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Curriculum

 

English Vision 

 

Phonics 

Phonics at King’s Academy Northern Parade

Our school has chosen Essential Letters and Sounds as our Systematic Synthetic Phonics (SSP) programme, which has been validated by the Department for Education.

 

Phonics gives children the key to unlocking the English alphabetic code for reading and spelling. Children’s knowledge of this code - how letters or groups of letters represent the sounds of the language - supports their reading and spelling. Using the ELS programme, children are systematically taught the phonemes (sounds) and graphemes (written letters), how to blend the sounds all through the word for reading, and how to segment the sounds in order to write words. They are taught to use their phonic skills and knowledge as their first approach to reading, but are also taught high frequency words (harder to read and spell words) which do not completely follow the phonic rules. 

The implementation of the 'Essential Letters and Sounds' programme will ensure that our children will be taught to read aloud accurately books that are consistent with their developing phonic knowledge.

Working in partnership with you, our aim is that all children really enjoy learning to read, achieve well and make speedy progress in reading. Children who require additional support in acquiring their sounds will be given this in addition to their daily phonics lessons.  

In KS1, children receive daily 30-minute phonic sessions. This is in addition to handwriting, reading and writing sessions. We use a Phonics Tracker as an assessment tool to identify progress and gaps to inform future teaching and support. This tracker is also used in EYFS, and KS2 where needed. This means that quick revisits can be made if necessary and adjustments in the lesson can take place for ‘quick catch up’.

In KS2 we use phonics trained staff members to support our lowest 20% of readers (including those that have failed the Year 1 Phonics Screening Check). Those who still require Phonics receive interventions at least x3 times a week led by the class teacher, HLTA or TA 

We use phonetically decodable reading books published by Oxford University Press which link directly to the phonemes that children are learning. Your children will be given reading books that directly link to the relevant phonemes that they are being taught and will also be using reading books that help them to develop comprehension and narrative skills. In KS1 we use a range of specific phonic level texts for children to practise and develop their fluency skills through a ‘4 reads’ approach. These texts are changed weekly and children are moved on only when secure at segmenting and blending rapidly in that set of books. In addition to our phonic level books, we send home book banded texts for ‘shared reading’ and reading for pleasure opportunities to support comprehension and exposure to higher level vocabulary and common exception words. This is something we feel as a school is important in children becoming highly skilled readers.

Phonics support for parents

Click here to hear how phonemes are articulated clearly. 

Attachment - phonics powerpoint for parents

Writing 

Writing Curriculum Vision

Intent

At King’s Academy Northern Parade, we strive to help our children develop into articulate and imaginative communicators, who are well- equipped with the basic skills they need to become life-long learners; English learning is key in this. We aim to ensure all of our children develop a genuine love of language and the written word, through a text-based approach; this links closely to the way we teach reading, as the text that we use in writing lessons, where possible, is the same text as the one that we use in guided reading lessons.

Careful links are made across the curriculum to ensure that children’s English learning is relevant and meaningful: where possible linking our reading, writing and the topic that we are covering in History and Geography. We ensure that children develop an understanding of how widely writing is used in everyday life and, therefore, how important and useful the skills are that they are learning.

Our intentions in writing are for children to:

  • Write for a purpose
  • See themselves as real writers
  • Take ownership of their writing
  • See writing as an interesting and enjoyable process
  • Acquire the ability to organise and plan their written work

 

Implementation

At King’s Academy Northern Parade, we teach the National Curriculum, supported by a clear skills and knowledge progression. This ensures that skills and knowledge are built on year by year and sequenced appropriately to maximise learning for all children.

We aim to develop children’s ability to produce well-structured, detailed writing in which the meaning is made clear and which engages the interest of the audience / reader. Particular attention is paid throughout the school to the formal structures of English: grammatical detail, punctuation and spelling. Teachers clearly model writing skills and document the learning journey through consistent working walls; guided writing sessions are used to target specific needs of both groups and individuals. Children have opportunities to write at length, in extended, independent writing sessions at the end of a unit of work – applying their taught skills to an unsupported piece of writing.

Throughout the Early Years, Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2, we teach writing through a text-based approach, which allows us to meet the needs of the children that we are teaching – through choosing a text that will engage, inspire and motivate. As well as reading a wide variety of genres, children are given frequent opportunities to develop their skills in writing in different genres. Through exploring texts in depth, children are given the opportunity to put their writing skills into practice through two or three pieces of extended writing per term: a range of fiction and non-fiction. Children regularly publish their piece writing and it is displayed in the corridors throughout the school. This allows every child to have a written piece of work on the walls, which can be seen and celebrated by all, as well as knowing they are writing for a purpose and being seen as real writers.

Pupils are taught punctuation and grammar skills in context of the text drivers, appropriate to their year group, within our text based approach to planning, allowing opportunities to identify, practice and consolidate grammatical understanding, whilst also being immersed in a text. Children then apply the grammar and punctuation skills that they have learnt in their extended pieces of writing.

Spelling: At KANP spelling is taught regularly in focused sessions within each class. Learning to recognise the high frequency words on sight is crucial in developing fluency and accuracy in reading and then writing. High frequency words are the words that appear most often in printed materials. Some of the high frequency words are referred to as “hard to read” words, as the children are unable to use their phonic knowledge to decode every part of the word. Once children are confident in reading and spelling high frequency words, they are taught spelling rules and are encouraged to apply these rules in their writing. Class teachers use No Nonsense Spelling to support with the teaching of the different spelling rules and this can then often be used as homework for children when applicable. Spellings are sent home in each year group as part of the children’s homework; the pupils are then tested on these words in their weekly/ fortnightly spelling tests.

 

Impact

By the time children leave our school they will:

  • Make good progress from their KS1 results
  • Have a love for writing and write for enjoyment
  • Be able to produce written work in all areas of the curriculum to a high standard
  • Be confident to write for a range of different purposes

 

 

 

 

 

Mathematics Vision 
Maths

What is our vision for mathematics at King’s Academy Northern Parade?

At Kings Academy Northern Parade, we believe that a high-quality Mathematics curriculum helps to grow curious, enthusiastic individuals who develop a lifelong passion for mathematics. We aim to provide children with the fundamental mathematics knowledge needed in order to excel mathematically as they move from Early Years, through to KS1 and beyond. We encourage all children to become highly skilled, inquisitive, forward thinking mathematicians who understand the importance of mathematics within everyday life. To develop a growth mindset within mathematics, teachers facilitate opportunities for children to approach complex problems with an open mind set, taking risks and understanding that making mistakes is part of the learning journey. Through carefully planned activities, our mathematics culture inspires resilient independent learners who are able to think logically and work systematically and accurately.

Our pupils benefit from a practical approach to Mathematics which supports language development in tandem with skills, knowledge and a deep understanding of mathematical concepts. Through our rich and meaningful mathematics curriculum, we provide all children with the necessary skills, knowledge and understanding to become successful in their future ventures. We strive to develop a mind set in everyone that maths is achievable for all. Building upon prior knowledge and understanding in order to develop the child as an accomplished mathematician is at the heart of our curriculum. In order to achieve this, since 2017, King’s Academy Northern Parade has followed a teaching for mastery approach. This approach allows us to develop mathematicians who are accurate, eloquent and fluent in the fundamentals of mathematics, can apply their conceptual understanding to a variety of increasingly complex mathematical problems and can reason with increased confidence.

How is Mathematics at King's Academy Northern Parade planned and taught?

At King’s Academy Northern Parade Schools, Mathematics is planned and taught using a combination of the NCETM Primary Mastery Professional Development materials and the White Rose scheme of work. The teaching of Mathematics is led through purposeful, well-developed learning journeys, where all children are challenged and supported to reach their full potential. Our long-term curriculum maps set out a programme of study in line with the National Curriculum which aims to develop pupils’ conceptual understanding of mathematics. Our approach is a combination of a spiral and cumulative curriculum, where maths skills and knowledge are built on pre-existing maths skills and knowledge, and the same key concepts are revisited each year and increase in complexity. This allows teachers to plan lessons based on spaced recall in order to embed learning in the long term memory.

In EYFS, through our rich curriculum we provide children with daily, whole class direct teaching of both the Mastery of Number Programme through the NCETM and further provision of the EYFS mathematics curriculum.Through the Mastering Number programme in the EYFS stage and KS1 our children will develop a deep understanding of number through a focus of subitising, counting, comparison of numbers, composition and number facts. As a result, they will be fluent in calculation and confident and flexible in number.This then extends into the pupils continuous provision and adult-led group activities. Whole class direct teaching utilises language, stem sentences and modelling with hands and bodies. This gives our children the opportunity to sensorily engage with the learning. These opportunities allow children to consolidate the building blocks needed in order for a solid foundation of knowledge. We also include daily counting based on the 5 principles of counting number writing or recognition in order for children to develop quick recall and understanding of number. As well as our guided activities, the children are able to explore maths concepts throughout the day in ‘discovery’ time and day-to-day class routines. These enhancements allow them to practise skills learnt and explore maths concepts. Woven within our curriculum we include problem solving and reasoning opportunities, which allow children to spot patterns, make connections and solve real-life problems.

We value the importance of rich problem solving tasks and believe this is paramount to developing future mathematicians. In order to develop forward thinking, resilient learners we ensure that children are given plenty of opportunities to apply their skills to problem solving. Across both schools and starting from Early Years, pupils are taught to use technical mathematical vocabulary to support their reasoning, and are expected to talk in full STEM sentences to show their understanding in lessons.

To develop a deep and sustainable understanding, children’s skills are developed through the use of the ‘Concrete, Pictorial and Abstract’ (CPA) approach. In all classes, children consistently use concrete resources and pictorial representations alongside their written methods and mathematical workings.

Visualising the mathematics whilst manipulating concrete materials ensures children secure a deepened conceptual understanding. Working walls within the classrooms mirror the CPA approach and allow children to make clear links to previous learning.

How do teachers ensure that all children make progress?

A maths mastery approach is applied throughout the schools to ensure our learning is designed in small steps, prioritising the most important conceptual knowledge and understanding that pupils need. The school uses termly diagnostic assessments and question level analysis to ensure maximum progress is made by all learners. This supports teachers to identify any gaps in understanding, so that they can be minimised in a timely manner. The school also uses interleaving and spaced retrieval to ensure recall of previously taught topics.The schools also have access to a range of online tools to support teaching and learning of mathematics beyond the classroom.

As a result of our curriculum, what will our pupils learn?

Pupils will:

  • Become fluent in the fundamentals of mathematics so that they develop conceptual understanding and the ability to recall and apply knowledge rapidly, accurately and with automaticity
  • Have an appreciation of number and number operations, which enables mental calculations and written procedures to be performed efficiently, fluently and accurately
  • Solve problems by applying their mathematics to a variety of problems with increasing sophistication by recognising relationships and making connections
  • Reason mathematically by following a line of enquiry and develop and present a justification, argument or proof using mathematical language
  • Enjoy maths, love the challenges that maths brings and understand the importance of maths in real life
  • Be equip with the foundations to enable them to be successful in the next stage of their mathematical learning journey.

 

Science Vision 

Intent

At King’s Academy Northern Parade, we believe that having a high-quality Science Curriculum inspires and prepares children for the 21th Century. In such a vast and ever-changing world, it is important that all children are be taught the essential aspects of Primary Science. Each child will have the opportunity to develop the knowledge, methods, processes and uses of Science, so that they are able to grow a sense of excitement and curiosity about the Scientific world through first hand experiences.

At King’s Academy Northern Parade, we aim to nurture and equip children with the scientific knowledge needed to help them build enquiries allowing them to answer questions about the world around them. By making use of our locality, our children are able to explore aspects of Science such as Marine Biology and the micro habitats that are found within the local area. We want our children to become Master’s of Science so that they are motivated to pursue Science beyond Primary School.

 

Implementation

At King’s Academy Northern Parade. Children are taught through engaging and motivating weekly Science lessons. These build on prior knowledge, and explore the realms of “working scientifically” whilst embedding the content of Biology, Chemistry and Physics. Teaching Science in this way ensures children are able to develop breadth and depth in their knowledge and skills, whilst also being exposed to a broad and varied Science Curriculum

For each domain of the Science Curriculum, the key skills and knowledge are planned carefully so that the progression through each year group across the school can be seen. Considering the progression this way, ensures that the sequence of lessons throughout a child’s time at King’s Academy Northern Parade will build upon and develop previous knowledge and skills in a cyclical fashion based on experiencing all five types of enquiry: observation over time, identifying and classifying, pattern seeking, research and comparative and fair testing, in each year group.

 

Impact

The Science Curriculum is inspirational, extensive and challenging. Children are inspired to grow into budding young scientists who link what they learn with the world they live in. By explicitly teaching the scientific vocabulary, the children have opportunity to explore quality and variety of language, which further develops their ability to articulate scientific concepts clearly and precisely whilst understanding that science is a discipline in its own right. 

Our approach to the Science Curriculum results in a fun, engaging and high-quality Science education where they are motivated to become scientists. By drawing links between the Science curriculum and the wider world, teachers are able to revisit misconceptions and knowledge gaps, enabling the children to make good progress over time.

History Vision 

 

Intent

At King’s Academy Northern Parade, we believe that a high-quality History curriculum inspires children to want to know more about the past and to think as historians.  Our History curriculum aims to stimulate children’s curiosity about Britain’s past and that of the wider world. Our teaching equips pupils with knowledge about Britain’s history and how it has influenced and been influenced by the wider world; know and understand about significant aspects of the history of the wider world; changes in living memory and beyond living memory; learn about the lives of significant people that have shaped this nation; understand methods of historical enquiry and be able to ask and answer questions. We want children to love learning about history by gaining and building on knowledge, not just through experiences in the classroom, but also with the use of educational visits and fieldwork.

 

Implementation

At King’s Academy Northern Parade, our aim is to teach children to analyse and evaluate evidence through enquiry based learning. This is achieved through a wide range of inspirational, extensive and challenging learning. We explore the knowledge children need to be historians outlined in the National Curriculum and EYFS framework (understanding the world). Teachers carefully identify the key learning and knowledge needed, whilst ensuring they have considered the progression through each year group across the school. This consideration of progression ensures that the sequence of lessons throughout each year group will build and develop the children’s previous historical knowledge igniting their curiosity. When planning, teachers plan opportunities to introduce pupils to historical periods that they will study in more detail at a later key stage. As well as careful sequencing, we also ensure the content is delivered within a meaningful and suitable context with cross curricular links being utilised when appropriate and purposeful. 

Pupils are provided with a wide variety of experiences both in and out of the classroom. In order to support children’s learning, we provide them with first-hand experiences through school visits and welcoming visitors into the school. This includes maximising the rich historical opportunities that our home city of Portsmouth has to offer.

 

Impact

Our broad and balanced History curriculum instils a love of history where children feel confident to explore and make their own enquiries. Children gain a further understanding of the history within their local area as well as becoming increasingly aware of wider historical events that have shaped the current world that they live in. Children will become increasingly critical and analytical within their thinking. Making informed and balanced judgements based on their knowledge of the past. 

They will display a wide range of vocabulary and use historical terms that are appropriate to certain themes. Children’s learning will be regularly assessed through teacher assessment allowing children the opportunity to recall their knowledge. 

Geography Vision 

Curriculum Vision at Kings Academy Northern Parade

 

Geography

Our aim is to provide a high-quality Geography education which equips children with locational knowledge, place knowledge, human and physical geography, geographical skills and provides them with experience of fieldwork. The curriculum will provide children with key knowledge about the world around them and the key features of their local area including Portsmouth. By the time they leave King’s Academy Northern Parade, children will have gained key knowledge and skills in the four main areas of Geography and how it links to themselves in the area in which they live. The objectives within each strand support the development of learning across the key stages, ensuring a solid grounding for future learning and beyond.

At King’s Academy Northern Parade, Geography knowledge is taught explicitly using a spiral curriculum approach, meaning that in each year group there are elements of new learning and building upon previous learning to strengthen the pupils’ understanding. Clear links are made to Portsmouth and the surrounding area. The objectives covered are taken directly from the National Curriculum and Early Learning Goals and are split across the year groups from EYFS to Year 6. This ensures progression and avoids cumulative disfluency. Teachers are encouraged to employ a spaced recall teaching style in order to support children in committing the learning to their long-term memory.

The implementation of the curriculum aims to ensure a balanced coverage of the key areas of Geographical understanding and fieldwork. The children will have experiences of all four strands in each year group, but the subject knowledge imparted becomes increasingly specific and in depth, with more complex skills being taught, making sure that learning is being built upon. This knowledge is taught through 3 geography units across the year: The World, The United Kingdom and Fieldwork.

Our approach to the curriculum results in a fun, engaging and high-quality Geography education. It aims to expose our children to the curriculum concepts of learning, progress, automaticity and cultural capital. We showcase the quality of children’s learning through work being completed in Geography books. Children are exposed to a progressive, spiral curriculum that builds on prior knowledge and results in sustained progress, with pupils progressing to each new year group knowing more, and remembering more. 

Computing Vision
 
Computing

Intent

At King’s Academy Northern Parade, we aim to provide a high-quality Computing education which equips children to use computational thinking and creativity to understand and change the world. The curriculum will provide children with key knowledge about how computers and computer systems work, and how they are designed and programmed. Learners will have the opportunity to gain an understanding of computational systems of all kinds, whether or not they include computers.

By the time they leave KANP, children will have gained key knowledge and skills in the three main areas of the Computing curriculum: computer science (programming and understanding how digital systems work), information technology (evaluating digital content) and using technology safely and respectfully. The objectives within each strand support the development of learning across the key stages, ensuring a solid grounding for future learning and beyond

Implementation

At KANP, teachers use the ‘Purple Mash’ scheme, as a starting point for the planning of their computing lessons. Teachers are encouraged to link Purple Mash themes to topics as best as they can, but also use computing across the curriculum in other subjects. We have 30 iPads per year group, to ensure that all year groups have the opportunity to use a range of devices and apps for many purposes across the wider curriculum, as well as in discrete computing lessons. Employing cross-curricular links motivates pupils and supports them to make connections and remember the steps they have been taught.

The implementation of the curriculum also ensures a balanced coverage of computer science, information technology and digital literacy. The children will have experiences of all three strands in each year group, but the subject knowledge imparted becomes increasingly specific and in depth, with more complex skills being taught, making sure that learning is being built upon. For example, children in Key Stage 1 learn what algorithms are, which leads them to the design stage of programming in Key Stage 2, where they design, write and debug programs, explaining the thinking behind their algorithms.

 

Impact

Our approach to the curriculum results in a fun, engaging and high-quality Computing education. We aim to showcase the quality of children’s learning through work being completed in Purple Mash, where it is saved to each personal login. We are also developing the use of Seesaw, a digital platform where pupils can share and evaluate their own work, as well as that of their peers. We see this as an important development within the school as now all of the work that children produce for Computing is mainly completed on iPads. Evidence such as this is used to feed into teachers’ future planning and teachers are able to revisit misconceptions and knowledge gaps in computing when teaching other curriculum areas. This supports varied paces of learning and ensures all pupils make good, sound progress.

Art & Design Vision 

Image result for Art logo

Intent

At King’s Academy Northern Parade, we believe that art is a vital and integral part of children’s education. It provides them with opportunities to develop a range of ways in which they can share and express their individual creativity, whilst learning about and making links with a wide spectrum of different types of art in our society. Art contributes to children’s personal development in creativity, independence, resilience and self-reflection, which therefore links strongly to our school values. The focus is in developing proficiency in drawing, painting, understanding colour and shade and sculpture, with the overall aim of developing a rigorous understanding, critical awareness and inspiration of art and design.

The art curriculum will develop children’s critical abilities and understanding of their own and others’ cultural heritages through studying a range of artists and designers throughout history.

Children will develop their understanding of the visual language of art with effective teaching and carefully thought out sequences of lessons and experiences. Understanding of the visual elements of art and design (line, tone, texture, colour, pattern, shape, 3D form) will be developed by providing an accessible and engaging curriculum which will enable children to reach their full potential.

 

Implementation

We teach a skills-based art curriculum, which allows children to express their creative imagination as well as providing them with opportunities to practise and develop mastery in the key processes of art: drawing, painting, printing, textiles and sculpture. This is supported through the studying of key artists and the development of a knowledge of their work. 

At King’s Academy Northern Parade, the children are taught Art as part of their termly topic work and this can involve studying existing pieces of art and exploring new skills and media before being given the opportunity to use these skills within the context of their topic work. Progressively through the school, the children will then be given experience in evaluating their own work as well as the work of others, and where appropriate be given constructive feedback and next steps, with further opportunities to create the art piece, to improve their work and ensure that the skills are being developed. The evidence of their work is collected within the art sketchbook, which follows the children through the school. Photographs of larger, group or 3D pieces are also kept within this book.

 

Impact

Children are exposed to a wide variety of skills and knowledge which can influence their own creative style and give them confidence to express themselves through Art. This is shown in their sketch books which are an ongoing record of their progression in Art. Teachers use this information to inform future lessons, ensuring children are supported and challenged appropriately.

Children that lack confidence in other areas of the curriculum can find their voice in Art, raising their self esteem.

 

Teachers select skills from this progression document when planning their Art lessons to ensure the children build on prior knowledge and advance their skills further.

 

This glossary explains the skills from the progression document and shows examples.

 


 

Design Technology Vision 

Intent

At King’s Academy Northern Parade, we aim for children to develop their creativity and imagination when practically creating and designing products within a variety of contexts. In addition, pupils will understand and apply the principles of nutrition and learn how to prepare and cook a variety of foods. Pupils from KANP will broaden their subject knowledge by building on key skills that they have learnt from other curriculum areas such as; science, mathematics, engineering, PSHE, computing and art. Students will learn how to take risks, innovate and enterprise from these experiences and become more knowledgeable on the impact past and present design and technology has on the world.

 

Implementation

At King’s Academy Northern Parade, Design and Technology is taught in a bespoke manner with cross curricular links where possible. Employing cross-curricular links motivates pupils and supports them to make connections. Teachers are encouraged to create Design and Technology criteria associated with the topics they are covering for the term to create a purpose for the pupils. The children then have the experience of design, make, evaluate, whilst developing their technical knowledge alongside this. As for cooking and nutrition, pupils are provided with opportunities of hands on cookery as well as, learning about food throughout each year to educate them on a balanced diet, food hygiene and seasonality. By the end of Key Stage 1, children will have the basic principles of a healthy and varied diet to prepare dishes and understand where food comes from. In Key Stage 2, pupils will be able to prepare and cook a variety of dishes using a wider variety of skills and refer back to their knowledge of food and its process.

 

Impact

Our aim is to ensure children have various opportunities for hands on practical design and technology experiences through the cross-curricular approach. We aim to showcase the quality and experiences of this work through the journey in children’s topic books from the designing of their products, photographic evidence of their practical work implemented and their evaluation recorded in a manner of ways. Cookery lessons will be evident from photographs which will be recorded in the pupils’ books and the objectives they have covered about food and nutrition linking with PSHE. Each year children will build stronger fine motor skills and use a wider variety of resources which will challenge their thinking and design making, linking to our schools’ Dragon Values. 

 

Physical Education Vision 

At King’s Academy Northern Parade, our aim is to provide a high quality, physical education program which allows children to take part in a wide range of physical activities, engage in competitive sports and learn about and live a healthy and active life. As children move through the school, there is a clear progression of the skills that they will learn within each year group building on previous learning. By the time children leave KANP; they will learn about and take part in a wide range of different team sports, develop their strength, body control and flexibility through dance and athletics, learn more about healthy living and why exercise is important. Children will also take part in swimming lessons during their time at school which are taught by staff within the school with a ratio of 1 adult to 5 children. Our PE curriculum provides opportunities for pupils to become physically confident in a way which supports their health and fitness. Opportunities to compete in sport and other activities build character and help to embed values such as fairness and respect.

 
  • The national curriculum for PE aims to ensure that all pupils:

  • develop competence to excel in a broad range of physical activities

  • are physically active for sustained periods of time

  • engage in competitive sports and activities

  • lead healthy, active lives

 

At KANP, children are encouraged to take part in a wide range of physical activities.  The intention is every child receives two hours of physical education each week. 

In addition to the physical activity within curriculum time, we offer a range of sports club and we also aim to take part in a wide range of sporting competitions across the city 

We have used our Sports Premium Funding in many different ways to help improve our teaching of PE. We have purchased a wide range of sporting equipment to allow the children to take part in a range of sports, bought in to a PE planning scheme that allows teachers to teach with confidence and finally have used the money to allow children to take part in activities that they would not be able to access outside of school. Currently our Year 4s have a climbing experience and our Year 5s take part in water sports activities. We have also had our most recent sports day at the local athletic stadium allowing children the chance to compete on a real track.  This is an area we want to continue to develop across the school by ensuring that children leave KANP with a range of different experiences. 

Each half term the focus of each PE lesson is different; It may be the teaching of a team sport where children learn the skills needed for that sport before moving on to playing team games or a half term focusing on learning different skills of movement or control within athletics, dance or gymnastics. At KANP, we want to continue to provide opportunities for our staff to develop and offer a range of CPD including a cricket coach coming in to work with Year 4 staff.

With a rising level of obesity nationally we have a focus on improving children’s health, fitness and future life chances. In order to maintain our aim to build resilient and well-rounded children, we actively promote inter school competitions and encourage opportunities to continue outside of school by signposting to sports clubs. 


 

Languages Vision 

Intent

At King’s Academy Northern Parade, our aim is to provide a high quality curriculum for the learning of Spanish which links to and enhances the wider curriculum and enables all pupils to make substantial progress in the language, for practical communication and as a solid grounding for future learning of Spanish and other languages.

Children will:

  • Develop resilience in language learning as well as enjoyment of it through a challenging scheme of work.
  • Acquire language learning strategies for memorisation and retrieval as well as for listening, reading and understanding.
  • Develop the skill of how to use a bilingual dictionary to decode unfamiliar language and extend their vocabulary.
  • Be able to manipulate language to speak or write sentences creatively using prior knowledge of grammar and key features; with and without a dictionary.
  • Have a solid grasp of the key sounds of the Spanish language and their corresponding graphemes and be able to apply this knowledge when speaking, listening and reading aloud
  • Recognise some of the language patterns of the Spanish language and how these differ or are similar to English.
  • Appreciate and be able to copy the sound of the language at text level through songs, stories and rhymes.
  • Develop their cultural awareness and understanding of the world - especially with reference to Spanish speaking countries
  • Make links between the learning of Spanish and the wider curriculum and be able to transfer their language acquisition and grammar skills to enhance their learning of English.
  • Links between the learning of Spanish and the wider curriculum will allow pupils to transfer language acquisition and grammar skills to enhance their English learning and broaden their vocabulary as well as enhancing their cultural awareness and relevance of language learning.
  • Appreciation of regional and national variations of Spanish vocabulary and pronunciation should enhance pupils’ own cultural identity and awareness of their local language variations, in particular, the conjugation of some common verbs.

 

Implementation

  • Weekly lessons of 30 – 45 minutes are expected to be delivered by the class teacher with follow up activities for each lesson to increase exposure to the language between lessons.
  • Teachers will have access to a detailed lessons plans and a range of resources, designed for use by non-specialists.
  • Regular internal and external CPD will be made available, along with ad hoc support from the language lead to develop teachers’ ability and confidence to deliver Spanish lessons.
  • A wide range of resources will be provided for interest and to support teaching such as audio enhanced interactive whiteboard resources, board games, videos, quizzes, songs and books.
  • Authentic Spanish resources such as maps, posters, menus, songs, books will be used as much as possible, along with audio recordings of a native speaker.
  • Where possible, teaching will link to the wider curriculum and pupils will make use a variety of skills to present their ideas, such as audiobooks, digital comics, drama or music.
  • Vocabulary and pronunciation will be based on European, rather than South American Spanish.
  • The lesson activities are challenging, varied and interactive, and develop listening, reading, speaking and writing skills using a variety of resources
  • The lessons are designed to be progressive and build on prior learning through a ‘spiral’ approach to teaching, moving from word to sentence level over Key Stage 2.
  • The choice of vocabulary ensures exposure to all the key phonic sounds and ability to build sentences using grammatical knowledge
  • Lesson plans include ideas for support for the less able and to extend the more able
  • It is expected that formative assessment in each lesson informs the planning and teaching of subsequent lesson plans
  • Based on the evidence of the above records of achievement and progress, teachers can inform parents/guardians of this, using report statements which relate to the expected targets of each year group under the headings ‘emerging, expected and exceeding’

 

Impact

  • The lesson plans indicate which activity is an opportunity to assess progress and is linked to the KS2 targets and in particular to those of the appropriate year group as detailed above
  • A teacher assessment grid is provided to record attainment of each target for each skill in each year group and to track progress
  • The completed activities in the pupil books gather evidence of the listening, reading and writing targets
  • Evidence of speaking activities can be gathered by making audio or video recordings of the suggested activities in the lesson plans
  • Children self-assess their progress at the end of each section of work and comment on their grasp of the new knowledge. Teachers will also be expected to provide a written response to this.
  • To enhance the impact on enjoyment and intercultural understanding, the school will consider organising language events and competitions; making penfriend links; provide access to out-of-school online materials; take-home bags of resources etc.
  • All of the above provides evidence that the ‘statements of intent’ are met
Religious Education Vision 

Intent

At King’s Academy Northern Parade we use the Primary National Curriculum for Religious Education, accompanied by the Living Difference III agreed syllabus. This agreed Syllabus focuses on an enquiry based curriculum for RE around concepts.

CONCEPTS A: Common to all people e.g. celebration, power, belonging

CONCEPTS B: Shared by many religions e.g. God, worship, symbolism

CONCEPTS C: Unique to a particular religion e.g. Dukkha (Buddhism)

The key skills are: Communicate, Apply, Enquire, Contextualise, Evaluate (within the religion and without the religion i.e. outside of it)

Our aim is to provide a high-quality Religious Education using the local area of Porsmouth, a diverse and multicultural city, which encourages all children to explore and interpret a variety of concepts, beliefs and practices within religions and to their own and others’ cultural and life experiences. Children are helped to understand and respect the position of others who do not hold the same or any religious beliefs and to encourage children to adopt a reflective approach to life.

The purpose of the curriculum is to provide every child with essential skills to support their  development, enable them to apply previously learnt knowledge, and build upon these skills as they continue their learning journey through the key stages.

 

Implementation

The learning journey at Early Years and Foundation Stage

The Foundation Stage precedes Key Stage 1; it provides the basis on which children start to develop their dispositions and skills for learning they will use throughout their lives. RE curriculum planning for Reception year children in the Foundation Stage should ensure continuity and progression in children’s learning towards and throughout Key Stage 1.

Each unit of work for RE in a Reception class will be an enquiry into the children’s experience of a concept and link strongly to the EYFS characteristics of learning. Concepts that are particularly appropriate for Reception children might be belongingcelebration and specialness. These concepts provide a basis to the development of understanding in the remaining key stages and are readily accessible in the context of children’s experiences. For some Reception classes, it may be useful for children to explore their experiences of the same concept more than once, but with a different context, eg special clothes and special people. There will be additional opportunities to explore concepts further during child-initiated learning. Planning must ensure inclusion of at least two units relating to a Christian context and two units which focus on the religion explored within Key Stage 1 at the school.

The cycle of enquiry offers opportunities for both adult-led and enhanced, child-initiated learning activities

Religious education in Key Stage 1

Children in Key Stage 1 will continue to explore and reflect on their own way of life and feelings about this and also continue developing an understanding of religious and non-religious ways of living. They should continue to be encouraged to ask questions and recognise that different people may respond in different ways to their questions.

Children should be encouraged to explore and share their own experiences of the concepts studied. In this way they will begin to attend to other people’s experiences of concepts found in religious and non-religious ways of life.

At this key stage the enquiry into what it means to live a religious and non-religious life will be concerned with enquiring into concepts common to all people (A concepts), where children will engage within their own experience. These concepts are also evident in religious ways of life, for example happysadremembering and thanking. Towards the end of the key stage children should begin to explore concepts that are shared across many faith narratives (B concepts).

At Key Stage 1 the main focus is on A concepts.

Older children within the key stage (Year 2) can also explore B concepts, for example God and symbol.

Children will be introduced to terms specific to religions (eg Shabbat) but the focus for enquiry into concepts will be rooted in in their own experience (for example, celebrating is the focus concept but Shabbat is a Jewish example of this).

Religious education in Key Stage 2

During Key Stage 2 children will develop their dispositions and skills for enquiry further, which enables them to have a more mature understanding of different religious traditions. They should now be able to identify and make their own responses to some of the issues that arise in their own and others’ experience with regard to living a religious or non-religious life. They should be encouraged to develop their ability to ask and pursue more perceptive and complex questions.

The focus on B concepts will increase as pupil’s progress through Key Stage 2.

There will continue to be some cycles of enquiry beginning with children’s experiences of A concepts, although these enquiries will usually become more complex and sophisticated in terms of engagement with the concept from the perspective of a religious or non-religious person outside their experience, as the children get older.

In Year 5 and 6 some children will have the opportunity to enquire into C concepts.

As Key Stage 2 progresses, children usually have a broader range of experiences to draw on for their enquiries. They will continue to engage with concepts that are common to all people (A concepts), for example freedomauthoritysacrifice, as well as investigate concepts that are shared by many faith narratives (B concepts), for example holinesspilgrimage and rites of passage. Through their enquiries children will also encounter concepts distinctive of particular religions (C concepts), for example Trinitymokshamitzvot.

Impact

Our aim is to encourage a reflective approach to the different concepts, beliefs and practices within religion and to learn and explore the 6 main faiths starting with Christianity and Hinduism in key stage 1.

All children will have had the opportunity to reflect, analyse, discuss, debate and to explore and discover the world in which they live. They will have developed an awareness of the meaning of a multicultural society and be able to empathise, respect and understand people from different walks of life, faiths, and ethnic backgrounds. They will understand tolerance and will be equipped with religious literacy skills that will last a lifetime.

 

 

PSHE Vision 

Intent

At King’s Academy Northern Parade, we believe that a high-quality PSHE curriculum inspires children to develop the knowledge and attributes they need to reach their full potential throughout their lives. Our PSHE curriculum aims to engage children in exciting lessons, that portray real-life scenarios, whilst providing them with the opportunity to problem solve in a safe environment. We strive to promote pupils’ self-esteem and well-being by teaching lessons that reflect our school values and impart crucial knowledge in three key areas - Health and Wellbeing, Relationships, and Living in the Wider World.  Our teaching equips pupils with the skills they will need to develop into happy adults, who contribute effectively to society.  With these skills, pupils will then be able to draw upon their understanding in order to engage and excel in the ever-changing world in which they live, both now and in the future.

 

Implementation

At KANP we use SCARF (Safety, Caring, Achievement, Resilience, Friendship), a comprehensive scheme of work for PSHE, RSE and Wellbeing education. The SCARF scheme is mapped to the PSHE Association Programmes of Study to provide a whole-school approach to promoting positive behaviour, safety, achievement and wellbeing, and is in line with our school values . We have chosen SCARF as our PSHE resource because the lessons build upon children’s prior learning and the content is both relevant and sensitive to the needs of the children. There is planned progression across the SCARF scheme of work, so that children are increasingly and appropriately challenged as they move through the school. Assessment is completed by the class teacher using the range of SCARF Assessment tools, to demonstrate progression of both skills and knowledge. 

KANP follows the six suggested half-termly units and adapts the scheme of work where necessary to meet the local circumstances of our school.

The SCARF programme divides the year into 6 themed units: 

  • Me and My Relationships: includes content on feelings, emotions, conflict resolution and friendships;
  • Valuing Difference: a focus on respectful relationships and British values;
  • Keeping Myself Safe: looking at keeping ourselves healthy and safe;
  • Rights and Responsibilities: learning about money, living the wider world and the environment;
  • Being My Best: developing skills in keeping healthy, developing a growth mindset (resilience), goal-setting & achievement;
  • Growing & Changing: finding out about the human body, the changes that take place from birth to old age and being safe.

Children are encouraged to engage in activities that promote an understanding of themselves as growing and changing individuals, and as members of a wider community, based on their own first hand experiences. These activities also encourage pupils to understand how their choices and behaviours can affect others. They are encouraged to play and learn alongside – then collaboratively with – their peers. They may use their personal and social skills to develop or extend these activities. Children are also given the opportunity to make choices about their health and environment and are encouraged to develop a caring attitude towards others.

 

Impact

At King’s Academy Northern Parade, pupils are able to use the skills they have learnt to demonstrate a deeper understanding of what it takes to become a positive member of society. They will know the meaning and importance of our school values and the essential requirements for the development of positive relationships. We seek to ensure that the PSHE that we teach, improves the physical, social, and mental well-being of pupils. Through our PSHE lessons, we believe that we can enhance children’s education and help them to become caring, respectful, aspirational and confident individuals. Further to this, we strive for all pupils at KANP to have:

•   the knowledge, self-esteem, confidence and self-awareness to make informed choices and decisions
•   made significant in the development of social skills and social awareness
•   a sense of their own personal and social experiences
•   a responsible attitude towards the maintenance of good physical and mental health, supported by a safe and healthy lifestyle
•    effective interpersonal relationships and developed a caring attitude towards others
•    a caring attitude towards and responsibility for the environment
•    developed skills to manage their feelings, build resilience and be independent, curious problem solvers
•    understood how society works and the laws, rights and responsibilities involved.

RSE Vision
 

Intent

At Kings Academy Northern Parade, we understand that pupils must be provided with an education that prepares them for the responsibilities and experiences of life both as they grow, and as adults. A key part of this relates to relationships, sex and health education (RSE) which is delivered to primary aged pupils. RSE is lifelong learning which puts into place the building blocks of healthy, respectful relationships, diversity, looking after ourselves, sexuality and the processes of human reproduction. We aim for the children in our school to be equipped with the appropriate knowledge to make informed decisions about their wellbeing and to build their self-efficacy for the future. RSE has a key part to play in the social, moral, spiritual and cultural development of young people (SMSC) and plays a crucial role in ensuring children are well prepared for the next stage of their education and life.

 

Implementation

RSE is taught through our SCARF personal, social, health and economic education (PSHE) scheme as well as being embedded into other areas of the curriculum such as the concept of family in religious education. RSE is covered in the PSHE themed units:

 

  • Me and My Relationships
  • Valuing Difference
  • Keeping Myself Self
  • Rights and Responsibilities
  • Being My Best
  • Growing and Changing

 

These units are revisited each year by every year group in order to allow children to build on previous knowledge and ensure skills are successfully embedded. Children are always taught RSE by familiar adults with whom they have a good rapport to facilitate constructive and supportive discussions around sensitive topics within a safe environment. All teaching staff have received high-quality training from SCARF which has been tailored to the needs of our school. They have been guided in how to respond to the needs of the individual child and understand how to support them with any questions or concerns they may have. Our RSE curriculum supports the requirements of the Equality Act (2010) through direct teaching of diversity within families, the negative effect of stereotypes and by celebrating differences. The RSE curriculum has been mapped out clearly within the progression documents for PSHE. This ensures coverage of all of the statutory elements at age appropriate stages by the end of the Year 6. The British Values upheld within our school complement our high expectations of behaviour, respect and tolerance in both our school,  community and the wider world. The SCARF curriculum provides a progressive curriculum which supports children in preparing for the wider world where they can keep themselves safe and healthy and thrive with the support of the positive relationships they forge with those around them.

 

Impact

By the end of their academic journey at Kings Academy Northern Parade, children will be equipped with the knowledge and skills to support them in making more informed decisions about their wellbeing, health and relationships. They will feel more confident in embracing the challenges which lie ahead in an increasingly complex world and will have a range of strategies from which they can draw upon. . Through our RSE curriculum, we believe we can enhance children’s education and help them to become confident and capable individuals who recognise the importance of keeping themselves safe and healthy alongside demonstrating respect, tolerance and understanding to forge and maintain positive relationships within a diverse society.
 

Music 

INTENT

The music curriculum mantra is “MUSIC CAN REACH THE PARTS THAT OTHER SUBJECTS CAN’T!”

Our aim in all planning, and particularly in music, is to draw children into a place where they feel confident to work, are interested in all aspects of a subject, and gain an awareness of the wider world through opportunities given. The school aims to cater as much as possible for all needs, to encourage and draw all children into an inclusive and supportive environment where all children are valued and appreciated. Music is a vital part of encouraging all skills for learning in all aspects of the curriculum.

If each child sees themselves as an artist, challenges themselves to try new skills and has a “can do” attitude, then those aspects of growth will support all their learning and also promote excellent attitudes towards learning. The school believes that music supports all the dragon values and feeds into each one. Creativity, independence, teamwork, resilience, challenge can all be presented through and by musical activities in a fun, and enjoyable way.

 

IMPLEMENTATION

The music curriculum is based on the Primary Curriculum 2014 but is structured through the developmental skills progression produced by the Portsmouth Music Hub. It is a strongly held view by staff that whatever is taught should be firstly at the correct level for the age of the children, and secondly sequenced correctly to gain the maximum benefit for learning within our spiral curriculum.

All the children have at least one hour of music specific lessons during the week led by one of the specialist music teachers. Curriculum music is taught during these lessons. We also acknowledge the requirement for flexibility around needs. Consequently, we have at various times led small group sessions, one to one sessions, instrumental work in small groups, cross phase singing groups, and SEND groups.

As the children progress into the junior part of the school/KS2, music specific lessons become more instrument based with the addition of topic related activities, notation reading, composition skills, more complex singing, and listening development. Whole class music may then be based around the keyboard, ukulele, guitar, djembe drums, steel pans, or vocals.

There are also many opportunities for the children to perform in concerts and take part in wider musical events around the city.

IMPACT

Although there are no official standard tests to signify musical progress in school, there are many ways in which the school seeks to assess, promote and raise standards across the key stages in music, including reports to parents.

 

Outdoor Learning