Curriculum at Middlethorpe

Our curriculum is based on the National Curriculum which can be found by clicking this LINK. We have developed our curriculum to ensure we not only meet but exceed the requirements of the national curriculum in providing our pupils with a knowledge-rich education to ensure their success as they move into KS3. The National Curriculum document shows the statutory objectives for the knowledge, skills and understanding that we teach at Middlethorpe Primary Academy from Year 1 to Year 6.

At Middlethorpe Primary Academy we offer a broad, balanced and academically rigorous curriculum for all our learners. Children in the Early Years Foundation Stage are taught using the EYFS framework with an emphasis on developing key skills, knowledge and understanding through direct teaching and structured continuous provision.

Our curriculum is designed with knowledge at its heart to ensure that children develop a strong vocabulary base and understanding of the world. The curriculum promotes long-term learning and we believe that progress means knowing more and remembering more. We have developed a curriculum built on current research regarding how memory works to ensure that children not only have access to 'the best that has been thought and said' but are taught this in a way that ensures children can remember the curriculum content in future years. We make use of knowledge organisers (which are sent home regularly) to ensure children know exactly which information is expected to be learned over the course of their study in a particular subject. One of the central aims of the curriculum is to ensure that our pupils are both "interesting and interested". We want them to be 'interesting' to talk to, because they know a great deal about the world and 'interested' in finding out more. We understand that knowledge is 'sticky', in other words, the more pupils know the easier it is for them to know more. This is why we place particular emphasis on children knowing by heart and building rich webs of knowledge as they progress through the curriculum. Parents can support this work through quizzing children on the knowledge organisers according to the revision schedule provided on the back.

In each year group, the following subjects are taught each day:

  • English
  • Mathematics

These subjects are taught each week:

  • Science
  • Computing
  • Physical Education
  • Music
  • PSHE

The rest of the curriculum time is blocked into knowledge-rich enquiry topics based around the following subjects:

  • History (Autumn 1 and Summer 1)
  • RE (Autumn 2)
  • Geography (Spring 1)
  • Art (Spring 2)
  • Reflect and Review (Summer 2)

More details about how each subject is taught and educational philosophy that underpins this can be found on the subject specific page. For a year-by-year breakdown, you can visit each year group's page. 

A 3D Curriculum

Our school's  curriculum model is that of a '3D Curriculum'. This focuses on making links between different topics and year groups rather than studying topics in isolation. There are three main types of link:

  • Vertical Links: within a subject over the years
  • Horizontal Links: between subjects in a year
  • Diagonal Links: between year groups AND subjects