Spa Academy Askern
Our Curriculum
Spa's Curriculum Rationale
It is Spa Academy Askern’s aim that by the time the children leave our school to embark on the next stage of their education, they are equipped with the academic skills and knowledge, and have developed the personal attributes needed to enable them to become successful citizens of the future.
Spa’s curriculum has a core focus on ensuring our pupils become lifelong learners and successful citizens of the future, aiming to equip all its pupils with the belief that ‘Better Never Stops’. This is achieved through delivering a coherently sequenced and planned body of knowledge and skills in which our key drivers are found in every subject, every lesson and every activity pupils undertake, developing pupils’ understanding of how to:
• show creativity in their desire to achieve beyond expectations;
• recognise that the path to success requires perseverance and teamwork;
• demonstrate honesty and integrity;
• take responsibility for their future;
• respect our learning community, environment and wider society.
How is our curriculum organised?
Our curriculum begins with literature. Our carefully-crafted, challenging and ambitious literature spine underpins our curriculum design. Why? Our pupils' future success is dependent on their ability to read with confidence, fluency. Through our literature spine, pupils develop their understanding of the wider curriculum. Each half-term's literature is based around a theme.
Across school, each year group studies literature on the same theme. Our literature spine is designed so that, Throughout school, as pupils revisit the theme yearly, the texts (and their carefully-chosen link texts) increase in their complexity and challenge, providing age-appropriate challenge but also that the subject-specific knowledge, cultural capital, understanding of key concepts discussed and explored in each book is revisited, embedded and built upon.
Autumn 1 - British Values
Over the course of study, books studied in Autumn 1 develop pupils' understanding of the core British Values (alongside our PSHE curriculum). These book choices also embed our school value of respect, honesty and teamwork.
Pupils begin their journey in Year 3 by exploring democracy with The Accidental Prime Minister. Beginning to explore the concepts of belonging and isolation, pupils in Year 4 study The Journey, exploring the life of a refugee. Building upon this, in Year 5, pupils study The Boy at the Back of the Class, exploring the concept of judgements and tolerance. In Year 6, pupils revisit and develop their knowledge of 'refugees' in The Arrival, allowing pupils to apply their knowledge to this abstract literature.
Over the course of study, these texts and link texts used in reading sessions provide ambitious challenge for pupils' ability to read confidently with fluency and comprehension.
Autumn 2 - Mental Health
Over the course of study, books studied in Autumn 2 develop pupils' understanding of mental health and wellbeing. These book choices also embed our school value of honesty (being an 'honest' version of oneself) and respect.
Pupils begin their journey in Year 3 by exploring Ruby's Worry & Perfectly Norman (Tom Percival), looking at how our mindsets determine our actions and focused on empathy of others. In Year 4, pupils study The Goldfish Boy (Lisa Thompson)- exploring the tale of a young boy with OCD. In Year 5, pupils revisit Thompson's work with The Light Jar - exploring how unaware we may be of others' hidden struggles. This also focuses on relationships at home. In Year 6, pupils' knowledge is culminated in an abstract exploration of mental health, with The Boy in the Tower.
Over the course of study, these texts and link texts used in reading sessions provide ambitious challenge for pupils' ability to read confidently with fluency and comprehension.
Spring 1 - Picture Books
Spring 2 - History
Summer 1 - Geography
Summer 2 - Classics
Accordion content
All year - Poetry
Poetry runs alongside our Literature-Led Curriculum. Each term, it is our intention that pupils study a key poet through a Storytime session a week being devoted to listenint to, rehearsing and performing poetry and learning about these key poets. The first three texts for each year group are our termly poets and the final text is an anthology for each year group, used in class assemblies throughout the year.
Year 3
Year 4