Curriculum

Our Victoria Academies Trust curriculum is one that is broad, balanced and meaningful.

Many of our pupils come from disadvantaged and minority backgrounds. Starting points are often low and prior to beginning school a significant proportion of children have not had access or exposure to an appropriate range of social and cultural experiences. As a result, pupils have gaps in their existing knowledge, vocabulary, personal development and cognitive skills that may prevent them from reaching their potential. Our curriculum therefore serves to enrich and empower them. Enabling them to not only achieve academically but also to become good citizens and future employees of this changing world.

Our curriculum is driven by our 5 key values:

Unity
Integrity
Courage
Curiosity
Excellence

These values unite our schools in their approach to curriculum design, its purpose and aspirations for developing our young people as pioneers of their learning and their futures, as curious and courageous citizens.

We have agreed 5 key drivers for our curriculum. They are:

Knowledge and experiences
Personal wellbeing and social responsibility
Curiosity and inquisitiveness
Challenge and ambition
Inclusivity and representation

How (Implementation)

The key drivers are instrumental in the way we design and deliver our curriculum in all Victoria Academies Trust schools. Information on how these drivers can be used practically is outlined below:

*Our curriculum is driven by…*	*So that our learners…*	*This translates into our curriculum through…*
Knowledge and experiences: Our curriculum develops deep, powerful knowledge within and between subjects. Rich and varied experiences for children connect memories to developing knowledge.	…are critical thinkers, who can make links and apply their knowledge to the world around them.	Spiralling, powerful knowledge in all subject disciplines, creating building blocks for learning and understanding. Interleaving, cross-curricular learning opportunities. Mapped learning and life experiences, contextual to school and community. Autistic learners may need a flexible, tailored and personalised approach to their learning, including a low arousal and reduced demand approach that supports their sensory processing differences and intuitively responds in the moment to their window of tolerance.
Personal wellbeing and social responsibility: Our curriculum promotes development of the whole child, establishing healthy attitudes, behaviours and interpersonal skills.	…are aware of their own emotions and those of others, building positive relationships. …are motivated and empowered to make a difference to the world.	Contextualised personal, social, health and economic education, developing learners’ mental health and wellbeing. A range of opportunities for pupil leadership. Well established community links, partners and experiences. Questions and inquires that challenge learners to make a difference. Questions and inquires that promote education for sustainable development (people and planet). Environment and structure tailored to meet the sensory processing needs of the pupils e.g. the need for more frequent sensory and regulation breaks and the need for mental health and wellbeing to be a high priority. Outdoor learning (inclusion of forest schools, horticulture and animal based therapy will promote the wellbeing of all pupils).
Curiosity and inquisitiveness: Our curriculum promotes interest and excitement. Children are encouraged to be pioneering, through child-led inquiry and questioning.	…engaged and motivated; intrigued by their new discoveries.	Questions and inquiries designed throughout the curriculum. Learning that promotes oracy, collaborative and independent learning opportunities. Purposeful opportunities to share learning, demonstrating how inquiries or challenges have been investigated, answered or achieved.
Challenge and ambition: Our curriculum promotes excellence; developing learners to be the best that they can be.	…are motivated and aspirational, resilient and persevering; going beyond their comfort zones to achieve and succeed.	High expectations across all subjects and for all pupils. Effective questioning and challenge. Teaching strategies that develop independent and collaborative learning. Connections to careers, aspirational people, further education, business and the world of work. Purposeful opportunities to share learning, demonstrating how inquiries or challenges have been investigated, answered or achieved.
Inclusivity and representation: Our curriculum considers and represents the challenges and differences that exist for our pupils. It is meaningful and relevant to our learners.	…feel valued, are heard and recognised by others, and are well prepared to contribute to society.	Learning opportunities that are inclusive of all needs and appropriately scaffolded. Learning that is engaging for all pupils. Recognition and celebration of a wide range of cultures, individuals, stories and histories. Learning is engaging, connected to locality and interests; it builds upon pupils’ current realms of experiences.

So What (Impact)

The impact of our curriculum will be evidenced through the extent to which each academy fulfils the curriculum aims. Namely, that every child will be able to:

Demonstrate that they are effective learners with a depth and breadth of powerful and transferrable. knowledge, understanding and skills;
Achieve well across the full range and breadth of the curriculum, including reading, writing and mathematics, and;
Continue to flourish because they are well – equipped and empowered to become the best they can be.

In order to measure impact, all children will answer carefully constructed key questions which relate to the knowledge children have gained throughout a particular topic.

Subject leaders, alongside senior leaders, are responsible for collating, analysing and evaluating the data from these key questions along with other data which may include:

Pupil progress conversations
Book looks and learning walks
Trust wide and local authority moderation
Leadership networks
Professional learning conversations
Internal quality assurance checks, including peer review
Monitoring and review conversations
Academy council and board monitoring
External challenge partner visits

Leaders will use this data to monitor coverage to ensure all pupils have access to the full depth and breadth of the curriculum and that any barrier to doing so are removed.

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Our Learning

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Year Groups

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Subjects

Nursery Curriculum Overview

Year 1 Curriculum Overview

Reception Curriculum Overview

Year 2 Curriculum Overview

At Whitehall Nursery and Infant Academy, we follow the National Curriculum 2014 and Early Years Framework 2025, providing engaging experiences that support pupils’ learning and development.

Our curriculum is continually adapted to remain broad, balanced, and build on children’s knowledge and skills as they progress through each Key Stage.

It is fun, exciting, and tailored to the unique needs of our pupils—relevant to their lives now and their future in the wider world.

Our aim is to equip children with the skills to become successful, independent, and motivated learners, ready for the next stage of education. For this reason we have decided, based on the latest pedagogy to change the way we deliver our curriculum.

Why We’re Changing Our Curriculum: A New Approach to Humanities and the Arts

We’re changing the way we teach subjects like History, Geography, Art, and Design Technology. Instead of teaching them in blocks (for example, six weeks of just History), we’ll now teach them every week in two regular lessons:

One Humanities lesson each week (mixing History and Geography)
One Arts lesson each week (mixing Art and Design Technology)

This new approach is based on how children learn best. It’s designed to help them remember more, make better connections between ideas, and enjoy their learning more deeply.

How Children Learn: The Science Behind Our New Approach

Cognitive Load – Don’t overload the brain

Children can only take in a few new ideas at once—usually around 3 or 4 chunks of information. If we give them too much at once, they can feel overwhelmed and forget what they’ve learned. This is called cognitive overload.

By spreading learning out over time and linking new ideas to things they already know, we help children remember more. For example, instead of cramming all of Geography into one half term, we’ll revisit it regularly alongside History, so learning builds up slowly and sticks better.

Retrieval Practice – Remember it to keep it

Just hearing something once isn’t enough to remember it long-term. Children need to practice remembering what they’ve learned. This is called retrieval practice.

We’ll build in regular chances for children to recall what they’ve learned before—through short quizzes, discussions, drawing diagrams, or explaining ideas in their own words. This helps move knowledge into their long-term memory, so they can use it again later.

Spaced Practice – Revisit learning over time

Learning something all at once and then moving on doesn’t work well. Instead, it’s better to revisit topics after a short break—this is called spaced practice.

By teaching Humanities and Arts every week, we naturally space out the learning. This gives children time to forget a little, then remember again—which actually strengthens their memory. We’ll also review past learning at the start of lessons and at key points throughout the term.

What’s the Benefit for Pupils?

Better memory: Learning is spaced out and revisited, so it sticks.
Deeper understanding: Subjects are connected, not taught in isolation.
More confidence: Regular review helps children feel secure in what they know.
Greater creativity: Arts projects give time for imagination and problem-solving.
More enjoyment: Lessons feel purposeful, connected, and engaging.

This change is about more than just timetables—it’s about helping children learn in a way that works with their brains, not against them. We’re excited to see how this new approach helps our pupils grow as thinkers, creators, and learners.

In the mornings, in Year 1 and 2, we deliver Maths, English, Phonics and Reading and the afternoon we teach the other foundation subjects and RE and Science.

Take a look at each individual curriculum subject to see how we deliver it across the school and the progression of skills and knowledge from Nursery through to Year 2. These progression documents show what children need to learn (know) in each year group and then remember (retain) in order to help them develop their learning in the next year group.

Having our own Nursery means we can start our knowledge based curriculum, looking at what they need to know and remember, right from the start and develop it progressively through to Year 2. We are also working through our Academy Council meetings to liaise regularly with Whitehall Junior School to ensure that what our children are learning in Year 2 is going to support them in Year 3 and beyond.