A school’s curriculum includes everything children are taught, knowledge and skills that are learnt during the school day. This can range widely from specific phonics sounds to supporting children’s emotional development. It also includes children’s moral, spiritual and cultural development.

At Kedington we take this seriously. We believe that children are entitled to a curriculum that gives them the best possible preparation for their future life.

We believe our curriculum should have an impact on what children know, what kind people they become and the skills they develop. A helpful way we describe this is through a ‘head, heart and hands’ model.

Staff and governors have also identified three key drivers that will run through our curriculum design. These are areas where we want our children to have lots of experiences of so that they can excel and gain a rich, deep understanding. We will make a point of maximising opportunities to promote these across our curriculum.

Curriculum Content

In our Reception class, learning experiences are planned for children using the continuous provision model. This model encourages learning through play both indoors and out. Pupils enjoy their learning, whilst being supported and challenged by our Early Years staff when exploring through play and with adult led activities. Literacy, phonics and mathematics opportunities are specifically planned for throughout the day and children can also access a range of well activities from the wider areas of the curriculum such as art and science.

We use SoundsWrite as our phonics programme in Reception and Key Stage 1. This very highly structured, multi-sensory, incremental and code-oriented, instructional approach to teaching children to read and spell.

We put a great deal of focus on making sure that children quickly develop the skills and knowledge that they need to be able to read fluently and confidently by the end of year 1. We make sure that children’s reading books match the phonics they are taught. Reading is taught through whole class reading lessons in Years 1 to 6. Children are also heard read individually in order to carefully assess and challenge them as well as supporting them to read widely and often.

Across all classes at the school, the mastery approach towards mathematics is followed. Reception to Year 2 have adopted the CUSP Maths Curriculum whilst KS2 follow the Ark Mastering Mathematics programme until CUSP is rolled out to all year groups. Both programmes’ principles include high expectations for every child, ‘depth before breadth’, and a focus on problem-solving and conceptual understanding as well as oracy.

Curriculum for Unity School’s Partnership (CUSP)

The Curriculum for Unity School’s Partnership (CUSP) is used for English, science, history, PSHE, music, RE French, art, DT and geography. This is an ambitious, evidence-based curriculum with a focus on vocabulary. End points are identified and carefully planned for, building on previous knowledge. Long term plans comprehensively map out what is taught across the school in all subjects See the attached documents for the content of our different subjects within the school’s curriculum. Subjects are taught individually but links are made across different subjects where appropriate.

In other curriculum areas, a coherent subject-specific, knowledge based curriculum has been developed with carefully planned sequences of learning that reflect the 2014 National Curriculum.

Parents have the right to withdraw their children from RE lessons. If this is something you would like to do, please contact the school office.

PSHE and RSHE

At Kedington Primary School, we believe that children’s personal development is just as important as their academic achievement. Through our Personal, Social, Health and Economic (PSHE) curriculum, children develop the knowledge, skills, and understanding they need to stay healthy, safe, and happy, both now and in the future.

Our PSHE and Relationships, Sex and Health Education (RSHE) curriculum helps children to develop positive relationships, understand and manage their emotions, learn about physical and mental wellbeing, stay safe online, celebrate diversity, and become responsible members of their communities. Lessons are carefully planned and taught in an age-appropriate and sensitive way, building children’s knowledge progressively as they move through the school.

We recognise that parents are the primary educators of their children in matters relating to relationships and health, and we value the important role families play in supporting this learning. Parents have the right to withdraw their child from the sex education elements of RSE that are taught beyond the National Curriculum for Science. However, there is no right to withdraw from the statutory Relationships Education curriculum or from the Science curriculum, including the aspects of human development that form part of it.

Further information about what is taught in each year group can be found in our RSHE Policy, which is available in the policies section. If you have any questions about the curriculum, we would be happy to discuss them with you.

For further information about our curriculum, please contact the school office.

Right to Withdraw from RE

Parents have the statutory right under Section 71 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998 to request their child/ren are wholly or partly excused from:

• RE lessons in accordance with the schools’ basic curriculum
• Acts of Collective Worship in schools

As parents, you do not have to provide a reason for requesting the withdrawal. However before exercising any right of withdrawal we would recommend you discuss your concerns with the headteacher

Limitations to withdraw

If pupils are withdrawn from RE, schools have a duty to supervise them, though not to provide additional teaching.  A pupil may be required to work in another area of the school, such as library. 

• Whilst parents or carers have a right to withdraw children from RE, they should note that child/ren may also encounter religions and beliefs and wider aspects of faith in other areas of the National Curriculum from which there is no right of withdrawal.
• On occasion, spontaneous questions about religious matters are raised by pupils or issues related to religion arise in other curriculum subjects such as history or PSHE. For example, schools promote community cohesion and help pupils to understand ideas about identity and diversity, feelings and emotions within both religious and non-religious contexts. 

All requests for withdrawals should be made in writing, addressed to the headteacher.