Our Curriculum

The intent of The Discovery School Curriculum

Our curriculum is based on discovery – the action or process of finding out or self-discovery. We enable our learners to begin each lesson with a question to answer.

At The Discovery School we have designed our curriculum with the intent that all pupils will:

• be inquisitive and have an opportunity to explore and try new things

• be creative

• build on their prior learning and knowledge

• enjoy learning new skills for life

• feel included and feel like they are part of something

• understand about themselves and their place in the world

• get along with and collaborate with others

• be brave, ambitious and resilient

• “be the best that they can be”

We intend that all pupils achieve this through a curriculum which is designed to be investigative and enquiring. Teachers strive to achieve the highest standards from learners, in order for them to be exceptionally well prepared for the next stage in their education and their future careers.  

The Golden thread of our curriculum is to: 

• Develop a sense of community (past and present) 

• Develop children’s global citizenship (future careers) 

• Develop Cultural Capital 

The curriculum is cohesive and progressive, with knowledge and skills that are built upon year-on-year, but is also flexible enough to ensure that remains relevant and stimulating and reflects the context of Kings Hill within the wider world. Through this curriculum, teachers inspire children to develop a love of learning.

Click here to access the Teaching and Learning policy 

Click here to access The National Primary Curriculum

How we implement our curriculum

Barak Rosenshine’s 10 Principles of Effective Instruction underpin the implementation of The Discovery School’s curriculum.

Whilst the school does not dictate a specific lesson structure, it does ask teachers in their teaching and planning to ensure that these 10 principles are incorporated in learning.  In particular, the principles of: 

• Daily review- Starting lessons with a review of previous learning, such as using our digital floor books as an aid.

• Present new material in small steps - Giving clear instructions and explanations during teaching. Presenting new concepts and ideas in small steps, so children can practise and master these. 

• Ask questions - Checking children's understanding through high quality questioning throughout the lesson.

• Provide models -sharing high quality examples and models of work for children. 

• Guide student practise – working together as a class with the teacher sharing and guiding children through practise

• Check for student understanding - Provide continual verbal feedback throughout lessons to ensure that learning opportunities are maximised for all children. 

• Obtain a high success rate – through guided practise, effective questioning and independent practise of new skills and knowledge.

• Provide scaffolds for difficult tasks – Providing clear prompts for children to guide themselves through their learning. This could be in the form of checklists or even task boards.

• Independent practise –Children are given regular opportunities to work independently in order for them to apply and practise their new knowledge and skills.

• Review - Revisiting new learning regularly through activities such as our Maths fluency 15 or mini review lessons.

The School teaches a curriculum that promotes enquiry. Every lesson begins with a question to be explored. The Early Years Foundation Stage statutory framework and the National Curriculum subjects are planned sequentially to ensure that new knowledge and skills build upon prior learning.  

Teachers will use a range of teaching styles and approaches to ensure that learning is engaging and appropriately challenging.  We believe this enables children to develop resilience and be part of a learning culture where children take responsibility for their learning, their self-assessment and self-evaluation. 

Teachers will make judgements about how to target children to achieve the best learning outcomes for all. It is expected that an effective balance is struck between meeting children’s individual learning needs and enabling all children to achieve the same learning intention through the implementation of Rosenshine's Principles of Effective Instruction.

Our approach to the curriculum complies with our duties under the Equality Act 2010 and SEND Code of Practice 2014, to ensure that all learning opportunities are accessible for those with special educational needs and disabilities. For more information how we support specific individual learning needs, please see our SEND webpage. https://www.discovery.kent.sch.uk/curriculum/special-educational-needs-and-disabilities/

Assessment and Feedback

Our school considers accurate and focused assessment as the cornerstone of high quality teaching, as it allows learning to be planned and taught accurately as well as meeting the needs of the requirements of the children and ensuring high levels of expectation. The intention of our curriculum is to not create unnecessary work load for our teachers. This includes planning and assessment.

The culture at The Discovery School is one of continually using what we know in order to move on children’s learning. This formative assessment happens all the time. Skilled teachers and teaching assistants will use this information to ‘zap gaps’ and to provide additional challenge for children as required and appropriate. This is most effective when done immediately and at the point of learning.

The School’s Feedback and Marking POlicy and the Assessment Policy sets out further guidance on how we support children with their learning and how we assessment against the National Curriculum.

The Discovery School Feedback and Marking Policy

 The Discovery School Assessment Policy

The Discovery School Curriculum 

At The Discovery School we understand the importance of our children knowing more, remembering more and doing more. With this in mind, we teach the children the knowledge they require, ensuring they have opportunities for the retrieval of knowledge and the chance to apply new skills during their learning. Below are our progressions of knowledge and skills for each of the subject areas taught in school. 

 Whole School Overview 2024 - 2025 

Through our curriculum, we give all our children the opportunity to experience and take part in a range of events to help them develop their wider experiences of the world (cultural capital). These events change yearly and in the past our children have had the chance to experience things such as sleepovers in school, visits to religious buildings, trips to the local theatre, residential visits, working with musicians, supporting local and national charities and taking part in local sporting events for example. 

This year, due to the pandemic and the national picture, we have tried to continue to provide our children with a range of these experiences. Below is our year group opportunities for the academic year of 2023 - 2024. 

Our year group curriculum guarantees 

 EYFS Curriculum 2024-2025

The Early Years Foundations Stage curriculum is new this year. Below is the statutory document from the Department of Education. For information about what our EYFS children are learning this year can be found on the EYFS webpage of our website. 

EYFS Curriculum 

The English Curriculum

The Discovery School Writing Progression of knowledge and skills

The Discovery School Reading Progression of knowledge and skills 

 Information about our Phonics Scheme

Science progression of  knowledge and skills 

If you would like any more information about our curriculum or would like to know what your child is currently learning about, then please visit the Year Group pages for more information. You can also speak with your child's class teacher who will be able to share you with this too. 

Year Group Pages