'Every human is an artist.'

Don Miguel Ruiz

Curriculum Intent

We want our children to be inspired and challenged by art, craft and design, to be able to express themselves confidently and be able to critically analyse artists’ work. Our curriculum is designed to ensure children are taught both the skills of making art and the knowledge of selected artists, their work, context and influences. Through carefully selected artists we also aim to develop children’s historical, geographical, cultural and environmental awareness and to ‘teach’ them to interpret the stories that artworks tell.

In addition, our curriculum ensures that our children are exposed to a range of significant Cornish artists and movements in order to strengthen their sense of belonging, place and cultural identify as well as opening up opportunities for experiencing art first hand through gallery and artist visits.

Our curriculum sets out to ensure balance between new and established artists as well as to those working with in specific fields such as illustration, costume design, textiles, architecture and graphic art so that our children are exposed to the career opportunities available through art as well for the enjoyment of art for its own sake.

We want our children to use art, craft and design as a means of self-expression and to build resilience and confidence through evaluating and refining. Additionally, we want our children to enjoy looking at artworks and be able to clearly communicate their own ideas and opinions.

Curriculum Implementation

Our spiral curriculum is designed so that children revisit media, develop their skills in different contexts and build on previous knowledge.

We deliver our curriculum in 2 day art blocks at the end of a half term as a whole school, to ensure art is prioritised and teachers can focus on providing high-quality and rich creative experiences for our children. It also allows the time to develop each aspect of the creative process outlined below:

•          Exploring the artwork and ideas of established of artists and designers
•          Rehearsing with new media, skills and techniques
•          Exploring and generating ideas
•          Creating and refining work
•          Evaluating their own and the others’ work

For each unit there is a focus artist complemented by 3 or 4 related artists. Children are first taught about the focus artist and their historical, cultural, political and social context before exploring several of the artist’s works. The children then explore the work of related artists and discuss similarities and differences. Our children are taught the skills and techniques used by the artists and have opportunities to explore these in focused sessions. Drawing on different stimuli, the children explore their own ideas and use sketchbooks to record, experiment and practice, before creating and refining their own work.

Each unit also has an identified media and subject focus to ensure that our children’s learning journey is broad, balanced and meaningful.

Links are also made between art and other curriculum areas such as using art as either stimuli or response in RE, PSHE, English, music or dance or to gather historical or geographical information.

Knowledge Organisers outline the key facts and vocabulary and are used to revisit previous learning and assess and review new learning. New vocabulary is introduced and explicitly taught at the beginning of the unit to ensure children can access and understand discussions and teaching and can also communicate their own ideas and opinions confidently and accurately.

Curriculum Impact

At St Agnes Academy, we have 3 measures of curriculum impact, all of which are essential in ensuring that our children make excellent progress, are ready for the next phase in their learning journey and are well-rounded, thoughtful and responsible individuals. Our 3 measures are:

1.     What we learn
2.     Who we are
3.     How we behave

We ensure our curriculum has impact, by evaluating children’s final outcomes and their contributions to discussions as well as through observing how they work during the process of generating and exploring ideas, rehearsal and practice, creating and refining, and evaluating.

Our children will know about a wide range of artists and movements and will use the correct terminology when talking about artworks and techniques. They will be able to critically analyse the work of established artists and be proficient in using a range of techniques and media so that they are able to draw on an increasingly wide range of knowledge and skills to express their ideas with confidence. As they move through the school, they will be prepared for each phase of their learning journey.

They will appreciate that art can voice social, political and cultural messages which have the power to challenge and change the viewer and will be able to use art to voice their own opinions. They will also understand that art is a deeply human activity which connects us all.

By working through the artistic process our children will develop resilience, critical thinking and problem solving skills as well as learning how to draw on their knowledge to communicate their ideas and opinions and develop a curiosity for the world around them.

Our Art and Design curriculum lead is Kelly Williams-Rafferty

 

 

“Everybody should learn to code a computer because it teaches you how to think.”

Steve Jobs

Curriculum Intent

At St Agnes, our vision for computing education is to empower every student to become a confident, thoughtful, and responsible user of technology. We want our pupils not only to understand the digital world but also to engage with it safely and securely. Our ambitious and inspiring computing curriculum is designed to develop computational thinking and creativity, equipping our students to make a meaningful, positive impact on their world.

As technology and AI evolve, we can’t predict exactly what the workplaces of the future will look like, but we know the skills needed to thrive in them can be nurtured through high-quality computing education. Our curriculum emphasizes creativity, collaboration, communication, and critical thinking—skills that will open doors and expand career opportunities for our pupils.

Inclusion and diversity are at the heart of our curriculum. We believe every child should feel welcomed, represented, and encouraged to engage with computing, fostering a community where everyone can excel and feel valued.

Curriculum Implementation

Our computing curriculum focuses on a progression of skills across five different strands of computing: Programming, Creative Media, Data Science, Systems and Networks and Digital Citizenship, which is threaded throughout.

We use the National Centre for Computing Education’s (NCCE), Teach Computing resources to deliver our Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 curriculum, and Barefoot Computing’s computational thinking resources in EYFS. These are reviewed, adapted and supplemented each year to meet the needs of our pupils.

For Online Safety or Digital Citizenship, we use a mixture of engaging, age-appropriate resources, from Childnet’s Be SMART Online, The National Crime Agency’s CEOPs and UK Safer Internet Centre. We aim to adapt our Online Safety teaching for the needs of each class, responding to trends and concerns as they arise among our learners. We also work to engage with and educate parents about Online Safety to ensure children are safe and responsible online, in and out of school. National Curriculum for Computing

Curriculum Impact

At St Agnes Academy, we have 3 measures of curriculum impact, all of which are essential in ensuring that our children make excellent progress, are ready for the next phase in their learning journey and are well-rounded, thoughtful and responsible individuals. Our 3 measures are:

1. What we learn

2. Who we are

3. How we behave

With the successful implementation of our computing curriculum, every child at our school will find joy and excitement in their computing lessons. Our students will embrace new technologies with curiosity and determination, working together to overcome challenges and create solutions. They will confidently use precise computing vocabulary to share their knowledge and express their ideas effectively.

Our learners will develop essential digital literacy skills that prepare them for the next stages of their education and beyond. They will learn to think critically about online information, understand how to stay safe in digital spaces, and grow into responsible, informed digital citizens. Through engaging computing projects, our students will build resilience, adaptability, and a willingness to explore new approaches, empowering them to thrive in an ever-evolving digital world.

Our Computing and Online Safety curriculum lead is Sophie Baker

 

"The designers job is to imagine the world not how it is but how it should be."

Terence Conran

Curriculum Intent

The national curriculum states that design and technology (DT) in KS1 and KS2 should develop the creative, technical and practical expertise needed to perform everyday tasks confidently and to participate successfully in an increasingly technological world. It should build and apply a repertoire of knowledge, understanding and skills in order to design and make high-quality prototypes and products for a wide range of users. Children should critique, evaluate and test their ideas and products and the work of others.

Children also need to understand and apply the principles of nutrition and learn how to cook.

The D&T Association have further outlined the aims as follows:

"Design and Technology education helps develop children’s skills through collaborative working and problem-solving, and knowledge in design, materials, structures, mechanisms and electrical control. They are encouraged to be creative and innovative, and are actively encouraged to think about important issues such as sustainability and enterprise.”

At St Agnes Academy, we aim to encourage children to use their creativity and imagination, to design and make products that solve real and relevant problems within a variety of contexts, considering their own and others’ needs, wants and values. We aim to, wherever possible, link work to other disciplines across the curriculum. We want to nurture our children into becoming successful innovators and effective risk-takers.

Curriculum Implementation

We deliver our aims through a variety of creative and practical activities which develop the knowledge and skills needed to engage in the iterative process of designing and making. The children work in a range of relevant contexts (for example home, school, leisure, culture, enterprise, industry and the wider environment) and within a number of design and technology themes (structures, cooking, textiles, electrical systems and mechanical systems). Our curriculum drivers are at the heart of what we do as we encourage children to show their curiosity, courage, compassion and conservation in how they design and make their products and their connection to the local community in what they make.

At St Agnes Academy, we use the DT Association's Projects on a Page to realise our aim to provide excellent teaching and learning within DT. These projects are underpinned by a clear progression of skills in both the generic skills of designing and making and within specific areas such as cooking.

Each unit is supported by a Knowledge Organiser which outlines all of the relevant key information and vocabulary that children need to know by the end of the unit. They also outline previous and future learning to help teachers set the new learning within context and establish starting points for learning.

DT has been carefully mapped across the school to ensure broad and balanced coverage and to establish relevant links to other curriculum subjects and our own locality. 

In order to maximise on time, we deliver our DT curriculum over a 3 day block each term.

Our teaching sequence is:

Real world application 

How have key individuals, local businesses, inventions shaped our world? These links are made across the curriculum. This will be presented to the children or form part of independent research or reading.

Review 

A review of the required skills and knowledge gained in prior years, required for new learning will be presented to the children to remind them of the things they have already learnt.

Need or wants 

Identification of a need or want of an individual or group. This will drive the project forward as they aim to fulfil this. 

Research 

Children research existing products and possible construction materials/ingredients/ tools.

Design Brief 

The teacher develops, with the class, a design brief which dictates how the children can be successful in what they design and make.

Skills taught / practiced 

Children need to first be taught and practice the skills required for them to be successful in designing and making their product. If children do not know how to do something their design may be inhibited.

Design 

Children develop their designs, in response to the brief and research. Children’s ideas are communicated through discussion, annotated sketches, cross-sectional diagrams, prototypes, pattern pieces or computer-aided design. This is where children are given the opportunities for exploring functionality, making design decisions, and innovating. Support is given to children with SEND in small guided groups.

Create 

Children select from available tools and equipment to perform practical tasks (for example, cutting, shaping, joining and finishing) with increasing precision.

With sustainability and conservation in mind children select from and use a selection of available materials and components (for example, construction materials, textiles and ingredients) based on what they believe to be the most appropriate for the function and aesthetics of their products. Children create the product using materials and skills which they have learnt.

Exhibit 

Children show case their products to an audience for which, a need or want was identified. This might be younger school children, families or a local community group. Work is show cased as a working display, supervised play, a tasting, formal presentation or in assembly. Working towards this step ensures children are engaged throughout the DT process and that the children are motivated to design and create products for a specific user, have a purpose and are something they can believe in (authenticity).

Evaluate 

Children are guided to evaluate their work based on the original design brief stating where the design brief was met and where it was not.

Reformulate 

Where the design brief was not met, changes to improve the product design or the skills used to make the product are discussed and where appropriate, listed. In some instances, children may suggest modifying the design brief to something more appropriate or manageable due to resource constraints.

Curriculum Impact

At St Agnes Academy, we have 3 measures of curriculum impact, all of which are essential in ensuring that our children make excellent progress, are ready for the next phase in their learning journey and are well-rounded, thoughtful and responsible individuals. Our 3 measures are:

1.     What we learn
2.     Who we are
3.     How we behave

Our children will have the knowledge and skills necessary to move confidently to the next step of their learning journey. They will have and use the correct subject vocabulary to understand and communicate their learning in DT and express their ideas. 

Through the solving of relevant problems, our children will understand the importance of design in solving some of the world's problems such as climate change and plastic pollution and how good design can prevent some issues from arising in the first place. Out children will understand the relevance of design within our own community, nationally and globally and the opportunities it presents for careers. 

By following our clear design and making sequence, our children will build resilience in problem solving and develop the ability to think creatively. They will be challenged to develop original ideas as well as to build on the ideas of others when working collaboratively. 

Our children will think and act like designers, intent on solving problems that positively contribute to the world in which they live.

Our Design and Technology curriculum lead is Becky Fussell

 

 

 

'Geography underpins a lifelong "conversation" about the earth as the home of humankind'

Geography Association

Curriculum Intent

At St Agnes, we believe Geography sparks curiosity and provides answers to vital questions about the natural and human aspects of our world. Our curriculum empowers children to develop a deeper understanding of their place in the world—from their local environment to the global stage—while building their knowledge of what is where and how it all connects.

As an investigative subject, Geography fosters curiosity, critical thinking, and problem-solving, helping children to explore key concepts, acquire knowledge, and develop essential skills. We aim to inspire a lifelong fascination with the world and its people, encouraging children to see themselves as active participants in the planet's future.

Through our curriculum, we nurture awareness of environmental and humanitarian challenges and help children understand how their daily choices impact the world around them. We encourage active engagement in conservation efforts and promote responsible, thoughtful decision-making, both now and in the future.

We want our children to feel a strong sense of place, belonging, and pride in their local community and Cornwall as a whole, while appreciating the unique yet interconnected nature of the wider world.

By providing the knowledge, skills, and vocabulary needed to ask and answer questions confidently and accurately, we empower our children to think and act like geographers. At St Agnes, we inspire children to become curious, informed, and responsible citizens, ready to care for and contribute to the world they live in.

Curriculum Implementation

Our curriculum is designed to ensure breadth, balance and coherence. Through carefully considered units our children are given the wide contextual knowledge needed to locate and place new learning and make meaningful connections. At the beginning of each unit prior learning is revisited to make links between what they already know and new learning. This also ensures our children have an understanding of the large context and the deeper detail.

In every year group there is an 'Our Planet Focus' which explores a particular environmental or humanitarian issue and makes links with local charities and groups such as Surfers Against Sewage in Y2, ShelterBox in Year 3 and Cornwall Wildlife Trust in Y5. Joint projects may include beach cleans and Plastic Free Schools, raising money for Shelterbox or planting butterfly friendly plants and making bug hotels with the Cornwall Wildlife Trust.

In addition, most year groups have a unit exploring our locality, such as our school in Year 1, our local beach in Y2 and our village and Cornwall in Y3. 

There is an identified opportunity for fieldwork in each year group, the skills for which have been mapped out to ensure progression. We believe fieldwork is of great importance not only in making use of and understanding our local area but in developing the problem solving skills of our learners.

At the beginning of each academic year, a short unit of map skills is taught to ensure our children have the necessary skills and knowledge for the year ahead. These are also planned out to ensure year on year progression.

Knowledge organisers underpin every unit and set out the key concepts, knowledge and vocabulary to be learnt in that unit. They are used throughout the unit as reference, to revise and secure previous learning and to assess progress. Where children are not able to keep up with their peers, provision is made to catch them up through guided work, one to one instruction, peer support, additional resources or task differentiation with our aim always being to ensure that all our children have the knowledge, skills and vocabulary to be able to move securely to next stage of their learning. In order to ascertain misconceptions and elicit prior learning, a quiz is taken at the beginning of each unit to help teachers establish starting points for teaching. The quiz is taken again at the end of the unit to assess how much has been learnt and address any gaps in learning before moving on.

Key vocabulary is explicitly taught at the beginning of each unit, to ensure children can access and understand taught material and also communicate their own learning clearly and accurately.

Geography is taught in weekly lessons for about an hour. However, teachers may decide to block lessons together if they feel it would benefit the learning. 

Curriculum Impact

At St Agnes Academy, we have 3 measures of curriculum impact, all of which are essential in ensuring that our children make excellent progress, are ready for the next phase in their learning journey and are well-rounded, thoughtful and responsible individuals. Our 3 measures are:

1.     What we learn
2.     Who we are
3.     How we behave

Our children will excellent locational knowledge and knowledge of geographical processes and human and physical features. They will be able to articulate their learning clearly supported by accurate facts and precise vocabulary. They will know more and remember more and will be prepared for the next step of their learning journey. 

They will appreciate the interconnections between people and places and between history and geography and will understand that their own impact on their locality and the wider world. Our children will be able to make informed choices about how they live and be responsible global citizens, understanding how they can take action to improve and protect their world. They will have a clear sense of who they are within their local, regional, national and global communities and will celebrate both their differences and similarities within them.

Through enquiry based learning our children will be confident in asking questions and have the necessary skills and tenacity to answer them. They will have developed problem solving skills and be able to carry out investigative work both independently and collaboratively. 

Our children will be informed, inspired and independent.

We are proud to announce that the school has been awarded a Gold standard Primary Geography Quality Mark by the Geographical Association for ‘embedding excellence and innovation in geography throughout the school’.

‘Overall, it was a pleasure to read through your application and see the joy that geography brings both your children and staff at St Agnes. We hope you are proud of all you have accomplished, and we look forward to seeing more brilliant geography from Joss and the team at St Agnes Primary School in the future. Congratulations on this very well-deserved gold award.‘              Emily da Silva – moderator.

Our geography curriculum lead is Joss Belcher

'A people without the knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots.'

Marcus Garvey

Curriculum Intent

The main aim of our history curriculum is to teach our children to think and behave like historians.

Our history curriculum has been designed to ensure coherence and progression. It has been designed carefully to ensure that it meets all of the requirements set out in The National Curriculum and also that it meets the needs of our children in our school, is relevant to our local context and is underpinned by our curriculum drivers of Courage, Compassion, Curiosity, Connections and Conservation.

Our curriculum is designed to ignite our children’s curiosity about the past and allow them to make connections between the past and the present and between local, regional, national and international history. Additionally, thought has been given to ensuring relevance between the past and current issues such as equality and diversity, protest, advancement in technologies and immigration.

In each year group there is a local history study so that our children can develop their sense of belonging and understand how the past has shaped their lives today and how their lives will shape the future. In every unit, except for units focused on change over time, we have planned for a depth study as well as the outlining detail necessary to understand the context of historical events.

Through our curriculum design and implementation, our children are taught to understand concepts such as continuity and change, cause and consequence, similarity and difference, and significance and use them to critically analyse source materials, identify trends and themes, make connections and draw contrasts as well as to pose historically valid questions. Our children develop their historical skills within a knowledge and vocabulary rich curriculum enabling them to communicate their ideas and opinions confidently and accurately.

Implementation

Our history curriculum is delivered through units of work which are planned around an enquiry question. Each unit begins with revisiting previous learning and with a quiz to identify misconceptions and elicit starting points for teaching. New vocabulary is explicitly taught at the beginning of each unit so that our children can both access and understand the teaching and communicate their own ideas confidently and accurately.

Weekly history lessons ensure a balance between rich and focused discussion and structured written accounts, narratives and analyses. Lessons also include the study of a variety of source material, drawing on museums such as The Ashmolean, The British Museum and The Museum of London as well as local historians and visiting speakers, our local museum and our local area.

Impact

At St Agnes Academy, we have 3 measures of curriculum impact, all of which are essential in ensuring that our children make excellent progress, are ready for the next phase in their learning journey and are well-rounded, thoughtful and responsible individuals. Our 3 measures are:

1.     What we learn
2.     Who we are
3.     How we behave

Our history curriculum and its implementation aims to ensure that all of our children secure the knowledge and skills necessary to confidently move on the next stage of their learning journey (What we Learn), to have developed their sense of who they are and their responsibility within the world (Who we Are) as well as improving as confident learners (How we Behave)

In history we monitor the impact of teaching and learning though beginning and end of unit quizzes, revisiting and securing previous learning, focused questioning and discussion, day to day classroom assessment and observations and pupil voice. Where children fall behind their peers, activities are planned to address this such as additional adult support, resources to support learning, small group or 1:1 focused teaching and task differentiation.

Our children will be able to communicate their historical knowledge and understanding confidently using the correct terminology and accurate facts to support. They will have a secure sense of chronology and be able to make connections between the people, events, societies and cultures of the past and of the present. Our children will think and act like historians.

Our history curriculum leader is Emma Parris-Fitzgibbon.

'Mathematics is not about numbers, equations, computations or algorithms. It is about understanding.' William Paul Thurston

Curriculum Intent

At St Agnes Academy we want our children to be enthusiastic and proficient mathematicians, who can apply their learning across a range contexts and understand the importance of mathematics in everyday life. Through our maths curriculum we aim to develop our children's reasoning and problem solving skills so that they feel confident to tackle challenges and develop tenacity and think creatively.

The mastery learning model forms the basis of our approach to maths teaching. This means spending greater time going into depth about a subject, in order to develop a deep and secure understanding, as opposed to racing through a broader content at a more superficial level. As a primary school, it is our duty to ensure that children have a solid, concrete understanding of subject knowledge and skills, which can be applied flexibly and used as a solid foundation for later learning in secondary school and beyond.

 We focus on all children achieving what is expected of their age group and not going beyond this. Evidence shows that children need to be able to understand a concept, apply it in a range of situations and then be creative to really understand it. At our school no child will be taught content from the year above them. They will spend time becoming true masters of content, applying and being creative with new skills and knowledge in multiple ways. 

Our children will be extended by being required to apply what they have learned, flexibly, to new situations and being encouraged to discover links and connections between different areas of learning e.g. linking learning about factor pairs, prime numbers and commutativity to problems relating to the area of rectangles.

Children at our school experience maths as a collaborative, language rich, process of discovery rather than as a process of applying algorithms provided by the teacher.

Implementation 

White Rose Maths is used to deliver the National Curriculum (2014). Specifics of calculation methods used can be found in our calculation policy. Details of mental maths strategies can be found in our yearly mental maths documents.   We follow a spiral curriculum, where topics are revisited yearly. Content from the previous year is briefly revised before new, related learning is introduced.

Pupils in KS1 are engaged in maths activities for one hour per day. This increases to 1 hour and 15 minutes in KS2. In both key stages, this consists of a White Rose lesson and 15 minutes throughout the day spent practising and consolidating mental maths skills.

Our lessons follow the structure outlined below. For more detailed information about the content and purpose of each part, please click on the link to our Maths Curriculum Statement at the bottom of this page.

1. Exploration 

2. Structured Learning 

3. Guided Practise

4. Independent Practise

5. Application and challenge through Star Questions (reasoning and problem solving questions)

White Rose is based on some key pedagogical tools to ensure our children really master the taught content before moving to the next step. These teaching and learning approaches are outlined below. Again for more detailed information, please refer to our maths curriculum statement at the bottom of this page.

Key pedagogical tools:

1. Facilitating exploration (providing children with opportunities to explore problems using manipulatives and talk to gain access and to allow the teacher to make immediate assessments and adaptions to the rest of the lesson)

2. Concrete-pictorial-abstract (CPA) approach (children are guided through the use of concrete materials such as counters and Base 10 to represent and access their learning, to using pictures and diagrams to finally representing their maths using calculations and formulae.

3. Aiding visualisation (encouraging children to develop and use their own visual representations to provide ways in which they can access, model and plan a strategy to solve a problem)

4. Developing meta cognition (teaching children how to monitor and regulate themselves as learners)

5. Modelling (providing children with good working models and vocabulary to support them during independent work)

6. Questioning (used to facilitate discussion and also to continually check understanding and to support and extend learners where necessary)

Differentiation:

Assessment of understanding 

The expectation in every Maths lesson is that all students are able to achieve the learning objective but in a number of different ways and to varying depths of understanding. A students’ readiness to be stretched or need to be supported is assessed through observation and questioning which take place at the earliest possible opportunity. 

Depth before acceleration 

At no point during the lesson are students accelerated onto new content until the full range of ‘extension through deepening’ activities have been fully exhausted. 

Star Questions

These are questions that require a deeper understanding to answer but don’t accelerate into the next year’s curriculum. These usually involve applying the content of the lesson flexibly to new situation or reasoning using ideas covered in the lesson.

Use of visual and concrete materials 

To aid understanding of a topic, concrete and/or visual materials are available to all students in every lesson where this is possible. Less able students will find being able to manipulate physical objects strengthens their conceptual understanding, while the more able students will be able to manipulate objects in different ways in order to identify different methods of solving a problem. 

Multiple methods 

One of the most powerful ways of extending more able students is to regularly ask and encourage them to obtain their final answer using a different method. It is important that learners are reminded that the method they used to reach their final answer is not as important as their understanding of why it worked. Less able learners should not be pushed to find multiple methods until they have fully grasped the first. In a maths lesson, one method with a full understanding is always enough.

Level of abstraction 

Another way of differentiating is to increase/decrease the level of abstraction. This can be done by providing/removing visual/concrete materials or asking students to use (and explain) formal abstract methods (such as exchange during subtraction/division). 

Group work 

Students are regularly directed to work in pairs/groups to discuss problems and share their ideas. This does not need to be set up as a formal ‘group work’ activity, but instead is the ongoing expectation in maths lessons. 

Monitoring Progress

Children are assessed daily through questioning and marking of workbooks. Children who have not achieved an objective receive same day intervention in order to catch up before the next lesson. This often takes the form of small group teaching during guided practice or pre-teaching in a small group.  At the end of each unit of work, children complete a review. The classes reviews are used by the teacher to establish whether any element should be retaught before moving on to the next unit. Children complete termly PUMA tests to monitor long term retention and progress through the year. SATS (year 2 and year 6) and end of year teacher judgements, combined with end of year PUMA tests are used to track children’s progress through the school.

Curriculum Impact

At St Agnes Academy, we have 3 measures of curriculum impact, all of which are essential in ensuring that our children make excellent progress, are ready for the next phase in their learning journey and are well-rounded, thoughtful and responsible individuals. Our 3 measures are:

1.     What we learn
2.     Who we are
3.     How we behave

Most children achieve age-related expectations by the time they leave St Agnes and the vast majority maintain good progress through each key stage. We aim for all children to know their times tables up to 12 X 12 by the end of year 4. The curriculum ensures confidence and flexibility in maths so that children have the knowledge and skills necessary for the next phase of their learning. 

We aim to develop children who have the curiosity and courage to engage with, and construct their own, new challenges; children who value the others' contributions and can work collaboratively towards joint solutions and children who have the compassion to help and support their peers. Explanation and discussion develop children’s confidence in speaking and listening.

Maths develops children’s analytic skills and resilience. Frequent requests to explain their methods, reasoning and how they ‘know that they know’ develop meta cognitive skills. Explaining reasoning to others also helps to develop communication and presentation skills. Children develop their ability to activate prior learning, and make links between different areas of learning.

Our curriculum lead for maths is Jo Radley

 

 

 

 

 

 

"You live a new life for every language you speak. If you only know one language, you only live once." 

Czech proverb

Curriculum Intent

Through our MFL curriculum for French, we aim to inspire a positive curiosity and genuine interest in the world around them, different cultures and foreign languages. We want our children to understand the relationship between language and identity and respect and celebrate cultural diversity.

We want our children to be able to listen, speak, read and write in French so that they can communicate effectively and comprehend others.

We intend to meet all the aims of the national curriculum for all of our children and develop a life-long love of languages.

The National Curriculum for languages aims to ensure that all pupils

• Understand and respond to spoken and written language from a variety of authentic sources
• Speak with increasing confidence, fluency and spontaneity, finding ways of communicating what they want to say, including through discussion and asking questions, and continually improving the accuracy of their pronunciation and intonation
• Can write at varying length, for different purposes and audiences, using the variety of grammatical structures that they have learnt
• Discover and develop an appreciation of a range of authentic writing in the language studied.

By the end of key stage 2, pupils should be able to:

• Listen attentively to spoken language and show understanding by joining in and responding.
• Explore the patterns and sounds of language through songs and rhymes and link the spelling, sound and meaning of words.
• Engage in conversations; ask and answer questions; express opinions and respond to those of others; seek clarification and help.
• Speak in sentences, using familiar vocabulary, phrases and basic language structures.
• Develop accurate pronunciation and intonation so that others understand when they are reading aloud or using familiar words and phrases.
• Present ideas and information orally to a range of audiences.
• Read carefully and show understanding of words, phrases and simple writing.
• Appreciate stories, songs, poems and rhymes in the language.
• Broaden their vocabulary and develop their ability to understand new words that are introduced into familiar written material, including through using a dictionary.
• Write phrases from memory, and adapt these to create new sentences, to express ideas clearly.
• Describe people, places, things and actions orally and in writing.
• Understand basic grammar appropriate to the language being studied, including (where relevant): feminine, masculine and neuter forms and the conjugation of high-frequency verbs; key features and patterns of the language; how to apply these, for instance, to build sentences; and how these differ from or are similar to English.  

Curriculum Implementation

All classes will have access to a very high-quality foreign languages curriculum using the Language Angels scheme of work and resources. This will progressively develop pupil skills in foreign languages through regularly taught and well-planned weekly lessons in Key Stage 2 which will be taught by class teachers.

Language Angels forms the basis of our curriculum delivery, however it is essential that teachers are guided by formative assessment, adapting when and where necessary to meet the needs of all our learners.

Children will progressively acquire, use and apply a growing bank of vocabulary, language skills and grammatical knowledge organised around age-appropriate topics and themes - building blocks of language into more complex, fluent and authentic language.

Children will build on previous knowledge gradually as their foreign language lessons continue to recycle, revise and consolidate previously learnt language whilst building on all four language skills: listening, speaking, reading and writing. Knowledge and awareness of required and appropriate grammar concepts will be taught throughout all units at all levels of challenge. Teachers use a Progression Map and Grammar Grid to ensure all children are progressing their foreign language learning skills and are taught the appropriate grammar at the right time in their foreign language learning journey. Grammar rules and patterns will be taught by level of challenge:

• nouns and articles and 1st person singular of high frequency verbs in Early Learning units.
• Use of possessive, the concept of adjectives, use of the negative form, conjunctions/connectives and the concept of whole regular verb conjugation in Intermediate units.
• Opinions and the concept of whole high frequency irregular verb conjugation in Progressive units.

The school has a unit planner in place which will serve as an overall ‘teaching map’ outlining for all teachers within the school what each class in each year group will be taught and when it will be taught. Each class in each year group will have an overview of units to be taught during the academic year to ensure substantial progress and learning is achieved. Each teaching unit is divided into 6 lessons. Each unit contains the following:

• Clearly defined objectives and aims
• Speaking and listening tasks in every lesson 
• Reading and writing activities in all units, including extended activities to extend the more able  and native speakers
• Grammar concept which will increase in complexity as pupils move from Early Language units, through Intermediate units and into Progressive units.

Extended writing activities are provided to ensure that pupils are recalling previously learnt language and, by reusing it, will be able to recall it and use it with greater ease and accuracy. These tasks will help to link units together and show that pupils are retaining and recalling the language taught with increased fluency and ease.

Units are progressive within themselves as subsequent lessons within a unit build on the language and knowledge taught in previous lessons. As pupils progress though the lessons in a unit they will build their knowledge and develop the complexity of the language they use. We think of the progression within the 6 lessons in a unit as ‘language Lego’. We provide blocks of language knowledge and, over the course of a 6-week unit, encourage pupils to build more complex and sophisticated language structures with their blocks of language knowledge.

Early Language Units (entry level) and Core Vocabulary lessons are designed to run for approximately 30 minutes. Intermediate, Progressive and Creative Curriculum units are designed to run for approximately 45 minutes.

We use Duolingo for regular short burst practise and songs, and extracts from French literature to enrich our children's experience as well as additional experiences such as food tasting.

Impact

At St Agnes Academy, we have 3 measures of curriculum impact, all of which are essential in ensuring that our children make excellent progress, are ready for the next phase in their learning journey and are well-rounded, thoughtful and responsible individuals.

Our 3 measures of impact are:

1.    What we learn (developing our children's knowledge and understanding)
2.     Who we are (developing character, a sense of belonging and responsibility)
3.     How we behave (developing our children as self-aware, successful learners)

Our children will be confident in their ability to communicate and comprehend in French. They will be proficient in pronunciation, grammar and vocabulary to enable them to speak, listen, read and write in French.

Our children will have a passion for languages and will have developed a curiosity of different cultures, traditions and ways of life and be able to compare them to their own.

Using Language Angels as a starting point for our teaching in French, will ensure good progression and attainment and will give our children the foundations necessary for continuing study at secondary school.

Through learning a modern foreign language our children will build confidence in speaking and listening, resilience and the ability to work successfully with others through paired and group learning.

Our Modern Foreign Langauges Curriculum Lead is Caroline Cross

 

 

' Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination and life to everything.'

Plato

Curriculum Intent

The main aim of our music curriculum is to engage and inspire our children to develop a love of music that will remain with them and enhance the rest of their lives. We want our children to use music to increase their self-confidence, creativity and sense of achievement. Our music curriculum and beyond through choir, First Access, performances, singing assemblies and additional tuition aims to promote a sense of community and joy regardless of talent or background. We want all of our children to have had an opportunity to learn an instrument in the hope that they will continue with it beyond the classroom and be exposed to a wide variety of composers and musicians from different times and genres. We have designed a curriculum to ensure that children's opportunities are not 'one-offs' but can be built on and developed as in the case of Y3 First Access where all of our Y3 children learn the recorder before being offered a place at the weekly KS2 differentiated recorder club. 

Curriculum Implementation

Our weekly music lessons are taught using the Charanga units with additional yearly Composition units designed and written by our music lead to supplement Charanga. These units are based around one of the BBC Ten Pieces and ensure our children are securing skills necessary to be able to compose with confidence as well as exploring the life and works of significant composers, musicians and styles. Every year group has a performance which includes singing and playing and in Year 5 the focus is on traditional Cornish songs. 

Each unit is underpinned by a knowledge organiser which sets out the key knowledge and vocabulary to be learnt. The knowledge organiser is also used to assess learning and as a reference for the children throughout the unit. Prior learning is always revisited at the beginning of a unit to ensure first that the children are ready to move on and secondly to allow the children to make connections between what they already know and the new learning. Key vocabulary is explicitly taught at the beginning of each unit and revised throughout to ensure children can access the taught material and can communicate their own ideas and opinions accurately and confidently.

Each unit has a clear focus and musical skills have been carefully mapped to ensure year on year progression within the classroom. In addition, enrichment and extra-curricular activities have been carefully planned to ensure wider opportunities are available to our children to further develop their skills and enhance their enjoyment of music. These include: Recorder Club, tuition for guitar, violin, piano and brass entry to the County Music Festival, choir and Rock Steady as well as our weekly singing assemblies and yearly performances.

Music lessons are taught weekly in 35-45 minute lessons. Charanga documentation ensures teachers are well-prepared and have good subject knowledge prior to teaching. Each Charanga unit has 6 clearly defined steps that build on the previous week's learning with consistent opportunities throughout a unit to listen and appraise a wide variety of musical genre. Musical games then introduce and reinforce the inter-related dimensions of music, with 3 levels providing both support and challenge, before a song or piece is introduced to facilitate practise and improvisation on tuned and untuned instruments. There is opportunity after each step for student practise so that skills can be evaluated, refined and rehearsed. Teachers model active playing and performing in each lesson. During the unit teachers will use questioning and observation to assess learning and will revise and reteach where necessary before moving on. Additional support will be given to those who are unable to keep up with their peers, through either guided work, one to one instruction, additional resources or differentiated tasks. The aim always being to ensure all of our children meet age-related expectations. At the end of each unit, a performance allows the children to demonstrate their new learning and develop their performance skills.

Curriculum Impact

At St Agnes Academy, we have 3 measures of curriculum impact, all of which are essential in ensuring that our children make excellent progress, are ready for the next phase in their learning journey and are well-rounded, thoughtful and responsible individuals. Our 3 measures are:

1.     What we learn
2.     Who we are
3.     How we behave

Our curriculum is designed and implemented to ensure that our children know and remember more so that they well prepared for the next step in their learning journey. They will be able to draw on their knowledge, skills and vocabulary to be able to express themselves confidently and critically evaluate the work of others. The spiral nature of our curriculum ensures children's knowledge and skills are secure and the connections between units and year groups ensure coherence. 

The impact of our curriculum is much broader that the acquisition of knowledge and skills. Our children will grow in confidence and self-expression and form their own opinions. They will enjoy music for its own sake and recognise the value it brings to their lives. In addition, they will appreciate and celebrate cultural diversity and also the shared human connections that music brings, for example during our community choir events. Participation in music events and clubs will be a high, with no child feeling that music is 'not for them'. 

Our music curriculum and implementation encourages our children to be effective and active listeners as well as confident performers. Our children will be able to work independently and collaboratively, valuing and building on the input of others'. They will learn to accept and act on constructive criticism and view it as a way to improve and develop and be confident to express their own ideas and opinions.

 

Our music curriculum lead is Lindsay Turner 

Sarah Whormesley supports music in the school as a music specialist

"Happiness is not something ready-made. It comes from your own actions." Dalai Lama

Curriculum Intent

 

At St Agnes Academy, we believe that are well-conceived and delivered PSHE curriculum positively contributes to our pupils' social, moral, spiritual and cultural development.

Our school values of Respect, Courage, Joy, Perseverance and Kindness underpin our school ethos and PSHE curriculum. 

 

Our main aims for our children are that they:

• Can understand and regulate their feelings
• Make good choices with regards to their physical and mental wellbeing
• Understand how they can positively contribute to the world around them
• Develop and value their own identity and respect those of others
• Are able to make and maintain positive relationships
• Are prepared for the physical changes they will go through as they grow
• Be able to identify and manage risk both in real life and online
• Are able to set personal goals and understand the importance of perseverance in achieving them
• Develop personal attributes of respect, tolerance, perseverance, kindness, responsibility and courage

We want our children to be confident and active citizens who believe that they have the power to change their lives and those others for the better. Through our PSHE curriculum, school ethos, SMSC and British Values teaching, we aim to prepare our children for every step of their journey through primary education and beyond.

 

We have adopted the Jigsaw PSHE scheme of work to support our delivery of our PSHE curriculum., as its aims complement those of our school. 

 

“Jigsaw holds children at its heart, and its cohesive vision helps children understand and value how they fit into and contribute to the world. With strong emphasis on emotional literacy, building resilience and nurturing mental and physical health, Jigsaw 3-11 properly equips schools to deliver engaging and relevant PSHE within a whole-school approach. Jigsaw lessons also include mindfulness allowing children to advance their emotional awareness, concentration and focus.”

 

Curriculum Implementation

In order to meet our aims we use the Jigsaw PSHE Scheme of Work which ensures breadth and progression of knowledge, skills and vocabulary as well as providing detailed plans that build on prior knowledge.

Jigsaw is a spiral curriculum 

Jigsaw 3-11 offers a comprehensive Programme for Primary PSHE including statutory Relationships and Health Education, in a spiral, progressive and fully planned scheme of work, giving children relevant learning experiences to help them navigate their world and to develop positive relationships with themselves and others. Jigsaw consists of six half-term units of work (Puzzles), each containing six lessons (Pieces) covering each academic year.

Term 1: Being Me in My World

Term 2: Celebrating Difference (including anti-bullying)

Term 3: Dreams and Goals

Term 4: Healthy Me

Term 5: Relationships

Term 6: Changing Me 2

 

Every lesson (piece) has two Learning Intentions, one specific to Relationships and Health Education and the other designed to develop emotional literacy and social skills.

Puzzles are launched with a whole-school assembly containing an original song, with each year group studying the same unit at the same time (at their own level), building sequentially through the school year, facilitating whole-school learning themes.

Each lesson is built upon a Charter which underpins the behaviour and respect that is the basis for each lesson. The lessons then split into 6 parts, all of which should be included in every session to ensure that the learning follows the optimum progression: Connect Us, Calm Me, Open My Mind, Tell me or Show Me, Let Me Learn, Help Me Reflect.

 

In addition to the Jigsaw Scheme of Work, we also use the Christopher Winter Project to deliver our Relationships and Sex Education programme. We deliver the Christopher Winter RSE programme over 2 discrete teaching weeks as a whole school to allow us time to communicate with parents and to be able to identify and address whole school issues.

To supplement our teaching further we draw on Words and Your Heart to deliver some of the objectives from the Relationships theme. Words and Your Hear focuses on emotional literacy and supports our children to be able to clearly express their emotions and understand the positive and negative effects of our words.

Our school values of Courage, Joy, Kindness, Responsibility and Perseverance underpin all that we do. We focus on one value every half term alongside a British value and School Rule so that the children really understand the importance of each, and how they can be displayed in their own behaviour.

 

Curriculum Impact

At St Agnes Academy, we have 3 measures of curriculum impact, all of which are essential in ensuring that our children make excellent progress, are ready for the next phase in their learning journey and are well-rounded, thoughtful and responsible individuals. 

Our 3 measures of impact are:

1.    What we learn (developing our children's knowledge and understanding)
2.     Who we are (developing character, a sense of belonging and responsibility)
3.     How we behave (developing our children as self-aware, successful learners)

Our children will have the skills, knowledge and vocabulary necessary to face each next step of their lives with confidence and personal responsibility. 

Our curriculum and everyday practice has a huge impact on our children's spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. They are able to discuss and debate big questions and show respect and tolerance of different opinions and ideas. Through our foundation curriculum our children learn to understand and appreciate their Cornish heritage and the heritage of others and are consciously exposed to different cultures and faiths. Our children also understand their role within the local, national and global context and their role and responsibility in protecting and cherishing the Earth.

Through our PSHE and wider curriculum as well as our whole school ethos, our children will be able to think critically, work collaboratively and have the attributes and knowledge of self necessary to regulate their own behaviours, ensuring a positive impact on both academic and non-academic outcomes for our children.

The whole school approach to PSHE engenders a sense of belonging and community in which every individual is valued and celebrated.

Our curriculum leader for PSHE is Jess Eddiford

School Council is led by Caroline Cross

 

 

'Exercise not only changes your body, it changes your mind, your attitude and your mood.'

PE in Kernow Learning schools is all about developing physical literacy and a love of movement at primary level, with a focus on leadership skills, health and wellbeing. This puts Physical Education at the heart of our educational agenda– ensuring young people are well enough to learn and have developed a range of personal competencies that will help them in the classroom and beyond." Kernow Learning Trust is keen to address the negative stereotype of PE being all about prowess in sport and rather re-position it to enhance lifelong skills.

 

Curriculum Intent

Our PE curriculum is designed to cover all The National Curriculum requirements for PE and beyond by offering a wide variety of extra-curricular activities, high participation in sporting events and a focus on outside learning using our Forest School area and local area such as the beach to enrich our provision for physical activity. Our curriculum is designed with our drivers in mind: Compassion, Connection, Curiosity, Courage and Conservation.

Our PE curriculum is aligned closely to our PSHE curriculum on Health and Well-being and through this we promote the link between physical and mental well-being. We understand the impact that regular physical activity has on both the body and mind and to this end our curriculum aim is to ensure that physical activity becomes an integrated part of our children’s lives, now and in the future.

Our PE curriculum is also closely aligned to our Outdoor and Adventurous Activities programme, ensuring that our children experience a wide range of challenging activities on residential trips in Year 4, 5 and 6 including climbing, kayaking, coasteering, archery, abseiling, mountain biking, trail walking and raft building. Our children learn to take risks and challenge themselves and as a result grow in both physical and mental confidence.

Living in Cornwall, we place great importance on sea safety and our Year 6 children take part in Surf and Water safety days at Perranporth Beach. Year 4 and 6 children also attend regular swimming lessons at our local pool.

Our PE curriculum is also designed to ensure that there is a balance between individual, partner, small group and team activities as well as developing the role of the referee and spectator. Through this we ensure our children understand the importance of respect, fair-play, cooperation and sportsmanship. We also promote the importance of resilience and personal best.

 

Implementation

Our PE curriculum is delivered through 2 weekly lessons, extra-curricular activities, adventurous activity residentials, surf and water safety programmes and Forest Schools.

All units are designed to be revisited where previous skills are secured before moving on. Each unit also has a focus so that skills are incrementally built on as children progress through the school. There are also units that focus on health-related activities as well as on competitive sport. The range of units ensures breadth and balance between individual and team pursuits and exposure to a wide variety of activities.

Each unit is clearly planned with a coherent teaching sequence. We draw on planning from the PE resource bank and Arena Schemes of Work as well as employing a specialist Forest School teacher, Cornish Pirates and Plymouth Argyle Football Academy coaches.

Each unit is supported by a knowledge Organiser which ensures that the correct knowledge, skills and vocabulary are taught and built on from previous years. They also enable the teacher to accurately assess against age-related expectations and understand where the learning fits into the child’s learning journey through the school.

Each lesson also focuses on the impact of exercise on the body, where children are given opportunities to reflect on how they feel both physically and mentally and on the values of respect, equality, fairness, honesty, cooperation and sportsmanship. Opportunities for revision, practise, evaluating own and others’ performance and refining skills are built into every lesson.  In order to ensure fair access to all, adaptions are planned for and tasks may be differentiated to offer additional support, close learning gaps or offer additional challenge.

Impact

At St Agnes Academy, we have 3 measures of curriculum impact, all of which are essential in ensuring that our children make excellent progress, are ready for the next phase in their learning journey and are well-rounded, thoughtful and responsible individuals. Our 3 measures are:

1.     What we learn
2.     Who we are
3.     How we behave

We ensure that our curriculum has the intended impact by employing a range of assessment and teaching and learning strategies. We assess during each lesson using observations, questioning and discussion and make end of unit summative judgements based against the Knowledge Organisers. We adapt our teaching at both the planning and delivery stage to provide the scaffolding or challenge necessary for children to make excellent progress. Our School Council provide vital feedback regarding the success of our PE offer. Less-active children are invited to clubs and given extensive opportunities to become more active. We have excellent relationships with our community sports clubs and ensure children and parents are signposted to clubs, holiday camps and events happening in the community.

Our children will be able to confidently talk about the benefits of physical activity on their well-being and engage in a wide variety of physical activities. They will be able to reflect on their own and other’s performances and practise to improve and refine their practise. Our children will demonstrate the values of sportsmanship and will be able to challenge themselves and take risks. They will become lifelong participants in physical activities and reap the benefits of greater physical and mental health as well as community and friendship.

Our PE curriculum lead is Matt Howes

Our Outdoor and Adventurous Activities lead is Jen Dykwer-Newsome

 

Our Reading Leader for RWI is Sarah Thomas

At St Agnes Academy, we use Read Write Inc. phonics to teach children to word read. They are taught to recognise sounds and blend to read words before moving on to books which are matched to their phonic knowledge. Children take home the storybook they've been learning in school to consolidate their learning and a Book Bag Book to provide additional practise. They also take home a 'real' book which they have chosen for themselves to share with the adults at home. Each year group also have a Reading for Pleasure Spine which can viewed under the classes tab of the website. These are books that are read daily in order to introduce our children to a wide range of literature and authors and to enjoy!

Having completed the Read Write inc phonics programme, our children move on to Shared Reading where they focus more on the skills of comprehension as well as continuing to build their fluency. 

In Y2 and KS2 we use the Shared Reading approach to teach our children to read, with greater emphasis on teaching the skills of comprehension.

Shared Reading follows the sequence outlined below:

1. Vocabulary (learning to read and understand new vocabulary)

2. Fluency (echo reading, partner reading and independent reading)

3. Skills (a focus on either Explanation, Inference, Retrieval, Prediction, Summarising or Sequencing).

 

Our Shared Reading is organised into fiction, non-fiction and poetry blocks to complement our writing overview.

Accelerated Reader is used to promote independent reading for pleasure. Books are carefully matched to the children's word reading and vocabulary knowledge so that they are able to understand and enjoy what they read. Children take a quiz when they have finished the book, which allows teachers to monitor success and make adjustments where necessary to ensure children are matched closely to books which they can read fluently, comprehend and therefore enjoy.

In addition, opportunities for reading across the curriculum are used so children can practise and apply their reading skills. In Talk for Writing units there is always a Reading as Reader and Reading as Writer phase which gives further fluency practise and opportunities to analyse texts.

During Shared Reading, guided group work and 1:1 teaching provide opportunities to focus on target areas. Questioning and the use of a wider range of texts provides challenge for our more able.

Every term, children learn a poem off-by-heart as a class and perform it to the whole school. By the end of their time at St Agnes Academy, our children will have learnt and performed 21 poems!

 

At St Agnes Academy we teach reading and promote a love of reading in EYFS and KS1 through:

A rigorous daily approach to teaching phonics through Read Write Inc

Storybooks and Book Bag Books closely matched to the sounds children know to ensure early success

Daily story time for enjoyment and to develop Book Talk

Teaching of rhymes and oral story telling to develop language and vocabulary

Working closely with parents through reading workshops, home readers (RWI) and sharing books

 

 

 

Home Reading

Your child will bring home a black and white version of the storybook they are reading at school. This is to help them build speed, accuracy and fluency. They will also bring home a Book Bag Book which is linked to the storybook. Children need to reread texts often in order to become fluent readers who can comprehend and enjoy what they read. Your child will also bring home a 'Sharing Book' for you to read to your child so that they are also enjoying high quality children's books. 

Accelerated Reader

Accelerated Reader is used in our school from Y2-Y6 to ensure that children are reading books that they can both decode and understand. The programme allows teachers to have informed 'reading conversations' with children so that they can be guided to books that are at the correct level for them and that they enjoy. 

The programme has over 31,000 books for children to quiz on so they are able to choose books from home or from the library as well as our stock in school. This allows children to make real choices as readers and encourages them to read for pleasure. 

Children take a STAR test at the beginning of each half term to help teachers place them on an appropriate level. The children then choose and read their book and take an online quiz when they have finished it. The programme tracks the children's progress against a target which helps to motivate them and to help teachers monitor reading within the class.

For further information for parents please click on the PDF below.

To find out whether a book is part of the programme please go to the Accelerated Bookfinder link.

Home Connect allows you to track your child's reading progress at home. Just click on the link below and log in using the details on the letter your child brought home from school.

 

Accelerated Reader Bookfinder

The online book searching tool Accelerated Reader BookFinder can be used to find out the Book Level of your chosen book. This means that you can check the reading level of books you have at home or select from the library. It is important that children read books that are closely matched to their reading level to ensure success.

Reading in KS2

The ability to read well and to enjoy reading is one of the greatest gifts we can give our children. 

Research shows that reading for pleasure has a dramatic impact on both educational outcomes and well-being. So reading with your child really is an investment in their future!

At St Agnes Academy we teach reading and promote a love of reading through the following:

• High quality phonics through Read Write inc
• Fluency and expression taught through whole class Shared Reading
• Comprehension taught through VIPERS (Vocabulary, Inference, Prediction, Explaining, Retrieval and Summarising and Sequencing)
• Independent reading through Accelerated Reader
• Reading for Pleasure through enticing book areas, book events, regular opportunities for own reading and access to a wide variety of high quality fiction, non-fiction and magazines.

Each class also has a class reader which is read daily for the sheer love of it! Please ask your child about their class stories.

Curriculum Intent

At St Agnes Academy we believe that a high-quality English curriculum is essential in enabling our children to participate fully as a member of society. We aim to foster a lifelong love of language by ensuring our curriculum draws on our rich and varied literacy heritage and equips our children with a strong command of the spoken and written word. We want our children to be able to confidently communicate their ideas and emotions and through listening and reading allow others to communicate with them.

We want our children to be able to read easily, fluently and with understanding and to develop the habit of reading widely and often. We aim to widen their vocabulary and linguistic conventions so that they are able to confidently and clearly express themselves and access the spoken and written language of others'. Through presentations, debate, discussion and other speaking and listening activities we aim to develop our children's articulacy, confidence and communication skills.

We want our children to draw upon a rich exposure to quality literature so that they are able to 'read as a writer' and 'write as a reader'.

Our curriculum is designed to be ambitious and enjoyable exposing our children to a range of plot patterns, text types, composition foci and genres, as well as introducing them to a range of ideas, themes and contexts so that they also develop culturally, emotionally, socially and spiritually.  

 

Curriculum Implementation

Our English curriculum is clearly designed and organised to ensure coherence and progression within and between year groups and key stages so that our children are always prepared for the next step in their learning journey.

 

Curriculum Impact

At St Agnes Academy, we have 3 measures of curriculum impact, all of which are essential in ensuring that our children make excellent progress, are ready for the next phase in their learning journey and are well-rounded, thoughtful and responsible individuals. 

Our 3 measures of impact are:

1.    What we learn (developing our children's knowledge and understanding)
2.     Who we are (developing character, a sense of belonging and responsibility)
3.     How we behave (developing our children as self-aware, successful learners)

Our children will be confident and enthusiastic readers and writers, who are able to communicate their ideas clearly through both spoken and written language. They will use the correct terminology when discussing writer's techniques and be able to draw on those techniques when composing their own texts. Our children will be secure in both word reading and comprehension and in the skills of both transcription and composition. They will have secured the knowledge and skills of each year group so that they are prepared for the next step of their learning journey.

Through a study of high-quality and rich stimuli including poetry, film, music, stories, art and non-fiction texts our children will develop their cultural, emotional, spiritual, social and intellectual understanding. They will be able to see things from differing view points and build tolerance and empathy as well as clarifying their own ideas and opinions.

They will be resilient learners who can evaluate, redraft and improve and accept and act on constructive criticism. They will be able to clearly and confidently articulate their feelings and opinions with respect for others and to use reasoned argument to help deal with conflict.

Through our robust and rich English curriculum our children will be inspired, skilled and confident and will have a lifelong love of the English language as well as the foundations necessary for the next stage of their learning journey.

 

'We may have different religions, different languages, different coloured skin but we all belong to one human race.'  Kofi Annan

Curriculum Intent

The principle aim of religious education is to explore what people believe and what difference this makes to how they live, so that pupils can gain knowledge, understanding and skills needed to handle questions raised by religion and belief, reflecting on their own ideas and ways of living.

The principle aim is sub-divided into 3 main aims:

1. Make sense of a range of religious and non-religious beliefs
2. Understand the impact and significance of religious and non-religious beliefs
3. Make connections between religious and non-religious beliefs, concepts, practices and ideas studied

Our RE curriculum sits within a larger framework of teaching including PSHE, British Values and SMSC. Our RE curriculum aims to provide children with the knowledge necessary to understand different religions and explore in depth about the people of a religion and how they interpret and live out the teachings of their religion in their everyday lives. To this end our curriculum ensures that children do not stereotype people of different religions but see all people as individuals.

Our RE curriculum also develops our children’s sense of self, belonging and history through the Curriculum Kernewek units and encourages our children to explore the big questions about life through thematic units.

Curriculum Implementation

All children have an entitlement to religious education. It is a necessary part of a broad and balanced curriculum and is compulsory for all children in state-funded schools in England.  RE is determined locally and a locally agreed syllabus is a statutory syllabus for RE adopted by the local authority. Our agreed syllabus is The Cornwall Agreed Syllabus 2020-2025

The Cornwall Agreed Syllabus is a spiral curriculum so that children revisit religions throughout their education to build on prior knowledge and understanding. Christians are studied in every year group, Jews in Year 1, 3 and 5, Muslims in Year 2, 3 and 5 and Hindus in Year 4 and 6. Thematic units exploring the big questions of faith, community and self are taught in EYFS, Year 1, 4 and 6. In addition there are 3 Curriculum Kernewek units taught in Year 2, 3 and 5. These units give our children the opportunity to develop and apply knowledge and understanding of the religious, spiritual and cultural character of Cornwall.

The curriculum is designed around a Key Question approach and each lesson is underpinned by the 3 core elements: Making sense of beliefs, Understanding the impact, and Making connections.

Each unit is supported by a planning guide, exemplifying the knowledge, skills, concepts to be taught as well as identifying key questions and offering opportunities and criteria for both ongoing and end of unit assessment.

Each unit is also underpinned by a Knowledge Organiser which outlines the key knowledge and vocabulary. A quiz is taken at the beginning of each unit to ascertain starting points and identify any misconceptions. Key vocabulary is explicitly taught so that children can access and understand the taught material, and also clearly and confidently communicate their own ideas.

In all lessons there will opportunities for discussion and time to allow the children to reflect on their own lives. Throughout a unit there will be a balance between discussion, written accounts and creative responses such as drama, dance, art and poetry as well as between opportunities for individual and group work.

Assessment questions are planned for each unit covering each of 3 core elements outlined above. These questions allow teachers to track the progress and attainment of their children and to make timely and effective interventions when necessary, either to support or challenge further.

Unit outcome overviews provided in Cornwall Agreed Syllabus are used to by teachers to make summative judgements related to end of phase outcomes.

Curriculum Impact

Our children will have a secure knowledge of the different religions studied and be able to confidently communicate the different ways that beliefs are put in to practise by individuals within their everyday lives, communities and the wider world.

Our children will be able to evaluate, reflect upon and make connections between the beliefs and practises studied. They will be able to confidently and respectfully challenge the ideas studied and be comfortable in having their own ideas and thinking challenged by the ideas studied.

Our children will be able to ask and explore big questions about faith, life, themselves, and others. They will exhibit tolerance and respect for different ideas and traditions and be able to celebrate diversity and difference.

Our children will be curious about the world they live in, be compassionate towards others and have the courage to stand up for their ideas and beliefs and those of others. They will appreciate the connections between different people, beliefs, ways of life and cultures and will understand the importance of conservation in protecting the beauty and diversity of the world in which we all live.

Our RE curriculum lead is Karen Brookes

 

 

"Science knows no country, because knowledge belongs to humanity and is the torch which illuminates the world."

Louis Pasteur

Curriculum Intent

Our vision for science at St Agnes Academy focuses on the core foundation of curiosity for the world around us. We aim to build upon all pupils’ natural inquisitiveness, instilling a life-long love of science and a high regard for its purpose in the world.

We intend to achieve this by providing all pupils with a carefully designed coherent curriculum, from their first to final year, aimed at developing the knowledge, scientific skills, scientific enquiry, vocabulary and cultural capital that will help them to succeed in future learning and in life.

We believe our school values and drivers, which underpin our whole school curriculum, will provide all pupils, regardless of background, the learning behaviours and key skills needed to access the full potential of our science curriculum and help continue to excite and inspire them.

At St Agnes Academy, we intend to implement the national curriculum for science to ensure that all pupils:

 

•        develop scientific knowledge and conceptual understanding through the specific disciplines of biology, chemistry and physics
•        develop understanding of the nature, processes and methods of science through different types of science enquiries that help them to answer scientific questions about the world around them
•        are equipped with the scientific knowledge required to understand the uses and implications of science, today and for the future

(National Curriculum 2014)

Curriculum Implementation

Our school curriculum is developed from the National Curriculum 2014 programmes of study for Key Stage 1, 2 and the EYFS Framework in the Foundation Stage.

Children in the Foundation Stage work towards achieving the Early Learning Goals in ‘understanding the world’. Teachers plan specific topics and build upon and develop children’s own interests and curiosity about the world they live in. Science in Early Years is taught alongside other areas of learning.

In Years 1 to 6, teachers plan lessons that are based on the topic areas and objectives set out in the National Curriculum. Opportunities for working scientifically are identified and planned for to ensure a progression of skills implemented through both practical science and key questioning. Knowledge Organisers are used to ensure that children are building on previous knowledge when revisiting topics as well as setting out the fundamental knowledge and vocabulary for the unit ahead. 

At the beginning of each unit, children complete a quiz in order for the teacher to elicit starting points and identify misconceptions. The same quiz is revisited at the end of the unit to demonstrate progress and to identify and address any gaps in learning. Working Scientifically assessment investigations have been mapped out across the school to ensure that our children are confident in this area and to allow our teachers to identify where support or challenge is needed.

We will also ensure that children have access to a wide range of educational experiences outside of school through trips and links with outside agencies and other activities such as a our yearly Science Fayre. We also draw on our outdoor space to develop our children’s ability to work scientifically and to inspire wonder, respect and connection to our natural environment.

To enable children to gain the investigative skills that develop their ability to work scientifically, our science curriculum will apply and develop key literacy, mathematical and computing skills. By promoting our school values (responsibility, perseverance, joy, courage and kindness) during the teaching of science, we will help children develop the appropriate learning behaviours to develop these key skills. Our drivers (Courage, Compassion, Conservation, Connections and Curiosity) will further embed these learning behaviours and enable children to use them in context throughout life, helping to influence their individuality and enable them to become responsible citizens - supporting our vision to excite and inspire.

All children will learn about significant individuals who have played an important role in scientific discoveries, making links to our wider curriculum, school values and drivers; helping to raise their aspirations. They will have rich experiences both in and out of school, playing active roles in local and global projects that will provide them with a vast insight into various future careers accessible through science and giving them life skills to achieve their best.

Curriculum Impact

At St Agnes Academy, we have 3 measures of curriculum impact, all of which are essential in ensuring that our children make excellent progress, are ready for the next phase in their learning journey and are well-rounded, thoughtful and responsible individuals. Our 3 measures are:

1.     What we learn
2.     Who we are
3.     How we behave

 The successful implementation of our science curriculum will see all pupils enjoying science in school. Our children will know and remember more and will be confident in the methods, processes and uses of science. They will be able to successfully communicate their scientific knowledge, understanding and ideas using precise vocabulary and will be ready for the next stage of their learning journey. On transition to secondary education, all children will have the confidence to work with increasing independence in science; drawing upon all the working scientifically skills and knowledge they have gained through their primary education. By teaching science through predominately practical-based activities, children will experience the scientific phenomena for themselves and use this experience to raise their own questions, develop their problem solving skills and consequently maintain curiosity.

Our children will be curious about the world around them and understand their responsibility for it. They will understand how science has the power to change things for the better and its role in helping to solve the current environmental issues. Our children will critical thinkers who enjoy the challenge of posing and answering questions. They will be able to draw on a wide range of skills in maths, computing and English to help solve problems and communicate their thinking. Through collaborative work they will learn to be an active listener and participant and to show respect for others' ideas. They will have the resilience to be challenged and the confidence and personal skills to challenge others respectfully. Through scientific enquiry and investigation our children will develop the tenacity to keep going and the flexibility to try  different ways of working.

Our children will think and act like scientists!

Our science curriculum leader is Emma Shipton

Writing

At St Agnes Academy, we have designed our writing curriculum around the two core strands of transcription and composition and have implemented robust systems and comprehensive overviews to ensure that learning is progressive and cumulative.

Our writing curriculum ensures that both substantive and disciplinary knowledge are developed and that our children know the distinctive vocabulary and phrasing that underpins different text-types and subjects.

 

Transcription

To teach spelling across the school we use:

• Read Write Inc phonics
• No Nonsense Spelling
• Termly English overviews which identify the progression in spelling for each year group

To teach handwriting across the school we follow the progression outlined in our Handwriting policy. 

• Print format using Read Write Inc formation 'patter' in EYFS and Year 1
• Pre-cursive for those ready in Autumn Term of Year 2
• Continuous cursive in Summer Term of Year 2
• Continuous cursive is then embedded in Year 3 and 4 through daily lessons and application

 

Composition

At St Agnes Academy, we use the Talk for Writing (TfW) approach to teach our children to become independent, confident and creative writers. Talk for Writing is impactful because is based on how children learn and is rooted in research and best practice. Talk for Writing moves children systematically and supportively from being a dependent writer to an independent one through a carefully structured 3-part process.

1. The Imitation Stage (learning and analysing a model text)

2. The Innovation Stage (writing a new text based on the model text)

3. The Independent Application Stage (applying the skills and techniques learnt to produce an independent version)

The strategies that teachers explicitly teach through the Talk for Writing process are:

1. Modelling
2. Selecting, judging and applying linguistic devices and words for effect.
3. Demonstrating
4. Evaluating
5. Memorising
6. Instructing
7. Recall / revising
8. Innovating – manipulating what they know to create something new.

 

Talk for Writing

The Talk for Writing approach is driven by formative assessment in the form of a baseline 'cold task' which enables teachers to identify teaching foci as well as responsive feedback throughout the whole process which informs both the teaching content and strategy e.g. modelling or guided work.

Each year group has approximately 4 narrative units and 4 non-fiction units. In addition, each year group will have regular 'free' writing sessions as well as 3 units of poetry.

The sequence is punctuated with regularly opportunities for short-burst writing and an emphasis is placed on widening vocabulary.

During each fiction unit, the children will learn:

• How the story is structured / organised (plot pattern)
• How to write effectively focusing on an element of composition e.g. setting, action, suspense etc. (writerly toolkit)
• A way to innovate (e.g. substitution, addition, translation, change of view point and/or genre).

During each non-fiction unit, the children will learn:

• How the text is structured/organised
• How to write effectively focusing on the linguistic and grammatical devices the text type demands
• How to write accurately and informatively using a given content
• A way to innovate (e.g. substitution or addition)

Each unit is underpinned by a medium term plan which details the progression in grammar, punctuation, spelling and handwriting as well as additional sentence structures and language features. These can be viewed at the bottom of this page.

Spoken Language

Opportunities for speaking and listening activities are planned for in our writing overviews so that they match the text genre e.g. debate during a unit on discussion texts. Other opportunities are planned for across the curriculum in our Medium Term Planning including performance and presentation opportunities in class assemblies and shows. 

 

For additional information regarding Talk for Writing please click on the following link.

Talk for Writing Sequence