Our Curriculum

Our curriculum at Alsager Highfields.

We believe in providing a nurturing environment where every child can believe in themselves and achieve - mighty oaks from small acorns grow.  

  Click on the magnifier to see our Whole School Curriculum

Curriculum Intent

At Highfields we value and nurture every child so that they reach their true potential in every area of the curriculum. Our ultimate goal is for the children to leave Highfields as confident, well-rounded individuals, with a thirst for learning. We celebrate the fact that every child is unique and has different strengths and qualities and welcome all pupils into our happy and nurturing environment. We provide a learning environment where children take a pride in their work, are encouraged to make mistakes, and develop resilience and independence.

Our school is committed to delivering a high quality, cross-curricular curriculum, with quality literary texts at the heart of our provision. We recognise the relationship between attainment and enjoyment of reading and aim to develop positive attitudes towards reading whilst fostering a love of books. As well as being committed to ensuring pupils leave Highfields competent in the core areas of reading, writing and maths, we recognise the importance The Arts play in creating happy pupils with self-belief and a healthy mental wellbeing. We therefore ensure all pupils have access to a wide range of experiences. Our curriculum builds on the statutory national curriculum and therefore such experiences enrich the children’s understanding of the world around them.

Curriculum Design

The curriculum at Highfields is delivered through a carefully considered approach, linking subjects wherever possible. Children know that they are being taught the knowledge, skills, and vocabulary specific to that subject, as individual lessons remain discrete however the themes of many subjects overlap or link, thereby we are explicit in linking subjects and in building on their ‘sticky knowledge’. Using commercial schemes as a spine, we are looking at developing a more bespoke provision over time, including enriched, first-hand experiences. Please see the file attached below for more information which details the breadth of our curriculum across the whole school. 

Curriculum Implementation

At Highfields English is taught as both a subject in its own right and a medium for teaching. Fluency in English language is an essential foundation for success in all subjects. Therefore we prioritise the teaching of phonics in EYFS and into KS1. Once the children have completed the Read Write Inc Systematic Phonic Scheme, they are supported via the accelerated reading program Renaissance.

The mastery of mathematical concepts and procedures are embedded in our daily maths lessons in order for our pupils to develop a deep understanding of the subject, this is accompanied by a daily fluency session as we acknowledge the importance of procedural skills and recall of facts. Our science curriculum also provides the foundations for pupils to understand the world around them.

All three core subjects above are taught by individual class teachers. The vast majority of foundation subjects are also taught by class teachers; however, this is also supplemented by subject specialists. The year group curriculum maps, shown on each class page, show the breadth of our curriculum on offer. There is a historical and geographical focus each term; Art and Design may support the topic or theme, but discrete skills are also taught along with the study of famous artists and their techniques. Design and technology can be blocked to make the most of curriculum time available. Computing is taught as a discrete subject and a medium for teaching, as well and a method of communicating for pupils.

Physical education may be taught by a subject specialist as one of the two weekly PE lessons is taught by an experienced coach. MFL is taught throughout KS2 and the school teaches religious education as detailed in the agreed syllabus and PSHE/SRE are interwoven into each term /year.

Every subject has a subject leader who is allocated dedicated time in order to ensure that our ambitious planned curriculum is the one which is delivered and to further develop each subject. In this way, we promote a broad and equitable curriculum, where every subject is valued and holds a secure place in the timetable.

We actively seek out opportunities to enrich the curriculum and do so with experiences and opportunities that deepen pupils’ learning, such as bespoke residential visits, visits out of school, theatre trips, visitors to school, using our forest school area and making the best use of opportunities within our community such as the churches in the village, food bank or housing associations all of which build on the cultural capital.

Curriculum Impact

At Highfields all children regardless of their starting points or other potential barriers to learning, aspire to reach our high expectations in order to achieve their potential. It is evident that children are making good progress across all areas of their curriculum in EYFS and in the core areas of reading, writing and maths in the foundation stages of their education at school.

Monitoring Curriculum Impact

Pupils’ learning across the curriculum is assessed on a daily basis by teachers, who provide feedback and form assessments from discussion, observations, and pupils’ work to make decisions about their next steps. At the end of each term, more formal assessment information is collected by the Headteacher, Senco and class teacher who consider the progress made by the children in order to inform the effectiveness of the curriculum. This progress is shared with parents at parents evenings, as well as included in a written report at the end of every school year. 

Promoting the Protected Characteristics at Alsager Highfields

We work to ensure that our children understand that:

• There are no outsiders at Alsager Highfields
• Everyone is different
• We celebrate our differences
• We are all equal in our differences

The Equality Act became law in 2010. It covers everyone in Britain and protects people from discrimination, harassment and victimisation. Everyone in Britain is protected. This is because the Equality Act protects people against discrimination because of the protected characteristics that we all have. Under the Equality Act, there are nine Protected Characteristics:

• Age
• Disability
• Gender reassignment
• Race
• Religion or belief
• Marriage or civil partnership
• Sex
• Sexual orientation
• Pregnancy and maternity

At Alsager Highfields, we actively promote these in our curriculum and work to embed them into our ethos.

Under the Equality Act you are protected from discrimination:

• When you are in the workplace
• When you use public services like healthcare (for example, visiting your doctor or local hospital) or education (for example, at your school or college)
• When you use businesses and other organisations that provide services and goods (like shops, restaurants, and cinemas)
• When you use transport
• When you join a club or association (for example, your local rugby club)
• When you have contact with public bodies like your local council or government departments

Files to Download