Curriculum

Welcome to our Curriculum Page.

In this section of our website, you will find our curriculum Intent, Implementation and Impact for all pupils at our school.  As well as showing our curriculum manuals for each subject, which shows how we implement the curriculum, both vertically and horizontally, this page should provide a robust guide to all teachers, teaching assistants, pupils, parents, governors, peer reviewers and inspectors on what we do not only every day, but every term and indeed, every year.

Our teachers work hard to ensure the curriculum is as stimulating and exciting as possible, so that the children enjoy learning and are inspired to become lifelong learners. We have many links with the local area as we are lucky enough to have a wealth of resources right on our doorstep and we therefore plan to continue taking the children on as many trips out of school as possible, to excite and interest them in their learning and to create a real life context to learning.

Our aim is to deliver the school curriculum in both a discrete and cross-curricular way. Within each ‘topic’, maximum opportunity will be taken to integrate cross-curricular links, with English, Maths and Science at the core. Our curriculum has been designed carefully so that the learning intent and implementation is strategically sequenced ensuring that pupils can experience a deeper level of knowledge and experience. The school uses Read, Write Inc (RWI) across the school to teach Phonics. There are a variety of reading schemes in use across EYFS, KS1 and KS2 to provide diverse reading opportunities for the children, as well as providing fidelity to our RWI phonics scheme. These are:

• Read, Write Inc
• Dandelion Readers
• Oxford Reading Tree
• Pearson.

Hawthorn Tree School embraces children as individuals. By recognising and valuing children’s particular strengths and talents, we seek to encourage their full potential. We work hard to celebrate all successes, whenever and wherever they occur, no matter how big or small. Children are encouraged to become well-rounded and sociable. It is important to us that our children believe in themselves and are both confident and resilient. We draw upon our well-established local and school community, to enrich the curriculum and promote mutual respect and a strong moral ethos in every child.

Intent

Our school values of resilience, respect, diversity, compassion and innovation are the drivers for our curriculum. At Hawthorn, our curriculum is intended to serve the needs of our children and community and ensure our children are able to reach their full potential socially, emotionally and educationally. We aim for our motto, 'Where everybody is somebody' to permeate through the school.

Our school sits within a geographical area ranked within the 30% most deprived areas of the UK. 33% of our children have access to pupil premium, 30% have English as an additional language, 16% have Special Educational Needs or Disabilities, including 3.2% have an EHCP. 11% of our children receive support from either; counselling, mentoring, social care, or well-being. These figures fluctuate over the years. Therefore, our curriculum is tailored to meet the varied needs of our children; a personalised approach. We respect and value the diverse nature of our school and the society in which we live. We have a superbly caring, dedicated and committed team to plan, deliver and assess our curriculum whilst ensuring the well-being of our children and staff.

We desire our children to believe in themselves, show compassion and respect for others and each other, whilst thriving on innovation and a real thirst for learning. We ensure that our children have high aspirations on their journey through primary school and into the future. We want our children to develop resilience through a curriculum which embeds knowledge, skills and generates connections with the areas of study, at school, in their local area, nationally and in the world; guaranteeing our children develop a greater cultural capital.

Implementation

Hawthorn Tree School embraces children as individuals. By recognising and valuing children’s particular strengths and talents, we seek to nurture their full potential. We work hard to celebrate all successes, whenever and wherever they occur, no matter how big or small. Children encouraged to become well-rounded, tolerant, compassionate and sociable individuals. It is important to us that our children believe in themselves and are both confident and resilient. We draw upon our well-established local and school community, to enrich the curriculum and promote mutual respect and a strong moral ethos in every child.

Our teachers work hard to ensure the curriculum is as stimulating, innovative and exciting as possible, so that the children enjoy learning and are inspired to become lifelong learners. We have many links with the local area as we are lucky enough to have a wealth of resources right on our doorstep and we therefore plan to continue taking the children on as many trips out of school as possible, themed days and visitors to school, to excite and inspire them to be innovative and to create a real-life context to learning.

Our broad and balanced curriculum has been designed by leaders and teachers. The curriculum ensures progression in each subject and this means when a child moves to the next year group, they are building on their previous knowledge and skills. Its intentions are to ensure there are no gaps in learning. This is the vertical progression of our curriculum. Whilst this is pivotal, it is important that the children make relevant connections between the subjects, this is the horizontal curriculum and this enables the curriculum to inspire curiosity, be innovative, embrace challenge and interest whilst making connections with the diverse world in which they live.

Our aim is to deliver the school curriculum in both a subject discrete and cross-curricular way. Within each ‘topic’, maximum opportunity will be taken to integrate cross-curricular links, with English, Maths and Science at the core. Our curriculum has been designed carefully so that the learning intent and implementation are strategically sequenced ensuring that pupils can experience a deeper level of knowledge and experience.

Vocabulary is taught, explained and revised in order to ensure our children have an enriched understanding of language. This enables them to develop their knowledge and access to new knowledge whatever their ability. The approaches to teaching vocabulary and spaced learning are influenced by educational research. In order to enhance learning further and develop a greater cultural capital through offering significant learning experiences such as visits, residentials, and specialist visitors to the school which complement, embed and extend learning. Our curriculum has been planned carefully to incorporate kinaesthetic experiences which provide pupils with memorable learning and innovative experiences.

Formative assessment is intrinsic to the planning and teaching of effective lessons as part of assessment for learning, including the use of spaced learning approaches. We ‘summatively’ assess our children three times a year and track their progress. Gaps in learning are identified and provision is put in place, monitored and reassessed frequently until children have become secure in the areas identified.

Impact

Our aim is to ensure children are resilient and innovative learners, they have an opportunity to develop their talents and interests as well as mastering core skills. Our children are proud of their outcomes and have a strong sense of self-worth. Through compassion and respect they have a good understanding of the diverse world in which we live and understand that they are advocates for change. They are well-prepared for the next stage of their education and have strong aspirations for the future.

We aim for an increased number of our children to be at least in line with National Standards at the expected or greater standard each year. In 2023 we achieved 64% Reading, Writing and Maths combined at Key Stage 2. This was above the outcomes reached nationally and locally (National combined 59% and Local Authority combined 56%).

Year on year, our intention is to ensure all children leave our school knowing 'Everybody is Somebody' and that each child has every opportunity to reach their full potential.

This is our promise to our children, our community, ‘Where everybody is somebody’.

Please click on the subjects below to see each subject's intent and the progression of skills and knowledge across the year groups and key stages.

To find out more about our curriculum, please speak to your child's class teacher or contact the office.