The staff of Hillside Infant School are committed to raising standards and providing the best education for the pupils in school.  We follow the national curriculum and teach it as relevant, challenging and enjoyable learning experiences for all pupils.  The staff are united in this work to establish an ethos of continuous improvement.

All aspects of our curriculum are accessible to all children, irrespective of their ethnic background, gender, disability, religious or linguistic background. We strive hard to meet the needs of those pupils with special educational needs, those with disabilities, those who are more able, those with special gifts and talents and the children who are learning English as an additional language. We provide a rich, challenging curriculum, which stretches all of our children. Staff are aware of children who have exceptional talents and gifts and monitor to track their progress carefully to ensure their academic potential or talent is continually developed.

Importance is placed upon developing transferable skills, meaning our pupils become lifelong learners.  The curriculum is designed to recognise children's prior learning, providing a clear progression of skills where deeper knowledge and connections are nurtured, and links are made between concepts and skills. 

We cover a wide range of subjects and provide opportunities for academic, creative and sporting excellence.  Emphasis is placed on acquiring, developing and applying core skills in reading, writing, communication and mathematics, throughout all subjects taught. 

Every child is recognised as a unique individual.  Our curriculum is designed in response to each child's needs considering their place in our nurturing school, local community and the world beyond.  

With an excellent rang of experiences, our full and rich curriculum ensures that every child at Hillside Infant School makes excellent progress academically and personally.  Our curriculum ensures that ever child is given the opportunity to shine and flourish. 

With carefully monitor children's progress with their personal development.  We plan enhancement opportunities to engage learning in the classroom, our school grounds and beyond.  This is also supported by a wide range of extra-curricular activities that also enrich our children's opportunities.  

For further details please review our policies or ask to speak to your class teacher who will discuss this with you. 

Long Term Plans

At Hillside Infant School, we follow the National Curriculum and the Early Years Framework.

Curriculum Intent

The overarching principle; and our firm belief, at Hillside Infant school is that our curriculum should be ‘practical and purposeful’. By this we mean that the majority of children’s learning experiences and knowledge is gained through exciting, ‘hands on’ and meaningful experiences. We firmly believe that children learn best when knowledge and skills have meaning and connection to their past, present and future, thereby equipping children with the skills that they need now and in the future. This core principle is developed, promoted and embedded at a whole school level with all stake holders.

It is our intention that curriculum delivery must contain experiences that are memorable, relevant and relatable. Children need the rationale for learning new knowledge, skills and information so that they can understand where and when they can apply them. For children to be ‘The best that they can be’, teachers and leaders need to have a clear understanding of children’s starting points and any barriers to learning. We recognise the importance of promoting the development of child’s speaking and listening skills and vocabulary; and this is given priority in all lessons.

Our intent is that the curriculum embodies creative and mastery approach to planning, teaching and learning where the children are excited, actively involved and helped to see links and connections between subject areas. However, we also understand the need and importance for children to understand knowledge connected to specific subjects. Our curriculum is constructed to ensure subject areas promote and reflect cultural diversity and creative development.

We believe it is important the KS1 curriculum builds upon the child centred ethos of the EYFS curriculum. Leaders respond to the changing needs of our school community and in turn our curriculum reflects such changes accordingly.

Foundation Stage

Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) - 3 to 5 Years of Age

“Every child deserves the best possible start in life and support to reach their full potential. A child’s experience in the early years has a major impact on their future life chances. A secure safe and happy childhood is important in its own right, and it provides the foundation for children to make the most of their abilities and talents as they grow up. When parents choose to use early years services they want to know the provision will keep their children safe and help them to thrive. The Early Years Foundation Stage is the framework that provides that assurance.” (Statutory Framework for the EYFS)

Intent

Our curriculum intent for Early Years is simple, we want our children to love learning, enjoy coming to school and have the necessary skills to be ready to learn.   The curriculum is designed based on the children’s needs.  It changes every year according to the cohort of children’s needs and interests.  We aim to support all children to become independent and collaborative learners. We will provide a broad and balanced curriculum that will enable each child to develop personally, socially, emotionally, spiritually, physically, creatively and intellectually to their full potential.   We aim for all children to leave our Foundation 2 class, ready for  Year 1.

The Early Years Foundation Stage covers the period of learning for children in Nursery and Reception. 

The Early Years Foundation Stage curriculum is taught in ways that build on a child’s curiosity and interests, enabling them to learn through planned, worthwhile play activities. Children in the EYFS learn by playing and exploring, being active, and through creative and critical thinking indoors and outside.

Children in our Early Years classes follow the Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum, which consists of seven learning areas.

These are Communication and Language, Physical Development and Personal, Social and Emotional Development.

These prime areas are those most essential for your child’s healthy development and future learning. As children grow, the prime areas will help them develop skills in 4 specific areas: Literacy, Mathematics, Understanding the World and Expressive Arts and Design.

All seven areas are used to plan your child’s learning and activities and are designed to be flexible so that staff can follow each child’s unique needs and interests. Although young children do not separate learning into curriculum areas, every aspect of the curriculum is interrelated and interdependent, and the seven areas form the framework on which the Early Years Foundation Stage is built.

We teach children by ensuring challenging, playful opportunities across both the prime and specific areas of learning. We recognise that all children develop and learn at different rates and so our EYFS curriculum is designed flexibly to meet the needs of all individuals. We support individual learning through our skilful interactions and observations which lead to detailed next step planning. The Characteristics of Effective Learning underpin our curriculum and pupils learning, through an enabling and well-planned environment we ensure we provide meaningful opportunities for playing and learning, active learning and creating and thinking critically. As children utilise and develop these characteristics they become effective and motivated learners who demonstrate high levels of well-being and involvement.

The principles which guide the work of all early years’ practitioners are grouped into four themes.

• A Unique Child – every child is a unique child who is constantly learning and can be resilient, capable, confident and self-assured.
• Positive Relationships – children learn to be strong and independent through positive relationships.
• Enabling Environments – children learn and develop well in enabling environments, in which their experiences respond to their individual needs and there is a strong partnership between practitioners, parents and carers.
• Learning and Development – children develop and learn in different ways.  The Framework covers the education and care of all the children in early years provision, including children with special educational needs and disabilities.  Practitioners teach children by ensuring challenging, playful opportunities across the prime and specific areas of learning and development.

At Hillside Infant School, we will:

• Provide a happy, safe, stimulating and challenging programme of learning and development for the children to experience as they begin their journey through school.
• Provide a broad, balanced, relevant and creative curriculum that will set in place firm foundations for further learning and development in Key Stage 1 and beyond and enable decision making, fostering independence and self-confidence.
• Use and value what each child can do, assessing their individual needs and helping each child to progress.
• Develop excellent relationships with parents and carers to build a strong partnership in supporting their children.
• Provide a caring and inclusive learning environment which is sensitive to the requirements of the individual child including those who have additional needs. The early-years education we offer our children is based on the following principles:
• It builds on what our children already know and can do;
• It ensures that no child is excluded or disadvantaged;
• It offers a structure for learning that has a range of starting points, content that matches the needs of young children, and activities that provide opportunities for learning both indoors and outdoors;
• It provides a rich and stimulating environment;
• It acknowledges the importance of a full working partnership with parents and carers.

Home learning

Home learning is intended to provide pupils with the experience of working by themselves, to consolidate or extend work covered in school.  

Parents can help their children by encouraging and supporting them.  Listening to them read, checking presentation, revising mathematics strategies and asking them to explain the work they have been doing.  The amount of home learning increases as your child progresses through the school.  Details of home learning can be found by clicking the link below.