Key Stage 2 (KS2)
Intent
Our KS2 Curriculum has been carefully planned to ensure coverage of the National Curriculum, progression between year groups and breadth and depth within subjects. Our experiential curriculum provides the children with opportunities to learn facts and information but also gives them diverse and rich experiences from which they are able to develop transferable skills. Our curriculum aims to be rigorous and highly aspirational, enabling children to leave Year 6 as independent, confident and successful young people, who are well-prepared for life in Modern Britain. It is highly inclusive, enabling children of all abilities to meet and exceed their potential with many opportunities for the children to bring their unique perspectives and experiences to their learning.
In addition to academic success, the curriculum focuses on developing the children’s moral, spiritual, social and cultural understanding with opportunities identified through PSHE, RE and across the wider curriculum. Educational visits and visitors play a large part in engaging and immersing the children in each topic and the children are also encouraged to continue their learning at home through discussion with parents/carers or home learning projects.
Implementation
The Key Stage 2 curriculum is organised so that all Maths and English (often taught through topic); teaching usually takes place in the mornings with every afternoon being devoted to the wider foundation curriculum (again often taught through topic).
The Curriculum covers a minimum 6 topics across the year. The National Curriculum objectives are plotted into each topic to ensure a broad and balanced coverage – this is monitored by the curriculum lead. Each topic usually has a geography, science or history focus, teamed with Art and DT objectives, although some topic may not incorporate these each time. Art, DT and Science are taught through topics as appropriate, with staff ensuring coverage of all objectives across the year. PE, RE, GPaS and PSHE are taught as discrete sessions, though links can often be made. Individual staff members have the freedom to approach an objective in their own style to meet the needs of the individual class.
History topics are arranged chronologically, with two strains – British History and World History. The geography topics are arranged according to location, with Year 3 studying their local region, Year 4 studying Europe and Year 5 and 6 studying localities in the wider world – each year goes on a ‘Road Trip’ relating to the area that they are learning about. Each objective from the National Curriculum has been allocated to a year group and a topic to ensure that all have been covered by Year 6. Individual teachers have discretion as to how detailed the coverage of each objective needs to be; this is tailored to the needs of each particular class.
Every subject has a progression map and vocabulary progression map, to ensure coverage of skills and knowledge, that these build upon each other and to ensure that all staff and children have a clear understanding of how the learning in each subject progresses across the year, KS and school.
