Powick CE Primary School

The following subjects are included in the curriculum of the school as required by the Education Reform Act:- Mathematics, English, Science, History, Geography, Design Technology, Information and Communication Technology, Religious Education, Music, Art & Design, Physical Education and Personal, Social, Health and Citizenship Education. Sex and Relationships Education is taught as an integral part of PSHCE and the Science curriculum. We also teach the children about Education for Sustainable Development through many areas of our work.

All classes are unstreamed, however, staff are sensitive to the differing abilities and interests of children both in groups and as individuals, so the range and pace of work is adjusted accordingly. It is our intention that every child should be encouraged to develop fully their understanding of themselves and the world in which they live.

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Through Our Teaching Of The Curriculum We Aim To Help The Children To Learn To:

a) acquire skills, knowledge and practical abilities and the will to use them;

b) develop a secure and open, questioning attitude of mind, a healthy body, sense of the spiritual, sensitivity to feeling and a creative imagination.

c) appreciate human achievements in art, music, science, technology and literature;

d) acquire understanding of the social and economic benefits of democracy and order,

together with a reasoned set of attitudes, values and beliefs;

e) develop a sense of self-respect, the capacity to live as independent, self-motivated adults and the ability to function as contributing members of co-operative groups.

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We Plan To Achieve These Aims Through:

a) careful planning;

b) clear introductions in lessons and skilful use of questioning, exposition and discussion;

c) the practise of skills and the acquisition of knowledge and understanding through practical work, the use of the school environment and a range of reference sources including books, pictures, video and computer;

d) tasks that will provide opportunities to explore, investigate, solve problems and develop proficiency in recording evaluating and reporting in a variety of ways;

e) developing the children’s will and ability to communicate through oral and written work, art, music, drama, mathematics, technology, maps, plans, models and diagrams;

f) the regular marking, recording and discussion of pupils achievement to provide the basis for on-going assessment and evaluation so as to promote the progress of each individual.

g) a continuous review by staff of policies and procedures to ensure that work is planned to support the needs of the children.

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English

All planning reflects the objectives of The National Literacy Strategy.

A full range of teaching styles are used in English and our integrated approach supports a wide variety of activities and experience in speaking and listening and in reading and writing - both conventional and computer generated.

Children entering the Reception class are given experience of many texts to help them develop as active readers. The school has a large number of stimulating reading books and parents are very involved in the teaching of reading through home reading and paved reading schemes, which operate within the school.

Key Stage Two English teaching reflects the guidance contained in the National Literacy Strategy, which recommends a 60/40 division between Fiction and Non-fiction literacy with class topic work where appropriate to support learning in both areas.

Our Main Aims Are To Help Children To Develop:

a) the ability to listen attentively and the ability to respond in a positive manner;

b) the ability to express themselves clearly and precisely with appropriate vocabulary;

c) the ability to read fluently and with understanding from books covering a wide range of

interests;

d) the ability to write clearly and eloquently for a range of purposes;

e) legible handwriting and accurate work processing that demonstrate high standards of spelling, syntax, punctuation and usage;

f) the necessary skills, which will help them acquire information from various sources and record their findings in various ways.

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Mathematics

Our teaching reflects training and guidance on all aspects of mathematics teaching contained in The National Numeracy Framework.

Our Aims Are To Help Children Develop:

a) a positive attitude to mathematics as an interesting and attractive subject;

b) an ability to think clearly and logically with confidence and flexibility of mind;

c) the ability to express ideas fluently using the language of mathematics;

d) an appreciation of mathematical pattern and the ability to identify relationships;

e) a sound grasp of computational skills, which they are able to use to solve problems;

f) the ability to use a variety of practical resources and the ability to interpret diagrams, tables, simple networks, scale drawings etc;

g) an appreciation of two and three dimensional shapes and their relationship with one another;

h) an ability to write clearly, to record mathematics in statements, neatly and systematically.

i) a quick recall of basic facts.

j) perseverance through sustained work over a period of time;

k) an awareness of mathematics beyond the classroom and how it can be used to solve problems in everyday life.

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Science

The Science curriculum, in common with all subject policies, has been devised to comply with the guidelines laid down in the National Curriculum Standing Orders.

In Science we aim to:

a) encourage the child to suggest explanations and make predictions, to guide the formulation of testable hypotheses and to evaluate their findings;

b) encourage and guide the design of fair tests;

c) provide the practical means for carrying out these tests;

d) encourage and guide the child in the recording of objective observations and/or measurements - when appropriate;

e) encourage the children to look for and discuss applications of the scientific concepts involved.

f) acquire the knowledge, skills and understanding to appreciate the importance and impact of science on our lives.

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Geography

In Geography we give children opportunities to:

a) investigate places and themes, beginning with their own locality and extending further afield as their geographical awareness, understanding and vocabulary develops;

b) ask questions such as ‘What/where is it?’, ‘What is it like?’, ‘ How did it get like this?’

‘How and why is it changing?’ and seek answers through practical work and the use of quality resources;

c) produce maps, graphs, drawings and oral and written accounts that reflect their understanding of geography.

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History

History is about the lives and behaviour of people who have actually lived based on the evidence which survives. It is an enquiry into what past societies were like, the beliefs and cultures that influenced people’s actions, what caused the events in which they were involved to happen and how they and their lives were changed by these events.

In History we aim to use a variety of teaching methods and materials:

v To fire pupils’ curiosity about the past in Britain and the wider world and find out about ways in which it was different from the present.

v To show children how we can find out about the past using different sources of evidence and methods of enquiry.

v To begin to understand why some aspects of the past are subject to different interpretations.

v To develop a sense of chronology and a chronological framework of knowledge and understanding of events and developments for time periods studied.

v To develop pupils’ ability to select, organise and communicate their findings in a variety of forms.

v To consider history from a variety of perspectives – political, economic, technological and scientific, social, religious cultural and aesthetic.

v To enable children to understand the diversity of other people, their beliefs, thoughts, values and experiences.

v To help children to understand who they are, how they came to be what they are, how their society came to be what it is and value their heritages.

v To encourage children to question whether things need to be as they are and be involved in the process of change and the making of their own history through their own personal choices, attitudes and values.

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Education for Sustainable Development

‘Sustainability is about the way we live, the way we treat each other and about our attitudes to the world around us’ (page 3, WWF Lifelines, News and Ideas for Teachers, Spring 2005)

By teaching the children about sustainability we aim to encourage them to become informed decision makers. We want them to

1) value, respect and enjoy themselves, others, the community and the natural and man-made environment.

2) develop the confidence to form and express their opinions

3) learn about the world, become more aware of different cultures, values and issues and balance the needs of different groups,

4) develop the skills, knowledge, and understanding necessary to lead full and active lives

5) understand the need for change and be aware of changes beyond our community,

6) be open to new ideas and be prepared to meet new challenges by becoming self-motivated learners and communicators,

7) learn to prioritise

8) get involved in making decisions and take responsibility for what they say and do.

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Prospectus Curriculum Part 1