At Glasshoughton Infant Academy, our core Trust values of Care, Aspire and Succeed are at the heart of everything we do. We set high expectations, inspiring every pupil to excel during their time with us. Our intention is to ensure that all pupils make the best progress that they can and that the curriculum removes any potential barriers to learning, delivering a bespoke offer that meets the needs of our community. We want our pupils to leave with knowledge which will not only create excellent life opportunities but will also prepare them exceptionally well for life beyond our academy. 

We view the design of the curriculum as an evolving and fluid process, always being evaluated and improved, which takes into consideration: 

• the needs and character of our children; 
• the children’s prior learning and experiences; 
• the statutory curriculum (National Curriculum Year 1 to Year 6) 
• and educational research which is evaluated and relevant to our academy 

We have designed a curriculum which focuses on embedding key substantive and disciplinary knowledge in each subject area so that our pupils know more, remember more and understand more. Learning is sequenced in such a way that children are provided with opportunities to recall and retrieve previous learning so that knowledge is cemented over time in their long-term memory. We also enrich our curriculum with wider opportunities, in order to build the cultural capital that our pupils need in order to become successful and well-educated citizens. 

How is our curriculum implemented? 

We believe that a carefully planned and sequentially structured curriculum is the foundation upon which excellent learning and development is built.  Using the National Curriculum as a basis, curriculum planning builds on prior knowledge from the previous key stage and also looks forward towards what is most important that pupils understand to help them continue their learning successfully in Key Stage 3. This effectively prepares pupils for the next stage in their education.  

Religious Education 

Religious Education (RE) is delivered across all year groups and is aligned to the Wakefield SACRE agreed syllabus. It is further supported through our wider personal development programme. Children have regular lessons: experience trips and visits; and assemblies through our RE programme. 

We teach RE so that our children understand and have a respect for their own and others’ beliefs and ways of life. We aim to provoke challenging questions about the meaning and purpose of life, beliefs about God, ultimate reality, issues of right and wrong and what it means to be human. RE should enable children to reflect on their own ideas of religion and way of life. 

Our Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) Policy can also be viewed on our Policies page. 

Parents and carers have the legal right to withdraw their child from RE lessons if they wish. For more information, please see our RSE Policy and guidance on the withdrawal process.  Please note that content taught that is part of the science curriculum, or personal social and health education curriculum, are statutory and parents cannot withdraw from this. 

Further Information 

To explore individual subjects in more detail, including what pupils study in each year group, please visit our Curriculum Subject Pages. 

Parents, carers, or members of the public who would like more information about the curriculum can contact us at info@gia.castlefordtrust.co.uk.