Curriculum Overview

A KNOWLEDGE RICH CURRICULUM

At The Kingfisher School, we have developed and designed our curriculum to meet the needs of our pupils.

We teach each subject discretely over a block of weeks to maintain the integrity of the subject and allow pupils and teachers to immerse themselves and engage fully with the discipline whilst reducing cognitive load. 

Knowledge is at the heart of our curriculum; we want our pupils to know more and remember more. Underpinning each subject is a clearly defined progression of knowledge and built in opportunities to retrieve and activate prior learning. Component substantive knowledge is carefully sequenced within units to allow pupils to understand more complex composite concepts.

We also want pupils to engage with the disciplinary process of how subject knowledge is established. Disciplinary Knowledge is sequenced to allow pupils to develop the skills of working scientifically, geographically or historically. Our curriculum adapts to the needs and context of our school and is constantly being reviewed and evolving to ensure it remains relevant, broad and balanced.

Literacy and Oracy

 

Oracy and the ability to read and write fluently are integral to our whole curriculum. We are determined that children’s confident use of English and a wide vocabulary will help empower them to access every opportunity. Pupils' knowledge is supported by clearly defined subject specific vocabulary taught explicitly using the Word Aware approach.

 

A LOCAL CURRICULUM

The Kingfisher School Curriculum is designed so that pupils first learn about themselves, their home and their local area before building on this knowledge to learn about the wider world. Our curriculum seeks to link learning to the rich heritage and cultural opportunities available in St Anne’s as well as the wider city of Bristol. We want our pupils to develop a rich sense of identity, pride, belonging and understanding of the world around them. Our pupils regularly go into the community to find out about local history, geography, scientific and cultural events, and the community regularly comes into the school. 

CULTURAL CAPITAL

At The Kingfisher School, we are passionate that inequality of experience should not be a barrier to success. We believe that all our pupils deserve equitable cultural experiences to ensure they leave our school well-informed and prepared for future success. Our curriculum is supported by rich and varied opportunities such as; local trips, residentials, forest school, trips to places of worship, libraries, museums, sports, music and arts venues, visits from professionals and experts as well as extra-curricular clubs and activities.