Highwoods Academy Curriculum Statement
Learning together, Growing together, Aiming high
Highwoods aims to provide all children with a wide and varied curriculum which allows them to have as many experiences as possible to help them to be engaged and actively involved in their education.
It is a school where all children are encouraged to express ideas and opinions, to look beyond themselves, to be independent, where a lifelong love of learning is the norm and all children reach their full potential, academically, socially and emotionally, in a rich, non-judgemental and supportive learning environment, providing high-quality education where all are challenged. The National Curriculum lies at the heart of the content of what will be taught.
Intent
At Highwoods Academy, our curriculum is ambitious, knowledge-rich and carefully sequenced to ensure all pupils develop secure understanding over time. High-quality texts sit at the heart of our curriculum and drive our text-led approach, exposing pupils to rich vocabulary, powerful ideas and diverse perspectives that deepen learning across subjects. Oracy is woven throughout, enabling pupils to articulate their thinking, listen to others and engage in meaningful discussion. Through this approach, we equip pupils with the knowledge, language and confidence to understand their place in the local community and wider world in order to contribute positively to society.
Key Purpose / Values
· Secure deep learning through a carefully sequenced, knowledge-rich curriculum
· Teach powerful knowledge that is deliberately structured, revisited and remembered over time
· Provide a challenging and thought-provoking curriculum that broadens pupils’ perspectives
· Ensure learning is meaningful and relevant to pupils’ lives and experiences
· Prioritise reading so all pupils can access the full curriculum and develop strong language and understanding
· Reflect our local context while developing understanding of national and global issues
· Build knowledge and skills progressively from Nursery to Year 6
· Maintain a clear focus on subject disciplines and how knowledge is constructed within them
· Use assessment purposefully to check understanding and inform teaching
· Use knowledge of the past to support pupils’ understanding of the present
· Develop pupils’ awareness of social justice and responsibility as informed citizens
· Enable pupils to reach their full potential academically, socially and emotionally
· Foster curiosity, resilience and a love of lifelong learning
Implementation
Our curriculum is delivered through carefully sequenced lessons that build on what children already know, helping them remember knowledge and make connections across subjects. Children experience a wide range of engaging, hands-on, creative, and real-world activities that actively involve them in their learning and foster curiosity. Teachers ensure cohesive links across subjects and provide opportunities for children to extend their learning, think critically, and reflect on their progress. High expectations are maintained in a safe and supportive environment, where children are encouraged to take risks, learn from mistakes, and achieve their full potential while being exposed to the best of what has been thought and said.
Key Purpose / Values
· Ensure curriculum leadership provides clear guidance and supports consistent delivery
· Content is sequenced and structured, with knowledge and skills systematically revisited
· Vocabulary is explicitly taught, and new learning is linked to prior knowledge
· Teaching balances clear instruction with interactive dialogue, discussion, and reasoning to deepen understanding
· Assessment informs teaching, ensuring learning is purposeful, connected, and meaningful
Impact
Our curriculum equips children with knowledge that builds steadily over time, creating a strong foundation for future learning. We provide rich, memorable experiences that stick, helping pupils retain and apply what they learn. By fostering curiosity, confidence, and articulation, we prepare children to succeed in the next stage of their education and beyond
Key Purpose / Values
· Pupils make sustained progress over time, building on prior learning
· Learning is delivered in a clear, systematic sequence, ensuring coherence
· Pupils apply what they have learned in new contexts, demonstrating powerful learning
· Understanding is reinforced through direct links to essential knowledge
· Knowledge is retained and deepened, supporting long-term mastery
· Progress is evident through pupils knowing more and remembering more
· All pupils have equal access to the curriculum, with the attainment gap narrowing
· Learning is purposeful, carefully sequenced, and relevant to the stage of development.
Reading
Reading is at the heart of our curriculum. We immerse children in high-quality texts to instil a love for reading, a passion for discovery and a confidence to explore their imagination through our text-led curriculum.
We value reading as a key life skill and we are dedicated to enabling our children to become life-long readers. Through reading, our children have the opportunity to develop culturally, emotionally, intellectually, socially and spiritually.
Our core reading scheme is Oxford Reading Tree but this is supplemented by books from other publishers. We foster a love of reading and children take books home from our school library to share their reading activities with their parents.
More information regarding our curriculum can be found on our Trust website by following this link: https://www.empoweringmindsmat.uk/our-trust/curriculum
Parents reserve the right to remove their child from all or part of the RE Curriculum. If you would like to discuss this, please contact us.
