Our Curriculum

The Curriculum in the Foundation Stage

The foundation stage curriculum is organised into six areas of learning:
Personal, social and emotional development
Communication, language and literacy
Mathematical development
Knowledge and understanding of the world
Physical development
Creative development

Early years experience should build on what children already know and can do. Our Foundation Stage curriculum is carefully structured to provide a relevant and appropriate content that matches the different levels of young children's needs. Initially children may seem to be 'just playing' but they are developing important basic skills in Literacy and Numeracy as well as developing social skills and independence and initiative. As the year progresses, the children gradually do more formal work so by the end of the year, they are well prepared for the curriculum they will follow in Year One.

 

 

The Curriculum at Key Stage One and Two (Year 1 upwards)

The school follows the National Curriculum which consists of the core subjects of Literacy, Numeracy, Science and Information and Communications Technology (ICT), plus History, Geography, Art & Design, Design Technology, Music and Physical Education (PE).

We also teach Religious Education and Personal, Social and Health Education and Citizenship (PHSECt).

The children are taught in mixed age and mixed ability classes and so the work is differentiated to meet their individual needs. This means that although a class may be working on the same topic, e.g. fractions, the children will be getting different levels of support and will be given different levels of challenge so that every child learns and progresses with their learning in every lesson.

 

 

Literacy

Literacy Hour takes place daily throughout Key Stage One and Two. Children read a big book or shared text with the whole class or write a story as a class with the teacher's help. This is called shared reading and writing. Children also read in small groups with the teacher, talking about the stories they have read. This is called guided reading. In Reception, all children have a Literacy focus daily.
Within Literacy, we develop children's skills in:

Speaking and Listening: We encourage the children to develop skills in expressing themselves with clarity and purpose and to listen with understanding - skills that are increasingly important in today?s world.

Reading : Children are exposed to a wide range of reading materials in order to extend their skills and to enjoy their reading. A broad selection of carefully graded schemes and books are employed to assist in this. For example, books with the same colour band are of comparable difficulty but incorporate different vocabulary. Emphasis is placed on the ability to sound out words (phonics) as well as the recognition of words (look and say). Therefore, we encourage parents of Reception children to teach the sounds of letters as opposed to their names.

Writing: We aim to provide the children with the skills and opportunity to present their ideas and information in a variety of written forms. We use a wide variety of Literature to develop children's imagination and understanding of different writing styles as well as teaching the basics of grammar, spelling, punctuation and an understanding of language.

Handwriting is taught so children begin to join their letters from Year Two. This ensures continuity with the style taught at the Middle School.

Drama: Drama and role playing is used to develop speaking and listening skills as well as helping children to improve in their reading and writing.

 

Mathematics

The school follows the National Numeracy Strategy (NNS) which is taught daily throughout school. The children begin every lesson with a short mental maths session. They practise number facts and play counting games. This is followed by the main part of the lesson which is often practical, either games or hands on activities. There is great emphasis on oral and mental calculation throughout the lesson and children are encouraged to use mental strategies to calculate rather than use half understood written methods. Multiplication tables are still important and there is an increased emphasis on problem solving. The NNS has introduced an increased emphasis upon Numeracy but the other essential areas of the subject are still included, namely using Measures (weight, length, volume, area, time) Shape and Space, and Data Handling. Once they are ready, children from Year One upwards bring home games to play so they can practise their Maths skills in a fun way.

 

Science

It is important we equip our children with the skills, attitudes, abilities and concepts in order to maximise their potential throughout school life. We encourage our children to be enthusiastic about the world around them. Science consists of three main areas of learning:
Life Processes and Living Things
Materials and their Properties
Physical Processes
These are linked by an investigative approach. We work on the development of scientific thinking whereby children acquire the skills of observing, recording, forming hypotheses, testing, investigating and forming conclusions in their exploration of natural and man-made environments and the acquisition of basic scientific knowledge covering most aspects of essential science. Science lessons are very practical and so both very enjoyable and very informative for children.

 

Information and Communications Technology (ICT)

ICT is a subject in its own right and involves the use of computers for word processing, data handling, graphics etc. It is also regarded as being part of every other subject within the National Curriculum. We are preparing our pupils to live in a world of rapid technological change. Children find this new technology interesting and exciting. We believe that we must harness this enthusiasm and use computers daily as valuable tools to assist learning. It is for this reason that we do not have an ICT suite as we believe it is more beneficial for children to use the computers throughout the day in a variety of lessons, rather than at a few specific times during the week. We have an excellent ratio of 1 computer for every three children. This is much better than the government guidelines and this means all children usually work on computers most days. There is an interactive whiteboard in each classroom and every class has internet access and access to a programmable toy and a digital camera. We have invested a lot of money in ICT as we believe it will benefit our children greatly.

 

Religious Education (R.E.)

The teaching of Religious Education is in accordance with Northamptonshire's agreed syllabus for Religious Education. Children are encouraged to explore the beliefs and values of different major religions and cultures, helping them to develop a respect for, and an understanding of, different faiths. As a Church of England Controlled School we welcome the help and advice of local clergy as well as encouraging visitors from other faiths.

 

 

Collective Worship

In accordance with the Education Reform Act (1988), Collective Worship is held on a daily basis as a school. Worship, including the daily assembly, plays a full part in the life of the school. It is essentially Christian in character reflecting the traditions of the Church of England but with an awareness of other traditions and faiths.

A prayer group is a part of the worship for parents, grandparents, godparents etc. A weekly cycle of prayers is agreed and those who wish, can pray at home for this and all the other needs of the school, children, families etc. In addition, prayer requests from children are posted on a board in school. Major festivals are either celebrated in the Parish Church of St. Leonard's, Glapthorn or St Mary's in Southwick.

If a parent wishes to exercise their right of withdrawal of their child from worship, the child will be supervised by a member of staff not involved in the act of Worship.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Design and Technology

This is a largely practical subject where the children are encouraged to find solutions to problems. These problems are part of a structured unit (e.g. Can you make a moving vehicle?) and arise naturally in other work (e.g. to produce a pop-up Christmas card). The children learn how to work safely and skilfully with a variety of materials such as wood, card, paper, textiles and food. They begin with a design and from that, create a product. They then evaluate their product and think about ways to improve it. These skills are gradually developed through school so that by Class Three, the children are working with confidence and independence.

  History

We aim to promote a love of history by arousing interest in, and excitement about, the past. We learn about famous people and events from the past as well as looking at the children's own lives and their families. In Key Stage Two, children learn about life in specific periods of the past, e.g. The Romans, Ancient Greece, Invaders and Settlers, (Romans, Vikings and Anglo Saxons) Britain since the 1930s and local history.

Geography

Children are taught a range of geographical skills and are given opportunities to learn about people, places and the environment.
Learning in geography is carried out through studying the local environment and then on to the wider environment.

 

Art

Our aim is to provide as many experiences in artwork as possible, both two and three dimensional, so that the children's aesthetic awareness and appreciation may develop and their natural urge to be creative may be satisfied. The children are also introduced to the paintings of acknowledged masters, both old and new.

Music

We encourage every child to develop their musical confidence and ability through singing, composition and listening to music. All the children take part in a musical performance twice a year as well as events through the year such as May Singing around the village and the Oundle Festival of Music and Drama. Children in Years Three and Four have the opportunity to learn the violin and children in Year Four have the opportunity, for a small charge, to learn a Brass instrument.

Physical Education (P.E.)

Children need the opportunity for plenty of physical activity. Our aim is to help the children to know their own potential physical ability and to take full advantage of this both as an individual and as a member of a group. All the children take part in regular P.E. sessions which include gymnastics, dance, using large apparatus and games' skills. Children in Class 3 go swimming and also experience outdoor pursuits through a residential visit. There are also after school clubs run at different times of the year including netball, rounders, tag rugby, quick cricket, cross-country running and football.

PHSECt

School is about children learning in lots of different ways. PHSECt stands for Personal, Health and Social Education and Citizenship. This means building on what parents and carers teach children about a wide range of issues from healthy eating to being part of a community; sharing, listening, being kind, keeping safe and healthy, being confident and being responsible. Children participate regularly in circle time. This is a chance for children to talk about their feelings and to share any problems.

One of the ways we teach our pupils about citizenship and responsibility is through our school council. Two children from each year group are democratically elected each year to represent their peers in a school council. The school council gives children a say in the running of their school.

We also have a buddy system; an older child has a younger buddy and each week during 'buddy time', the children read books to each other. This gives older children more responsibility and helps younger children feel more secure in school as well as helping all the children with their reading.

In addition, we have a system of team points at school. Children are put into one of four colour teams through the school and each week a cup is awarded to the team with the most points. Children are given points for being kind and trying hard with their work. We believe children learn best through positive recognition and believe this method of team points both provides a positive reward to individual children and helps children work as part of a team.

 

 

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