Curriculum
Our whole school vision at Keighley St Andrew’s is:
Guided by God, we build a community of learners who flourish and are filled with hope.
Our vision is biblically underpinned by the parable of The Good Samaritan, ensuring no member of the school community is ‘left behind’ socially, emotionally, academically or spiritually whilst also understanding the role they play within society.
“Go and do likewise” Luke 10:25-37.
All strategies are designed and built upon our school vision ensuring every member of the St. Andrew’s family, in all their unique difference, flourishes in their learning and beyond.
In line with The Church of England Vision for Education, our curriculum offer:
- Educates for wisdom, knowledge and skills:enabling discipline, confidence and delight in seeking wisdom and knowledge, and developing talents in all areas of life.
- Educates for hope and aspiration:enabling healing, repair and renewal, coping wisely when things go wrong, opening horizons and guiding people into ways of fulfilling them.
- Educates for community and living well together:a core focus on relationships, participation in communities and the qualities of character that enable people to flourish together.
- Educates for dignity and respect: the basic principle of respect for the value and preciousness of each person, treating each person as a unique individual of inherent worth.
The intent of each strategy is to support all stakeholders in understanding and upholding the school vision and by doing so, ensure this forms daily practice.
The school’s Christian values are Thankfulness, Peace, Courage, Compassion, Trust and Community – these values represent who we are as a school and a community in everything that we do.
Curriculum Intent
Each subject at Keighley St Andrew's is lead by a subject leader. They work collaboratively within their curriculum strand, led by one of our whole-school standards leaders to design the curriculum from its intent, to coverage, to progression, to assessment. Subject leaders, as well as senior leaders, then monitor and evaluate their subject, creating action plans to develop their subject further.
To read our curriculum intent document, click here.
Quality First Teaching at Keighley St Andrew's
At Keighley St Andrew’s, we are bothered about quality first teaching because we believe that every child deserves the very best learning experiences, every day, in every classroom. Great teaching is at the heart of helping our children flourish, regardless of their starting points, backgrounds or individual needs. We know that thoughtful planning, strong relationships, high expectations and responsive teaching make a real difference to what children know, understand and can achieve.
To find out more about our quality first teaching strategies and approaches, click here.
Early Years
At Keighley St Andrew’s, we believe that every child deserves the very best start to their learning journey. Our youngest learners begin their school experience in Ruby Nursery before moving into Ruby Reception, where they continue to grow, explore and flourish. We place play at the heart of our Early Years curriculum, recognising its importance in developing curiosity, independence, confidence and a love of learning. Through carefully planned, high-quality learning environments, both indoors and outdoors, we provide children with rich opportunities for uninterrupted play, exploration and discovery, allowing them to develop the knowledge, skills and foundations they need for their future learning.
Early Years is strategically led by Mrs Freebury.
Core Subjects
English - Led by Mrs Buckley
"At Keighley St Andrew’s, our English curriculum aims to inspire a lifelong love of reading, writing and language, empowering every child to communicate confidently, creatively and effectively. Through a rich and engaging curriculum, we nurture a passion for literature, develop strong foundations in phonics and reading, and provide meaningful opportunities for children to write for a range of purposes and audiences. Oracy is at the heart of our approach, encouraging pupils to express their ideas, listen thoughtfully and develop their understanding through discussion. We are committed to providing an inclusive and ambitious English education that celebrates imagination, builds independence and enables every child to flourish as a confident reader, writer and communicator."
Our text drivers for this academic year:
Handwriting Progression Document
Maths - Led by Miss Sharp
At Keighley St Andrew’s, our Maths curriculum inspires enquiry, confidence and a love of mathematics, empowering every child to become a capable and enthusiastic mathematician. Through a carefully sequenced and engaging curriculum, we develop strong mathematical foundations, encouraging pupils to make connections, think critically and apply their knowledge in a range of meaningful contexts. Our approach combines practical resources, visual representations and abstract thinking to deepen understanding and develop fluency, reasoning and problem-solving skills. We nurture a positive learning environment where children feel confident to explore ideas, explain their thinking and learn collaboratively. We are committed to providing an inclusive and ambitious Maths education that builds independence, celebrates mathematical thinking and equips every child with the knowledge and skills to flourish in school and beyond.
Science - Led by Mrs Mahmood
At Keighley St Andrew’s, our Science curriculum inspires discovery, wonder and a fascination with the world around us, empowering every child to become a confident and inquisitive scientist. Through a rich and engaging curriculum, we develop strong foundations in scientific knowledge and understanding, encouraging pupils to ask questions, investigate ideas and explore the natural world through practical enquiry and discovery. We nurture a culture of ‘botheredness’, where children are excited to think critically, make predictions, seek explanations and develop a deeper understanding of how and why things happen. Guided by our Christian values, we encourage pupils to appreciate the impact of science on our lives and develop a sense of responsibility for the world around them. We are committed to providing an inclusive and ambitious Science education that celebrates curiosity, encourages exploration and enables every child to flourish as a thoughtful and enthusiastic scientist.
RE - Led by Mr Hawker
At Keighley St Andrew’s, our Religious Education curriculum inspires curiosity, reflection and respect, empowering every child to explore faith, beliefs and the big questions of life. As a Church of England school, we provide a rich and engaging curriculum that develops a deep understanding of Christianity as a living and diverse faith, alongside an appreciation of other religions and worldviews. We encourage pupils to ask thoughtful questions, engage in meaningful discussions and reflect on their own beliefs, values and experiences while celebrating the diversity of those around them. Guided by our Christian vision and the teachings of the Good Samaritan, we nurture kindness, compassion and understanding, encouraging children to recognise their place within the wider world. We are committed to providing an inclusive and ambitious RE education that celebrates individuality, promotes respectful dialogue and enables every child to flourish as a thoughtful, informed and hopeful member of society.
Our RE long term plan (Cycle B-2026/27)
Foundation Subjects
Following a text based, thematic approach to learning means the children at Keighley St Andrew's are able to make links within their learning.
Our curriculum subjects are grouped into three strands linking to the EYFS curriculum.
Phonics and Early Reading
At Keighley St Andrew's, we follow the Little Wandle SSP.
At Keighley St Andrew’s, we believe that all our children can become fluent readers. This is why we teach reading through Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised, which is a systematic and synthetic phonics programme. We start teaching phonics in Nursery/Reception and follow the Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised progression, which ensures children build on their growing knowledge of the alphabetic code, mastering phonics to read and spell as they move through school. As a result, all our children are able to tackle any unfamiliar words as they read.
At Keighley St Andrew’s we also model the application of the alphabetic code through phonics in shared reading and writing, both
inside and outside of the phonics lesson and across the curriculum. We have a strong focus on language development for our children because we know that speaking and listening are crucial skills for reading and writing in all subjects. We value reading as a crucial life skill.
By the time children leave us, they read confidently for meaning and regularly enjoy reading for pleasure. Our readers are equipped with the tools to tackle unfamiliar vocabulary. We encourage our children to see themselves as readers for both pleasure and purpose.
Because we believe teaching every child to read is so important, we have a Phonics and Early Reading Leader who drives the early reading programme in our school. This person is highly skilled at teaching phonics and reading, and they monitor and support our reading team, so everyone teaches with fidelity to the Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised programme.
There is an informative website that you can use to familiarise yourself with the scheme or get more information. On this page you will find useful sound pronunciation videos too.
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Enrichment and Clubs
In addition to the National Curriculum, pupils at Keighley St Andrew's have the opportunity for additional Enrichment opportunities. These come in various formats throughout the school year and focus on providing children with additional opportunities to develop their cultural capital.
Whole School Enrichment
Our whole school enrichment program focuses on five different strands throughout the year. Children have a shared experience whilst still receiving progressive teaching for their year group. Each strand has either a dedicated week or half term for pupils to explore the strand in detail, harnessing ther skills and talents as well as gaining experiences that they may not have had before.
- Citizenship and Life Skills: These sessions include things such as learning about dangers in the home, the importance of charity, basic first aid, simple cooking skills.
- Cooking and DT: This strand is run as a week in classes with a shared theme running throughout school and the protected time for the subject means that all pupils are studying the same subject at the same time generating a real sense of community within school with a mutual excitement for the week.
- Sports: During the final summer term, each class has an additional weekly PE slot to focus on learning the skills of a new sport. These include: tri-golf, curling, badminton, boccia. All sports chosen are adaptive so that they are accessible for all.
- Music: Spring 2 half term focused on music and each class has an extra music lesson per week focusing on playing an instrument. Each phase will learn a different instrument including recorder, ocarina, guitar and keyboard.
Music Tuition
At Keighley St Andrew’s, we are passionate about providing children with opportunities to discover and develop their musical talents. Through our local Music Hub, pupils can access additional instrumental tuition, with a wide range of instruments available to learn.
Lessons are delivered by specialist music teachers who visit school during the school day, giving children the opportunity to develop their musical skills, build confidence and enjoy the experience of learning an instrument.
For more information about the instruments available and how to register your child for lessons, please click here.
After School Enrichment
In addition to our whole school program of study for enrichment, we also host a variety of afterschool enrichment clubs. These are planned and led by teacher for their children with their interests at the core. Each half term our club offer is shared via Ping and Class Dojo for parents to sign their children up. All clubs are free of charge and run until 4:00pm.
If you would like to find out what clubs we have on offer this half term, please check Class Dojo or contact the school office for more information.
Residentials and Visits
We believe that educational visits and residential opportunities are a key ingredient in enabling all pupils to flourish. Gaining experience in environments beyond the school grounds and in new and exciting surroundings builds a curiosity of the world beyond Keighley St Andrew's as well a providing the ingredients for spiritual development: developing a sense of awe and wonder, building self-awareness and fostering a fascination with finding out more.
We host and annual residential for Y3/4 to Nell Bank as well as an annual residential for Y5/6 to Halton Gill.
In addition to our residentials, individual year groups plan their educational visits and experiences in line with their taught curriculum.
Many of our visits are subsidised by school as we understand the pressure that families are under financially however we do ask for reduced contributions to help support school with this.