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 and support the development of fundamental basic skills for all pupils. This enables teachers to plan targeted interventions to accelerate progress and narrow learning gaps, which may have arisen as a result of the pandemic. We want our curriculum, with its well-sequenced and coherent lessons, to inspire and enrich our pupils’ experiences and provide them with memorable learning opportunities supported by effective resources, educational visits, workshops facilitated by experts and exciting use of technology.
| Contextual Strengths | Contextual Challenges |
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Diverse background of our pupils which brings together a diverse range of cultures, religions and experiences and over 46 different home languages 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 and an 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 in becoming 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 plan lessons (Learning Journeys using the KEIRHARDIE mnemonic) that map 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 encourage our children to ask questions that lead to exciting debates, creating constructive dialogue. We want our pupils to be active learners who enjoy learning and are enthusiastic about their learning journey, confident and inquisitive. We believe in developing the whole child and want to instil in our pupils a thirst for lifelong learning. Our intent is to prepare children for the next stage of their learning and to support them in becoming model citizens who are able to contribute meaningfully to their community, country and the world at large.
We use research to inform our curriculum design. This results in better planning, effective modelling, precise and open questioning, good partner-talk, improved balance between teacher talk and teacher listening and ‘on the spot’ marking and conferencing with pupils which 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 and to 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 experiences and teaching our pupils to be proud British Citizens. This is achieved through our well-planned cross-curricular links and assemblies, which allow our pupils to learn, debate, consolidate and apply their learning using the skills and knowledge that they have learnt.
Our Learning Journey
(please click below to read)
