Our curriculum has been designed specifically to meet the needs of our local community, ensuring that we develop the whole child. 

Our pupils’ needs and backgrounds and our values for learning underpin all areas of our curriculum:

‘Learning for Life’

Our Curriculum Intent

 

At Potter Street Academy we want all our pupils to enjoy school whilst adopting school values that allow children to become resilient, ambitious, independent learners who are prepared for a changing, global society.

We offer a designed range of experiences and provision which support a full spectrum of academic, physical, spiritual, moral, social and cultural activities that enrich pupils’ lives and provide them with the confidence, skills and knowledge to progress to the next stage of their education. We aim for our pupils to become resilient, curious learners who find pleasure in tackling challenging work.

We believe that our pupils should experience a rich curriculum which balances academic and personal development. We recognise the importance of all National Curriculum subjects. We teach all subjects in the National Curriculum, as well as following the agreed local syllabus for Religious Education, along with a well-planned and structured programme of personal, social, health and emotional learning. Our aim is for our pupils to thrive and achieve well across all subjects.

We plan our curriculum for security and depth of learning. To do this, we ensure that pupils do not just cover the curriculum but return to the key concepts, knowledge and skills over and over again each time gaining a deeper and more secure understanding. This then allows for the application of ideas and knowledge across different subjects.

We assess a pupil’s depth of knowledge, skills and understanding at regular intervals throughout the year, and use this as a forecast as to whether they are on track to meet our curriculum expectations.

At Potter Street Academy, we use the National Curriculum and associated educational research as a helpful starting point for making curriculum decisions. The OFSTED framework enables us to plan our curriculum work around three keyways of thinking: Intent, Implementation and Impact.

Intent

We intend to create a curriculum:

• That challenges all pupils but is accessible to all.
• That is coherently planned and sequenced.
• That is successfully adapted, designed and developed for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities.
• That is broad and balanced for all pupils
• Where parents and our local community feel welcomed, involved and proud of the children's and school's curriculum and achievements.

Implementation

We implement the curriculum by ensuring that:

• Cognitive science underpins approaches to learning
• Regular opportunities are planned to revisit and embed prior learning throughout the curriculum 
• Learning is checked and misconceptions are addressed and further teaching takes place to improve knowledge, skills and understanding 
• Learning is put into a context and links are made across different subjects and domains
• Feedback is given to children to ensure they are aware of how well they are doing and what they need to do next to progress further
• We maintain a stimulating, vibrant and well-ordered learning environment that actively supports pupil achievements

Impact

We intend that the impact of the curriculum will:

• Increase children’s knowledge, skills and understanding of concepts in all subjects
• Allow children to enjoy and discover interests and talents that they can pursue in the next part of their learning journey
• Ensure pupils make at least good progress from their relative starting points and prior attainment,

Curriculum Overview

For each year group we map out how we will cover the National Curriculum for each subject along with which trips will support and enhance children's learning. 

Click on the links at the bottom of the page to view our curriculum for each year group. 

Our Learning and Life Experiences 

At Potter Street Academy we believe that every child should have amazing childhood experiences, ones they will remember for life. Throughout their time with us children at Potter Street are offered the chance to take part in our 63 learning and life experiences, these are:

1. Jump in muddy puddles
2. Receive a parcel
3. Bake a cake
4. Be transported to another world
5. Make a mud pie
6. Run through a garden bare foot
7. Find treasure
8. Have a picnic
9. Work with a senior citizen
10. Hunt for bugs
11. Hatch an animal
12. Paddle in the sea
13. Build a sand and shell sculpture
14. Skim stones
15. Make something that moves
16. Visit a castle where real Kings and Queens have lived
17. Be a weather reporter
18. Watch a West End show
19. Visit a zoo
20. Feed an animal
21. Hold a creature
22. Learn a different language
23. Learn a song in sign language
24. Visit some ruins
25. Ride the train
26. Discover the landmarks of London
27. Be a film producer
28. Visit a library
29. Experience life from a time in the past
30. Discover what is in a pond
31. Go birdwatching
32. Visit a museum
33. Visit an art gallery
34. Experience 3D art
35. Go star gazing
36. Experience secondary school
37. Make and fly paper aeroplanes
38. Camp out
39. Sing songs around a campfire
40. Go on a nature walk
41. Try foods from around the world
42. Visit a place of worship
43. Float along a river (year 5 water-based activities – rafting/kayaking
44. Navigate your way around London on the underground
45. Find your way with a map and compass
46. Visit the home of Shakespeare’s plays
47. Have a speaking part in a play
48. Order food and eat a meal in a restaurant
49. Have a story published
50. Be a photographer
51. Go on a trip away for 2 nights or more
52. Take part in team building activity
53. Talk to professionals from a range of industries
54. Ride a rollercoaster
55. Plant it, grow it, eat it
56. Do something for charity
57. Take part in a talent show
58. Join a school club
59. Hold a position of responsibility in the school
60. Perform at the O2
61. Attend and watch a sporting event
62. Spend time with other primary children from a different school
63. Make something and sell it

Life Skills

At Potter Street Academy we believe every child needs to have a set of core skills that will help them to be independent in every day life. To support this we have Life Skill Challenges which are:

Reception

1. I can say please and thank you
2. I can dress myself on my own and look after my own belongings
3. I can use the toilet and wash my hands after
4. I can blow my own nose
5. I can use cutlery to eat
6. I can show I am sorry
7. I can write my own name
8. I can name healthy foods
9. I can resolve conflicts I have with my peers
10. I can choose materials to be recycled and place them in the recycling bin

Year 1

1. I can use a knife and fork to cut up food
2. I can brush my hair
3. I know when my birthday is
4. I can work in a team
5. I can describe what makes a healthy meal
6. I have fire safety awareness
7. I know how to cross a road safely
8. I can describe how someone else feels
9. I can resolve conflicts I have with my peers
10. I can choose materials to be recycled and place them in the recycling bin

Year 2

1. I know my left and right
2. I know my address
3. I know how to make an emergency phone call
4. I can point to where I live on a world map
5. I can pay someone a compliment
6. I can use dining etiquette
7. I can set myself a target
8. I know what to do if I am lost
9. I can resolve conflicts I have with my peers
10. I can choose materials to be recycled and place them in the recycling bin

Year 3

1. I can tie shoelaces
2. I can wrap a present
3. I can check the weather forecast
4. I know how many days there are in each month of the year
5. I can carry out research using a search engine
6. I can teach something to someone else
7. I can make a sandwich
8. I can measure, choosing the appropriate equipment
9. I can resolve conflicts I have with my peers
10. I can recycle materials and know why we turn off lights and things that use power

Year 4

1. I can read and follow a map
2. I can calculate the change from £1.00, £5.00 and £10.00
3. I can give directions
4. I can write and post a letter
5. I can swim a length
6. I can read a bus timetable
7. I can tell the time on an analogue and digital clock
8. I can follow a simple recipe
9. I can resolve conflicts I have with my peers
10.  I can recycle materials, know why we turn off lights and things that use power and know what sustainable and renewable resources are

Year 5

1. I can send an email
2. I know how to behave appropriately on line and on social media
3. I can fill in an application form
4. I can prepare for an interview
5. I can use a compass
6. I can make a cup of tea
7. I can give a presentation to an audience
8. I understand the changes that happen during puberty
9. I can resolve conflicts I have with my peers
10. I can recycle materials, know why we turn off lights, know what sustainable and renewable resources are and explain the impact of plastic on earth and in our oceans 

Year 6

1. I can prepare and cook a simple hot meal
2. I can take part in a debate
3. I have an awareness of basic first aid
4. I can find out about a range of careers
5. I have an understanding of drug and alcohol misuse
6. I can tie a tie
7. I can read a timetable and follow a schedule
8. I know how to manage money
9. I can resolve conflicts I have with my peers
10. I can recycle materials and can explain the impact of plastic on earth and in oceans and suggest different materials which are more environmentally friendly

Please click here to take you to the National Curriculum For Primary Schools.