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Foundation Subjects

History is all around us.

Our History curriculum is designed so that children create webs of learning that build on prior knowledge. We strive to inspire pupil’s curiosity about the past and by following a curriculum that is aspirational, inclusive and challenging for children to become enlightened citizens. We aim for our pupils to take part in a knowledge rich curriculum to embed understanding rather than to simply remember facts. All pupils, of all abilities, backgrounds and hurdles have the right to take part in learning about events that have shaped our world. In addition, we have thought carefully about our local context and this has helped us to decide which areas of history can be focused on more intently. 

History enables children to develop a sense of individual identity and to be passionate about the current world around them. Through the teaching of History, we endeavour to teach children to understand the complexity of people’s lives, the process of change, the diversity of societies and relationships between different groups. We deliver a framework that guides children to grow a web of knowledge which in turn forms pupils who are confident to hold independent decisions about their personal attitudes, choices and values that have been shaped on knowledge.

Through our History curriculum, we strive to inspire pupils’ curiosity about the past and an eagerness to understand more. Our curriculum provides children with opportunities to ask perceptive questions, think critically, weigh evidence, sift arguments, and develop perspective and judgement. We believe that high-quality history lessons inspire children to want to know more about the past and to think and act as historians. We want to turn historical concepts into problems that we strive to understand and solve. Children will understand chronology, build an overview of their local history, Britain’s past as well as that of the wider world, and be able to communicate historically.

History helps to develop a desire to embrace challenging activities, including opportunities to undertake high-quality research to develop a sense of curiosity about the past and how and why people interpret the past in different ways.

Our school music education consists of three distinct, but interlinked areas of provision.
Curriculum music,
Instrumental and vocal lessons,
Ensemble membership through musical events and opportunities, such as singing in assembly, concerts and shows and trips to professional concerts.  These three areas are accessible to all pupils and build on each other, starting from a foundation set in curriculum music time, supporting progression through co-curricular learning, playing and creating, and enriching this with musical experiences.  Kings Ash Academy has strong links to other schools in our Academy, Torbay and South Devon Music Hub and Torbay and South Devon Music Centre which benefit all pupil’s music development.

Art and Design at Kings Ash Academy will celebrate children’s unique and diverse creativity across all ages.

Children will produce creative work, exploring their ideas and recording their experiences whilst becoming proficient in drawing, painting, sculpture and other art, craft and design techniques. Skills are revisited and the use of ongoing sketchbook work underpins this process, fostering an open-ended exploration of creativity. Pupils will also gain substantive knowledge of great artists, craft makers and designers.

We aim for children to experience a high-quality art and design education that inspires, engages and challenges them – enabling pupils to communicate what they see, feel and think through the use of colour, texture, form and pattern. They will take pleasure in producing work, building resilience, perseverance and confidence in themselves and their abilities.

Through the study of Design and Technology, we encourage children to think independently, become critical problem solvers and work creatively; both as individuals and a team. Children at KAA will Identify real and relevant problems to give meaning to the learning and then consider how to solve them. Using their imagination and creativity, children will have opportunities to design and make their own products and will take into account their own and others’ needs, wants and values.  Children will have time to reflect and evaluate their work against design criteria and existing products. 

 

By the time they leave Kings Ash, children would have learnt key knowledge and skills of the Design and technology curriculum (design, make, evaluate and technical knowledge). They will leave with the knowledge and understanding that high-quality design and technology makes an essential contribution to the culture, wealth and well-being of the nation.

  • We aim to provide a broad & wide-ranging P.E. curriculum which encourages all pupils to achieve their true potential in the physical domain.
  • Working with our Trust partners at Paignton Academy, we aim to offer a curriculum which will give pupils the knowledge and confidence to lead healthy & active lifestyles and to perform in competitive environments where applicable. 
  • We aim to encourage a sense of well-being (Physical/Mental/Social) within our pupils through physical activity both in lesson time and during extra-curricular activities.

Modern Foreign Languages (MFL) provides a unique opportunity for us to explore, understand and interact with other cultures, communities and nationalities. At Kings Ash, we believe ‘A high-quality languages education should foster pupils’ curiosity and deepen their understanding of the world’.  As children progress through Kings Ash, their understanding of the ways in which other cultures and nations communicate will increase in line with their knowledge of non-foundation subjects. By the end of Key Stage 1, pupils will be able to share and practise a range of greetings,  simple words or phrases.  By the end of Key Stage 2 pupils will have been exposed to a wide range of other cultures in greater depth, present and historic, have a good knowledge and understanding of a range of global nationalities and understand how other cultures communicate. In French specialist lessons (from Year 3-Year 6), pupils will have learnt how to: count within 10, name colours, name body parts, name animals, begin to understand grammatical rules and will have participated in learning familiar French stories and songs. With all of these skills and a deeper understanding of the world around them, pupils will have acquired ‘… the foundation for learning further languages, equipping pupils to study and work in other countries.’, equipping them with skills they can take to secondary school and beyond.

It is our intent in RE for pupils to acquire and develop knowledge and understanding of Christianity and the other principal religions represented in the United Kingdom. We want children at KAA to develop an understanding of the influence of religious and non-religious worldviews, values and traditions on individuals, communities, societies and cultures, locally, nationally and globally. We want to encourage all pupils to develop the ability to make reasoned and informed judgements about religious and moral issues. We intend to enhance pupil’s spiritual, moral, social and cultural development and enable them to develop positive attitudes of respect towards other people who hold views and beliefs different from their own, to prepare them towards living in a society of diverse religions and worldviews.

At Kings Ash Academy our computing curriculum aims to ‘equip pupils to use computational thinking and creativity to understand and change the world’ (National Curriculum, 2014).  The teaching of computing ensures that deep links with mathematics, science and design and technology and insight into both natural and artificial systems are made explicit and that those links carefully build on pupils’ prior knowledge and understanding. Our school’s context is at the very heart of our computing curriculum, recognising the specific hurdles our pupils and families face that we seek to overcome through provision of high quality equipment and well informed teaching. Alongside this, we recognise that eliciting pupils’ prior knowledge and understanding, access to devices and on and offline experiences is crucial to understanding how to plan to ensure they leave Kings Ash digitally literate, knowing how to keep themselves safe and inspired by real computer scientists and experiences.