Our Curriculum Approach

Queensway Infant Curriculum

The curriculum at Key Stage 1 builds upon the strong foundations of reception, as it gradually moves away from child-initiated learning and becomes more teacher-led.

There is a strong emphasis on key mathematical concepts and ideas, such as learning number bonds to 10 and 20 and beyond, fundamental times tables knowledge such as counting in 2s, 5s and 10s initially before moving on to other number facts. Maths is taught every day for about an hour.  In addition, the children take part in a daily ‘Power Maths’ session which develops their basic number and calculation skills and enhances their mental maths abilities.

At Queensway, we are passionate about helping every child become a confident and enthusiastic reader from the very beginning. Learning to read is one of the most important skills children will ever learn, and we use Read Write Inc (RWI) Phonics programme to give our children the best possible start in reading and writing. Developed by Ruth Miskin, RWI is a structured and systematic approach to teaching literacy, designed to ensure every child learns to read confidently and fluently.

Some subjects are taught individually, such as PE (two sessions per week), However, most subjects are taught in a cross curricula way as part of the themed or topic-based curriculum. Pupils will at times work individually and at others as part of a group, both independently and with an adult.

Pupils in Year 1 in the summer term undertake a Phonics Screening Check, to assess how well they have developed their phonic knowledge. At the end of Year 2 pupils are asked to do Key Stage 1 tests in reading, writing, spelling, punctuation and grammar (SPAG) and maths. These are used by the teacher to measure the progress they have made from the end of the Early Years Foundation Stage (Reception).

Queensway Junior Curriculum

We believe all of our children have the right to access a high-quality curriculum that is broad and balanced, including rich cultural and sporting opportunities. Our curriculum opens doors for our pupils, encouraging them to be curious about the world around them and broadening their horizons.

We teach powerful knowledge so that children can understand, access and influence our society. But we also teach critiques of this knowledge – to give our children an edge and show them that a canon is always up for debate.

We guide learning carefully to ensure that all children can access the curriculum and know it. 

We also challenge children to apply their thinking to complex problems to strengthen their intellectual resilience.

Reading, writing and mathematics are at the heart of our curriculum, but we also value subject disciplines, teaching science, history, geography, religious education, computing, art and music as distinct subjects, particularly as our children progress through the school.

Whilst we have an ambitious curriculum, driven by our mission for social equity, we also aim for our curriculum to be very inclusive and our teachers plan carefully to ensure all our children can access the curriculum, removing barriers to learning and achievement such as special educational needs.

Read our Curriculum Policy for more information

Contact us to discuss our curriculum

We are part of the Inspiration Trust and share their knowledge-rich curriculum. We make sure our curriculum is inclusive and accessible for all of our students. Read our principles to find out more about how we achieve this.

In England and Wales Parents have the statutory right under Section 71 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998 to withdraw their children from RE lessons and acts of Collective Worship in schools. 

As parents you are not obliged to give a reason for requesting the withdrawal. Requests for withdrawals should be made in writing. However, before exercising any right of withdrawal, we would recommend you contact us to discuss further.