What is our Curriculum?

At HCPS our curriculum is challenging, exciting, enjoyable, and relevant. Our curriculum is a carefully planned, through a topic based, thematic approach designed to support children’s natural curiosity and stimulate their creativity. Our curriculum is underpinned by the Accelerated Learning Cycle and by purposeful and robust assessment to ensure our pupils know more and remember more. It allows children the opportunity to work in depth, giving them the time, they need to reflect, consolidate and transfer their learning. 

In line with the DFE guidance on providing a broad and balanced curriculum, the curriculum of Hoyland Common Primary School has been designed to ensure there is breadth but also allows for the prioritisation of missed content in core subjects including key knowledge, skills, vocabulary and concepts. 

Developing communication takes place across the whole curriculum. Speaking is at the heart of all learning, and adults’ model ambitious vocabulary through lessons. Questioning develops the children’s thinking skills and encourages them to begin to problem solve. Children are encouraged to ask why things happen and to explain their thinking. Research suggests that the development of talk skills is best embedded in the teaching and learning of all subjects something which our curriculum is built around. 

The key concepts, substantive knowledge and disciplinary outcomes build up progressively, helping children to grow and develop as they move through school. Our curriculum provides children with the understanding and ability to gather knowledge (which covers History, Geography, Art and Design, Design and Technology, Science, PE, MFL, Music, Computing, PSHE and RE) and allows a creative way of learning and teaching. 

The curriculum we offer is designed to meet the needs of all our pupils. It is rich, varied, creative and imaginative and meets the needs of individual learners. After regular assessment tasks are matched to the ability of each child through adaptive teaching, direct input and activities are appropriately adapted including the use of adult support, providing a level of challenge that is stimulating for pupils and questioning skills. 

The rationale for the use of adaptive teaching and assessment in our curriculum policy is rooted in our commitment to providing an inclusive and personalised learning experience for all students. We recognise that students have diverse abilities and prior knowledge, and that a one-size-fits-all approach to teaching and assessment may not effectively meet their individual needs. Adaptive teaching and assessment strategies allow us to address these variations by tailoring instruction and evaluation to each student’s unique abilities and learning pace. 

By utilising adaptive teaching methods, we can provide targeted instruction that aligns with each student’s strengths, challenges, and learning preferences. This approach fosters a supportive and inclusive classroom environment where students feel valued, engaged, and motivated to learn. Adaptive teaching promotes active participation, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills, enabling students to develop a deeper conceptual understanding of mathematical concepts. 

Furthermore, adaptive assessment practices allow us to gather real-time data on student progress and identify areas where additional support is needed. We can make informed instructional decisions and provide timely feedback to students, allowing them to track their own growth and take ownership of their learning. 

The implementation of adaptive teaching and assessment aligns with our overarching goal of ensuring equitable educational opportunities and maximising student achievement. We can create a dynamic and responsive learning environment that promotes individualized growth and prepares students for success in an ever-evolving world. 

 We value the importance of direct experience within the curriculum so that teachers draw out and develop children’s thinking and capacities in meaningful contexts. Core knowledge and skills are at the heart of the learning process with the children exploring a wide range of topics, to prepare them for life. The wider curriculum at HCPS is delivered through knowledge rich and practical skill based units of work designed by Subject and Curriculum Leaders to ensure that all children have the opportunity to study a range of concepts and disciplines. A gather, skills, apply approach to planning and delivery of lessons is taken across school to ensure children develop a deep understanding and are able to apply these in a range of situations. 

As a school, we believe that reflection time is an important step in pupil learning and progress. We ensure that our pupils are given time to reflect upon their learning. Reflection helps us to recognise what and how we have learned and what we need to focus on in the future. Scaffolding reflection in the classroom helps our pupils to develop and use the skills of peer and self-assessment – reflecting on what they have learned, and self-evaluation – reflecting on how they’ve learned it. Reflection should be about valuing and encouraging pupil involvement – getting them to share ideas, listen to each other and develop the confidence to join in. 

Our curriculum is continually monitored and reviewed. This is done through the use of pupil voice feedback and through monitoring by our curriculum leads and subject teams. 

If parents would like more information regarding the curriculum we follow, see our curriculum policy below or please contact: HCPSOffice@hcacademytrust.education and we can put you in contact with Miss Griffin our Curriculum Lead.

Please see our Curriculum Policy here: HCPS Curriculum Policy 2023