Our motto “Inspiring Excellence” demonstrates our ambition for every pupil at Keir Hardie Primary. Our aim is to bring the best out of every child, whilst recognising their uniqueness and meeting the individual needs of all pupils.
At Keir Hardie Primary School, our curriculum is designed to check and build on pupils’ prior learning, support the development of pupils’ fundamental basic skills, plan targeted interventions to accelerate progress and narrow learning gaps, which may have arisen as a result of the pandemic. We want our curriculum to inspire and enrich our pupils’ experiences, provide them with memorable learning opportunities supported by effective resources, educational visits, workshops facilitated by experts, use of technology, well-sequenced and coherent lessons.
| Contextual Strengths | Contextual Challenges |
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Diverse background of our pupils which brings together over 46 different home languages, diverse range of cultures, religions and experiences to enrich our Curriculum. Our status as an IQM Flagship School for Inclusion ensures that we give our 77 SEN (18%) pupils the best experience and opportunities to learn, achieve, enjoy and excel. Our school staff are committed, caring, hardworking, fully representative of the community we serve and work well as a team to ensure our pupils achieve the very best. Our pupils are calm, kind, hardworking and ready to learn. |
The effect of the global pandemic means some pupils do not have the necessary skills and foundational knowledge. 36% of our pupils are eligible for free school meals and over 76% of our pupils have EAL, which is significantly above the national average. The majority of our pupils begin EYFS well below the typical baseline levels. High levels of deprivation, increasing number of pupils with specific needs: Speech and Language difficulties, ASD and high mobility (mid-phase admissions) The rising cost of living in the area severely affects staff recruitment and retention. High mobility, mid-phase arrivals and leavers. |
We want our pupils to be inspired to achieve high standards. We expect our pupils to always be Motivated in their learning, display a Positive Attitude at all times, show Gumption when faced with obstacles, demonstrate Independent thinking and always Communicate effectively. We call these our MAGIC habits!
Our curriculum provision supports our pupils to be confident lifelong learners, taking into account our pupil’s cultural experiences, whilst providing inspirational enrichment opportunities, we want our pupils to feel valued, be included and celebrated in their learning, while preparing them for the next stage of their education and the world of work.
Our curriculum is designed to ensure equity of access, through collaborative planning, modelling and team teaching, lesson studies, focusing on differentiation and consistency of practice, and parity for pupils across the year group. We ensure the adaptations within the curriculum meet the needs of all our pupils. We plan lessons (Learning Journeys using the KEIRHARDIE mnemonic) that maps out the learning process, beginning with a formative assessment (Baseline assessments, cold tasks, ‘knowledge harvest’ quizzes and diagnostic assessments) to determine what pupils already know, as well as revealing learning gaps and misconceptions to inform planning.
Developing reading, oracy, vocabulary and effective language acquisition continues to be our focus; we want our pupils to become confident readers, orators and communicators. We know, from research that developing children’s reading skills, oracy and increasing pupil’s store of vocabulary is of paramount importance in a drive to close the gaps created by disadvantage. We want our pupils to be active learners who enjoy learning, to be confident and inquisitive, asking questions that lead to exciting debating and creating constructive dialogue, to be enthusiastic about their learning journey. We believe in developing the holistic child and want to instil in our pupils with a thirst for lifelong learning so that they are well prepared for the next stage of their learning, be model citizens who are able to contribute meaningfully to the community and the world at large.
We use research to inform our curriculum design and planning, effective modelling; precise and open questioning; good partner-talk, balance between teacher talk and teacher listening, ‘on the spot’ marking and conferencing allows for immediate feedback ensuring learners are making good and better progress over time. Continuing Professional Development is planned throughout the year to support teacher confidence, evaluate teaching and learning as well as to improve and refine subject knowledge.
We take pride in improving our pupils’ Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural opportunities and teaching our pupils to be proud British Citizens, this is achieved through our well-planned cross-curricular links, which allow our pupils to learn, debate, consolidate and apply their learning using skills and knowledge learnt.
Our Learning Journey
(please click below to read)
