Developing independent, confident young people

The aim of James Knott Primary is to provide opportunities for children to develop into independent and confident young people who know how to make a positive contribution to their community and the wider society.  Developing children’s moral, spiritual, social and cultural understanding is woven into school life; everyone is encouraged to ‘Let their Light shine’.

Curriculum Intent

At James Knott we believe that childhood should be a happy, investigative and enquiring time where there are no limits to curiosity and there is a thirst for new experiences and knowledge.

A passion for reading and a love of books is a key part of our educational provision at James Knott. The progressive development and eventual mastery of reading skills is a key priority across the whole school which begins in nursery. Our philosophy is for all children to find pleasure in reading and become life-long readers, developing the habit of quiet reading and the opportunity to listen to stories being read aloud by adults every day. We believe that every teacher should be an advocate for reading and devote time to training staff so they are equipped to support children’s enjoyment of reading as well as skilfully deliver daily storytime.

High expectations in speech, language and communication strengthen the children’s ability to learn at a deeper level, allowing them to articulate their learning; demonstrating quality thinking and application of skills and knowledge.

We recognise that mathematics is essential to everyday life, critical to science, technology and engineering, and necessary for financial literacy and most forms of employment. We are committed to ensuring that children are able to recognise the importance of Maths in the wider world and that they are also able to use their mathematical skills and knowledge confidently in a range of different contexts.

We have a clear ambition for every pupil.  Our curriculum is designed to: recognise and build upon children’s prior learning, provide first hand learning experiences, allowing the children to develop interpersonal skills, build resilience and become creative, critical thinkers. In addition, imaginative learning projects deepens learning and encourages our children to question, persevere, take risks and ‘let their light shine.’

The curriculum in Key 1 and Key Stage 2 is designed around a series of questions. These questions deliver an enquiry based curriculum using Recall, Research and Reasoning questions. These are closely linked to the powerful knowledge and answer subject based questions to gain disciplinary knowledge of how a subject works. Children are encouraged to think as a ‘geographer’, ‘scientist’ etc.

Evidence Enquiry Books are used to record key moments in an Enquiry and enable children to look back and remember more.

Enquiry Overview Sheets are used in the children’s books and displayed to outline the learning for each enquiry. Children can use these to assess what they may already know, plan what they will be learning and remember more once an enquiry is completed. They will also make links across subjects for children and staff.

The curriculum we use and the teaching strategies employed must ensure children learn more and remember more. We use Quick 5 and memory strategies to help with this. The use of quizzes, knowledge mats and end point documents also support teachers with the assessment of subjects across the curriculum.

Homework grids are closely linked to the enquiry questions and outline a range of activities across a range of subjects.

We believe that it is vital to educate our pupils both academically and holistically. The social and emotional development of our pupils is embedded throughout the entire school’s curriculum and culture. We use Thrive Principles to strengthen this. We explore the importance of values whilst respecting differences and believe in empowering our pupils to look after their own health and wellbeing. We meet the local circumstances of our school by adapting our PSHE curriculum where necessary, for example, we may use our local environment as the starting point for aspects of our work. We celebrate children’s individuality and creative talents and gifts.

We value the strength of our local community and encourage our children to make a positive contribution by being active, caring and respectful members with an understanding of their role within it. The James Knott mini police force is one example of this.  Our curriculum aims to develop citizenship, leadership and team building skills, confidence and self-awareness. We celebrate the cultural heritage of the area and strive to raise children’s aspirations, broadening horizons and demonstrating possibilities for their future lives.

Building knowledge and understanding

The James Knott Primary curriculum is designed around well-crafted enquiry questions, within which our children build knowledge, understanding and skills systematically and cumulatively. Subjects are carefully considered for inclusion within each enquiry to ensure relevance and coherence. Our curriculum provides children with memorable experiences from diverse and rich opportunities, allowing everyone to learn from a knowledge-rich approach. The children’s own communities, their heritage and traditions are frequently used as a starting point for engaging interest. The curriculum is intended to raise aspirations, engender a sense of personal pride in achievement, and provide a purpose and relevance for learning.

The curriculum design ensures that the needs of individual and small groups of children can be met within the environment of quality first teaching, supported by targeted, proven interventions where appropriate. As a result, positive impact is seen on pupil outcomes.

Skills for success

Our curriculum has a focus on skills and knowledge, direct focused teaching and child-led exploration, literacy and numeracy and a broad and balanced curriculum. Teaching through enquiry allows children to make connections between subjects and learning.

Developing a love of reading lies at the heart of our curriculum. It is our ambition that every child can read by the end of Year 2. In key stage 1 we use use Read Write Inc. to support the delivery of phonics. Listening to stories and choosing books for interest and pleasure encourages our children to start a lifelong interest in reading. You can find out more about reading for pleasure in our dedicated Reading Corner!

Musical opportunities are extensive; all children in Key Stage 2 have the opportunity to learn to play a musical instrument individually, as part of a small ensemble and as a whole class.

James Knott Primary promotes physical health and wellbeing.  A range of sporting events gives children opportunities to access a wide variety of sports after school hours and during lunch times.

Our riverside location and living near to the coast makes it important for all of our children to understand the Water Safety Code. This is taught through our PSHE, PE and enquiry curriculum. Our aim is that by the time the children leave James Knott they are able to swim, know how to get out of trouble if they fall into water, know the dangers of water and understand how to stay safe when playing in and around it.

More information

Please use the links in the drop down menu below to access further information about our curriculum. Alternatively, if you have any specific questions about your child’s learning in a particular subject area, contact the school office on 01670 813219 and a member of staff will be happy to assist you.