Curriculum

Portland Spencer Academy Curriculum Intent  #ASPIRE

These 6 key principles underpin the choices that our teachers make when deciding what are going to be the themes for the children’s learning.  Our ‘Connected Curriculum’ is underpinned with relevant, up-to-date research and represents our high expectations, is challenging and designed to address the disadvantaged gap. Everything that we do is based upon our knowledge of our children and we pride ourselves on our ‘whatever it takes’ ethos.

Our curriculum is progressive with clear links between subject areas.  We continuously build upon previous learning as we expand, broaden and deepen the knowledge and skills of our children using carefully planned sequential learning and regular retrieval practice.  This layered. systematic approach has led to a progressive and diverse curriculum which allows our children to holistically develop their knowledge, vocabulary and understanding of their local area, as well as the wider world.  Our fully inclusive approach allows us to adapt to the learners individual needs and promote challenge.

Reading permeates and strengthens our curriculum.  Each theme is enhanced by quality texts with the children taking home a copy of their own each half term.  This enables children to build their own mini library at home for leaning to be apply their skills and build understanding to support and close the disadvantaged gap.

Subject leaders play a large role in the successful delivery of our ‘connected curricum’ with regular monitoring, evaluation and review of the curriculum.  Our ‘Connected Curriculum’ ensures children leave Portland Spencer Academy with ambition, drive and enthusiasm equipping them with the tools to thrive and ASPIRE in whatever path they choose to undertake.

Our Connected Curriculum allows learning to make sense!

It is…

• Designed for and by all our children 
• Underpinned by research around how children learn best (click here to find out more)
• A passport to the world through a love of books 
• Enhanced by real life experiences and inspirational people to create lifelong memories
• A vehicle to promote curiosity whilst having lots of fun!

 

Our curriculum is broad and balanced, with every subject meeting or going beyond the National Curriculum requirements.

Subjects are taught to a high standard – click below for individual subject intents.

• Reading
• Writing
• Mathematics
• Science
• History
• Geography
• Religious Education
• PSHE & Life Skills
• Computing
• Modern Foreign Languages
• Art
• Design Technology
• Physical Education
• Music

Please click here  for more information and to see our Portland library.

 

Overview of Themes from Nursery to Year 6

with main subject drivers indicated

Year	Autumn 1	Autumn 2	Spring 1	Spring 2	Summer 1	Summer 2
F1	Who lives in our family? PSED/P&C	What changes can we see? UTW	What is the weather like around the world? UTW	What is life like around the world? UTW/P&C	What can we grow? UTW	How are animals different? UTW
F2	What does my world look like? PSED/ P&C	What does our community celebrate? UTW	How are places around the world different? UTW	How are places around the world different? UTW	What changes can we see around us? P&P/UTW	What does life look like in different places? PSED/UTW
Y1	How has Nottingham changed over time? Geography/History	How is my childhood different from the olden days? History	How are the countries that make up the UK similar and different?  Geography/DT	What are bridges used for? DT/ History	What grows in our local environment? Science	Is it always sunny in the summer? Geography
Y2	What damage did the Great Fire of London do?  History / Geography	How is life a celebration? RE / Music / DT	Was the Titanic a trip of a lifetime?  History / Geography	What do plants and animals need to survive?  Science / Geography	Who helps us to stay healthy? History / Geography / Science	Is life different in Africa?  Geography / Art
Y3	How did our human history all begin? History/DT	What is the view like from the  top of the world? Geography	Which Pharaohs helped lead the Ancient Egyptian Legacy? History/ Art	Why is the Nile at the centre of Egyptian life? History/ Geography	What is life like around the Mediterranean? Geography	How do we look after our local wildlife? PSHE/Geography/Science
Y4	Who were the Ancient Greeks? History	What are natural disasters? Science/ Geography	Who were the Romans? History/Geography	What was Roman Britain like? History/ Arts	Where does food go? Science/Geography	Why are interventions important? Science/PSHE
Y5	Who occupied Britain after the Romans? History	Are the Vikings that vicious? History	How unique is our planet? Geography/ Science/History	What is out there, beyond Earth? Science /DT	What is life all about? Science/PSHE/RE	How has power changed throughout history? History/RE
Y6	How can we live a healthy lifestyle? Science	How were the Victorians Victorious? History	Where did  the war  begin? History	How does life survive? Geography / Science	Where did the war end?  History	Can we form our own enterprise? DT

 

 

Knowledge Organisers

2022-23

Autumn 1	Autumn 2	Spring 1	Spring 2	Summer 1	Summer 2
Nursery	Nursery	Nursery
Reception	Reception	Reception
Year 1	Year 1	Year 1
Year 2	Year 2	Year 2
Year 3	Year 3	Year 3
Year 4	Year 4	Year 4
Year 5	Year 5	Year 5
Year 6	Year 6	Year 6

2021-22

Autumn 1	Autumn 2	Spring 1	Spring 2	Summer 1	Summer 2
Nursery	Nursery	Nursery	Nursery	Nursery	Nursery
Reception	Reception	Reception	Reception	Reception	Reception
Year 1	Year 1	Year 1	Year 1	Year 1	Year 1
Year 2	Year 2	Year 2	Year 2	Year 2	Year 2
Year 3	Year 3	Year 3	Year 3	Year 3	Year 3
Year 4	Year 4	Year 4	Year 4	Year 4	Year 4
Year 5	Year 5	Year 5	Year 5	Year 5	Year 5
Year 6	Year 6	Year 6	Year 6	Year 6	Year 6

 

2020-21

Autumn 1	Autumn 2	Spring 1	Spring 2	Summer 1	Summer 2
Nursery	Nursery	Nursery	Nursery	Nursery	Nursery
Reception	Reception	Reception	Reception	Reception	Reception
Year 1	Year 1	Year 1	Year 1	Year 1	Year 1
Year 2	Year 2	Year 2	Year 2	Year 2	Year 2
Year 3	Year 3	Year 3	Year 3	Year 3	Year 3
Year 4	Year 4	Year 4	Year 4	Year 4	Year 4
Year 5	Year 5	Year 5	Year 5	Year 5	Year 5
Year 6	Year 6	Year 6	Year 6	Year 6	Year 6

 

Why we do it…

In recent decades, cognitive scientists have confirmed the need for a knowledge-engaged  curriculum for two reasons:

 

Knowledge frees up your brain’s capacity for thinking

Cognitive scientists have found that our brain works at different speeds, depending on whether we have learned something already, or whether we are relying on “working memory”. Working memory is new information you can keep in your head and is very limited (holding between three and seven pieces of new information). That is why learning your times tables by heart is useful. Completing more complex calculations is made more simple if knowledge of tables is already ‘locked in’. For this reason, we have daily fluency lessons and all lessons begin with a ‘connect back’ to active prior knowledge and free up the brain’s capacity for thinking.

 

We learn new things by connecting them to old things

The way in which the brain stores new information, and makes inferences and discoveries, is by connecting to existing stored knowledge (schema). You cannot have skills without knowledge, because you cannot evaluate something you do not know anything about. You also cannot come up with new ideas without jumping off existing ones.At Portland, to help children make connections to prior learning we have ‘connect backs’ at the start of every lesson, regular retrieval practice and learning journeys with ribbons to make connections to previous learning explicit to our children.

To find out more about our curriculum, please contact Joe Handy, Head of School via: info@portlandspencer.com