At Westlands, we endeavour to provide a highly tailored curriculum which meets the needs of our children. We strive to develop and prepare our children for the future, enabling them to acquire knowledge whilst developing skills and understanding. We aim for our pupils to have a strong desire to learn, developing their aspirations and increasing their curiosity. Providing key life skills and experiences for our pupils promotes independence and resilience through real life opportunities.

To meet the needs of our children, we make cross curricular links, where meaningful and possible, so that children develop transferable skills which can be used in any subject. The learning of our children is developed through a ‘layered approach’ ensuring that children are given opportunities to apply their knowledge and skills through a variety of learning experiences.  The topics taught will often use a text as a stimulus or starting point, which helps children to see the link between language, reading and writing.  We aim to spark their imagination through creativity.

Teachers plan maths using a mastery approach, supported by the GLOW maths hub. During maths sequences of learning, children are encouraged to develop their skills using the concrete, pictorial and abstract methods. Within every lesson children master their learning by completing  'DO IT' 'SECURE IT' and 'DEEPEN IT' tasks.   We encourage children to think for themselves, to discuss ideas and to use reasoning when justifying their ideas.

Teachers aim to ‘hook’ pupils into their learning and often begin a sequence with a key learning experience.  Children are encouraged to celebrate their learning in a variety of ways – often inviting parents/carers into school for a specific event. We aim to develop lifelong learning behaviours such as resilience, independence, application of skills and team work.

To enable children to access the curriculum and make links, the school also promotes the development of language and vocabulary whilst attempting to enhance memory skills and teach children how to apply their knowledge and their ability to transfer skills from one subject to another.

National Curriculum statutory requirements are fulfilled and in addition to this the ‘Westlands curriculum’ ensures opportunities are broad and balanced as well as fit for purpose for our pupils, so that they can understand, appreciate and succeed in modern Britain.

Reading and Phonics

In Early Years and Key Stage 1, staff follow the Read Write Inc Programme for phonics and reading. Please see the attached document at the bottom of this page to find out more about the Read Write Inc Programme. KS2 children who are not yet secure with phonics continue with RWI, but may also learn using the 'action words' scheme. 

Once children have completed the Read Write Inc programme, teachers plan whole class reading sessions.  These sessions aim to improve children’s love of reading, enhance their reading fluency and teach them how to understand and interpret a wide range of texts.

For more detailed information about the Curriculum Themes for each Year Group, please see the links to their 'Long Term Plans' below.  These are working documents which will be updated and amended throughout the year, but give an indication of the curriculum coverage for each subject in each term.   Additionally, each Year Group produces a Medium Term plan which will be published on their individual class pages on Class DoJo each half-term. 

If you do have any further questions about our Curriculum, please contact the Assistant Headteacher, Miss Freestone either by making an appointment with our office, or by sending an e-mail to the school address.

                                       Long Term Plans

                                                            Curriculum Overview

At Westlands we strive to provide a broad and balanced curriculum for every child, regardless of need or ability.  To ensure that learning is progressive from one year to the next, our teachers plan from our progression documents.  

All subjects are taught discretely, to ensure that pupils develop an understanding of the subject area and are able to make links within these subjects. Reading, Writing, Maths, Science, RE, PE, PSHE, MfL and computing are taught every half term. Other subjects (History, Geography, Art, DT, Music) are taught at least 3 times across the year.  

Each subject has an identified lead teacher, who monitors and evaluates how well their subject is being taught across the school.  These subject leaders ensure that all areas of their subject are covered and taught in depth, building skills and knowledge over time.  If they identify gaps or areas for improvement then they plan how to improve their subject as part of their yearly action planning.