Foundation Subject Curriculum Statement

Intent

Teaching and Learning in the Foundation Curriculum is firmly rooted in the school’s mission for the children to be ‘Inspired for Life’ and to provide a happy, secure and creative environment in which all         members of the school community can grow in confidence, develop a strong sense of moral responsibility and be challenged to achieve their full potential.

Under the umbrella of this mission, our skilled and knowledgeable Foundation Subject Leaders drive their powerful and exciting vision for their individual subjects (see the school’s website), drawing on their considerable expertise to engage, inspire and support the whole school team in providing a challenging, exciting and meaningful curriculum for the children. Leaders are committed to ensuring that their curriculum is skilfully taught and well resourced, drawing on contexts that are meaningful for all of the children, carefully ensuring that all of our children, whatever their background or heritage, see themselves reflected in our curriculum. 

Leaders also ensure that their curriculum plays a significant role in Character Education and in building Cultural Capital.  Where appropriate, themed days and weeks are used to expand and enhance provision in different subject areas beyond the school curriculum.  As teachers and leaders, we know that this forms a vital part of the children’s education, more especially because of the limited opportunities available to many of our families in this rural market town.

The school’s bespoke curriculum, rooted in the National Curriculum, has been developed by our own subject experts for our own children, drawing on and adapting external schemes only where they add value or offer valuable support to non-specialist teachers in areas such as Music.  Subject knowledge and skills are logically sequenced to ensure our children make excellent progress and our children are active participants in the learning process, drawing as much as possible on first hand experience.  As they mature, our children become increasingly independent learners, analysing information, reaching their own conclusions and using the skills they have been taught in a wide and growing range of contexts.

(Further information on the aims and intent of individual Foundation Curriculum subjects can be found within the subject specific policy documents on the Foundation Curriculum area of the school’s website.)

Implementation

To secure consistency across the curriculum, all Foundation Curriculum leaders use a shared set of processes and documentation.  With the school’s mission and vision at the centre, along with the leaders’ vision for each subject, individual Foundation Subject leaders have developed their curriculum, bespoke to the school, as follows:

Key Learning Outcomes:  The National Curriculum quite deliberately provides only an outline of what is to be covered in each Foundation Subject, with some being no more than single page.  This is to encourage schools to design a Foundation Subject Curriculum appropriate for their pupils.  For Ashfield Park, the knowledge and skills curriculum the children will learn over the course of each year is set out in our subject specific Key Learning Outcome Documents.  Foundation Subject leaders have ensured that there is progression across the years, that children have the opportunity to deepen their learning and expand their skill-base as they return to skills and themes again and again in different contexts over the years.  The Key Learning Outcomes also ensure that teachers know what has gone before and what is yet to come, so that they can create connections in learning both within the year and across the years.

Foundation Subject Long Term Plans:  Foundation Subject Leaders use the Key Learning Outcomes to provide guidance regarding what skills and knowledge will be taught in each term in each year.  This information can be found in the form of the Long Term Plan in the Foundation Subject Curriculum area on the school’s website.  Whilst final decisions, and therefore accountability, rests firmly with each subject leader, the Long Term Plans are drawn up in consultation with Year Group teachers, as they draw together their ideas across all the subjects to form a cohesive and exciting programme of learning.  The Long Term Plans are reviewed annually to take account of the latest developments in best practice and to make the most of new opportunities, resources and creative thinking.

Year Group Long Term Plans:  Ready for September, year group teams finalise their Long Term Plans for the coming year, based on the Foundation Subject, Maths and English long term plans.  These plans can be found on the year group pages on the school’s website.  Year group long term plans are reviewed annually to ensure they take account of any subject specific developments and make the most of any new opportunities that arise.

Knowledge Organisers:  Foundation Subject leaders have identified essential knowledge, skills and subject specific vocabulary that must form the core of learning in each year group.  This ensures that the children are ready to progress their learning in each subsequent year and that teachers can rely on that consistency.  Foundation Subject leaders have developed bespoke knowledge organisers as an important reference for year group teachers as they plan.  The knowledge organisers deliberately do not set out to direct all that is taught and learned, in order that our skilled and creative teaching practitioners are able to bring subjects to life in their own unique ways.  Knowledge Organisers for each Foundation Subject can be found on the Foundation Curriculum Page of the School’s website.

Medium and Short Term Plans:  Each term, year group teams produce a termly curriculum overview which sets out when different subjects will be taught and how subjects fit together.  Using this document, year group teams develop their short term plans to ensure that the majority of children meet all Key Learning Outcomes and that they are ready to progress.

CPD:  All Foundation Subject leaders lead the staff in CPD to secure continuous development of their subjects.  This may take the form of whole school staff meetings, individual or group coaching, mentoring and team teaching, ‘how to’ videos and presentations, or mini-workshops.  Foundation Curriculum leaders also ensure that they are up to date with regard to their own knowledge and best practice both with regard to their subject and leadership, through regular research, attending training and conferences, membership of relevant associations, NPQ, and in-house leadership CPD

Impact

Monitoring:  Foundation Subject leaders undertake wide-ranging and extensive monitoring of their subjects, including book looks, learning walks, pupil voice, staff voice, parent voice and reviews of digital evidence.  They make decisions about their monitoring based on their evidence base and their current lines of enquiry.  Feedback, both general and individual when required, is always provided to staff, detailing strengths and areas for development.  The Foundation Curriculum lead cross references outcomes of monitoring to identify wider trends and to support leaders effectively through mentoring and coaching.  All planned and completed monitoring is identified on the school’s Foundation Curriculum monitoring calendar, which is regularly reviewed by the Foundation Curriculum Lead.

Assessment:  Foundation Curriculum leads have developed summative assessment criteria which is rooted in the National Curriculum and bespoke to each subject’s curriculum in our school.  The assessment criteria ensure that teachers are able to accurately assess whether individual children have met Age Related Expectations, and whether they are working at Greater Depth.  Assessments are updated termly on Bromcom so that leaders are able to track progress and, by the end of the year, summative assessments are completed for leaders to track progress in their subjects and for the next teacher to identify strengths and weaknesses in their new cohorts.  All assessments are monitored by the Foundation Curriculum lead to identify wider trends and to support leaders effectively through coaching and mentoring.  Throughout the year, class teachers carry out a range of formative assessments to check progress, including marking and feedback, discussion with the children and use these to adapt their teaching as required.

Remembering:  As our curriculum is designed in such a way that children build on their learning year on year, it is important that the children remember specific aspects of their learning and particular skills as set out in the Knowledge Organisers.  Throughout the year, class teachers undertake activities to aid and check memory.  For example, significant knowledge and skills are returned to frequently throughout the year, and low stake mini-quizzes allow the children to see what they know and what they still need to work on.

Accountability:  Foundation Subject Leaders are regularly held to account in a number of ways.  The Head Teacher and the Foundation Curriculum Lead hold termly meetings with Foundation Subject Leaders as part of their CPD.  These meetings offer challenge to leaders in a supportive environment and enable leaders to reflect on their own strengths and areas for development.  Foundation Curriculum leaders receive formative feedback after each meeting and the Foundation Curriculum lead uses the outcomes of the meeting to offer further support, mentoring and CPD as required.  Foundation Subject Leaders develop an action plan at the start of each year, based on the outcomes of their monitoring for the previous year.  They are held to account for their action plans by SLT and the Governors through an Impact Statement and a Self Evaluation at the end of the year.  Individual Governors also meet with Foundation Curriculum leaders to find out more about what they are doing and offer challenge based on information provided to them.  From time to time, Governors may request written reports from Foundation Subject Leaders or ask them to attend Governors’ meetings for a short Q&A session.  Each term, SLT complete a Foundation Curriculum Deep Dive in at least one Foundation Subject.  The outcomes of each Deep Dive are shared with the individual Foundation Subject Lead in detail as part of a formative process, and with all Foundation Subject Leaders with regard to strengths and areas for development that are applicable across the board.  A short report based on the Deep Dive is shared with the Governors, who may ask further questions of the Foundation Subject leader, the Foundation Curriculum lead or the SLT.  Foundation Subject leaders draw on all evidence in order to demonstrate that they have met their Foundation Subject Leadership target as part of their Performance Management

The Foundation Curriculum lead is regularly held to account in a number of ways.  Regular, robust meetings take place between the Foundation Curriculum lead and the Head Teacher to offer challenge and ensure that the Foundation Curriculum as a whole continuously develops and is effective.  The Foundation Curriculum lead also reports as required in writing and in person to the Governors, whose questioning offers further challenge.  In addition to a multi-year action plan, the Foundation Curriculum lead develops an annual action plan.  They are held to account for this action plan through a Self Evaluation at the end of the year.  The Foundation Subject lead draws on all evidence to demonstrate that they have met their Foundation Curriculum Leadership target as part of their Performance Management.