Curriculum throughout school
EYFS Curriculum
In the Early Years Foundation Stage, we strive to provide children with exciting, creative opportunities to learn through play. Children of this age learn best through exploring and investigating; watching and listening; talking and discussing and creating and communicating both indoors and outside the classroom. We have a wonderful outdoor area which is accessible at all times and offers different learning experiences than those available indoors. . All our areas of provision offer an environment to enrich their vocabulary with their personal, social and emotional development at the heart of what we do .
The curriculum is split into prime and specific areas. The prime areas are important because they lay the foundations for success in all other areas of learning. The specific areas provide a range of experiences and opportunities to broaden their knowledge and skills.
Prime areas:
*Personal, Social and Emotional Development
*Communication and Language
*Physical Development
Specific areas:
*Literacy
*Maths
*The Natural World
*Expressive Arts and Design
We use Development Matters as a guide to ensure that each child is given the best opportunity to thrive. Although we have themes throughout the year which naturally allows the children to link their learning we have a child initiated approach and will always follow the child's interests and enhance the classroom environment to support this.
In 2021 a new Statutory Framework became mandatory, attainment will be described as either emerging (working below the expected level) and expected (working at the expected level) and these are reported to parents at the end of Reception. This has changed from previous years as exceeding (working above the expected level) has now been removed.
You can read the new Statutory Framework in the link below
We are also lucky enough to have our own Forest School on site which the children are able to access each week enabling them to learn a whole new set of skills. Through well-planned sessions, our pupils develop confidence, resilience, problem-solving skills and begin to learn to be independent.
We use White Rose to guide our teaching of Early Maths and do this in a multi sensory way, using lots of practical resources. Although we follow a scheme , we adapt it where necessary to meet the needs of the pupils in the cohort.
In the Summer term we introduce the Jane Considine scheme in literacy lessons which is used throughout school so the children are familiar with it when they transition into Year 1.
We are always looking for opportunities to enhance our curriculum by taking children off site on educational visits. We also invite visitors into school to try to make learning experiences more meaningful for the children. We go on visits to places such as the Sealife Centre, Farmer Parr's Animal World, the local Play and Bee Role Play Centre and use local business' to come into school to enhance their learning as much as possible.
Phonics
Phonics is taught daily following Red Rose Phonics published by Lancashire; this offers a variety of exciting, engaging ways to help children learn to read. Reading is extremely important both in and out of school and we provide a range of opportunities for children to foster a love of reading and to share stories with their peers and other adults including their parents.
All of our reading books in the early years and KS1 have been structured linked to phases which correspond to the phases within Red Rose Letters and Sounds. Children will take home books which include the letter sounds that they have previously been taught along with tricky words that they can read. This enables children to build confidence and provides them with opportunities to practice the decoding skills that they have been taught in school.
Our children learn to write through a wide range of early mark making activities using different media and are then encouraged to develop their letter formation to enable them to write simple words and sentences, for this we use the Red Rose letter patters which we find are highly successful in enabling the children to form those letters and develop a love for writing.
Key Stage 1 Curriculum
In Key Stage 1 we continue the learning journey from the Early Years Foundation Stage. In this next phase, we aim to develop the individual child so that they have a positive and confident attitude to learning. We want them to learn to be inquisitive, independent and show initiative. We provide opportunities for children to reflect on their learning and persevere when faced with challenges. Teachers are actively encouraged to use a wide range of teaching styles and strategies in order to meet the needs of all learners: this may include working with partners or in small groups and whenever possible, creative, active learning. ICT is used to enhance and support the curriculum. Children in Key Stage 1 will also learn through play and exploration where they are encouraged to question and try to find out answers for themselves.
The curriculum is taught through different topics, tailoring the curriculum to meet the specific needs of our pupils. Our strong Christian ethos permeates through all aspects of the curriculum and links are made to spiritual, moral and cultural learning.
Phonics and reading are taught through the Red Rose Phonics scheme and guided reading groups. Pupils will also read individually to an adult and we actively encourage reading for pleasure through a wide range of class and whole school activities throughout the year.
In Maths, we follow White Rose maths and aim to use a practical, multi-sensory approach to help pupils grasp mathematical concepts. We take advantage of our fantastic outdoor space and enjoy taking our learning outdoors, in maths, as well as other subjects.
Each year, all pupils will experience a programme of Forest School activities enhanced by further opportunities to learn through the outdoor environment. We also include a wide range of activities to broaden children's experiences including school trips, the use of visitors to school, whole school themed days and charity fund-raising days.
KS2 Curriculum
Our curriculum in Key Stage 2 incorporates a variety of approaches to ensure an increasing depth of knowledge and skills. In English, we focus on equipping pupils with a strong command of both spoken and written word and developing a love of literature: ambitious vocabulary, reading for both enquiry and pleasure and writing for purpose.
An enquiry based approach to Maths is taken. Pupils are actively encouraged to learn from each other and share a variety of strategies and approaches to problem-solving. Mistakes are unpicked in a supportive and collaborative environment. Children continue to be encouraged to use concrete and pictorial representations to underpin understanding of new concepts.
Engaging and inspiring cross-curricular topics provide opportunities to learn new skills, as well as applying previous core skills and knowledge.
Independent learning is celebrated through certificates and recognition in whole school worship, sharing with parents as well through learning platforms.
Wherever possible, we use educational visits and visitors to school to enhance the curriculum and to make learning experiences real and meaningful. All year groups have access to high quality forest school sessions for a block of 6 weeks during the year.
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