Our Curriculum
Kents Hill Park School seeks to provide a rich, knowledge-led curriculum at every stage and phase of the pupils’ academic journey. Our curriculum supports all learners and has the highest expectations of each and every pupil.
The curriculum supports our vision that pupils should know the best that has been thought and said in a well-sequenced, cumulative and coherent progression of learning. Our curriculum is mapped and structured, and we are clear with what and why we expect pupils to know at each stage of their learning, be that in literature, art, music, sport, performance and experience.
We use academic research in our practice and in developing our own expertise to constantly develop and review our curriculum so that it challenges their pupils’ abilities, is relevant to their experience and needs, is inclusive; has application and value in the outside works and promotes British values.
We want pupils to retain and recall, we are academic in our ethos and attitude.
Our 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. We endeavour to enable our 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), we learn how to retrieve and recall knowledge that can be applied to new and varied experiences and situations. Our 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 our school further supports this process and pupils will learn and develop knowledge and skills as soon as they join us.
Literacy plays a key role in our curriculum and increasing and developing the use and acquisition of a wider and deeper vocabulary. DEAR (Drop Everything And Read) takes place for 30 minutes, three times a week. Pupils read classic and contemporary works of literature. Teachers model reading and all pupils read out loud in turn. Discussion focuses on concepts and history that may be outside of a pupil’s normal experience, and they develop confidence in their ability and vocabulary.
Our 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 happened in the classroom, and we provide 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. Music is a key aspect of this and will be at the heart of our curriculum.
What is distinctive about our curriculum?
- Powerful, knowledge-rich subjects
- We publish the knowledge that pupils need to master in each subject every term. This helps pupils and parents when they need to revise. Our Learning for Excellence books, which contain all of this knowledge, are hence hugely powerful.
- Additional time for students who need support with numeracy & literacy
- We are unashamedly academic, and as a result we want pupils to know a lot. We know that by knowing a lot in a variety of different subjects, our pupils can apply this knowledge to genuine creativity and critical thinking skills.
- An extended day to support and stretch pupils with homework and learning.