The Primary Knowledge Curriculum (PKC) is a knowledge-rich, book-based curriculum designed to give all children the essential knowledge and cultural capital they need to succeed in life. It places powerful knowledge at the heart of learning, ensuring pupils build both:

  • Substantive knowledge: The key facts, concepts, and ideas within each subject.
  • Disciplinary knowledge: Understanding how knowledge is created in each subject (e.g., thinking like a historian, scientist, or artist).

PKC is structured to be coherent and sequenced, so children know more, do more, and remember more over time.

Core PKC Principles Across All Subjects

  • Knowledge-Rich Approach: Place powerful, well-sequenced knowledge at the heart of the curriculum so pupils build cultural capital and deep understanding.
  • Disciplinary Understanding: Teach not just facts but how knowledge is created in each subject (e.g., thinking like a historian, scientist, or artist).
  • Coherence and Progression: Ensure concepts and vocabulary are revisited and built upon over time.
  • High Expectations for All: Every child can achieve; no one is left behind.
  • Context and Purpose: Link learning to real-world applications and meaningful contexts

Humanities (History & Geography)

  • Chronological and Spatial Frameworks: Build secure timelines and locational knowledge to help pupils understand historical and geographical contexts.
  • Powerful Knowledge: Focus on significant events, people, places, and processes that shape the world.
  • Disciplinary Thinking: Teach pupils to think like historians and geographers—using evidence, asking questions, and considering cause and consequence.
  • Cultural and Global Awareness: Include diverse perspectives and global contexts to foster empathy and citizenship.

Geography Overview

History Overview

Science

  • Substantive Knowledge: Teach core scientific concepts in biology, chemistry, and physics.
  • Disciplinary Knowledge: Develop understanding of scientific enquiry—asking questions, testing ideas, and evaluating evidence.
  • Balance of Theory and Practice: Combine conceptual teaching with hands-on experiments and investigations.
  • Vocabulary and Precision: Explicitly teach scientific language to support reasoning and explanation.
  • Progressive Sequencing: Build complexity gradually, ensuring strong foundations for future learning.

Science Overview

Art

  • Cultural and Historical Context: Teach art within its historical and cultural setting—exploring movements, artists, and traditions from around the world.
  • Practical Skills and Creativity: Provide opportunities for drawing, painting, sculpture, collage, and digital media.
  • Visual Literacy: Encourage pupils to look at, think about, and discuss art critically.
  • Self-Expression and Identity: Give children space to explore who they are as artists.
  • Connections and Meaning: Link pupils’ own work to the study of artists, architects, and designers.

Art Curriculum Overview

D&T

  • Inspire Creativity and Problem-Solving: The curriculum aims to help pupils understand the integral role of design and creation in society.
  • Three Practical Areas:
    • Cook: Pupils learn cooking skills through recipes, while exploring concepts like nutrition, seasonality, food production, and cultural diversity.
    • Sew: Pupils develop sewing techniques (embroidery, appliqué, weaving, plaiting) and learn about fabrics, sustainability, fast fashion, and recycling.
    • Build: Pupils create structures and mechanical/electrical devices (e.g., cars, toys, moving cards) while learning about forces, motion, and material properties.
  • Two Key Design Aspects:
    • Environment & Sustainability: Understanding the impact of design on the planet.
    • Enterprise & Innovation: Encouraging creativity and entrepreneurial thinking.
  • Structured Design Process:
    • Research & investigate → Design → Make → Use → Evaluate.
  • Clear Purpose and User: Each unit specifies what product pupils will make, its purpose, and its intended user.

DT Overview