The core skill base to our curriculum is Oracy, Reading, Writing and Maths and these skills are explicitly taught throughout our curriculum and in discrete lessons, by class teachers, under the guidance of the subject leaders.

Oracy is embedded within our curriculum from our work as a Voice 21 school. Oracy is the ability to articulate ideas, develop understanding and engage with others through spoken language, within and beyond school. Oracy is a powerful tool for learning; it empowers pupils to have a better understanding of themselves, others and the world around them. Through the development of Oracy skills at Pennine View, we also support pupils to be able to develop healthy, positive relationships and make and keep friends. Pupils learn to express themselves confidently which enables them to thrive and also navigate conflicts in their relationships in a positive and productive way.

Reading is a vital skill that all our pupils learn before they leave Pennine View. We read for pleasure, to develop our learning and as an essential lifeskill. Systematic Synthetic Phonics is used to enable pupils to decode and encode written language. We use All Aboard Phonics to deliver daily phonics sessions to pupils who are being supported to decode. We have interventions in place that overcome barriers to reading. The school environment is reading-rich with a well-stocked library of high-quality texts and each classroom has a reading area. Pupils in Lower School have daily phonics lessons, as do pupils in Upper School who need further phonics teaching. Opportubities for pupils to read daily for pleasure are built in to the timetable. Pupils have VIPERS reading sessions 3 times a week, where they have an opportunity to read and discuss a book in a small group of 4 led by an adult.

Writing skills develop from oracy and reading. Our language-rich curriculum and environment develop vocabulary and grammatical skills with writing being taught and practiced daily. Written communication is another vital life-skill that all our pupils need for successful futures. All pupils write daily, each writing lesson starts with sentence level work. We have developed our Writing curriculum through a Talk 4 Writing approach. Our writing curriculum is text led and the pupils follow a cycle of immersion, imitation and innovation. The pupils have 4 writing lessons a week where they write for purpose and accuracy both fiction ad non-fiction pieces.

Maths is taught 4 times each week by class teachers, under the guidance of the subject leader. Pupils follow the Maths Pathways which ensures pupils are working at an appropriate level of challenge with opportunities to practice fluency and apply through reasoning and problem solving. The pathways ensure content is progressive and sequenced to ensure links are made in maths learning. The Maths curriculum is underpinned by the importance of the CPA approach and the use of manipulatives to do this. The ultimate goal in maths is for pupils to leave Pennine View with the key mathematical skills that support everyday life, feeling confident and proud of their achievements. Pupils need these core skills to live a fulfilling and successful life. Our maths curriculum is designed in such a way that all pupils are able to engage in, and find success with, mathematics.

Schemes of Work in each subject area ensure that we have a broad and balanced curriculum at Pennine View that reflects our vision and values to meet the needs of our pupils, both over the course of Year 3 to Year 11 and into adulthood. The Long Term Plan ensures sufficient coverage across each subject over time and supports our pupils to know more and remember more to broaden knowledge and provoke interest and excitement. It is continually reviewed to ensure it provides the best foundation for high quality teaching and learning in order to maximise our pupil’s life chances and economic well-being in adulthood.