Curriculum Intent

Curriculum Intent

At Pickhurst Infant Academy, we offer a language rich curriculum that is inclusive, ambitious, purposeful, and responsive to children’s needs and interests.

We strive to support every child in achieving their very best and to aim for excellence across the curriculum. All subject areas are included within our curriculum to ensure that children develop a deep understanding of key subject content. These are coherently and cumulatively planned and sequenced to ensure all children acquire the knowledge and skills they need to succeed in their future learning. Our curriculum is built upon children’s past, current and shared learning experiences. Lessons are inspiring and purposeful, whilst delivering the National Curriculum Programmes of Study. Each term, children explore lines of enquiry accumulating their application of knowledge, understanding and skills through big questions. Children celebrate their learning, creativity and innovation through in-school and community celebrations. 

'Education is not the filling of a bucket, but the lighting of a fire.'

W.B.Yeats

We prioritise and develop children’s social, moral, spiritual, cultural and emotional development and their mental health and well-being throughout the curriculum. Our Pickhurst Values: Kindness, Wellbeing, Creativity, Resilience and Excellence underpin our curriculum and the personal development of every child.  The curriculum that we have designed has these core values threaded throughout, so that they form a key part of all children’s learning experiences. When planning the curriculum we utilise the schools extensive grounds which provide a rich environment for enquiry based learning, including Forest School sessions. The experiences children are provided with reflect the diverse local and wider community we live in, and take account of the school’s locality, ensuring that local events and history are key components of children’s learning. Kagan cooperative learning structures are used to support children in developing their collaborative working skills and mutual respect,  tolerance and understanding when working with others, reinforcing the British Values. 

Our curriculum is designed to ensure that children leave Pickhurst Infant Academy as confident, independent and thoughtful learners who communicate effectively, demonstrate exceptional behaviour and attitudes, and who show a lifelong love of learning with a thirst for creativity. 

'There are only two lasting bequests we can give our children - one is roots, and the other, wings'

Hodding S. Carter