Curriculum

At Barwic Parade Community Primary School we believe that all children are entitled to a broad and balanced curriculum which is fun and engaging and provides a range of learning opportunities that help develop children’s lifelong love of learning. Our curriculum is planned to ensure that every child has the opportunity to develop:

Socially, emotionally, intellectually, physically, spiritually, morally, culturally
Positive attitudes, healthy relationships and essential life and work skills
The ability to make informed choices, gain experiences and develop responsibilities for their future

The Curriculum is comprised of The Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum

(3-5 yrs), Key Stage 1 (5-7 yrs) and Key Stage 2 (7-11 yrs). The National Curriculum is used to guide and support teaching and learning in Key Stage 1 and 2.

Core Subjects

Literacy, Maths and Science.

Foundation Subjects

Art and Design, Computing, Design and Technology, Geography, History, Music, Physical Education and a Modern Foreign Language.

Phonics and Reading

Children in Foundation Stage and Key Stage 1 learn through a daily four part phonics lesson following ‘Letters and Sounds’ within a six phase progression structure. Phonics sessions provide a multi-sensory approach by using a range of resources such as magnetic letters, wipe boards and interactive white boards to access sites such as Espresso Eduction, Phonics Play and Education City. We use the Bug Club reading scheme and Active Learning online to help the development of reading.

EYFS is a statutory framework that supports the belief that every child is an individual and deserves the best possible start in life.

It sets standards for the learning, development and welfare of children aged 0-5.
It is a fun and flexible framework focused around the seven areas of learning.
It explains the skills, knowledge and understanding that children must have to support healthy development.
It helps young children acquire the skills they will need to learn in school and beyond.
It encourages learning through indoor and outdoor play and discovery.

The Early Years curriculum has seven areas of learning and development. These are divided into three prime areas and four specific areas. The three prime areas are the most crucial for a child’s healthy development. They are:

Prime Area

Aspect

Communication & Language

Listening and attention
Understanding
Speaking

Physical Development

Moving and Handling
Health and Self-Care

Personal, Social & Emotional Development

Making Relationships
Self-Confidence and Self Awareness
Managing Feelings and Behaviour

The four specific areas detail the important skills a child will need to develop. They are:

Specific Area	Aspect
Literacy	Reading Writing
Mathematics	Numbers Shape, Space and Measure
Understanding the World	People and Communities The World Technology
Expressive Arts & Design	Exploring Media and Materials Being Imaginative

In Key Stage 1 the focus is on two fundamental areas in reading; decoding (the skill of reading words and comprehension (understanding what is happening in the text).

In Key Stage 2 the focus is on the development of children’s spelling, punctuation and grammar (SPaG). Children also continue to develop their comprehension skills in reading and use these skills to explore a wide variety of texts both independently and as part of their literacy studies.

Aims of the Curriculum

Enable all children to reach high standards of attainment.
Set challenging expectations of educational standards and achievement, acknowledging and challenging disadvantage and discrimination in all forms.
Increase children’s motivation, enthusiasm and engagement in their learning by making learning exciting and meaningful through putting it into a context.
Value individuals and communities.
Help children to become more independent and take greater ownership of their learning.
Develop their confidence and motivation to learn through the use of a range of teaching and learning styles.
Acknowledge specific individual needs and meet them as far as possible within available resources.
Provide wide and varied educational experiences.
Enable pupils to receive an education that will serve them well beyond their primary school experience.
Provide opportunities to apply knowledge and learning in practical ways and to solve problems in a variety of situations.

Key Skills

Barwic Parade Community Primary School believes that children make progress through developing Key Skills. These include:

working with others
review and self-evaluation
problem-solving
independent thinking
computer skills

Implementation

At Barwic Parade Community Primary School in order to engage, inspire and motivate we actively seek out opportunities to make the learning more meaningful for the pupils. This is achieved in a number of ways, including:

making links across subjects through the use of topic work, science and cross-curricular writing.
identifying areas of interest to capture pupils’ curiosity
provide first hand experiences for learners
planning themed days/weeks to encourage creativity and innovation
incorporating local and national initiatives
working with other schools and the local community

Parents may find this guide useful to help improve their understanding of what is expected for their child at the end of each year group in Maths, English and Science.

The New National Curriculum

Long Term Curriculum Plans by Year Groups