Our Curriculum at Hill View Infant Academy
Our curriculum identifies the essential foundational knowledge, and skills children need to succeed in later learning, while providing regular opportunities to practise and embed this learning. It is carefully planned to meet the needs of all our children and families and reflects both baseline assessment information and the rich life experiences children bring with them when they start at Hill View Infant Academy.
Most children enter our Nursery broadly in line with age-related expectations and leave Year 2 with high levels of attainment. Our carefully sequenced curriculum builds knowledge step by step, with clearly defined end points that support progression for all learners and ensure children develop the strong foundations they need for future success.
As an Early Years school, our curriculum is rooted in high-quality, play-based learning. Continuous provision, both indoors and outdoors, is central to our approach and is thoughtfully planned to be progressive from Nursery through to Year 2. Our learning environments encourage curiosity, independence and appropriate risk-taking, while supporting the development of the Characteristics of Effective Learning. This approach is reflected consistently across all year group planning.
Our Early Years curriculum forms the foundation for all subjects within the National Curriculum at Key Stage 1 and beyond. It ensures that all seven areas of learning within the Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage are woven into each National Curriculum subject, enabling children to work towards and achieve the Early Learning Goals. Development Matters (non-statutory curriculum guidance) has been used to support clear progression across the curriculum. Observation checkpoints enable staff to identify children at risk of falling behind so that timely, targeted support can be put in place to ensure all children reach age-related expectations by the end of EYFS. Learning objectives across the curriculum clearly identify the key knowledge and skills children need to be ready for the next stage of their learning journey.
Language is the bedrock of thinking and learning, and we are committed to providing a language-rich environment for all our children. Subject-specific vocabulary has been carefully identified and sequenced across the curriculum, using the EEF-recommended tiered vocabulary approach, to support the development of communication and language. Children are given frequent opportunities to develop language comprehension through high-quality talk with adults, rich and engaging texts, shared reading experiences and meaningful discussion. Our curriculum is built around carefully chosen key texts, which are used as a driver for learning across subjects. We further enrich our curriculum through a wide range of educational visits and visitors, providing real-life experiences that deepen understanding and bring learning to life.
Unique Features
We are extremely proud of the independence our children develop during their time at Hill View Infant Academy. This is nurtured through opportunities such as our Hill View Champions, Anti-Bullying Crew and Little Leaders programme. Our rich curriculum is further enhanced through:
- Outdoor learning opportunities for every child
- Language lessons in Key Stage 1
- Specialist music teaching for every year group
- Full Fairtrade Status
- Full International School Status, with links to a range of schools
- The Gold Anti-Bullying Charter Mark and Sunderland Outstanding Achievement Award for Anti-Bullying
- Gold Learning Outside the Classroom Award
- OPAL Platnum Award
