The SASF Curriculum

INTENT

The intent of our researched-based curriculum is to plan and deliver a curriculum that is accessible to all, while maximising every child’s academic achievement and increasing their cultural capital.

Design

The SAS curriculum is designed with the following concepts at its core:

• Learning – a change in the long-term memory
• Progress – pupils knowing more and remembering more
• Automaticity – the automatic recall of key, sticky knowledge identified in each year group and in each subject
• Cultural Capital – the currency to enable social mobility (language acquisition, vocabulary size, reading, music art etc.)
• Working Memory - a mental work space to manipulate data

Cultural Capital

• To meet the specific contextual needs of our pupils, there is a deliberate focus on oracy/vocabulary to ensure children develop rich prototypes and schemas. This enables children to make connections and transfer knowledge to infer meaning.
• The deliberate design of our curriculum ensures pupils are given the opportunity to build on their cultural capital and therefore increase social mobility. The SASF reading spine systematically develops to ensure all pupils are exposed to a wide range of genres and authors, ensuring diversity.
• Research evidences that vocabulary and language skills have the greatest impact on social mobility. As a result, we are building a curriculum that identifies the key vocabulary in each subject, which children must understand by the end of each topic to support future learning. 
• British values, current affairs and Christian values are celebrated weekly in collective worship. The aim of this is to deepen children’s understanding of their role within the global community and the impact it can have on their day-to-day lives.
• We run a half-termly Oracy competition that develop children’s research, speaking and presentational skills whilst also exposing them to culturally significant topics in order to increase their cultural capital and enable social mobility.
• We are increasing the number of educational trips and visits as well as visitors into school, to increase opportunities beyond their life experiences.

Structure and Sequencing

• Each subject has a clearly sequenced and progressive set of key (sticky) knowledge that all pupils must learn by the end of each year, to build on during future learning. This specific knowledge is the focus of each lesson's intent and implementation. The curriculum design allows multiple opportunities for children to rehearse and recall previous learning, so that they, ‘know more, remember more.’   
• Children are given the opportunity to study a broad range of subjects, each of which has a progression map from EYFS-Year 6, within a 3D curriculum.
• High aspirations are set for all SEND pupils and they are supported to be able to access the curriculum - our intent for learning is ‘all knowing all.’ 
• So that children practise their decoding skills at home, every child is sent home with a phonetically appropriate book in KS1, and EYFS when appropriate. This continues into Key Stage 2, where children are issued with a book according to their reading attainment level (PM benchmarking). In addition to this, all children are challenged and extended through the choice of high-quality, diverse class texts and story time texts, which they are supported to access. Moreover, the love of reading is encouraged through the loaning of high-quality, engaging texts from the school library and the local library too.
• During the last academic year, we transitioned from a Project Based Learning (PBL) approach of teaching the foundation subjects to discrete subjects. This strategic decision was taken so that there was a deliberately sequenced and progressive curriculum, which enabled children to learn and build upon the key knowledge in each subject.

IMPLEMENTATION

• We are always re-evaluating our curriculum to ensure that only the core knowledge and vocabulary in each subject has been clearly identified for each year group.
• This approach is clearly evident in the teaching of history and geography via the Opening Worlds curriculum. These schemes are purposefully designed to ensure children know more and remember more. In addition, key vocabulary is meticulously sequenced to ensure it is introduced at the appropriate time so that children build on previous knowledge and opportunities for rehearsal and recall are embedded. This is an approach we are replicating across the curriculum.
• Through targeted CPD, a variety of pedagogical approaches, including the 10 Opening Worlds teaching techniques , are disseminated across the whole curriculum. Both the curriculum and individual lessons are structured in order to facilitate the automatic recall of key, sticky knowledge and incorporates our curriculum concepts. This is also clearly evident in Maths Mastery in the sequencing of the units, lessons, vocabulary and maths meetings (spaced rehearsal). Hence, building a 3D curriculum which is uniform and consistent across all year groups. We have an action plan in place to develop specific subjects and build on this model.
• Children’s progress is continually assessed through ongoing AfL opportunities that are built into each lesson. Targeted CPD and coaching sessions provide teachers with the requisite strategies to support pupils in knowing more and remembering more. To ensure consistency in teaching throughout the school, AHTs have begun using a range of research-based teaching and learning strategies, specifically those of Rosenshine, Lemov and Opening Worlds.  
• Subject leaders drive the development of teachers’ subject knowledge. Targeted CPD ensures that staff are confident to deliver the content of the curriculum and are signposted where to go in order to improve their own expertise. This is supported through the AHTs’ coaching sessions with subject leaders.
• Significant research into pedagogical knowledge has been undertaken by SLT and this is regularly disseminated to all staff through targeted CPD sessions. The key concepts taken from this research are the foundation for our curriculum design, professional conversations and decision making.
• Through conversations with AHTs, subject leaders have a growing understanding of the pedagogical content knowledge related to their own subject (pedagogical content knowledge is a type of knowledge that is unique to teachers, and is based on the manner in which teachers relate their pedagogical knowledge (what they know about teaching) to their subject matter knowledge (what they know about what they teach)).
• To support the early reading of new EAL pupils across the school, we have  introduced a daily  daily ‘Fresh Start’ sessions to improve these children’s access to the curriculum and exposure to English vocabulary. This supports them to increase the pace of their language acquisition and to access the learning in class. To support transition of children higher up the school and their transition to secondary school, pupils take part in a tailored reading/phonics curriculum to diminish the difference and allowing them to engage in whole class learning as soon as possible.
• Children make rapid progress in the EYFS due to the implementation of a rigorous phonics programme and a focus on high quality talk and interactions. 
• In Key Stage 2, Destination Reader is used to continue a consistent approach to reading, focusing on discrete reading skills and to encourage a love of reading. Pupils are PM Benchmarked to provide them with the correct banded book for their reading development and to identify any barriers in their development as a reader. As a result, despite their low starting points, the school’s KS2 reading results are in line with the national average.
• As reading is a priority at SASF, daily Story Time is ringfenced in every class from EYFS to Year 6. We have developed this to meet the needs of our children, many of whom are not read stories regularly at home. Teachers’ exercise ‘cognitive apprenticeship’, narrating their thoughts and modelling DR skills and the abstract skills required to delve into, and enjoy, a book. Most importantly, the teacher models the enjoyment and love of reading. These sessions enable children to feel, hear and see the passion of their teachers towards reading. This approach is fundamental to developing children’s schemas and prototypes, enabling them to develop their inference skills and develop cultural capital. In addition to this, vocabulary is explicitly taught, rehearsed and repeated. Our employment of a librarian further demonstrates our commitment to reading and to introducing the children to a diverse range of books. Use of the library is increasingly popular and children are keen to volunteer their services to help the librarian during lunchtimes. More children are spending time in the library reading for pleasure and this is evidenced by the increased number of loaned books.
• Due to the diverse needs of our children, developing oracy is key to building children’s cultural capital. Communication and Language is a key focus in the EYFS. As a result, talk is at the heart of the curriculum. This approach culminates in our half-termly Optimal Oracy competition, whereby children develop their cognitive, linguistic, physical and social and emotional skills. Developing oracy skills plays a key part in enabling social mobility, with the intent that the skills they develop at school are transferred into their adult life. This has had a positive impact on children’s ability to express their needs and articulate passionately on the chosen topic.

IMPACT

• The school’s key curriculum concepts define progress as ‘knowing more, remembering more.’ To bolster this, the school has streamlined the curriculum so that each lesson has a clear intent, ensuring key, sticky knowledge is rigorously taught and rehearsed. Since the transition from PBL to discreet subjects, the learning of key knowledge has become a lot more evident in the foundation subjects so that it is in line with the standards produced in core subjects. This is increasingly evident in our curriculum documentation and is a key focus for this academic year. 
• Children’s baseline data is well below national expectation on entry to the EYFS. However, we are able to diminish the difference by the end of Key Stage 1 and this continues to the end of Key Stage 2 as data is in line or above national average. Thus, evidencing the progress children make through their learning journey at SASF. This is achieved via our application and implementation of metacognition strategies and pedagogical knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge. The curriculum is designed so that children know more and remember more of the key sticky knowledge taught and there are plenty of opportunities for spaced rehearsal.
• There are high expectations for all pupils, including those with SEND. Individual targets are regularly reviewed to support their academic and emotional needs. Where possible, all interventions take place within the classroom so all children are given scaffolded learning opportunities. External agencies provide tailored, additional support to ensure all children can access the curriculum. As a result, children with SEND make good progress as evidenced in the SEND audit.
• The WLZ works with selected ‘partners’ to help children build the relationships and skills required to thrive socially, emotionally and academically. This is achieved by building trusted relationships, providing specialist support and joining up each child’s support system, including families, schools and local organisations, to deliver a personalised 2-year support plan for each child. Their metrics demonstrate impact on both their social, emotional and academic progress and are provided in termly reports.

.......Building knowledge

Children will be able to talk confidently about their learning in all subjects and the work in their books, video and recorded material, displays around the school, class assemblies and evidence in lessons will show a lifelong love of learning and engagement across the curriculum.

Our learners will talk about their knowledge via diverse prototypes and schema in a systematic and/or thematical manner.

They will demonstrate a good knowledge of global issues and will speak positively about the multicultural world in which they live. Celebration of diversity and encouragement of respect will be evident in their work and daily interactions.

We intend that the impact is that children will be academically and physically prepared for the next phase of their education, in Britain and the world. Complimented by broad and varied opportunities to develop cultural capital to compliment and challenge their current backgrounds and cultures.

......Working with purpose

Children are resilient, they don’t give up, are highly motivated to succeed and achieve and are equipped with all the personal skills (specifically oracy) to do this. This is seen by how all children, regardless of their starting points, approach challenges every day. Speak with passion and confidence when communicating with others. This could be on the playground, in a game or disagreement, or in class in a complex learning challenge.

They will take pride in all that they do, always striving to do their best. They will demonstrate emotional resilience and the ability to persevere when they encounter challenge. They will develop a sense of self-awareness and become confident in their own abilities. They will be kind, respectful and honest, demonstrate inclusive attitudes and have a sense of their role in our wider society.

......Aiming for success

Our children’s progress and achievement in core and foundation subjects is in line with or exceeding their age related expectations when we consider the varied starting points of children.

They will have strong communication skills, both written and verbal, and will listen respectfully and with tolerance to the views of others.

……Living our values

Our learners will have a clear understanding of our school values of Endurance, Compassion, Thankfulness, Love, Faith and Respect. The children will demonstrate these characteristics that prepares them for living in the community demonstrating tolerance and equality. We measure this not just by the work our children produce, but in the behaviours we see each and every day in all learners on the playground, in the corridor, and in the many roles we give them. The impact of this is seen in the daily interaction of all members of our school community.

Our children will go out into the world and make a difference in their own life and to others.