KS2

KS2 Curriculum

 

Intent (What we want to achieve)

We have created an exciting and engaging curriculum for our Key Stage 2 students which builds on and deepens their Early Years achievements. Our curriculum is flexible and responsive to all our student’s varied needs and abilities. The four pillars of our curriculum are integral to this, as their wellbeing and communication skills lead to greater independence and the opportunity to explore the community.

KS2 students will be taken on an exciting learning journey each half term as they delve into the world of stories. Our cross-curricular approach will fully immerse the children into each story and ignite a real passion for books and adventure. Knowledge and skills are taught in a sequential manner, so that they build upon prior knowledge and experiences.

Our aim is to create an inviting, nurturing and safe learning environment which supports our students to explore and develop their love of learning, independence and to inspire interaction.

 

Implementation (How will we do this?)

In KS2, our learners follow one of three curriculum pathways (pre-formal, semi-formal and formal) though they can move between these pathways and the progress they make is individual to them.

The curriculum is taught thematically with high quality books used as the inspiration. These stories have been selected through student, staff and family surveys whilst considering diversity, inclusion, and subject coverage. This means that along with other class favourites, students will enjoy 24 inspiring stories over the course of KS2. These books are grouped into areas that are linked to the four pillars of our curriculum (Wellbeing, Community, Independence and Communication) specifically chosen for their journey through KS2. The first half term focus is wellbeing, we know the return to school after summer is a challenge for our learners who may be in a different class with new people around them. The books chosen for this half term focus on feelings and getting to know each other. There is then a focus on the expressive arts as we move towards Christmas and our KS2 performance. Communication is the focus when we return in the Spring Term as the familiar rhyming stories support. By this stage of the year our students feel secure in their environment and are encouraged to explore the local community with ‘Herbie’ our therapy dog and become more independent. These independence skills are vitally important as we move into the Summer Term. The adventurous stories we have selected provide a stimulus for these experiences. Our final theme is again linked to wellbeing as transitions to either new classes or KS3 becomes a key focus.

Reading, Writing and Comprehension is taught every morning through Read, Write Inc and the students are taught within small groups or individually based on their reading ability. This ensures our students make good progress at their own pace. Oracy is taught through our ‘Reading Spine’. Students have weekly library sessions where they can also take home a special interest book to share at home. Other core subjects such as Maths, Science and Computing are taught weekly. PSHE is an essential part of the curriculum in KS2, and the students follow our completely bespoke ‘patchwork’ sequence of learning. Music and PE are taught by subject specialist teachers.

The foundation subjects are taught thematically across the year which means that the learning is connected directly to the story and makes more sense to our students. Wherever possible the themes are linked to real-life experiences.

The table below shows how these other foundation subjects are specifically linked to stories that lend themselves to certain areas of learning.

At the end of each topic and sequence of learning, the students benefit from a celebration event or trip to ensure knowledge are embedded through shared experience.

Examples of a curriculum map for our semi-formal and formal learners on the story ‘The Rainbow Fish’ can be found below.

The Rainbow Fish Curriculum Map_compressed

 

Impact (How do we know it is working well?)

Our students are assessed against their individual PLG (Personal Learning Goals) termly and their EHCP targets annually. In addition to this, we have developed our own assessment systems for measuring progress in core subjects.

 

By the end of Key Stage 2 our students are:

• Successful, enjoy learning and have developed skills and knowledge within core subjects.
• Able to communicate more effectively with each other and significant adults.
• Engaged and inspired through a shared love of stories.
• Happy and resilient with an enhanced feeling of wellbeing
• Confident to play and interact with other students more actively.
• More independent and determined to problem solve by exploring the wider community.
• More settled and secure due to the self-regulation strategies they have learnt.
• Ready and excited for their next learning chapter in Key Stage 3.