Curriculum
Windsor Academy Trust ASPIRE Curriculum
Windsor Academy Trust Moral Purpose
To unlock students academic and personal potential.
Our Curriculum Vision:
At Goldsmith Primary Academy, our curriculum ensures that every pupil dreams big, rises academically, and ASPIREs to succeed in life. Rooted in the Windsor Academy Trust Aspire Curriculum, our intent is to enable all pupils to achieve, thrive and belong through a curriculum that is ambitious, inclusive and grounded in research.
Students' curriculum experiences will be exceptional and memorable. They will explore and understand the world from their classroom and beyond. Our children will have the knowledge, skills and attributes to be successful and aspirational learners. Our ambitious curriculum will help them to gain an advantage so that they can make the most of their next journey in education and in life.
About the ASPIRE Curriculum
Windsor Academy Trust's (WAT) ASPIRE Curriculum has been co-constructed by leaders and staff from across our family of schools. The content is ambitious, challenging and exciting for all pupils. Each time the next curriculum theme comes into cycle, our staff work together in trust-wide year groups to evaluate previous learning and further develop future theme content. This powerful cycle of collaboration has put curriculum development and subject knowledge at the heart of school life.
It has been designed to give our young people the knowledge, skills, understanding and experiences to be successful in learning and in life. We have used some of the critical research in cognitive science to help underpin our approach. For example, the use of interleaving and retrieval practice to help pupils’ retention of knowledge.
Our Curriculum In Action
Ambitious Knowledge and Skills - Each subject follows a progression model that builds substantive and disciplinary knowledge over time. Long-term maps and knowledge organisers clarify essential content, vocabulary and concepts.
Inclusive Pedagogy - Adaptive teaching ensures that all pupils access the full curriculum. Scaffolding, precise feedback, and formative assessment ensure that SEND and disadvantaged pupils make strong progress.
Character and Culture - Character education is embedded across subjects through the WAT Character and Virtues Framework. Pupils learn to demonstrate courage, integrity, respect, compassion and responsibility.
Digital Transformation - Technology is used purposefully to enhance feedback, accessibility and engagement. Platforms such as Showbie streamline workflows and promote independence and create equity.
Community and Citizenship - Pupils engage with real-world issues, local partnerships and service opportunities, helping them understand their role as active citizens who make a positive difference.
High Expectations and Outcomes - Teaching routines, informed by Teach Like a Champion and WAT’s “Sunshine Model”, ensure consistent quality. Frequent low-stakes assessment and responsive planning drive sustained progress.
The Impact Of Our Curriculum
The impact of our curriculum is reflected in both academic achievement and personal development:
Academic Potential - Pupils achieve outcomes that exceed national benchmarks across all key stages. By the end of KS2, attainment and progress in reading, writing and maths are significantly above national averages. Pupils apply knowledge with depth, accuracy and independence, demonstrating secure disciplinary understanding across subjects.
Personal Potential and Character - Pupils leave Goldsmith confident, articulate and compassionate. They demonstrate the WAT character virtues and embody our school values of Achieve, Thrive and Belong. Through experiences in leadership, creativity and community service, they develop resilience, empathy and curiosity.
Equity and Inclusion - Gaps for disadvantaged and SEND pupils are narrowed through targeted support and consistent access to the full curriculum. Attendance, engagement and participation remain above national averages.
Cultural and Digital Capital - Pupils experience a broad range of enrichment, from residentials to arts, sports, and digital innovation. Technology enhances learning, feedback and accessibility, ensuring all pupils are prepared for the future.
The true impact of our curriculum is seen in the confident, capable and compassionate learners who leave Goldsmith Primary Academy ready for their next stage of education, equipped to make a difference and empowered to achieve, thrive and belong.
How does the ASPIRE Framework fit into the Curriculum?
Our ASPIRE learning skills and character virtues are ‘caught, sought and taught’ throughout the curriculum. Part of our mission is to ensure that our youngsters have the metacognitive skills (learning to learn) to be successful in learning and in life. For example, pupils learn to ‘self-quiz’ to remember key bits of knowledge in history, or they practise ‘communicating clearly’ and ‘being courageous’ when presenting to an audience in the fantastic finish for the theme.
What does our medium term planning look like?
The medium term plans have set out the end-point knowledge required for each theme. This is depicted by the NC knowledge and skills but more importantly the threshold concepts and disciplinary questions.
Consideration has been given to the order of when content is taught, so that there is progression. Activities are planned to help develop pupils’ knowledge and challenge their thinking. Through a well-structured and coherent curriculum, pupils progressively develop both substantive and disciplinary knowledge, enabling them to understand the key concepts within each subject and apply this understanding with increasing depth and precision.
While the themes have trust-wide medium terms plans, it is currently schools’ responsibility to ensure effective curriculum planning is in place for subjects taught discretely.
How are knowledge organisers used?
"The real power of knowledge organisers is that they make us think hard about what we are going to teach."
- Mary Myatt, The Curriculum: Gallimaufry to Coherence
Knowledge organisers are in place for each of our subjects. They give the ‘bigger picture’ of how the key knowledge links together. They make knowledge and language explicit, supporting planning, teaching and assessment. The content of the quizzes is selected from the knowledge organisers.
How will the curriculum be implemented?
Our curriculum intent will be implemented through ‘engaging, enthusing and inspiring every lesson, every day.’
Our WAT teaching and learning cycle, through which our ten teaching and learning principles are embedded, ensures that the curriculum is delivered effectively so that all students make progress regardless of background and ability.
How does the teaching of English fit within the ASPIRE Curriculum?
There is a strong emphasis on planning for, teaching and using tier 3 vocabulary throughout the curriculum. Pupils are expected to know and understand the vocabulary needed to access the theme that they are learning.
Opportunities for writing and reading across the curriculum developed in ASPIRE medium term planning. Whole-class reading is unlikely to match the ASPIRE curriculum and nor do we want it to. However, other reading opportunities can be exploited, particularly using non-fiction texts. This could also be a stimulus for the formal reading domain lesson.
All of our vocabulary is taught intentionally and sequenced through a clear language continuum for each subject. Vocabulary has been deliberately selected and tiered to ensure that pupils develop both a secure understanding of subject-specific terminology and the language needed to articulate their knowledge with precision. This structured approach enables pupils to make connections within and across subjects, supporting comprehension, reasoning, and the accurate use of academic language.
How do we assess the ASPIRE Curriculum?
Our approaches to assessing reading, writing and mathematics are robust, established and clear. We use a mixture of summative tests and teacher assessment to make accurate judgements of how well pupils are doing and where they need further support.
The new Education Inspection Framework (EIF 2019) makes it clear that assessment should support the teaching of the curriculum but not increase teacher workload. The handbook goes on to say that inspectors will evaluate whether collections of progress and attainment data are proportionate and sustainable.
Within the ASPIRE Curriculum there are two strands to the assessment delivered:
- Pre and Post Block Quizzing
- Key Assessment Task (KAT)
Assessment within our wider curriculum is carried out through pre- and post-block quizzing, providing clear insight into pupils’ prior knowledge and measuring the impact of teaching on what pupils know, understand, and remember. Using Socrative, teachers gather precise evidence of pupils’ progress and the effectiveness of curriculum implementation over time.
These assessments are supplemented by ongoing formative approaches, including our Thinking Three Smart Starts, which enable pupils to retrieve and apply knowledge from the previous lesson, unit, and year. Teachers also use active observation and assessment for learning strategies to identify misconceptions and adapt teaching in real time. In addition, pupils take part in low-stakes quizzes at key points within lessons to strengthen retrieval and recall of key components of knowledge, supporting long-term retention and curriculum progression.
Key Assessment Task (KATs) allow the teacher to see how the knowledge and skills gained can be translated into understanding. These will be centred around disciplinary questions, which are directly linked to the disciplinary focus of each unit. These questions enable pupils to think and work like subject specialists by applying their substantive knowledge in a range of meaningful contexts.
Through exploring these questions, pupils learn to use subject-specific methods, language, and skills to develop deeper understanding and critical thinking. Disciplinary questions may be explored in a variety of ways, often drawing on cross-curricular links to strengthen connections across subjects and support pupils in making sense of their learning within a broader curriculum framework.
Our ASPIRE Curriculum Display
Purpose: To inspire pupils and support their learning across the theme. The ASPIRE curriculum display may have:
- Key questions
- Tier 3 vocabulary
- Key knowledge that needs to stick
- The journey of the theme as it progresses
- High-quality examples of pupils’ work
- Subject specific resources, e.g. maps, artefacts, etc
- Subject text examples, e.g. non-fiction
How is the curriculum powered up by iPads for Learning?
Digital technology is purposefully embedded across the curriculum to enhance teaching, learning, and assessment. At Goldsmith, iPads for Learning are used as a powerful tool to deepen understanding, increase engagement, and promote independence. Where meaningful, teachers integrate iPad-based activities and apps into medium-term planning to strengthen the delivery and impact of the curriculum.
Pupils use a range of carefully selected apps, such as Socrative for retrieval practice and formative assessment, Showbie for feedback and reflection, and Goodnotes and Keynote to record, organise, and present their learning creatively. These digital tools reinforce key knowledge, support metacognitive development, and enable teachers to provide immediate, targeted feedback.
The use of iPads also enhances inclusion and accessibility. Built-in accessibility features ensure that all pupils can access learning in a way that meets their individual needs, supporting equity and participation for every learner. Our Becoming Unstuck toolkits, which include explainer videos and interactive resources, empower pupils to take ownership of their learning by independently overcoming challenges and revisiting key concepts when needed.
Through this approach, digital technology complements high-quality teaching rather than replacing it, ensuring that iPads are used with clear intent to enhance learning outcomes, promote inclusion, and prepare pupils with the digital competence and independence needed for future success.