Curriculum Intent
At Ambleside Academy we believe that:
- Learning should be creative, fun and engaging.
Children should be inspired to learn by the way that learning is presented and the teachers’ excitement and passion for learning. - Staff should believe in what the children can achieve and set work which allows them to think hard and further their knowledge.
- Learning should be contextualised and relevant. Staff ensure children gain knowledge through explicit direct instruction; gradually reduced scaffold; application of new concept and thinking deeply about the concept.
- Children should understand and be able to articulate new knowledge and how it links to previous learning through the connect phase. This is done through retrieval, spaced retrieval practice and interleaving.
- Children deepen their understanding of subject specific vocabulary through explicit instruction. This is coherently sequenced by read, see, hear, define, connect, use and analyse which deepens their understanding.
Our Ambleside Approach
At Ambleside Academy, we adopt a clear and consistent approach to teaching to ensure that within each lesson pupils learn well. We have provided staff with a clear planning and assessment framework of age-related expectations, following the National Curriculum, which demonstrates high standards and a clear progression of knowledge from Early Years Foundation Stage to Year 6.
Being confident, clear communicators and learning and using new vocabulary is really important for our children at Ambleside. Our EYFS curriculum has been designed with this principle at heart.
We have selected texts within this design which will immerse our children in rich vocabulary whilst exposing them to a greater understanding of the world in an age appropriate manner. These two areas of learning are a real focus for the children in the community of which our school serves.
Alongside vocabulary development through texts, we have specified key nursery rhymes and within our curriculum design that will complement strong development of communication and language for our children.
We know our children learn best and have high levels of engagement and greater sustained concentration when the themes of their curriculum interest them. The curriculum has been designed and carefully resourced with consideration to this.
Children in the early years of their education at Ambleside Academy need to begin by learning about themselves, their family and their classroom. We believe that this will give them the secure foundations and building blocks for future learning. Then theme by theme we have sequenced the curriculum to broaden the children’s knowledge and understanding to the local community of which they live and then the wider world. The repetition of this, as set out in this policy, is through age appropriate text types that will make sense to the children in their world.
Within the curriculum design we have set clear project outcomes which have strong community links to provide excellent purposes for learning for our children. This we believe will contribute to enhanced learning and high pupil engagement.
For our EYFS curriculum we have set out clearly defined drivers for each theme. This is the area of learning to be focused on, and where evidence can be collected for assessment.
Our EYFS environment follows the principles of Early Excellence for continuous provision, with pupil-led learning and effective adult interactions prioritised. Our youngest pupils work within beautiful, well- resourced, nursery and reception units, with excellent outdoor areas and equipment for exploratory, imaginative and physical play.
We believe that with the child being the centre, we develop core values which will then allow them to be able to Dream, Believe and Shine and help travel forwards on their journey in life.
