Hillcrest Curriculum INTENT

At Hillcrest we intend to implement an inspiring curriculum rooted in our shared vision...

and values...

RESILIENCE

Perseverance & Positivity

INNOVATION 

Critical Thinking & Creativity

DIVERSITY

Tolerance & Inclusivity

EXCELLENCE

Precision & Pride 

At Hillcrest we are: skilled readers, confident authors, mathematicians, scientists, historians, geographers, musicians, artists, linguists, theologists, computational thinkers, athletes, philosophers designers and technologists. We are inclusive and diverse.

We intend to help our children become life-long learners, to live healthy lifestyles and not be afraid to ask philosophical questions. Our children come from all over the world and we promote British Values so that they all understand what the people of our society see as being important and what we feel is right and wrong.

We intend to do this with a creative and relevant curriculum which will inspire and motivate all pupils to become the best that they can be and strive for academic excellence. Our curriculum teaches them essential skills for life such as partnership, resilience, innovation, diversity and excellence. These core values are at the heart of all we do and are interwoven into all learning opportunities.

Our curriulum is underpinned by evidence, research and cognitive science. Learning is deliberately sequenced for robust progression and allows teachers to focus on the lesson. There is an emphasis on oracy and vocabulary acquisition, retention and use to break down learning barriers and accelerate progress. We are proud of our knowledge and vocabulary-rich learning which has an ambitious and content-rich literature spine allowing the children to access books at home as well as school.

Hillcrest Curriculum IMPLEMENTATION

Our curriculum has been carefully built and the learning opportunities and assessment milestones for each year group crafted to ensure progression and repetition in terms of embedding key learning, knowledge and skills.

We want our children to be kind, safe and respectful towards others, their environment and themselves, both inside and outside of the classroom. Hillcrest children talk about ‘managing their inner chimp’ and taking responsibility for their own behaviours.

We will provide a range of opportunities for pupils to move learning from the short term to the long-term memory, resulting in mastery of the subject taught. By the time learners have left Hillcrest Primary, they will have mastered a range of both procedural knowledge (skills) and factual knowledge through opportunities which are carefully planned, for progression and depth. We believe that the curriculum we offer would fire children’s imaginations and be challenging, yet enable all to experience success, regardless of their ability or interests.

At Hillcrest Primary School, we know that pupils who have a positive attitude towards their learning will make good progress and be successful. Consequently, instilling all our pupils with a 'growth mindset' continues to be a key priority. As part of a growth mindset, we use the metaphor of the Learning Pit to help children face new challenges and build resilience when things get tough. We want to change the attitude of children who don’t react positively to challenges by ensuring a safe atmosphere, removing the fear of failure and also by getting them excited at the notion of having a go.

We believe that it is important for children to have a strong awareness of their local community, of who they are and where they fit in the world. We believe that successful learning depends on a positive partnership between home, school and the wider community and we are constantly looking to deepen those links.

True learning is defined as changes in the long-term memory and creating mental models that allow children to apply learning in a specific context; all lessons at Hillcrest Primary are crafted to follow the Rosenshine Ten Principals of Instruction framework:

As part of this planning process for our enquiry led curriculum, teachers need to plan the following: 

• A knowledge organiser which outlines knowledge (including vocabulary) all children must master;
• A cycle of lessons, within an enquiry, for each subject, which carefully plans for progression and depth; 
• Low stakes quizzes, which are tested regularly to support learners’ ability to block learning and increase space in the working memory; 
• Challenging questions for pupils to apply their learning in a philosophical/open manner; 
• Trips and visiting experts who will enhance the learning experience.  

Hillcrest Curriculum Impact

Everything we do is with our children in mind and our staff’s strong relationships between pupils, parents and one another creates an atmosphere for learning which is conducive to success and enjoyment.

The outcomes of our curriculum can be seen around the school. Children in classrooms are engaged in their learning, enjoy their learning and want to find out more. They show pride in their performance and develop understanding and learning to a deeper level. Work is completed to high standards and our children become rounded and interested individuals.

Our curriculum is carefully planned for progression; it is designed to be challenging and relevant to our pupils, their local identity and builds upon their prior knowledge and understanding. If children are keeping up with the curriculum, they are deemed to be making the expected amount of progress required and are therefore working at the expected standard for their year group.

The secure foundations of our vision and values result in children becoming life-long, curious learners, who ask philosophical questions and are more than ready to take opportunities to extend their horizons.