Our intention is that, when children leave Smithies Moor, they do so with the knowledge, understanding and emotions to be able to play an active role in today’s society.

We want our children to have high aspirations, a belief in themselves and realise that anything is possible if they put their mind to it. 

At Smithies Moor, the National Curriculum content underpins our curriculum which has been well planned to ensure a broad, balanced curriculum with clear progression of the knowledge and skills taught in each year group. Our curriculum will provide our children with the skills, knowledge and understanding that they need to develop into well-rounded, informed individuals. 

We want our children to be fascinated and inspired by their learning. Therefore, we strive to deliver a wide and varied learning experience for every child. We believe that our children should not only reach their best academically but also develop a thirst for knowledge, foster a love of learning and leave our school with transferable, independent learning skills which will encourage them to be lifelong learners.

All subjects are taught discretely to ensure clear and concise progression is not lost. However, where appropriate, clear links are made in learning and across subjects.  This ensures that our children are exposed to a wide variety of connected learning opportunities. Teachers make subjects explicit using subject names to ensure that our children recognise how knowledge and skills are subject related but also how they can be interrelated to support different areas of learning.

Through our curriculum, we prioritise pupils’ moral development. We are passionate about our children having the courage to make the right moral choices, regardless of who is watching. 

At the heart of our curriculum, our children will have opportunities to develop their knowledge and understanding in order to show tolerance of others beliefs, religions and life choices. Our children will be kind. They will show empathy and compassion and above all, they will have the integrity to make a positive contribution to the world around them. Our children will have healthy minds, showing they are emotionally happy and resilient learners and they will stay true to themselves, valuing their own identity. They will learn how to build positive, respectful relationships with other people. 

For most of our pupils, developing a rich vocabulary is a high priority in order to develop confidence in sharing their own thoughts and opinions with others. 

Our ambitious curriculum is designed to help pupils discover their talents and interests, and hence, understand what success means and feels like for them.

The local area is identified as one of high deprivation, with high levels of unemployment. With the aim of improving pupils’ life chances, we are passionate about giving our pupils opportunities outside of their usual experiences and environment. We expect children to engage actively in lessons and to develop a strong work ethic. Learning about careers and employability is a key focus running throughout the curriculum. Our children will have ambition and high aspirations for their futures. Each child’s capacity to see possibilities in the world will be developed their horizons broadened. Children will know that their aspirations will be reached through hard work and determination. 

Our children will understand their local community and feel proud of where they live. Through our curriculum, we will develop a sense of unity within our community and beyond. Our curriculum will deepen their understanding of their identity in the wider world and the children will develop a curiosity and knowledge,  which will enable them to become ethical, global and responsible citizens.