Curriculum Statement
We believe we offer all our children an outstanding education.
Our curriculum is designed for our children in our community. It is bespoke!
At Castle Hill we intend to offer our children a wide-ranging learning adventure that builds year on year in terms of knowledge, skills and experiences.
English and Maths are the key building blocks. In English, early phonics is taught through the Read Write Inc programme, and writing is taught using the strategies of Talk4Writing (Pie Corbett), enabling children to become confident readers and writers. In Maths, we focus on quick recall of facts and tables, and develop skills in reasoning, all of which can be applied to problem solving.
Our intention, when teaching the wider curriculum, is to give children creative opportunities that engage and inform, that are personalised and customised, designed to build on our children’s experiences, background and community. Our School Values and our curriculum promote Social, Moral, Spiritual and Cultural development, providing the inspiration to raise aspirations and prepare children for a future of employment.
Children are able to make choices about what they learn and how they present it as well as being encouraged to choose the level of challenge that suits them. We want our children to become confident learners who can collaborate with their peers, be responsible for their own learning, appreciate creativity and achievement, and recognise the importance of perseverance. We broaden and deepen our learning for all our children with activities such drama workshops, handling artefacts, speaking to experts etc.
We have links with the local library, museums, church, schools, beach (through Beach School trips), local businesses and our Community Warden. Our classes are named after places of interest in Kent and all children enjoy a trip to their namesake village, town or city each year. These visits are always closely linked to the curriculum. We aim to develop our children’s sense of belonging to and responsibility for our communities, both in Shepway and in Kent.
Our School Values (Respect, Honesty, Tolerance, Perseverance, Teamwork) and British Values (Democracy, Rule of Law, Individual Liberty, Mutual Respect, Tolerance of other Faiths and Beliefs) are part of our curriculum and our school community.
A successful education is a partnership between school and home and the community. Parents can view our termly planning on this website. We take a central theme each term as well as one or two key books (stories, factual etc) and teachers plan around these, including as many creative and interesting learning opportunities as possible to ensure children develop the skills and knowledge we expect. Children are asked to complete some Home Learning tasks every week. Many of these tasks are best achieved with the support of the wider family so Home Learning becomes a shared creative learning experience. We publish Home Learning Grids and Curriculum Planners for each year group on this website so parents/carers can see what their children are learning about each term.
Religious Education: All children are legally entitled to RE as part of a broad and balanced curriculum and at Castle Hill, we teach Religious Education (RE) using the Kent Agreed Syllabus. RE teaches about the key principles of 5 major world faiths and allows children to learn through drama, role-play, art and discussions including meeting people from strong faith backgrounds.
Children are not taught what they should believe (this is a matter for parents/carers) but will develop an understanding of how different people view faith. This is very important in the multicultural and multi-faith world in which they are growing up.
Parents have the legal right to withdraw their child from RE lessons but we ask that parents/carers speak to the Headteacher/Deputy Headteacher beforehand to discuss their concerns.
Should you require further information regarding the curriculum at Castle Hill school please contact the school office.
