Our Curriculum

By the end of Year 6, we want our pupils to:  

➤ To be able to confidently discuss works of art and recognise techniques used by artists

➤ To develop key skills in different mediums (sculpture/drawing/painting/collage/printing)

➤ To learn and apply formal elements such as: exploring colour, form, line, pattern, shape, texture and tone

➤ To have the skills to confidently express themselves creatively and evaluate their own work

Art units are taught once a term (alternating each half term with DT). We use the Kapow Primary Art curriculum which is carefully designed to ensure coverage and progression of art skills, as detailed in the national curriculum. Teachers use the Kapow planning document and apply it to the KAPS lesson structure

The art curriculum is divided into units which explore the different mediums e.g. printing, designing. Each unit starts with an overarching theme to explore e.g. ‘Drawing: Expressing ideas’. Throughout the unit, each lesson looks at a broken down to a sub question(e.g. ‘What is street art?’, ‘how do artists use one point perspectives?’) designed to help build cumulative knowledge and allow children to create a final piece of work. 

Teachers encourage children to view their art books as the child’s own creative process and a chance for them to be expressive. We encourage children to adapt and redraft as they develop creative skills and to see ‘mistakes’ as part of the creative process.

Art in the early years

In the Early Years, art is taught through hands-on experiences that encourage creativity and self-expression. Children explore a variety of materials and techniques to develop their fine motor skills and imaginative thinking.

SMSC and British Values - Curriculum Statement

By the end of Year 6, we want our pupils to:

➤ Master Basic Computer Science (Coding & Logic): Use complex programming (like variables and conditional statements), independently debug code, and explore physical computing with Micro:bits, Spheros and drones.

➤ Excel in Information Technology (Creating & Managing): Use hardware and software to handle spreadsheet data and formulas, understand search engines, and create high-quality digital content and 3D designs.

➤ Practice Digital Literacy (Online Safety): Critically evaluate online content to spot "fake news" and responsibly manage their long-term digital footprint.

Computing is taught once a week using the Kapow Primary curriculum alongside other resources to support coding, which are carefully designed to ensure coverage and progression of skills as detailed in the national curriculum. To ensure digital safety remains a priority, the first lesson of each half term focuses explicitly on online safety, though these vital principles are also woven throughout the curriculum all year round.

The curriculum is structured around three core pillars: Computer Science, Information Technology, and Digital Literacy. Every unit centers on a main theme, with lessons broken down into guided sub-questions that steadily build technical knowledge and confidence.

The computing curriculum encourages children to transition from passive users of technology to literate creators and critical thinkers. We aim to prepare our children for secondary school by balancing practical digital skills with a sophisticated, safe, and responsible understanding of the online world.

Computing in the Early Years

In the Early Years, computing is introduced through foundational experiences that encourage curiosity and logical thinking. Children begin to explore technology safely, experimenting with early digital tools, spotting simple patterns, and developing the problem-solving and instructions-based thinking that underpins future coding.

By the end of Year 6, we want our pupils to:  

➤To be able to confidently make design decisions that lead to high quality functioning products

➤To acquire knowledge of designers throughout history

➤To develop skills in different areas of design (construction, mechanism, textiles, electrical control or cooking)

➤To develop skills in critical thinking, teamwork and problem solving

➤To create high quality designs that have a purpose for somebody

DT units are taught once a term (alternating each half term with art). We use the Kapow Primary DT curriculum which is carefully designed to ensure coverage and progression of DT skills, as detailed in the national curriculum.

The DT curriculum is divided into units which explore the different areas of design e.g. construction. Each unit starts with an overarching theme to explore e.g. ‘Textiles: simple stitches’’. Throughout the unit, each lesson looks at a broken down to a sub question(e.g. ‘What is fabric?’) designed to help build cumulative knowledge and allow children to create a final piece of work. 

The DT curriculum encourages children to be creative, innovative and take risks as they become designers and makers of purposeful products. We aim to develop curiosity in our children by giving them opportunities to evaluate a range of existing products as well as learn about some of the great designers that helped shape the world that we live in.

DT in the early years

In the Early Years, DT is taught through hands-on experiences that encourage creativity and self-expression. Children learn to safely explore a variety of materials, tools and techniques and experiment with colour, design, texture, form and function e.g. when using junk modelling to design boats.

By the end of Year 6 we want our pupils to:  

➤Have a secure and fluent command of writing across a range of genres and purposes

➤ Be prepared for the next stage in their education as confident, independent writers

➤ Have the transcriptional and compositional skills needed to communicate effectively in the wider world

➤ Develop ideas through talk, collaboration, questioning and thoughtful reflection

Throughout all writing learning, our curriculum is underpinned by a clear focus on the interplay between transcription and composition, alongside a strong emphasis on language development and oracy. 

We use the HFL Essentials Writing curriculum, built around carefully selected, high-quality core texts. These are sequenced to ensure coherent progression and full coverage of the National Curriculum, enabling pupils to build on prior learning over time. 

Learning is broken down into small, manageable steps, with teachers explicitly modelling the writing process. Pupils are guided through shared writing before applying their learning independently.

How we teach English in the Early Years:

In Reception, we build strong foundations for writing through: 

Little Wandle phonics 

Kinetic Letters handwriting 

Oral composition through Talk Through Stories 

In Nursery and Reception, writing is embedded in purposeful play and daily routines, allowing children to develop early writing skills in meaningful contexts. 

-Children are supported to: 

-Develop language through talk 

-Build phonological awareness 

-Begin writing simple sentences through oral rehearsal and dicatation

By the end of Year 6, we want our pupils to:  

➤Make sense of their own surroundings; through learning about their own locality, and the interaction between people and environment.

➤Recognize and appreciate differences in both human and physical geography across the world

➤To develop the geographical skills necessary to carry out effective geographical enquiry and key life skills such as reading maps.

 âž¤For children to develop an interest in the wonders of the world, including an appreciation of ethnic, cultural, and economic diversity, helping to prepare them for our diverse world.

➤To develop a sense of responsibility towards the environment and an understanding of the human impact on the natural world, which helps to develop our children into adults who take responsibility for their actions. 

Geography units are taught once a term (alternating each half term with History). We use the Kapow Primary Geography curriculum which is carefully designed to ensure coverage and progression of geographical skills, as detailed in the national curriculum.

Our geography curriculum is driven by structured enquiry which encourages children to question, interpret and reason. Each unit starts with an overarching question such as ‘Why do people live near Volcanoes?’. Throughout the unit, each lesson looks at a sub-question (e.g. ‘How was the Earth constructed?’)  designed to help build cumulative knowledge and allow children to answer the big question in the final assessment session. 

Children use a range of different sources (pictures, videos, books, internet resources, atlases, maps) throughout every unit. As children move up through Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2, each unit covers the key geographical skills children need to master such as: map work, atlases, digital mapping, plan perspectives, using the eight points of a compass, grid references and fieldwork.

Geography in the early years 

In EYFS, we lay the groundwork for the Geography curriculum through the 'Understanding the World' Early Learning Goal. Children will have real life experiences which help them understand their immediate environment such as local trips to amenities, looking at maps of a local well-known area, giving directions using technology such as bee-bots or exploring how places can be different through stories. 

By the end of Year 6, we want our pupils to:  

➤Have a love of history and be curious about the world around them.  

➤Have a secure, coherent understanding of British chronology, from the earliest times to the present day, using a timeline.

➤Have a secure, coherent understanding of wider world chronology (e.g. Egyptians, Greeks) using a timeline.

➤To communicate using appropriate historical language. 

➤ Use enquiry skills confidently to look at sources of evidence, make judgements on how valid historical claims are and explain how and why different interpretations of the past are constructed.

History units are taught once a term (alternating each half term with Geography). We use the Kapow Primary History curriculum which is carefully designed to ensure coverage and progression of knowledge and historical skills, as detailed in the national curriculum.

Our history curriculum is driven by structured enquiry which encourages children to question, interpret and reason. Each unit starts with an overarching question such as  ‘What was life like in Tudor England?’. Throughout the unit, each lesson looks at a sub-question (e.g. ‘Was Henry VIII a fair ruler or a tyrant?’)  designed to help build cumulative knowledge and allow children to answer the big question in the final assessment session. 

Throughout our learning, we investigate a range of primary and secondary sources in order to deepen and strengthen our knowledge of the historical period. We aim for children to have a coherent, chronological understanding of where different periods of British and world history fall on a timeline and how they relate to each other.  

History in the early years 

In EYFS, we lay the groundwork for the History curriculum through the 'Understanding the World' Early Learning Goals. Pupils begin to distinguish between the past and present by exploring their own personal histories and developing a conceptual vocabulary using terms like ‘new’ and ‘old.’ Engaging themes, such as the era of the dinosaurs, serve as a gateway for children to investigate significant historical periods for the first time. 

By the end of Year 6, we want our pupils to:  

➤Have a deep, conceptual understanding of core mathematical concepts

➤Be prepared for the next stage in their mathematical journey  

➤Have the core mathematical skills to enable them to become responsible, independent members of society 

➤Problem solve and work collaboratively, by challenging, asking questions and drawing conclusions  

Throughout all maths learning, the five big ideas of Teaching for Mastery underpin everything: coherence, variation, mathematical thinking, representation and structure and fluency. We use the White Rose maths curriculum which is carefully sequenced and ensures coverage of the National Curriculum. Concepts are covered across year groups in a sequential, coherent journey which builds on previous knowledge.

Learning within the main maths lesson is carefully broken down into small, sequenced steps through which children are gradually exposed to the mathematical concept. At KAPS, we explicitly teach mathematical vocabulary at the beginning of every lesson. Our teachers plan rich talk tasks, designed to help pupils explore an idea collaboratively, practice and review vocabulary or address misconceptions. We share uncertain thinking, communicate misconceptions and use them to deepen understanding and refine thinking. Concrete manipulatives, models and representations are used to scaffold and support understanding. Following independent practice, children are encouraged to reason and think deeply through rich “Extend and Explore” tasks. Children are supported in their long-term acquisition of mathematical knowledge through daily retrieval practice.   

Daily Fluency sessions 

In addition to our maths lessons, our children spend 15 minutes a day recalling, rehearsing and securing key number facts in a discrete fluency session. In Key Stage 1, children have a daily NCETM Mastering Number session where they focus on additive facts. As children move into KS2, their focus turns to securing multiplicative knowledge through the Number Sense Times Tables Fluency programme. Ensuring that children become mathematically fluent helps to reduce cognitive load in the main maths lesson, which supports all children to understand new concepts. At  KAPS, children also use the programme Times Tables Rock Stars to encourage them to practice and develop automaticity with multiplication and division. 

Maths in the Early Years 

In Reception, we cultivate a strong foundation for mathematical success through the NCETM Mastering Number programme, which develops essential early number sense and fluency. In Nursery, our children receive a practical and interactive introduction to Mathematics through exploring maths in the world around them. Mathematics is woven into the fabric of our day, flowing informally through continuous provision where children explore concepts through purposeful play. We also integrate maths into our daily routines, such as self-registration and snack time, ensuring that our youngest learners see mathematics as a practical, engaging, and natural part of their world. 

By the end of Year 6, we want our pupils to:  

➤To engage pupils in creating and responding to music.

➤To develop pupils’ understanding and appreciation of a wide range of different kinds of music.

➤To develop and extend pupils’ own interests in music and to increase their ability to make judgments of musical quality.

➤To develop pupils’ knowledge, skills and understanding needed to make music.

➤To develop pupils’ listening skills, creative thinking, aesthetic sensitivity, self-confidence and sensitivity towards others through co-operation with others in the shared experience of making music.

Music is taught weekly. We use the Churanga curriculum which is carefully designed to ensure coverage and progression of Music skills, as detailed in the national curriculum. 

The music curriculum is divided into units which explore the different areas of the music curriculum e.g. using and understanding musical notation. Each unit starts with an overarching theme to explore e.g. ‘Exploring rhythm patterns’. Throughout the unit, each lesson is designed to help build cumulative knowledge and allow children to master the knowledge.

In addition to the weekly in class music lesson, there is a whole school singing assembly once a week led by a trained music specialist. Within Year 4 and 5, children learn musical instruments once a week.

Music in the early years

In the Early Years, Music is taught through music sessions as a whole class, small groups and within assemblies. For example, children sing a range of well-known nursery rhymes and songs and perform with others, and try to move in time with music.

By the end of Year 6, we want our pupils to:  

➤To provide a broad and balanced programme that enables children to develop and explore physical skills with increasing control and coordination

➤To develop children’s understanding of how to improve and succeed in a range of physical activities and how to evaluate their own success

➤To understand the importance of a healthy body and mind, and the role of exercise and diet in maintaining a healthy lifestyle

➤To develop an appreciation of fair play, teamwork, honest competition and good sportsmanship

PE is taught weekly. We use the Beyond the Physical curriculum which is carefully designed to ensure coverage and progression of PE skills, as detailed in the national curriculum. Teachers are supported with implementing the scheme successfully by an experienced PE coach from Palace for Life. 

The PE curriculum is divided into units which explore the different areas of the curriculum such as: run, jump throw; playing competitive games etc. A variety of sports are threaded throughout the units and build on prior knowledge and skills. Each unit starts with an overarching theme to explore e.g. ‘Run, jump, Throw’. Throughout the unit, each lesson  is designed to help build cumulative knowledge and allow children to  master the skills they need.

All children from Year 1 upwards must wear the KAPS PE kit, which includes: Summer/indoor uniform:   A white polo shirt, black or dark grey shorts;  Plimsolls or trainers.  Outdoor/Winter uniform: Children may wear plain tracksuit bottoms and a KAPS jumper in cold weather. These must be dark colours (navy blue, black or dark grey). For gymnastics and dance, children must be barefoot (no tights or socks). Long hair must be tied back and all jewellery removed. 

Swimming lessons are taught at Streatham Ice Rink and Leisure Centre. Our swimming provision follows the Swim England framework, working towards a range of awards. These awards provide a structured progression, ensuring children develop confidence in the water, learn important aquatic and self-rescue skills, and become competent in a range of strokes.

PE in the early years

In the Early Years, PE is taught through discrete lessons where children explore skills such as moving in a variety of ways e.g. walking, crawling, jumping, hopping, skipping etc. They also develop their fine motor skills and gross motor skills through their continuous provision e.g. climbing frame, construction activities and finger gym activities

By the end of Year 6, we want our pupils to:  

 âž¤make the most of their abilities and value their achievements

➤play an active role as responsible citizens in a democratic society

➤ be as healthy and safe as possible

➤respect the differences between people by promoting equal opportunities and an inclusive ethos

➤reflect on experiences and understand how they are developing personally and socially, tackling many of the spiritual, moral, social and cultural issues that are part of growing up

➤develop respectful, worthwhile and fulfilling relationships.

➤deal with and meet the challenges of life; making good choices.

PSHCE is taught weekly and is a vital part of our curriculum which develops our children’s wider world knowledge but also their ability to interact with others with differing viewpoints with respect, empathy and understanding. 

We use the Kapow Primary PSHCE curriculum which is carefully designed to ensure the National Curriculum objectives are being covered. The PSHCE curriculum is divided into units with an overarching theme to explore e.g. ‘Economic Wellbeing’’. Throughout the unit, each lesson is broken down to a sub question(e.g. ‘What does budgeting mean?’) designed to help build cumulative knowledge..

Lessons contain a variety of teaching methods including; debating, discussion, writing, circle time, role play, group work and projects.

Relationships education (and RSE) is taught within the personal, social, health, and citizenship education (PSHCE) curriculum. Biological aspects of RSE are taught within the science curriculum, and other aspects are included in religious education (RE), PE and computing curriculum.  The AHT for inclusion consults with parents once a year to ensure the whole community is aware of the content and the rationale behind it.

PSHE in the early years

Children in the Early Years develop their PSED (Personal Social Emotional Development) skills across all areas of learning and school life. For example they are encouraged to: develop independence, establish routines, calm me activities, circle times, calm box, worry window (alternative to worry box).b

By the end of Year 6, we want our pupils to:  

➤be able to have a respectful discussion of the different major world religions, making links between these religions and challenging stereotypes.

➤Have a wealth of knowledge about the major world religions and widely held alternative beliefs, such as Atheism and Humanism.

➤Learn from religion by reflecting on aspects of human nature, identity, personality and experience;

➤give informed, considered and respectful responses to religious and moral issues

RE is taught weekly and is a pivotal part of our curriculum which develops our children’s wider world knowledge but also their ability to interact with others with differing viewpoints with respect, empathy and understanding. 

We follow the Croydon SACRE https://croydonsacre.co.uk/ expectations. Each unit starts with a big question to be unpicked such as ‘What places make you feel you belong?’ Throughout the unit, each lesson looks at a sub-question (e.g. ‘Where do Christians go to worship?’)  designed to help build cumulative knowledge and allow children to answer the big question in the final assessment session. 

RE in the Early Years 

In EYFS children will explore aspects of Understanding the World through learning about different celebrations (Christmas, Lunar New Year, Holi, Easter, Eid, Pancake day) talking about similarities and differences between people and learning about how some places are special to people in the community e.g. churches and temples. 

By the end of Year 6, we want our pupils to:  

➤Use scientific vocabulary accurately and confidently when explaining concepts and describing investigations.

➤Have a secure understanding of how to work scientifically through practical enquiry and investigation.

➤Be able to communicate scientific understanding and findings in a range of ways, including verbal explanations, written outcomes, diagrams, graphs, charts and the use of technology.

➤Develop a sustained interest and enjoyment in science.  

➤Understand how science links to the wider world, including future careers.

Science is taught weekly and with high expectations, enabling children to build secure knowledge, use accurate scientific vocabulary, and develop confidence in working scientifically. We use the Kapow Primary Science curriculum which is carefully designed to ensure coverage and progression of knowledge and scientific skills, as detailed in the national curriculum.

Science lessons are planned to spark our children' s curiosity in the world around them and help them develop skills in science as a process of enquiry. Practical investigations or demonstrations are a regular part of science lessons.

At the start of each lesson, children are also introduced to scientists from a diverse range of backgrounds so that they all have the opportunity to see themselves as scientists. Additionally, children are exposed to, and learn about, key careers that are underpinned by science. This helps our children understand the purpose of their science learning, widen awareness of potential career pathways, and build a sustained interest in science.

Science in the Early Years 

In EYFS, when there is a natural world input, science learning objectives are linked to global or school events and children’s interests. Children are introduced to new vocabulary so that they can securely meet the learning objective. There will be an adult initiated activity linked to the carpet input which all children will access at some point during the week. There will also be an independent activity available for children to access during the week for children to apply their knowledge.

By the end of Year 6, we want our pupils to:  

➤To have a solid understanding of how Spanish basic grammar works, such as: feminine, masculine, singular, plural, position and agreement of nouns and adjectives; and how to apply their grammar knowledge to manipulate language and build sentences.

➤To develop their listening skills by joining in and to develop their reading skills showing understanding of key words, topic words, familiar phrases and simple writing.

➤To show passion for Spanish by appreciating authentic resources such as songs and stories and show enjoyment of other cultures and traditions, too.

➤To use spoken and written Spanish for different purposes presenting information to a range of audiences.

➤To develop their listening skills by joining in and to develop their reading skills showing understanding of key words, topic words, familiar phrases and simple writing.

Spanish is taught weekly to Key Stage 2. We use the Language Angels curriculum which is carefully designed to ensure coverage and progression of Spanish skills, as detailed in the national curriculum. 

The Spanish curriculum is divided into units which explore a wide range of topics spanning core vocabulary, cross-curricular and cultural themes. Throughout the unit, each lesson is designed to help build cumulative knowledge and allow children to master the knowledge.

NurseryReceptionYear 1Year 2Year 3Year 4Year 5Year 6