The SKA Curriculum
Our curriculum is designed and driven to meet the needs of our unique school community: improving social skills, oracy, and teaching about equality and diversity are the key drivers. Staff at South Kirkby Academy strive to make learning irresistible, foster a love of learning through providing first-hand experiences and share a vision of expanding children’s understanding of ‘Life outside Kirkby’ through its progressive and well sequenced bespoke curriculum offer.
Our priority is to provide an environment where everyone – children and adults alike – are safe, happy and learning. Our aim is for all children to be immersed in a curriculum rich in opportunity and experiences for each of the 760 days they are with us in order to develop their cultural capital, equip them with the knowledge and skills required for success at school and beyond. Our children are encouraged to be brave, explore, discover, learn and dream big.
At South Kirkby Academy, we broadly follow the National Curriculum as its design ensures a breadth of knowledge is taught in a memorable and awe-inspiring way.
Our curriculum – underpinned by common threads, key drivers plus protected characteristics, school and British values – is purposeful and adapted where necessary for children’s individual needs. It is delivered through the high quality teaching of knowledge, skills and vocabulary; all children are challenged to be independent, resilient, aspirational and creative learners. Themes are used to provide a context for learning with subjects taught discretely to preserve the unique nature of each subject.
Children are engaged and motivated to learn through exciting ‘hooks’ which are often hands-on and provide new experiences for all. Learning is celebrated through assemblies, presentations, parent workshops and ‘The SKA Exhibition’, which is a regular showcase of learning. Theme and project days are built into each half-term to ensure high-quality outcomes in lessons such as Art and Design & Technology.
Reading, with particular focus on early reading, is prioritised across school to ensure that early reading skills are fully developed and do not present a barrier to accessing the full curriculum. A Systematic Synthetic Phonics programme is embedded across school to support children to catch up and keep up with early reading. We instil a love of reading and a passion for finding out new things through the exploration of high-quality books.
Our children are encouraged to explore ‘Life outside Kirkby’ beyond the school gates through our unique curriculum offer which includes the ‘SKA 50 Things to do Before You’re 11 ¾’. This can be achieved through our own curriculum, through a range of enrichment activities available to children and at home with their families.
Our inclusion manager and team of pastoral staff deliver a unique curriculum, providing support, motivation and guidance to help children overcome obstacles to their learning. This pastoral offer ensures that family issues, mental health problems and lack of confidence do not present a barrier to children accessing the full curriculum. Children with SEND access a broad curriculum and receive quality first teaching adapted to their needs to ensure they are successful.
Walking around South Kirkby Academy, you will see motivated, engaged, confident and sociable individuals who produce high quality work, reflecting the high quality and standard of the curriculum we offer.
Learning is tracked through standardised assessments and key questions for learning – this is to make sure that learning has stuck and children can remember key knowledge and skills, and how this is applied into the real world.
Staff are passionate about our children leaving South Kirkby Academy with the skills they need to find success in the next stage of their education, have high aspirations for their life into adulthood and understand there is ‘Life outside Kirkby’.