At NIA we believe that Art and Design is an important part of the curriculum. It supports students’ personal development through creativity and self-expression, alongside developing resilience, confidence and critical thinking skills.

We aim to engage learners in the creative process, encouraging them to express their individuality, whilst building skills in problem solving, decision making about their own work and that of others - learning to reflect and evaluate as work progresses. We promote the enjoyment of Art for itself, the development of skills with increasing mastery as they progress and their engagement in Art Craft and design - which can then be taken forward either into exams, or for itself, and have a lifelong impact with a love of art and artwork. 

Please click on the link below to view our art curriculum.

The Computing curriculum at NIA Primary will aim to give our learners the life-skills to enable them to embrace and utilise new technology in a socially responsible and safe way.

We want our children to operate in the 21st-century and become autonomous, independent users of computing technologies, gaining confidence and enjoyment from their activities. The use of technology will support learning across the entire curriculum, helping them to develop creativity, resilience, problem-solving, and critical thinking skills. We want children to become digitally literate and competent users of technology, taught through a curriculum that is accessible to every child. Opportunities will be given to our learners to have a breadth of experience to build their understanding of themselves as individuals within their local community, as well as responsible digital citizens in the wider global community.

Please click on the link below to view our computing curriculum.

At NIA we believe that Art and Design is an important part of the curriculum. It supports students’ personal development through creativity and self-expression, alongside developing resilience, confidence and critical thinking skills.

We aim to engage learners in the creative process, encouraging them to express their individuality, whilst building skills in problem solving, decision making about their own work and that of others - learning to reflect and evaluate as work progresses. We promote the enjoyment of Art for itself, the development of skills with increasing mastery as they progress and their engagement in Art Craft and design - which can then be taken forward either into exams, or for itself, and have a lifelong impact with a love of art and artwork. 

Please click on the link below to view our design technology curriculum.

At Northampton International Academy, we understand that English has a pre-eminent place in education and in society.

We believe that English is an ecosystem therefore, through our English curriculum and high quality teaching, we strive to teach our pupils the importance of reading, writing, speaking and listening skills now and for their future. We believe that all pupils need to be given the opportunity to develop culturally, emotionally, intellectually, socially and spiritually.  In order for pupils to aspire and be successful academically, we recognise that they need to be given a wealth of experiences to develop their cultural capital in English lessons and the wider curriculum.

Phonics 

We provide consistent practice, progression and continuity in the teaching and learning of spelling and phonics throughout the school.

At NIA, the phonics programme “Read Write Inc”, teaches synthetic phonics, is used to assess and support children with their writing, spelling and decoding skills. 

Each child in KS1 will take part in a daily phonics lesson for 40 minutes 

Children who may still need extra support with phonic work are identified for targeted intervention strategies. 

For further information on Read, Write Inc please click here

https://www.ruthmiskin.com/en/programmes/phonics/ 

Reading

Whole Class Teaching of Reading:

Teachers use comprehension tasks and tests alongside the curriculum statements, to assess the skills they need to teach children. 

Whole class teaching of reading focuses on six main comprehension skills: 

• Retrieval
• Making Inferences
• Language in Context
• Author’s Choice of Language
• Responding to the Text
• Themes and Conventions

Teachers explicitly teach key strategies for reading independently and give children opportunities to apply this learning through independent tasks. Texts are carefully selected to reflect a specific teaching focus and be at an appropriate pitch. Adults will ask questions to promote discussion and extend the children’s thinking and develop their responses to the text. 

Independent Reading

Children need to be given the opportunity and encouragement to read independently in order to build confidence, stamina and fluency, as well as develop their experience of a range of books and authors.  Adults will listen to the children read, providing them with a range of decoding strategies and engage in discussion to promote reading for meaning.  

Reading with an adult, be that the teacher, teaching assistant or volunteer, is especially important for EYFS and KS1 children where Word Reading forms a large part of National Curriculum, as well as for SEND and underperforming children in KS2 who may need to consolidate skills from previous years.

Adults are also encouraged to read to children, modelling expression and providing children with an opportunity to listen and enjoy stories. 

Parental Involvement

The connection between reading at school and home is vitally important. This is a direct line of communication regarding reading between parents and teachers. Reading logs are checked daily by the class teacher or support staff member.  It is vital that parents hear their child/ children read. We also emphasise the value of parents reading to their child and to become reading role models in the home environment. It is integral for children to see adults around them reading; encouraging reading for pleasure.  

Writing

We want children to become independent, enthusiastic and expressive writers who are able to write in a meaningful way. They should write for a variety of audiences and be confident in the language style for a specific purpose.  Pupils should regard themselves as writers and value their own work and that of others.

Pupils will be taught to:

• use writing to communicate ideas and information to a reader
• write in a grammatically accurate way
• develop an increasingly wide vocabulary suited to purpose and genre
• understand the conventions of written language
• understand how writers can have an effect on the reader
• incorporate ideas and skills of other authors into their own writing
• draft and re-draft, making significant revisions where appropriate
• work collaboratively with other children to discuss the editing of written work
• use ICT as a tool for writing
• use spelling, punctuation and syntax accurately and with confidence
• provide a rich and stimulating language environment, where speaking and listening, reading and writing are integrated.

In EYFS classes English teaching is spread throughout the day.  

In KS1, a dedicated daily English lesson is planned for each class, which will last for an hour. 

Spelling

Teachers also teach the spelling rules and common exception words specific to their year group as outlined in the government spelling appendix. This means Key Stage 1 teachers need to ensure the requirements of the National Curriculum are met beyond Read Write Inc sessions and teach spelling explicitly within English lessons.

https://www.ruthmiskin.com/en/programmes/spelling/

Please see the documents below for more information on our English primary curriculum by year group.

At Northampton International Academy, we follow an ambitious Geography curriculum that reflects the high expectations we have for our pupils and our determination to nurture their curiosity and love of learning.

We believe in giving our children the opportunity to develop a broad knowledge of the world while encouraging them to reflect upon the importance of global changes affecting the world in which we live. Our intention is that the study of Geography will:

• help pupils to raise and answer questions about the natural and human worlds
• enable pupils to think critically about the impact human activity has on the natural world, cities, and population amongst others
• spark pupils’ curiosity about places and people
• promote knowledge, interest and fascination about diverse places, their differing natural geography, human environments and resources
• help pupils to become knowledgeable citizens, concerned about the future of the world, able to understand key geographical concepts and skills and aware of the connections that exist between people and places

Please click on the link below to view our geography curriculum.

History allows us to understand our past, which in turn means we can begin to comprehend our present.

Through historical study, we can identify social and cultural changes. We encourage pupils to understand why certain events happened and therefore allow pupils to consider the outcomes and consequences of these. Using this knowledge; pupils will be begin to consider consequence of actions, including their own.

In Primary all year groups study an aspect of British History as well as a local history study. In Key Stage Two the children are exposed to a global study of ancient civilisations. These are taught in chronological order beginning with Stone Age Britain, and working through to the 20th Century. The history curriculum will be enriched through the use of artefacts, workshops, visiting experts and school trips.

Please click on the link below to view our history curriculum.

At NIA we aim to provide a rich, broad and balanced curriculum that promotes “understanding” over “learning rules”.

Our primary maths curriculum follows the three main aims of the National Curriculum: Fluency, reasoning and problem solving. Through our big ideas and key objectives we have created a curriculum that aims to link children’s learning between topics as well as within topics.  We aim to provide an inclusive curriculum that is accessible for all and aim for all children to be challenged, regardless of ability. Through manipulatives in the classroom and different mathematical representations of ideas, children will be encouraged to think harder and demonstrate their cognitive understanding in a variety of ways.

Please click on the link below to view our maths curriculum.

Performing Arts aims to be the heartbeat of the school. It gives the pupils a powerful form of communication that can change the way they think, feel and act. The Performing Arts department offers Music, Dance and Drama. This will develop well-rounded pupils by giving them real life experiences and embedding transferable skills which will enable them to achieve their full potential moving forward both in education and beyond. There are three core concepts used, CPR (creating, performing and responding) which will enhance our pupils’ skills and knowledge across all 3 subjects and form the basis of all faculty assessments.

As a universal language, music embodies a completely inclusive environment.

This enables all our pupils to express their creativity and imagination, whilst exploring a variety of genres and instruments through the three main pillars of musicianship: Technical, Expressive and Constructive.

Through meaningful structured discussion, collaborative and independent exploration of sound and technique pupils will:

• build their self-confidence, self-expression and rehearsal etiquette
• learn to justify their own thoughts and feelings about musical intention using appropriate musical vocabulary
• use their own learning to feedback to peers about each other’s performances and compositions as well as evaluate their own work
• study a broad variety of music from different countries, cultures and traditions
• develop a critical ear along with an empathy, understanding and respect for a musical genre’s origins then be able incorporate this into their own compositions and performances.
• develop individual passions and inquisitiveness in an artistic way whilst continuously developing the core musical principals of listening and appraising, composing and performance both as a soloist or a member of an ensemble.

Through EYFS and Key Stage 1 Pupils will focus on exploring the core musical elements through listening, composition and performance whilst learning how these can be used to communicate a sense of mood, feeling or story. Pupils will use pictures and symbols to share their own ideas.

In Key Stage 2 Pupils will engage with the musical elements by performing in a variety of contexts with increased musicality. They will compose with an understanding of balance and structure and use appropriate vocabulary to listen critically to a wide array of musical genres. Pupils will also use basic written notation and music technology to communicate their ideas.

The PE curriculum is designed on the core intent that students develop lifelong healthy active lifestyles.

Students develop their confidence in their knowledge of sport and physical education, being able to lead, support and officiate in a range of physical activates (Head). Students are physically active and are given opportunities to explore a range of sporting interests in order to develop a passion for physical activity (heart). Students develop a range of core skills which can be applied across different physical activities and sports in order to be successful.

Students will gain many valuable skills from studying physical education that will help in other subjects as well as future careers. Some of the skills that students will develop include; communication skills, social skills, analysis and evaluation and physical fitness to name a few.

Please click on the link below to view our PE curriculum.

Our pupils are at the heart of our PSHE curriculum.

Personal, Social, Health and Economic education helps children develop the knowledge, skills and attributes they need in order to be make safe and healthy decisions about their lives. Developing resilience, empathy, self-esteem and confidence are vital in order to face challenges and responsibilities now and in the future.

PSHE has played an integral role during 2020-2021 to help the children understand the world during a global pandemic. Due to the nature of home learning and lots of change during these academic years, PSHE has been essential to help the children throughout. We specifically looked at worries and children’s mental health.

At NIA we offer a  comprehensive programme for PSHE including statutory Relationships and Health Education, in a spiral, progressive scheme of work, giving children relevant learning experiences to help them navigate their world and to develop positive relationships with themselves and others.

We aim to;

• Increase resilience
• Nurture emotional wellbeing and mental health
• Share cultures, appreciate diversity and grow empathy
• Impact positively on relationships
• Promote positive learning behaviours
• Develop healthy, happy children
• Teach children how to keep safe
• Reduce barriers to learning
• Build skills, attitudes, self-esteem and confidence
• Support pupils to understand each other as human beings and global citizens
• Understand pupils better as unique individuals
• Enhance the positive ethos of the whole school community
• Introduce and understand the school value drivers

Through these aims we will improve the life chances of our pupils.

Please click on the link below to view our PHSE curriculum.

Studying religion and belief is an indispensable part of providing pupils with a well-rounded education which has the potential to influence individuals, culture, behaviour and national life.

Studying RE enables pupils to hold balanced and well-informed conversations about religion and belief.  It provides opportunities for pupils to reflect and analyse, to discuss and debate, to explore and discover and to learn more about the world in which they live.

Through our RE curriculum we aim for pupils:

• to develop religious literacy;
• to acquire and develop knowledge and understanding of Christianity and the other principal religions and world views represented in the United Kingdom;
• to develop an understanding of the influence of the beliefs, values and traditions on individuals, communities, societies and cultures;
• to develop attitudes of respect towards other people who hold views and beliefs different from their own;
• to develop the ability to make reasoned and informed judgements about religious issues, with reference t to the principal religions and world views represented locally and in the United Kingdom.

Please click on the link below to view our RE curriculum.

We believe that science will allow pupils to make informed decisions and choices throughout their lives.

By fostering and maintaining a curiosity throughout their education, our students will be able to experience and share the cultural capital that science provides. The children will be able to adapt to a life in a modern world, show resilience when solving problems and understand how the world around them works. From this, they will be able to decipher fact from fiction by learning how to look for reliable sources of information.

Please click on the link below to view our science curriculum.

At NIA, the Modern Foreign Languages department believe that access to effective language learning is essential to thriving in a growing, global world.

The study of languages is integral to the curriculum and benefits learners as they grow to understand cultures, traditions, identity, and celebrate the root of communication in our exploration of modern language study. Language learning is the doorway to cultural communities and enhancing our students’ achievement and future career opportunities. From KS2 to KS5, we aim:

• To promote our students’ enjoyment and engagement with language learning
• To encourage students to progress in four key skills: listening, reading, writing and speaking in order to enable them to communicate effectively
• To promote students’ curiosity, problem solving skills and deepen their understanding of their own identity and other cultures
• To guide our pupils on future career opportunities and develop essential skills to meet specific industry needs
• To broaden horizons and challenge stereotypes of Spanish and German speaking countries through a deepened cultural understanding
• To instil a passion for the lifelong journey of language learning

Please click on the link below to view our Spanish curriculum.