Curriculum Overview
“We hold the ladder for our children to reach the stars.”
We believe that at Harpenden Academy we provide a curriculum which educates children’s hearts and their minds. It is a bespoke curriculum to our school; it is ambitious in its content and never loses sight that the children are at its very core. As educators we are very proud of our curriculum as it allows us to get the very best out of our children while still allowing them to be children.
Our curriculum, while based on the subjects and the standards of the National Curriculum that children are expected to reach, has been tweaked to support our children and to make sure that they remain curious and excited to learn. Our curriculum is spiral in its design so that each subject is covered several times throughout the children’s time with us, each time at a greater depth than before. This allows our children to become familiar with our schemas at a young age and then these are repeatedly built upon each time they encounter them.
We know our children very well and use that knowledge and understanding to support the children’s learning as they move from EYFS to Year 6. Every 3 years we review our school cohort to make sure that we are providing the them in the best way possible, focussing on their natural strengths and addressing any areas, social, emotional or academic that need support. This level of care begins with nursery visits and ends when we hand our children on to their secondary school, safe in the knowledge that we have prepared our children for their next steps.
We have taken the National curriculum and personalised its endeavours to our children, adapting it to their needs, adding breadth and excitement to the lessons which are all underpinned by our curriculum drivers of “first hand experiences,” “communication “and “belonging”. We have introduced our 4th driver of “Emotional Intelligence” for September 2024 based conversations we have had as a staff regarding our changing cohort.” (click here for further detail) We have thought very carefully about the schemes available to support our children and have chosen ones which add depth as well as breadth to our curriculum. The sources of our curriculum can be found here.
The Background to Harpenden Academy Curriculum
Our curriculum is underpinned by our Hearts and Mind Project. At Harpenden Academy we believe in developing both the hearts and the minds of all our children so they can have happy, healthy and successful futures.
As a school we are committed to providing a well-rounded education that both nurtures and stimulates our children. The project came from our values-based educational approach and the importance we place upon the 'Five Ways to Wellbeing and our children’s mental health.'
Our curriculum is underpinned by our Hearts and Mind Project. At Harpenden Academy we believe in developing both the hearts and the minds of all our children so they can have happy, healthy and successful futures.
As a school we are committed to providing a well-rounded education that both nurtures and stimulates our children. The project came from our values-based educational approach and the importance we place upon the 'Five Ways to Wellbeing and our children’s mental health.'
Harpenden Academy curriculum is further enhanced by our sports and music provision. It is important for us that our children find their passion- that might be for reading and maths but equally it might be for singing, or playing sports. We try hard to offer a wide range of extra-curricular activities for our children to take part in ranging from Techno Lego, to Irock, from singing to art. Our curriculum expands not narrows to encompass our children’s interests and learning.
We believe that we have a curriculum that is strong, well sequenced to support learning, is inclusive, evolving and helps us to create confident and self-assured children ready to face the challenges of their futures.
The Sources of the Curriculum at Harpenden Academy 2023-2025
Our curriculum - what we have used to create it
We aim to ensure that there is a consistent approach to learning from EYFS to Year 6
|
EYFS |
School devised- based on the statutory EYFS Framework |
|
Phonics |
Bug Club |
|
Early Reading |
Bug Club |
|
Reading |
School devised - reading plan |
|
Writing |
HfL Essential writing |
|
Maths |
White Rose. |
|
Science |
School devised * |
|
History |
Historical association |
|
Geography |
Royal Geographic Society |
|
RE |
Discovery RE |
|
PHSE |
Jigsaw |
|
RSE |
Jigsaw |
|
Music |
Charanga |
|
PE |
Complete PE |
|
Art |
School devised* |
|
DT |
School devised* |
|
Computing |
Teach computing |
|
MfL |
Language Angels |
* All school devised schemes have been written under consultation with our secondary schools in the Trust so we are able to ensure the next steps for the children’s learning.
