At Parkgate, our curriculum is fully inclusive, igniting curiosity and a love of learning.  At the heart of the design is our curriculum vision and key concepts. We adopt a knowledge and skills-based curriculum.

At Parkgate, we follow the programmes of study from the National Curriculum framework for KS1 and KS2, and the statutory framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage. In many subject areas, we have also utilised Kapow to aid us in ensuring our curriculum is carefully sequenced, cohesive with a clear rationale created by specialists with guidance and additional CPD opportunities for our own subject leaders. Our curriculum is ambitious and enhanced by enrichment opportunities and memorable moments that excite and encourage life-long learners. 

Underpinning these frameworks, each subject has a curriculum overview that sets out the units of study for each year group. You can find these in the subject information section.

As core subjects of the National Curriculum, all pupils take part in daily maths and English lessons. Our curriculum is ‘Rooted in Reading’ with high-quality and challenging texts at the heart. All of our English lessons are driven around this book-based approach. The foundation subjects: Science, Geography, History, Art, Design and Technology, Computing, Music, MFL, RE. PSHE and PE are taught rigorously so that they remain faithful to their discipline.

Foundation subjects are planned by teachers using the lesson sequences of Kapow.  These have been carefully mapped out to the objectives and aims from the National Curriculum to ensure curriculum coverage. Teachers plan the knowledge and skills that will be taught so that the content of study not only forms a coherent sequence, but also includes adaptations to meet the diverse cultural needs of the learners at Parkgate. In subjects such as DT and art, skills progression grids have been developed to underpin lesson sequences. In EYFS and in Key Stage 1, the class teachers are responsible for delivering high quality lessons through half-term themes. In Key Stage 2, teachers become subject specialists, similar to a secondary school, where children move around to subject specific learning spaces.

Each science, history and geography unit has a corresponding knowledge organiser. These set out the key knowledge and vocabulary that the children need to learn. The knowledge organisers are used as a tool for retrieval practice and to help children to remember key facts, information and vocabulary. You can see examples of these in the subject information section. 

Across the curriculum, meaningful links are made to ensure that our curriculum is progressive. Links are mapped out that ensure children make connections between concepts and have the opportunity to retrieve previous learning. Our lessons are underpinned by both our school values, British values and RRS.