Curriculum Provision

 
Our curriculum plan


At Hill View we firmly believe that the key to pupil’s success is their ability to read. We aim to achieve this for all pupils primarily through the expert teaching of our phonics programme. This begins early in Reception class and develops quickly from learning to read to reading to learn, where pupils take their first effective steps in gaining knowledge for themselves and develops through our 'Learning Challenge' curriculum.

 
Maths and English follow the National Curriculum that has been designed to be taught in maintained schools from September 2014. This is specific to each year group to ensure that all children are given the chance to achieve or exceed what is the required age related standard in both subjects and prepare them fully for the next phase of their education. Children have Maths and English lessons every day.


To meet the requirements of the other subjects of The National Curriculum, all classes follow our pre-planned ‘Learning Challenges’. Most of these are specific to a class, and will focus on different areas of the curriculum at different times of the year and are built around a 'Learning Challenge' approach. The Learning Challenge concept is built around the principle of greater learner involvement in their work. It requires deep thinking and encourages learners to work using a question as the starting point and provides opportunities to develop vocabulary. They will last for a whole term or half term, so the children can really study the topic in depth. 


 Through a learning enquiry teachers and learners are using a prime learning challenge, expressed as a question, as the starting point. Using the information gained from the retrieval of children’s knowledge from previous experiences in school; any pre- learning tasks; the National Curriculum and the school's local context and environment, a series of subsidiary challenges are then planned. Each subsidiary learning challenge is also expressed as a question. The subsidiary learning challenge is normally expected to last for one week but this does not need to be the case. The final subsidiary learning challenge is handed over for learners to reflect on their learning. The idea is that learners present their learning back to the rest of the class or another appropriate audience -making the most of their oracy and ICT skills to do so.


Throughout each 'Learning Enquiry' the pupils are given opportunities to apply their basic skills in reading, writing and maths.


 All of the subjects within the curriculum have equal status at Hill View and they are taught in classes, sometimes small groups or individually, by both teachers and teaching assistants. Our aim is that a comprehensive set of skills and knowledge can be developed by our pupils and that each subject has a distinct role. Religious Education follows the locally agreed syllabus, including the study of different world religions. Science also has a broad curriculum and extra sessions are included in the weekly timetable. We encourage the children to be as fit and active as possible, so our P.E sessions cover a variety of different activities to suit all abilities and are also planned separately into the class timetable.


In Music we follow the Model Music Curriculum for Key stage 1 and 2. We believe that music should play an important part in all children’s lives.  It is creative, collaborative, celebratory and sometimes challenging. In our school music is used to bring the community together through the shared endeavour of whole-school and class singing, ensemble playing, experimenting with the creative process and, through the love of listening to friends and fellow pupils, performing.

We appreciate that, at Hill View each child learns from every experience created in our environment.


The curriculum content for each academic year can be found in the ‘Classes’ section of the web site. They are sequenced to maximise pupil learning and teachers ensure they are accessible to all pupils.
Subject specific skills taught at each year group can be found in the progression maps below.
Please feel free to contact school for any specific, up-to-date information that you may require.