The Royal Kent School

Curriculum

As an inclusive school we value the way that each child is unique and we have high aspirations for every child. We recognise that children learn best when they feel happy, safe and secure, within a nurturing school environment. Our aim for our curriculum to stimulate children’s natural curiosity and enthusiasm, making learning ‘come alive’ through a rich programme of study, activities and events. 

Our curriculum is continually evolving; we often make changes to ensure that we have a broad and ambitious sequence of learning for our pupils. Our curriculum promotes independent learning, transferable life skills and global citizenship, enabling children to grow into successful, informed and responsible citizens. Children are partners in their learning and have many opportunities to influence their learning and environment, for example, via the Pupil Committees. The Royal Kent School has a history of strong ties with St Andrew's Church, which supports the school in developing the moral and spiritual growth of all children. Links with schools locally and internationally enable children to learn from others and develop their understanding and appreciation of other communities.

We are committed to achieving excellence in all areas of the curriculum. Sometimes we are able to make links between different subjects in our half termly 'class enquiries', which helps to increase children’s motivation and enjoyment of learning by making it relevant and meaningful for them. Where appropriate we teach subject areas discreetly and capitalise on the specialist skills and talents of staff.

Specialist teaching and facilities 

The majority of the curriculum is delivered by our highly skilled class teams. In some specialist areas of the curriculum, currently French, music and PE, we choose to invest in specialist teachers to further enhance children's learning. 

We have some excellent facilities at our school, and there has been over £500,000 investment in our school's infrastructure since 2015, the results of which can be seen both inside the school building and throughout our school grounds.

Here are a few highlights:

• Not only do our youngest pupils in the Nursery and Reception classes have their own dedicated outdoor spaces, our Year 1 class also has a large adjoining outdoor learning area, complete with a canopy, meaning that the children can  engage in outdoor learning as part of their continuous provision approach in all weathers!
• Our school hall was recently refurbished and has an excellent Audio-Visual system, brand new gymnastics equipment and a giant history timeline spanning one of the walls.
• At the rear of the school we have our 'Wonder Woodland', which was completed in 2023. This has a large covered shelter as a base for learning, a pond, a fire pit area, space for activities and other essentials such as a mud kitchen! Over time the trees we have planted here will continue to increase the wooded areas too!
• In addition to a well-stocked book corner in each classrooms, there is also a dedicated library, which classes can visit when they want to, as well as being opened by parent volunteers once per week.
• We have a set of 32 iPads, in addition to a PC computer suite, for the delivery of both our computing curriculum and to enhance other curriculum areas.
• There is a large playing field behind the school, and you will not be able to miss our impressive Multi Use Games Area (the MUGA) at the front of our school! 

Enriching the curriculum - trips and curriculum weeks 

Learning outside the classroom and care for the environment are highly valued. Day and residential visits complement and enrich the curriculum, providing memorable learning through first hand experiences. We aim to broaden horizons, bring learning alive for children and enable them to learn from first hand experience. Each year group plans a day visit or has a special visitor/event at least once per term. An exception to this is Reception, where our first 'big' trip of the year takes place much later in the academic year (although they do take part in several local visits before this). Visits vary in length, distance travelled and context as appropriate to children's age.

We offer every child the opportunity to attend residential visits in Key Stage 2. These visits are linked to learning in class topics and they are an important part of children's personal, social and health education. Often when recalling memories of their time at RKS, residential visits feature highly! Our current residential visits take place in Year 4 (three days in Juniper Hall) and Year 6 (a week in Hindleap Warren).

In school, special events such as participation in community events and curriculum weeks enable children to develop their knowledge and skills through working with professionals, volunteers and other specialists.

In the autumn term, we participate in national 'anti bullying week'; at The Royal Kent School this is called 'We are Ready, Kind and Safe' week. This gives us an important chance to focus on behaviour, relationships, kindness and valuing our differences and diversity. In the spring term there is an always popular STEM week, with a high focus on science, technology and maths. The theme of STEM week changes each year; in 2023 it was 'Learning Outside the Classroom' and in 2024 there will be a focus on 'Our Oceans, Our Future'. In the summer term we have a fantastic Wellbeing week, with many opportunities to focus on our physical and mental health, learning about ways to make ourselves feel good and manage any difficulties. In 2023 our theme was 'resilience' and one of the highlights was training our Year 4 class up to be 'wellbeing ambassadors', ready for their move into Upper Key Stage 2. This will be repeated each year. 

Parental partnership

We recognise the crucial part parents play in their children’s education and strive to maintain good parent partnerships. Parents are welcomed in to school; they make a significant contribution to school life and their views inform our school development planning. We aim to keep parents well informed about the curriculum, homework, teaching and learning methods and their children’s progress.

Please scroll down to find out more about the curriculum followed in each year group, and should you require any further information about an aspect of the curriculum, please contact the School Office.

Please note that our Early Years classes (Ladybird Nursery and Reception) follow the guidance laid out in the Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum

Key Stage 1 and 2 classes follow the National Curriculum