English

At Fairway Primary Academy, we believe that our English curriculum prepares all pupils to lead an enriched, fulfilling life by teaching the skills they need to communicate effectively and confidently with others, using the spoken and written word. We ensure our learning opportunities enable pupils to develop a love of reading, writing and verbal communication. The teaching and learning of English are a high priority for our school and developing skills in English enables pupils to successfully access all areas of the curriculum.

Throughout school, we follow the National Curriculum and have tailored our school curriculum to meet the needs of all our learners. Regardless of their background, individual needs or ability, we ensure our pupils are inspired and supported with their learning.

• We encourage pupils to read for pleasure, having access to a wide range of text types, genres and authors in order for them to make informed opinions about their preferences.
• We ensure all pupils can read and develop their comprehension skills.
• We expose our children to a wide range of vocabulary so that they are able to decipher new words and use them when speaking both formally and informally.
• We develop a love of language where pupils are curious about the vocabulary they meet.
• We support pupils to write clearly, accurately and coherently, adapting their language and style for a range of contexts, purposes and audiences.
• We ensure pupils are able to write with grammatical accuracy, by applying spelling patterns, grammar skills and using a legible handwriting style.
• We believe that English skills are crucial to a high-quality education and enabling pupils to access the wider curriculum.

Implementation

Phonics

We teach phonics using the Read, Write, Inc. phonics program in our Early Years and Key Stage classrooms. Our approach is systematic, consistent and rigorous and provides pupils with the building blocks for reading, spelling and writing. If you would like to learn more about RWI, please have a look at this website: https://www.ruthmiskin.com/en/find-out-more/parents/ or come and speak to your child’s class teacher.

English Lessons

All lessons are planned to use the National Curriculum objectives. Year groups have a yearly overview of the writing genres (narrative, non-fiction and poetry) that they will teach. These have been planned to ensure the correct coverage of key genres, as well as building on skills from year to year and follow Jane Considine’s ‘The Write Stuff’ approach.

Whole Class Reading

Once children have completed the RWI Phonics scheme, they access whole class reading sessions. The Grammarsaurus Comprehension Crushers scheme of work is designed to build fluency in reading while also ensuring children learn key comprehension skills. It focuses on retrieving, inferring, explaining, summarizing, and understanding vocabulary. The scheme maximizes opportunities for daily, weekly, and monthly review to ensure new vocabulary and concepts are encoded into long term memory. It includes a range of fluency and vocabulary activities to improve reading comprehension, with emphasis on understanding vocabulary and using it effectively in context.

Class Texts

Every day, we prioritise reading for pleasure and share a class text. The texts have been carefully selected, considering pupils’ interests, Lexile, Accelerated Reader levels and themes from our Academy and the wider curriculum. Staff model fluency and expression when reading aloud and engage pupils in high quality texts.

Home Reading Books

All pupils have access to home reading books which are matched to their ability. Pupils are encouraged to select their own reading book from a range of high-quality texts. In Early Years and Year 1, book bands are matched to the pupils’ phonic ability. In Year 2 to Year 6, pupils select their books using information provided by Accelerated Reader and teacher assessments.

Accelerated Reader

From Year 2, pupils use Accelerated Reader alongside their home reading books. After completing a STAR reading test, pupils are provided with a reading level. In discussion with the teacher, pupils select their home reading book in line with their reading level. Once the book has been completed, pupils take an online quiz to assess their comprehension. Throughout school, staff monitor pupils’ word count and quiz accuracy.

Handwriting 

Our handwriting programme is designed to make handwriting enjoyable and fluent while children learn to see themselves as writers. It uses mnemonics or memory pictures to help children visualise letters and joins, reinforcing the connection between letter formation and phonics sounds. Handwriting is taught in short, daily sessions of 5 – 10 minutes, ensuring consistent practice under teacher guidance to prevent the development of incorrect habits. Pupils can achieve a ‘pen license’ when their handwriting is consistent and letters are joined accurately.

Grammar and Punctuation

Throughout school, there is an expectation that grammar skills are consistently modelled by all staff. Skills are taught during shared writing; focus GPS lessons; or during English starter activities. To ensure progression in grammar skills, staff plan using our grammar progression document.

Spelling

Spellings are taught according to the rules and words contained in Appendix 1 of the English National Curriculum. Spelling Shed is designed to help children learn spelling patterns and rules systematically. The scheme is based on phonological (sounds), orthographic (patterns), etymological (word origins), and morphological (meaning-based) knowledge, ensuring that pupils understand not just how words are spelled, but why they are spelled that way.

Marking and Feedback

Pupils receive frequent feedback in line with our whole school policy. Feedback celebrates successes and identifies key skills for development.

Targeted Interventions

Using frequent teacher assessments, staff identify pupils who need additional support. Targeted interventions are carefully planned and monitored to provide pupils with the support they need to consolidate their skills and apply them independently. The interventions occur on the same day through our post-tutoring session.

Impact

The impact of our English curriculum is shown through pupils’ engagement, progress, sustained learning and transferrable skills. Pupils develop a wide variety of knowledge and skills and, as a result, achieve their potential. The majority of our pupils achieve Age Related Expectations (ARE) for their year group; some progress further and achieve Greater Depth (GDS). We ensure pupils have the opportunity to progress from their personal starting points and provide appropriate support and intervention for those who have gaps in their knowledge and skills.

Maths

Maths Intent, Implementation and Impact

MATHS Vocabulary Progressions

At Fairway Primary Academy we are committed to ensuring that all of our pupils:

• become fluent in the fundamentals of mathematics.
• are able to reason mathematically.
• can solve problems by applying their knowledge in a range of contexts.

We are dedicated to enabling children to recognise the importance of mathematics in the wider world so that they are able to use their mathematical skills and knowledge confidently in a variety of situations in their lives.

We want all children to enjoy mathematics and to develop a deep and sustained conceptual understanding so that they can experience success in the subject. We aim for pupils to achieve mastery of mathematics by acquiring a deep, long-term, secure, and adaptable understanding of the subject. We seek to develop children’s curiosity about the subject, as well as an appreciation of the beauty and power of mathematics.

Throughout school, we follow the National Curriculum and have tailored our school curriculum to meet the needs of all our learners. Regardless of their background, individual needs or ability, we ensure our pupils are inspired and supported with their learning. We believe that all pupils can succeed in mathematics.  A positive teacher mind-set and strong subject knowledge are key to student success in mathematics. By building confidence, resilience and a passion for maths, we can show that whatever your prior experience or preconceptions, maths is an exciting adventure that everyone can enjoy, value and master!

Implementation

The content and principles of the Early Years Foundation Framework, 2014 National Curriculum and the Teaching for Mastery approach convey how mathematics is implemented at Fairway Primary Academy.

Maths lessons

All lessons are planned to use the National Curriculum objectives. Year groups have a yearly overview of the areas of mathematics they will teach. Mathematics is taught coherently and sequentially in Years 1 to 6 using White Rose Maths schemes of learning. Units of learning are broken down into a series of small, connected steps with each building on the children’s prior learning. Each lesson focuses on one small step or a series of small steps. Consistency in teaching mathematics across the entire school is achieved by teachers planning and delivering lessons with the aid of high-quality and rich resources including White Rose Maths materials and other mastery resources from NCETM and NRICH. Teachers plan and deliver lessons to address the needs of all pupils with the use of scaffolding, skilful questioning and carefully designed enriching activities.

Early Years

Pupils in the Early Years are prepared for the National Curriculum by developing a solid conceptual understanding of number, shape, space and measure. The Early Years Foundation Framework is used to guide mathematical learning in the Reception class.

Concrete, Pictorial Abstract Approach

Learning throughout the school is introduced using a concrete, pictorial and abstract approach so that pupils develop a conceptual understanding of mathematics through a variety of manipulatives and representations.

Challenge and Support

The vast majority of pupils progress through the programmes of study at broadly the same pace. Practice and consolidation play a central role. Carefully designed variation within this builds fluency and understanding of underlying mathematical concepts. Pupils who grasp concepts rapidly are challenged by being offered rich and sophisticated problems before any acceleration to new content. Those who are not sufficiently fluent with earlier material consolidate their understanding, including through additional practice, before moving on. Teachers aim to rapidly address gaps in children’s understanding within the lesson and through targeted intervention outside of the lesson during the post-tutoring session.

Rapid Recall of Facts

Children, parents and teachers have regular access to TT Rockstars and Maths Key Instant Recall Facts (KIRFS) to help every child from Foundation to Year 6 achieve the “triple win” of understanding, recall and fluency in mental addition, subtraction, multiplication and division – a fundamental part of the curriculum. In addition to this, pupils engage in these throughout the week, which enables them to learn key facts to aid fluency in calculations.

Marking and Feedback

Pupils receive frequent live feedback in line with our whole school policy. Feedback celebrates successes and identifies key skills for development.

Impact

The impact of our Mathematics curriculum is shown through pupils’ engagement, progress, sustained learning and transferrable skills. Children approach mathematical study with confidence and enthusiasm, and resilience. Approach and response to reasoning activities should improve term on term, with the expectation that by the end of the year, children are happy to accurately define and use mathematical vocabulary introduced by their teacher, as well as complete stem sentences to complete mathematical statements or reasoning. Pupils develop a wide variety of knowledge and skills and, as a result, achieve their potential. The majority of our pupils aim to achieve Age Related Expectations (ARE) for their year group; some progress further and achieve Greater Depth (GDS). We ensure pupils have the opportunity to progress from their personal starting points and provide appropriate support and intervention for those who have gaps in their knowledge and skills. By the time Fairway children leave year 6, we expect they will have confidence in their ability to do well, to have an appreciation of the beauty and power of mathematics and a sense of enjoyment and curiosity about the subject.

Science

Science Intent, Implementation and Impact

Science is an integral part of a broad and balanced curriculum at Fairway Primary School. We aim to teach all children the range of scientific skills and knowledge required to begin them on their journey of science education.

The science curriculum at Fairway strives to encourage children to become more independent scientists who are beginning to question and explore their own ideas, as well as question others, using appropriate scientific vocabulary and well-structured discussions alongside relevant scientific knowledge. Through our science curriculum, we aim to provide children with the skills needed to seek out the answers to scientific questions they have, helping them to make sense of the world in which we live.

We ensure that the Working Scientifically skills are built-on and developed throughout children’s time at the school so that they can apply their knowledge of science when using equipment, conducting experiments and investigation, building arguments and explaining concepts confidently, being familiar with scientific terminology and, most importantly, to continue to ask questions and be curious about their surroundings.

The content of science lessons is planned to build on children’s previous knowledge as well as introduce new ideas and concepts. Lessons are planned to be as practical and as memorable as possible; they promote curiosity both within and beyond the classroom and teachers encourage children to explore their ideas with their families at home.

Religious Education

RE Intent, Implementation and Impact

Religious Education is a curriculum entitlement for all children and the school follows the Birmingham Agreed Syllabus for Religious Education, supported by the teaching resource ‘Faith makes a Difference’.

Our aim at Fairway is to teach and inspire children to have systematic knowledge and understanding of a range of diverse religions and worldviews. Enabling them to learn the knowledge and skills to articulate clearly and coherently their personal beliefs, ideas, values, and experiences while respecting the right of others to differ.  To promote pupils’ spiritual, moral, social, and cultural development and cultivate an aptitude and the cultural capital for dialogue so that they can participate positively in a diverse society.

Religious Education does not seek to urge religious beliefs on children or to compromise the integrity of beliefs by promoting one religion over another. Parents have the right to withdraw their children from Religious Education lessons and assemblies and school will provide alternative provision. We celebrate the different faith backgrounds of our pupils and encourage confidence and affirmation of these beliefs in all areas of school life.

SMSC

PHSE / RSHE Intent, Implementation and Impact

Fairway Primary Academy holds children at its heart, supported by following the Jigsaw scheme of learning. Its cohesive vision helps children understand and value how they fit into and contribute to the world. With strong emphasis on emotional literacy, building resilience and nurturing mental and physical health, as well as using mindfulness to allow children to advance their emotional awareness, concentration, focus and self-regulation. We deliver engaging and relevant PSHE within a whole-school approach.

A key part of our SMSC teaching at Fairway is to use these PSHE lessons, circle time and restorative justice, to develop our children’s understanding of themselves and the world around them.  The restorative justice approach enables the children to be confident within themselves and respectful of others. It also helps to develop an understanding of right and wrong, how to keep themselves safe both in the real and virtual worlds, and how to engage in restorative conversations through a developing emotional literacy.

As a school we welcome children from all backgrounds and are proud of how children and their families from other cultures are welcomed by our children and the rest of the school community.

In all teaching the teachers look to inspire and enthuse children. Teachers look to develop a love of learning and a working atmosphere where children enjoy learning.

Children are given opportunities to take on responsibility around the school. These roles and responsibilities include school council, librarians, peer mediators, gardening projects, playground leaders and participate in a range of lunch time clubs.

The school has a clear behaviour policy that sets high expectations and promotes a good moral understanding, mutual respect, and understanding.

Fairway also works towards children developing an understanding of the key British Values: Democracy, Rule of Law, Mutual Respect, Personal Liberty and Tolerance of other faiths and cultures. Additional people of inspiration or debate are examined through the Curriculum Promise outside of the PHSE lessons.

History

History Intent, Implementation and Impact

At Fairway we support children to understand where they sit in time and space, developing in them a strong chronological understanding of human history, basing their understanding first in their homes and families, their community and city and then further to understand the place of Britain today and how its history has shaped it.

We explore the history of diverse countries and cultures in the world, spanning a spread from the earliest peoples to ancient civilisations in Europe and beyond, to Modern Britain and its challenges today. We help children to understand the process of change, the diversity of societies and relationships between different groups, and to examine cause and effect, making links across eras and civilisations.

In Foundation stage, the children will explore their own history through talking about significant people and themselves. The history focus is based largely around a personal theme ‘all about me’. This history element will include family history.

In Key Stage 1, children will explore history through gaining knowledge of key significant people throughout a variety of time periods.

The children will begin to look at a period of local history.

In Key Stage 2, the children will secure in-depth knowledge and understanding of British and World time periods through exploring: chronologically ordered events, significant people whilst comparing and contrasting specific aspects of the time periods.

Each KS2 year group will start by studying an early civilization and will eventually move towards more recent periods in history that link to both the wider world and local history within Britain.

Geography

Geography Intent, Implementation and Impact

At Fairway, in our geography and wider curriculum, we seek to inspire in children a curiosity and fascination about the world and its people which will remain with them for the rest of their lives. We plan creatively to offer opportunities to promote the children’s interest and understanding of diverse places, people, resources and natural and human environments, we empower them by helping them to develop a strong locational knowledge of our world, whilst also developing a thorough understanding of the Earth’s key physical and human processes.

We encourage children to ask questions of themselves and others about the world, their place in it and their responsibility for it, opening our children up to both the wonders of our planet and its fragility. We are developing knowledgeable, passionate individuals, who can investigate, question, examine cause and effect and reason outcomes. They will be the future guardians of our planet.

In Foundation stage children will begin to talk about features of their own immediate environment and how environments might vary from one to another. The children will begin to show an understanding of how different people use various places and that there are different countries in the world.

In KS1, children will develop their knowledge of the physical and human features of their school and the surrounding area. The children will look at weather patterns in the UK and contrasting areas as well as looking at coastal areas. They will begin to develop an understanding of the importance of maps, capitals, continents and countries within them.

In KS2, pupils will extend their knowledge and understanding beyond the local area to include the United Kingdom, Europe and North and South America. This will include the location and characteristics of a range of the world’s most significant human and physical features. They will develop their use of geographical knowledge, understanding and skills to enhance their locational and place knowledge.

Languages

Spanish Intent, Implementation and Impact

We support all pupils to become fully rounded global citizens and see learning foreign languages as a doorway into other cultures and experiences. Our language curriculum seeks to foster pupils’ curiosity and deepen their understanding of the world. Our language teaching provides the foundation for learning further languages, and we aim to provide a language curriculum that prepares our pupils for accelerated progress at KS3. We offer a carefully sequenced grounding in Spanish. We support our pupils to express their ideas and thoughts in another language and to understand and respond to its speakers, both in speech and in writing.

As part of the Curriculum Promise, we enhance our statutory language curriculum with learning around the peoples and cultures of other countries, both today and in the past, offering authentic first-hand and memorable experiences to our pupils, using community and professional expertise to augment our pupils’ learning.

Art

Art Intent, Implementation and Impact

As an Arts-mark Gold School, our commitment to the arts at Fairway is grounded in the belief that experience and engagement with a wide range of art forms is crucial to the development of fully rounded, confident, creative and happy individuals. We offer high-quality, authentic art experiences to our pupils, through partnerships with both local artists and national organisations, seeking to develop our pupils as visual artists, sculptors, designers and performers.

At Fairway Primary Academy, we value Art and Design as an important part of the children’s entitlement to a broad and balanced curriculum. Art and Design provides the children with the opportunities to develop and extend their knowledge and skills, as well as an opportunity to express their individual interests, thought and ideas. Art and Design is a subject that our children look forward to and value within their curriculum. Our school recognises and understands that the arts provide a wealth of vital experience to excite children’s imaginations and develop their creativity. Art and Design encourages our children to participate actively, to try out different possibilities, and to make and communicate meaning to different audiences through a variety of media and contexts.

Our Art and Design curriculum is designed to improve children’s cultural capital by learning about and taking inspiration from both classic and modern artists. Each unit of work begins with an artist study which allows our children to develop an understanding of how art and design both reflect and shape our history, and contribute to the culture, creativity and wealth of our nation. The curriculum design for this subject ensures that there’s a spiralling approach, in order for knowledge and skills to be built upon and developed every two years so that children make progress in line with National Curriculum expectations.

The National Curriculum sets out the aims that we intend to meet through a carefully planned school curriculum.

• Produce creative work, exploring their ideas and recording their experiences.
• Become proficient in drawing, painting, sculpture and other art, craft and design techniques.
•  Evaluate and analyse creative works using the language of art, craft and design.
• Know about great artists, craft makers and designers, and understand the historical and cultural development of their art forms.

In addition, as part of our Curriculum Promise, we learn about different historical and contemporary artists outside of the Art Curriculum. This is come to expand or children’s cultural capital, and to enhance their experiences ready for adulthood.

Music

Fairway is a musical school. Our music curriculum is delivered by a specialist teacher via Rock It Music LTD. Children are taught the elements of music, and are encouraged to compose and perform, as well as to listen to and comment on different styles of music.

Throughout the year children are given opportunities to perform in front of an audience through class assemblies and key stage productions.

In addition, as part of our Curriculum Promise, we learn about different historical and contemporary musicians and composers outside of the Music Curriculum. This is come to expand or children’s cultural capital, and to enhance their experiences ready for adulthood.

To see our Music Development Plan click here.

Design Technology

D&T Intent, Implementation and Impact

At Fairway Academy, we value Design & Technology as an important part of the children’s entitlement to a broad and balanced curriculum. Design & Technology is an inspiring, rigorous and practical subject that provides children with the skills and abilities to engage positively with the designed and made world. Design and Technology encourages children to learn to think and intervene creatively to solve problems both as individuals and as members of a team. It encourages children to use their creativity and imagination, to design and make products that solve real and relevant problems within a variety of contexts, considering their own and others’ needs, wants and values. Design & Technology aims to, wherever possible, link work to other disciplines such as mathematics, science, engineering, computing and art. The children are also given opportunities to reflect upon and evaluate past and present design technology, its uses and its effectiveness and are encouraged to become innovators and risk-takers.

Our Design & Technology curriculum is designed through a variety of creative and practical activities, teaching the children the knowledge, understanding and skills needed to engage in an iterative process of designing and making. The children design and create products that consider function and purpose, and which are relevant to a range of sectors (for example, the home, school, leisure, culture, enterprise, industry and the wider environment). This improves the children’s cultural capital by enabling them to learn about and taking inspiration from both classic and modern designers. Each unit of work begins with a study of how a specific technology works, which allows our children to develop an understanding of how design has shaped our history, and contributed to the culture, creativity and wealth of our nation.

The National Curriculum sets out the aims that we intend to meet through a carefully planned school curriculum.

Physical Education

P.E Intent, Implementation and Impact

At Fairway, we aim to inspire all children and for each child to fulfil their potential. We want the children’s experience of PE to be positive and motivating. PE enables pupils to become physically confident. This supports their health, wellbeing and fitness and provides the foundations for lifelong activity. We want them to succeed and excel in competitive sport and physical activities. We offer all children chances to compete in sport and other activities. This helps them build character and learn values such as fairness and respect. Through PE, we develop the children’s knowledge, skills and understanding. They build confidence and competence in a range of activities.

Each child receives a PE session each week with the support of a specialist coach providing CPD to class teachers. We plan their sessions to cover a broad and full range of skills and activities. In addition to this, the children participate in the daily mile or a 15-minute wake up shake up session. Children from Year 2 to 6 attend swimming lessons in a local pool. They learn to swim 25 metres competently and confidently in a range of strokes. Children also have the chance to be active in wide range of after school clubs.

We teach in a way that children:

• have fun and experience success in sport.
• can join in at their own level of development.
• build and secure a range of skills.
• develop good sporting attitudes.
• understand basic rules.
• experience positive competition.
• learn in a safe environment.

Inclusion

At Fairway Primary Academy we are committed to ensuring that all pupils access and participate in a broad and balanced PE curriculum. This is done through careful lesson planning and differentiation to make sure that all children, including those who have special educational needs, disabilities, English as an additional language or those who are gifted and talented are included and engaged.

In addition, as part of our Curriculum Promise, we learn about different historical and contemporary sports stars outside of the PE Curriculum. This is come to expand or children’s cultural capital, and to enhance their experiences ready for adulthood.

Extra-Curricular Activities

We provide a large range of activities including art and craft, sports, music, mindfulness, debate, storytime and gardening.  Such activities are run by the staff and are dependent, at any time, on the interests and enthusiasm of individual teachers with the co-operation and assistance of parents and the availability of outside providers.

If you have any questions regarding the curriculum please contact the academy and arrange to see the curriculum lead.