Overview
We are all learners
At St Michael's Academy it is our intention to deliver a rich, broad and balanced curriculum that develops a wide range of skills and prepares children for the future stages of their lives. We are passionate about bringing learning to life for all children and engaging them academically, emotionally, physically and socially in contexts which have a real meaning and purpose. Children are encouraged to question, reason, choose, explain, investigate, observe, inquire, experience and problem-solve in a cross-curricular approach that broadens horizons and deepens knowledge and understanding. Our Core Values are taught explicitly through a project-based learning approach - one per half term - and are also reinforced throughout the year.
Our curriculum is designed with every single child in mind, and is taught using a creative cross-curricular approach. Maths and English skills are taught daily, and we place a huge premium on reading - for pleasure, to extend vocabulary and to improve access to all subjects and areas of life. As such, we expect all children to read at home every day, as this supports and consolidates the approach taken within school.
We are proud of our curriculum, both in terms of the knowledge that children acquire and the skills they learn. The humanities - from rainforests to the Romans and different religions - are taught in half-termly, knowledge-rich blocks with children investigating 'Big Questions', while science lessons focus on opening children's eyes to the way the world works. Children learn French throughout the school, starting with the learning of phonics in Year 3.
One morning/afternoon a week, children complete a rotation of PE, Computing and Design Technology/Art taught by specialists. In addition to the PE sessions in school, year 5 pupils swim once a week and year 6 children swim throughout the second half of the summer term. Music is taught in class and children also participate in a variety of shows and concerts that are showcased throughout the year.
Curriculum Intent
Our curriculum is ambitious and wide-ranging and has been developed by our staff who have taken it upon themselves to become experts in their specific area. It is truly a team effort, and it is constantly developing as we strive to meet the needs of all our pupils. Every skill, every piece of knowledge, every trip and every class novel has been carefully selected to further enhance the learning opportunities and cultural capital of our students. Revisions, adaptations and additions are a constant cycle of our curriculum and are a key part of our drive to deliver a knowledge rich and inspiring curriculum for all children.
It is our intent that every child, no matter what their starting point or challenges, experiences an ambitious curriculum that unlocks the doors of opportunity for them and that they leave St Michael’s equipped not only with the necessary foundational skills in reading, writing and mathematics but also with a rich, deep breadth of knowledge across all curriculum subjects. It is also our intent that children leave us with the necessary learning skills to go on and be curious and reflective learners with the communication skills needed to thrive. And it is also our intent that every child leaves with a secure understanding of our core values, so they go on to be caring, tolerant members of society.
We have a defining duty, in this area of Yeovil, to address social disadvantage because of the high rates of disadvantage in our community and our curriculum does this extremely well. We follow the national curriculum but adapt it to meet the particular needs and gaps in knowledge that our children bring with them. Our curriculum is designed and planned to align vertically and horizontally, with subjects working in ‘teams’ to ensure a cross-curricular approach that builds webs of knowledge. Children are also aware of where their learning is heading, both within units and across the school, with lessons building on prior learning from previous lessons and year groups, and being mapped out in front of them. The staff work as a team within year groups and as a whole staff to ensure this happens, and our curriculum document that is produced each year is overseen by the curriculum lead but is seen as a product of the whole team. Our curriculum is therefore ambitious because it has to be. Without the care and thought that goes into it, our children would not be able to grow and succeed as well as they do.
We place huge importance on participation in the arts, and ensure children have opportunities to be involved in music, performing, dance and artwork. We have employed a local artist to lead on teaching art as a subject, and her influence is already being felt around the school in terms of creativity and new art installations. Children in Year 4 and Year 6 have the opportunity to be involved in a musical performance, all children learn two musical instruments as part of the curriculum and a range of arts-focused courses are always offered as part of St Michael’s University.
We place a huge amount of importance on talk and oracy. Throughout our curriculum, the core values and Super Learning Powers we feel are essential for all students are intrinsically woven into the delivery of curriculum in all subjects.
Reading – not just the basic skills but promoting a love of reading – is always a priority for us, and we strive to ensure that reading, both for pleasure and for acquisition of knowledge are a key part of our curriculum. The extensive, diverse and engaging range of class novel we have, is just one the ways we have ensured that reading is at the heart of our curriculum.
As well as ensuring that we focus on the key academic skills required to succeed, we have also ensured that our curriculum is packed full of memorable experiences, trips, visitors and theme days. These enrichment opportunities are carefully planned to ensure all pupils, regardless of their circumstances, will leave St Michael's having experienced a range of rewarding and enriching learning and life experiences.
Lastly, we take time to consider our children’s priorities and thoughts when it comes to our curriculum and listen to their voices. Therefore, our curriculum principles are those that were given to us by our children when we gave them the sentence starter: ‘Learning is best when it is...’ Thus, we ensure that we are always sticking to our curriculum principles in our intent, and ensuring that learning is fun, useful, varied, relevant, challenging, engaging, done together, personalised and practical, just as our children want. These words are the first words you see when entering St Michael’s, and are what we intend to see in every lesson.
Curriculum Implementation
Leaders and staff have high expectations when it comes to planning, delivering and assessing our ambitious curriculum. Everyone who works at St Michael’s knows they have a duty to deliver a wide-reaching and well-considered curriculum to the best of their ability while maintaining excellent relationships, supporting those with additional challenges and considering their own wellbeing. Teaching staff are ably supported by excellent teaching assistants in every class, who deliver a range of important interventions that focus on everything from fine motor skills to EAL support.
Every subject has a well-planned, sequenced and progressive curriculum map which contains the key concepts, knowledge and skills children require to master the subject. Every non-core subject leader has spent time working through the curriculum map progression with teachers so that they understand what they are teaching and the sequence and progression of learning.
Work sampling and monitoring has shown that the outcomes are positive, with children learning and remembering more knowledge in every foundation subject. All subject leaders provide support and monitoring and feedback on any specific areas of improvement that needs to be developed.
Every teacher has access to a significant bank of SEND CPD to support SEND in the classroom and also focus areas within each strand of SEND. As a result, teachers have completed a reflection on their practice which has supported next steps in identifying training or other support to ensure best practice in wider subjects.