At St Kew Academy, we have developed our own curriculum, with a book stimulus that launches children into learning through exploration and discovery, learning through enquiry and developing through experience.  The curriculum has been developed for pupils to follow with their specific learning needs in mind and we work together to nurture and challenge each individual child through our tailored provision. Children take responsibility for their learning and behaviour, developing independence and questioning and decision-making skills: We have high expectations of pupils’ behaviour for learning and regularly celebrate achievement, collaboration and effort. Our enriching curriculum provides a broad range of inspirational learning experiences both inside and outside the classroom. We engage children in their learning through interesting and relevant topics, reinforcing the skills necessary to develop their personal character, resilience and sense of community.

We offer a broad curriculum which is comprehensive and has a clear process of learning with specific learning goals for every National Curriculum subject; for personal learning and for learning through the outdoors. The demands of the 21st century mean that our pupils will need to be alert to the new technologies and possibilities that these will create, and be able to swiftly adapt to change. St Kew Academy aims to ensure that we have created a curriculum which prepares children for the future through:

• Discovering how they can become an effective learner who can go on to realise his or her ambitions.
• Learning the essential knowledge, skills and understanding of the broad range of National Curriculum subjects.
• Developing the personal qualities they need to be good citizens in an ever-changing world.
• Engaging with their learning so that they remain committed to learning throughout their school careers and beyond.
• Ensuring pupils are independently minded and confident citizens of the future who can meet these challenges of the future.

Parents can have total confidence that the needs of every child, as they grow and develop, can be catered for throughout their years in education with us at St Kew Academy. 

 

The curriculum at St Kew starts from a high quality thematic approach that places children’s literature at its core with children exploring texts by unique and significant authors as they move through school. Our vibrant and rich curriculum is designed so that the subject specific skills are scaffolded within a cross-curricular theme or context each term. In order to ensure that progression and balance is maintained, the programmes of study are then developed into medium term plans which clearly highlight the learning objectives, assessment opportunities, differentiated tasks as well as links to other subjects. Teachers translate these plans into smaller units where the specific needs of the learners are addressed. As members of the school community, children work collaboratively and are encouraged to take on roles and responsibilities in the classroom and across the school. They participate in a wide range of school and community events and activities which supports their all-round development and provides them with opportunity to model our school values.

The Kernow Learning definition of learning helps to frame our overall approach: Learning is like overlapping waves: A gradual ebbing and flowing of the frequencies of alternative ways of thinking, with new approaches being added and old ones being eliminated as well. New rules / strategies / theories and ways of thinking wash through our minds like waves sometimes obliterating what was there before, sometimes pushing suddenly forward in great surges.

Throughout the year St Kew uses rigorous triangulated monitoring to evaluate the impact of the curriculum design. We monitor individual subjects where learning is reviewed through children’s outcomes in the classroom. This learning is measured through careful analysis of application of skills across the curriculum; showing how the acquisition of knowledge is enhanced dramatically by expectations to evidence quality thinking and demonstrate individual understanding. St Kew Academy are rightly proud of their end of Key Stage results which are achieved through highly effective quality teaching and learning. 

Assessment is an integral part of planning and teaching and learning. Our learning culture is built on assessment for learning and the belief of the vital importance of questioning when providing feedback. A range of assessment is used to check children’s progress through the school.

We also use pupil conferencing to identify if children are clearly able to articulate what they have learnt previously, what they would like to find out and the new learning that has taken place.  Our children tell us things like:

 

“It’s good to have work that is a little bit hard”

“My school is good at teaching us maths”

“The teachers help you to learn new things. Challenges help you learn – it helps your brain”

“I like school – I like learning because it makes my brain bigger”

 

In addition to this, we reflect on parental feedback through our questionnaires and termly ‘Tea with Miss’ sessions. The annual questionnaire evidences that Parents and Carers are very happy with Curriculum provision:

100% of parents feel their child is making progress at eth school and that the school meets their child’s particular needs.

100% of parents feel that the school helps their child to develop skills in reading writing and maths. “My daughter loves the school and enjoys the learning in her classroom” “As a family we think that St Kew is a fabulous welcoming and nurturing environment for our children to be a part of” “Learning is a fun experience for them each day”

 

We believe our curriculum prepares our children well for their secondary education and has inspired them to discover and learn more about the world around them and in so doing develop the cultural capital they need to succeed in life. This capital is introduced and supported through the wide range of experiences and opportunities we provide. Our inclusive culture and ethos is built on respect and consideration of all others and with a predominantly White/British context we promote the rich diversity of Britain. This is a school that values the voice of all children and really does listen to their views. We encourage our children to actively take part in their local community and help them begin to understand the importance of being a good UK and global citizen. Performing in music, drama and sport activities are highly valued as part of the broader curriculum to enrich the knowledge and skills taught in subject lessons.

 

Outdoor Learning

All children have a right to experience and benefit from the unique opportunities associated with being outdoors. The outdoors provides space and freedom for a type of learning that is difficult to replicate indoors. We believe it is important for children to use the outdoor environment as a context for learning throughout the year. We are privileged to have access to extensive grounds at St Kew. Research shows that, when learning in the outdoors, children will:

•        Attain higher levels of knowledge and skills.
•        Improve their physical health and increase their motor abilities.
•        Socialise and interact in new and different ways with both peers and adults.
•        Show improved attention and enhanced self-awareness, self-esteem and mental health.
•        Change their environmental behaviours, values and attitudes. 

All children have lessons outside of the classroom throughout the week.

We are currently working with the Eden Project to improve our Outdoor Learning environments.

 

The School Council

• To act as a voice for all children in the school
• To benefit the school
• To benefit all pupils
• To contribute to decisions within the school
• To promote democracy

Each Year group has 2 representatives on the School Council who have been voted for by their peers. Please see below for our current School Council Members.

 

Projects that the School Council are currently working on:

* Choosing charities to support through fund raising events this academic year.

* Recycling initiatives in line with the Trust Charter

* Ensuring all people have access to life's basics -  we know how lucky we are!

Please click here to view the Equalities Statement, Accessibility Plan, Racial Equality Policy and the Equality and Diversity Policy.  Please also refer to the Everyone's Included pages of the website where you can find an information report detailing how our school identifies, assesses, and makes provision for children with Special Educational Needs and disabilities.

If you would like to find out more information about the curriculum at St Kew Academy please contact the school office.