Our ambition is for children to leave our school academically successful and as positive, happy individuals who embody our core REACH values. Developing the whole child and equipping them with positive learning behaviours, attitudes and values are central to our approach.  These are defined in our 5 school values: Responsibility, Equality, Achievement, Consideration and Honesty. 

We strive to offer a broad, ambitious and exciting curriculum which equips our children with a breadth of knowledge and skills across the full range of subjects alongside a deep, secure understanding of reading, writing and maths.  This approach, underpinned by the National Curriculum, builds on from their learning in KS1 and lays important foundations for secondary school and beyond.  High expectations and challenge underpin all that we do so children leave feeling motivated, proud and successful life-long learners.

Our Curriculum Design

We design our curriculum so that each subject is taught discretely with links made between subjects where meaningful and appropriate.  Careful planning ensures there is a clarity over the knowledge and skills  taught in each subject across each year group.  Lessons are focused, engaging and challenging so that knowledge taught has clear links to prior and future learning in order that children will leave each year group fully prepared for the next.  Being a Junior School, we recognise the importance of fluent literacy skills and therefore provide a rapid and targeted phonics catch-up programme in Year 3 to enable children to access the full curriculum.  

Key disciplinary strands underpinning each subject are captured in the subject-specific ‘Elements’ which drive lesson planning. These themes begin with a focus on the key knowledge and unit-specific vocabulary before developing higher order concepts and skills enabling children to think, discuss and evaluate for example as a historian or as a scientist.  Opportunities to revisit and re-evaluate knowledge supports the development of children’s long-term memory and secures their understanding of the wider, ‘big picture’ concepts  that thread through each individual subject.  Teachers use a range of strategies to identify barriers to learning and to support children of all abilities to ensure our curriculum is accessible to all.  The curriculum is adapted for individual needs to enable all children to reach their full potential.  

Our Curriculum Outcome

Through our carefully planned curriculum we seek to not only broaden children’s knowledge and understanding of the world around them but to also prepare them to be active, mature, responsible adults in a diverse, global society.  Our whole school curriculum, including RE, PSHE and RHE, provides rich opportunities for children to explore, discuss and develop their own spiritual, moral, social and cultural views and those of others.   Enrichment opportunities and first-hand experiences help children grow into confident, reflective learners who are able to demonstrate creativity, resilience and independence. 

We know our curriculum is having an impact because children at Robert Miles are proud, positive ambassadors of the school, who can confidently articulate their learning.  They are highly motivated, engaged and enthusiastic individuals with secure interpersonal skills, who show an appreciation of others and the world around them.