The Curriculum at Gateway Academy
The Gateway Way underpins our curriculum. At the core of what we do is a relentless determination to enable each and every one of our children to achieve the best that they can and to have high aspirations. Our curriculum aim is to equip our children as independent learners, showing determination, resilience and a sense of purpose as they move on to secondary school. We set out to offer them the best possible start in education and to provide them with all the tools they need to be successful and lead happy and rewarding lives, whatever their starting points. We focus on well-being, because we know that many of our children face challenges in their home environment.
At Gateway Academy we believe that structured academic learning alongside enrichment activities provide our children with life-changing choices and opportunities. We have a very broad curriculum. We have our own learning tool kit designed to help children to develop the personal skills they will need to approach learning successfully. In these webpages you can read more about our curriculum and follow links to find out even more about how the Gateway curriculum fits together.
In 2014, we adopted the National Curriculum. In addition we supplement some programmes of study with curriculum content that we have developed ourselves. Our values run through everything we do and are visible in everything the children do. These underpin our approach to spiritual, moral, social and cultural development (SMSC).
We teach a number of projects that we have created and refined over a number of years. Projects trailed and published by Gateway Academy include: Project Antarctic (Year 5), World War 2 (Year 6), Cirque Du Soleil Engineering Project (Year 4), Literacy Scheme of Work (Whole School) and our Speaking & Listening programme (EYFS & Year 1). We use modern technology whenever it is appropriate because we believe it is essential to teaching and learning in the 21st Century.
All our curriculum design is sharply matched to our pupils learning needs. At Gateway Academy the core of our curriculum content is a set of Aims & Objectives across the key subjects of English, Mathematics and Science. This is complemented by the aims and objectives used for our foundation subjects. See link:
Follow the link below to view the learning at KS1.
KS1 Ages 5 – 7 Foundation Subjects Curriculum Map (Art & Design, Design Technology, Computing, Music, History, Geography and Physical Education)
We have developed a unique Gateway way to teaching early reading. Underpinning all our work here is a determination to help children to acquire the language skills they need to be successful readers. We use Letters and Sounds as our phonic scheme of work to develop children’s blending skills as they learn to read. With our youngest children we also use additional material from Jolly phonics to help children to remember and recall the sounds they are learning. We have chosen not to use one reading scheme but a range of early reading books that are carefully graded to match what children need to read next in order to advance in their reading skills.
Follow the links below to view the learning at KS2.
KS2 Ages 7 – 11 Foundation Subjects Curriculum Map (Art & Design, Design Technology, Computing, Music, History, Geography and Physical Education, Spanish)
In Early Years we follow the Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage, published in March 2014 by the DfES.
This Framework specifies the requirement for learning and development in the Early Years
and provides specific areas of learning we must cover in our curriculum. These areas are:
- Personal, Social and Emotional Development
- Physical Development
- Communication and Language development
- Understanding the World
- Expressive Arts and Design
For more information on our Early Years curriculum, we have included links to our documents that give you further information about our ethos, our environment and how we involve you as parents and carers.
We enrich the curriculum with termly trips that are matched with what pupils are learning in school. We believe that all children have the right to develop their musical skills so we offer free instrument tuition at Key Stage 2 to our pupils. We also offer a range of free clubs and activities including football, dance, cricket, Eco club and homework club for years five and six.