All-through Curriculum
Curriculum Intent
Kents Hill Park provides a rich, knowledge-led curriculum at every stage and phase of the pupils’ academic journey. The school’s curriculum supports all learners and has the highest expectations of each and every pupil.
The curriculum supports Kents Hill Park’s vision that pupils should know the best that has been thought and said in a well-sequenced, cumulative and coherent progression of learning. The curriculum is mapped and structured, and the school is clear with what and why it expects pupils to know at each stage of their learning, be that in literature; art; music; sport; performance; science; mathematics; technology and experience.
The school uses academic research in its practice and in developing expertise to constantly develop and review the curriculum, so that it challenges pupils’ abilities. It is relevant to pupils’ experience and needs; is inclusive; has application and value in the outside works and promotes British Values.
Kents Hill Park wants pupils to retain and recall, the school is academic in its ethos and attitude.
The curriculum is more than simply regurgitating knowledge and learning by rote. It is about connecting ideas, concepts and knowledge to allow our pupils to develop their confidence, independence and forward-thinking characteristics. The school endeavours to enable pupils to be:
- Confident in themselves, their abilities, their beliefs, and their place.
- Independent in thought, action, identity, belief and learning.
- Forward-thinking in outlook and attitude; always hopeful and ambitious of what they and others can do.
Based on concepts around core knowledge and the hinterland of knowledge (C.Counsell), learning focuses on how to retrieve and recall knowledge, that can be applied to new and varied experiences and situations. Kents Hill Park’s curriculum also considers how we learn and seeks to develop practices amongst both staff and pupils that supports academic and experiential progress.
The all-through nature of the school further supports this process and pupils learn and develop knowledge and skills as soon as they join Early Years Foundation Stage. As they move through the Primary and Secondary phases, these skills and knowledge are built upon following carefully sequenced all-through curriculum maps.
Literacy plays a key role in the curriculum, with reading sitting at the heart of all subjects. It increases and develops the use and acquisition of a wider and deeper vocabulary. Regular planned opportunities for discussion enable pupils to develop confidence in their ability and vocabulary.
The curriculum is informed by our pedagogy within the school. The methods and teaching styles support the acquisition and retrieval of knowledge as a powerful medium for academic progress. Expectations and standards are high for all pupils regardless of their starting point.
The curriculum is far wider than what happens in the classroom. The school provides opportunities and experiences for pupils that will develop their confidence, independence and forward-thinking. We will challenge them to step outside their comfort zones and support them as they grow with new and exciting opportunities.
