebrated and that they are well-prepared for the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead.

Implementation

At St Ann’s Heath, our curriculum implementation is a thoughtful blend of meeting National Curriculum requirements and providing additional enrichment activities to create a well-rounded and engaging learning experience for every child. Our curriculum is designed to achieve a harmonious balance between covering essential subject content and offering enriching experiences that go beyond the standard requirements.

We recognise the importance of aligning our curriculum with the National Curriculum, ensuring that all key areas of learning are addressed comprehensively. Our teachers carefully map out the curriculum, making certain that the acquisition of knowledge and the development of skills progress in a logical and purposeful manner. This intentional planning is aimed at creating a cohesive and exciting learning journey for each child, fostering a sense of curiosity and a love for learning.

To achieve this, we place great emphasis on carefully sequencing learning to consider the diverse prior knowledge and skills of our pupils. Our teachers engage in thorough planning sessions to ensure that each lesson builds upon the foundations laid in previous ones, creating a scaffolded approach that supports the progressive development of understanding and skills.

In our commitment to quality first teaching, we have integrated Tom Sherrington’s WalkThru strategies into our day-to-day teaching. These evidence-based teaching strategies are rooted in a profound understanding of how learning works, providing our teachers with effective tools to enhance their teaching methods. By incorporating WalkThru strategies, our teachers create an environment where learning is not only rigorous but also engaging, fostering active participation and deep understanding.

Beyond the core National Curriculum requirements, we enrich our KS2 experience with a variety of activities that stimulate curiosity, creativity and critical thinking. These additional experiences, ranging from residential trips to guest speakers, are carefully woven into the curriculum to provide our children with a holistic and well-rounded education.