Each class at Turnham Academy has been named after an inspirational individual. The names have been selected by the children through a Pupil Parliament led summer holiday research project. We hope to share with you each inspirational person’s achievements and give you an insight into how they have helped shape our society. Each year, the different classes at Turnham will spend lessons researching their inspirational member of society and will share their findings with the rest of the school. From Nursery to Year 6, the children will explore ten figures throughout their time at Turnham Academy, looking closely into the qualities and achievements of these aspirational individuals.
Underpinning all we do is a belief that every moment a child is in school is precious and so everything we do is ‘on purpose’. We aim to create a nurturing school community where our children’s learning experiences are varied and inclusive; ensuring the highest standards of learning, where all children reach their full potential whilst being inspired to continue learning in the future. The following outlines the key drivers for our decision-making around the curriculum at Turnham.
Reading is the cornerstone of our curriculum. For children to succeed in school, they must be reading at the national curriculum stage of learning by the end of each year group. At Turnham Academy, children are equipped with the necessary skills to communicate effectively, whether that be in speaking and listening, reading or writing. We encourage our children’s curiosity of reading and understanding of the world through the careful selection of each groups reading book. Children are encouraged to read daily to foster a passion for reading and to enhance their vocabulary so that they express themselves in a wide range of contexts.
All children can be successful at mathematics when given high quality instruction and meaningful support. Mastery through a collaborative approach. The children learn through collaboration. The opportunity to work as part of a team supports the development of understanding and reasoning skills.
Moving all children together children progress through learning at broadly the same pace, with opportunities for faster graspers to deepen their understanding.
Prioritising depth over breadth each topic should be explored in greater depth and in a variety of ways; a topic is only considered to be complete when the children’s knowledge is secure.
Focus on understanding the ability to solve a calculation is not enough; children must be able to demonstrate and articulate their understanding of the mathematical concept.
The wider curriculum at Turnham covers the Arts, Science, PE, Humanities and Languages. We use our key drivers Communication, Collaboration and Curiosity.
Our wider curriculum begins from Nursery, exploring the world, beginning to look at change over time, expressing ourselves through the Arts, and beginning to explore that curiosity for the world. This is then built upon further into Reception, beginning to look at past and present, the passage of time, how we contribute to the world and the affects we can have on the environment.
At Turnham, we ensure that children learn through collaboration, working together as a team to share ideas by communicating with one another. The curriculum has been designed to ensure there are a range of opportunities for children to explore their curiosity, ask questions and develop the skills and knowledge they need to succeed in a particular subject area. Our curriculum ensures that children are provided with a great breadth and depth of experiences and exposure within topics to help them become well rounded and knowledgeable members of society.
OUR APPROACH
“The important thing is to never stop questioning.” Albert Einstein
“I am among those who think that science has great beauty.” Marie Curie
At Turnham Academy, we have a rich, enquiry filled science curriculum. It has been designed to give our children access to the knowledge which has enabled discoveries and helped develop science which has changed the way we live, think about and understand the world around us.
The underlining principle guiding our science curriculum is to encourage children’s curiosity about the world, which begins in the early years and develops into more sophisticated forms of enquiry throughout key stage one and two. Throughout their time at Turnham lines of scientific enquiry will be explored and nurtured to enhance children’s knowledge and understanding of the key theories that underpin biology, chemistry and physics.
The children progress through the curriculum, building on prior learning. It is our intention that, by the end of Year 6, all children will have a solid foundational knowledge of biology, chemistry and physics which will stand them in good stead to continue building their scientific understanding of the world as they move on to their secondary education.
Our Approach
The humanities teaches us how we live in relation to the people and places of our world and, as such, we believe a rich and broad humanities education is an integral aspect of our children’s education and their development as respectful, critical and curious citizens of the world.
Our humanities curriculum has been designed so that, throughout Key Stages 1 and 2, knowledge is built on and extended as the children progress through the school. In History, your child will learn about a diverse range of cultures and civilisations from the past and begin to make links and draw comparisons between their own lives, cultures and society in the present. In Geography, they will begin to develop a deeper awareness and understanding of how people live in relation to others and places through the development of their knowledge of location, place and human and physical geography.
Children also learn to apply their knowledge and understanding through their Discovery Writing lessons where writing outcomes link to their learning in History and Geography. In class, they will also explore a range of high quality literature with links to their topics, consolidating knowledge through narratives. The texts have been carefully selected to give children exposure to both classical and more contemporary texts which reflect and promote diversity and inclusion.
In Design and Technology, children learn about the designed and made world and how things work and learn to design and make functional products for particular purposes and users.
In KS1 and KS2 each sequence of lessons children
thinking about how they are made and how well they fulfil their purpose.
With a combination of: Samba Drumming, Singing, Boomwhackers, Xylophone Ensemble, Christmas Concert, Easter Parade and the Achievement Awards we are able to provide a rich and varied musical journey detailed below
Our Approach
At Turnham Academy, we have a French curriculum which ensures that children develop key language learning skills, as well as a love of languages and a broad understanding of other cultures. We believe that a high-quality language education should foster children’s curiosity, encourage them to express their ideas and thoughts in another language and to be effective communicators. Our curriculum provides opportunities for children to communicate for practical purposes and build a solid foundation for continued language learning at secondary; all while having fun and developing self-confidence.
We do this by:
Computing provides children with a deeper understanding of how computer work and operate and will give children greater confidence in building life-long computer skills.
There are three core strands to the curriculum:
Computer Science: The principles of information and computation, how digital systems work and how to put this knowledge to use through programming.
Information Technology: How to create programs, systems and a range of content.
Digital Literacy: Children are able to express themselves and develop their ideas through information and communication technology.
The new curriculum will provide the skills for children to solve problems, design systems and understand the power and limits of human and machine intelligence.
Children who can think computationally are better able to conceptualise, understand and use computer-based technology, and so are better prepared for today’s world and the future.
We believe a physically literate child is a competent, confident and healthy mover. Physical literacy builds motivation, confidence, physical competence and an understanding of movement. Thus, it provides our children with the strong foundations needed to sustain a lifelong participation in physical activity and sport.
Our children benefit from a broad and balanced Physical Education (PE) programme carefully designed to inspire learners to:
Physical Literacy is reinforced through daily active playtimes and our extensive extra-curricular and competitive school sport programme.
Our Approach
We want our learners to have a rich and deep knowledge of world religions which will help them to understand the lives and beliefs of the people who surround them in the diverse and multicultural city and country they live in. We believe in a religious education curriculum which provides children with a coherent and progressive approach to the subject that is rooted in narratives, meaning and big ideas which we can all relate to.
We want learners to be equipped with a solid foundational knowledge of major religions and cultures, of what links and distinguishes them from one another, in order to be able to develop a respectful and critical awareness of religion and its important place in our world. Throughout their time at Turnham, children will be building a deepening awareness of the significance of religion in their own lives and those of others; we believe that learning about and from religion is an important aspect in children developing their sense of self as well as their emotional and mental well-being.
Children will:
RSE education is a planned, developmental programme of learning through which children and young people acquire the knowledge, understanding and skills they need to manage their lives now and in the future. As part of a whole-school approach, RSE education develops the qualities and attributes pupils need to thrive as individuals, family members and members of society.
RSE education equips pupils to live healthy, safe, productive, capable, responsible and balanced lives. It encourages them to be enterprising and supports them in making effective transitions, positive learning and career choices and in achieving economic wellbeing. A critical component of RSE education is providing opportunities for children and young people to reflect on and clarify their own values and attitudes and explore the complex and sometimes conflicting range of values and attitudes they encounter now and in the future.
We provide a range of targeted support in order to overcome barriers to learning. Additional support for children is achieved through appropriate assessment, setting personalised challenges and responding to individual needs. Staff work closely with parents to ensure the learning needs off all children are met.
Please contact the academy office by email if you would like further information with regards to our curriculum.
