At Graven Hill Primary and Preschool, we are committed to offering a rich, ambitious and carefully sequenced curriculum that enables every child — from age 2 to 11 — to belong, achieve and thrive. Our curriculum is developed in partnership with The Warriner Multi Academy Trust and reflects a shared belief that all children deserve access to powerful knowledge, taught with precision, purpose and joy.

Across the Trust, the curriculum has been recognised for its quality, being described as “exceptional” in recent Ofsted inspections of MAT schools.
While we await our own first Ofsted inspection, our monitoring and evaluation show that our curriculum is already having an exceptional impact on our children: in the secure foundations they build from age 2, in their rapid knowledge development, in their confidence and curiosity, and in the positive contributions they make to our school and wider community.

A Knowledge‑Led, Research‑Driven Curriculum

Our curriculum is designed using the Trust‑wide vision to ensure all children flourish academically, socially and personally through a challenging, engaging and knowledge‑led curriculum.
This curriculum is deliberately structured to give children equal access to powerful knowledge, enabling them to understand the world deeply, think critically, and apply their understanding creatively.

From the Early Years onwards, children are introduced to carefully mapped knowledge and vocabulary that build progressively over time. This helps them develop analysis, critical thinking and creativity — the foundations of future educational success.

Carefully Sequenced and Coherent

Our curriculum is meticulously planned to ensure:

• Coherence across year groups, with concepts and knowledge revisited and deepened over time
• Clear sequencing, built on evidence from subject associations and expert guidance
• Explicit vocabulary instruction, ensuring all children have the language they need to articulate understanding
• Strong subject‑specific pedagogy, underpinned by Trust expertise and research-informed design
   

This careful mapping — both vertically and horizontally — ensures children make meaningful links in their learning and develop a secure understanding of key concepts.

Ambitious for All Children

Because of its precision and structure, our curriculum is particularly powerful for our most vulnerable learners. As the Graven Hill and MAT curriculum pages explain, for some children school is the primary source of structured knowledge — and therefore must be reliable, intentional and expertly delivered.
We take this responsibility seriously.

Our approach is designed to:

• Close attainment gaps
• Guarantee access to essential knowledge
• Build long-term memory
• Support all children to achieve highly
• Develop the independence and resilience needed for future success

Exceptional Provision From Age 2

Graven Hill is unique in that our curriculum begins at age 2, embedding the earliest foundations of:

• communication
• emotional security
• curiosity
• early problem‑solving
• independence
• early subject knowledge

Our internal monitoring and evaluation demonstrate that this early curriculum is already exceptional in impact — not because of external judgement, but because of:

• the exceptional young people it is shaping
• the rapid progress children make
• the richness of their language and thinking
• their emotional confidence and social development
• the positive impact they have on our community every day

This lived evidence gives us confidence that our curriculum is both research‑strong and impact‑strong, meeting the highest standards of early education.

Preparing Children for Life Beyond Primary School

In line with the National Curriculum, our curriculum promotes pupils’ spiritual, moral, cultural, mental and physical development and prepares them for life’s opportunities, responsibilities and experiences.
But more than this, our curriculum introduces children to the best that has been thought and said, helping them to appreciate human creativity and achievement — a cornerstone of the entitlement set out in the curriculum intentions across the Trust.

What Our Children Gain

A Graven Hill curriculum ensures that all pupils:

• Access high‑quality, powerful knowledge
• Develop curiosity, critical thinking and creativity
• Receive consistent, research-informed teaching
• Experience a curriculum shaped by specialist teams and ongoing refinement
• Grow in confidence, character and ambition
• Make a positive impact on the community around them

From Preschool through to Year 6, our curriculum supports children to become learners — and people — who are thoughtful, articulate, kind, resilient and ready for the world ahead.