Our Curriculum

Intent:

At Peases West Primary we want our children to have positive attitudes towards lifelong learning and be able to recall key aspects of their learning. Our curriculum needs to be broad and balanced, ensuring equality of opportunity, and engage, inspire, motivate and challenge children, preparing them for their ‘now’ and their ‘next’. Developing children’s natural curiosity and allowing them to discover and nurture their individual strengths and talents through first hand experiences and opportunities will enable children to gain the necessary knowledge, skills and confidence to achieve success and wellbeing in their ‘now’ and in their futures.

Children need to be reflective learners who take responsibility for their learning; to draw upon their skills in a range of situations. We need to develop children’s interpersonal skills and resilience and enable them to become analytical and critical thinkers; to be ‘team players’ able to communicate effectively, and to build and sustain positive relationships based on mutual respect, kindness, honesty and understanding. We need our children to be ambitious and believe in themselves; to value themselves and others. Children need to take pride in, contribute to and learn from, and celebrate diversity in their local and wider community; to be prepared for life in modern Britain and have economic wellbeing. Children need to be aware of the importance of their health, safety and wellbeing, both physical and mental, and have the ability to regulate their emotions.

The ability to learn is underpinned by basic skills in reading, writing and maths and technology. The knowledge, skills and values our children gain through the curriculum needs to be inline with those nationally, and prepare children for life during and beyond primary school. The essential knowledge children need to be educated citizens will be embedded in our curriculum.

How will we design a curriculum that meets our children’s needs and interests and support them to build their knowledge and apply their knowledge as skills?

Ensure National Curriculum entitlement and coverage
Staff knowledge and expertise
Enquiry based approach to learning
Focus on vocabulary – teach more words
Build knowledge of events, people, places, contexts
Sequential approach supports knowing more and remembering more (avoid ‘blocking’) – consider timetabling
Planned opportunities to revisit and recall – so that children know and remember more
Engaging content
Inclusive for all
Planned opportunities to embed Educate & Celebrate values/’Cultural capital’ – essential knowledge for educated citizens
Social justice – ensuring no child is disadvantaged
Promote physical and mental health, safety and wellbeing
Regular monitoring and review by leaders, including governors

National Curriculum

This document sets out the framework for the national curriculum at Key Stages 1 and 2.

Primary National Curriculum

Curriculum Maps

You can view or download our Curriculum Maps. 2020 – 2021 follows programme B.

Phonics and Reading

At Peases West Primary School, we follow the Read, Write Inc. approach to reading, where children learn to decode (read) and encode (spell) printed words quickly and fluently by blending and segmenting letter sounds.

We support the children’s application of phonics to their reading by using decodable Read, Write Inc. reading books in school and to send home, until children are able to read with fluency and apply their knowledge of all the letter/sound patterns taught. Children who are just beginning to learn the letter/sound correspondences are learning at the same time to tell stories using books which do not have words to begin with. This is crucial in the development of spoken language and vocabulary. It is a necessary stepping stone towards becoming an accomplished reader and writer.

Read Write Inc. is a literacy programme developed by Ruth Miskin and is taught in over 5000 schools in the United Kingdom. Click on the link below to look through our guide for information about how reading is taught at school, and lots of free resources to support your child’s learning at home.

https://home.oxfordowl.co.uk/reading/reading-schemes-oxford-levels/read-write-inc-phonics-guide/

When children join us in school, they access ‘Read, Write Inc’. phonic sessions, where they learn how to decode and blend words. Children will bring a school book home which includes words/sounds closely linked to the learning they have completed in school. The expectation is that children practise at home by reading out aloud every night for at least 10 minutes with an adult supporting – this may involve reading the same book again throughout the week to build fluency. This repetition is very important as it reinforces and consolidates the phonic learning children have been doing in school. On the inside of the front cover of each book children brings home, is a detailed explanation on how to best support children with that particular book.

Children also have reading diary which needs to be signed and dated each day and brought back to school daily. Once a full page of the diary is completed, children will receive a reward in school.

Once children have completed the Read, Write Inc. phonic scheme and are confident recognising all sounds, they will progress to the ‘Oxford Reading Tree’ and Accelerated Reading levelled bookbooks. These books consolidate previous phonics learning and introduce more challenging words.

Summer 2021 – Reading challenge!

EYFS (Nursery and Reception) Summer half term break Reading Challenge

KS1 (Class 2) Summer half term break Reading Challenge

KS2 (Classes 3 and 4) Summer half term break Reading Challenge

British Values

At Peases West Primary School we take our responsibility to prepare children for life in modern Britain very seriously. We ensure that the fundamental British Values are introduced, discussed and lived out through the ethos and work of the school. All curriculum areas provide a vehicle for furthering understanding of these concepts and, in particular, our RE, PSHE and Citizenship lessons provide excellent opportunities to deepen and develop understanding. Children embrace these concepts with enthusiasm and demonstrate a good understanding of their application to their own lives.

The school makes considerable efforts to ensure children have exposure to a wide experience beyond their local community during which these concepts are shown, through for example, sporting events, a range of visits and use of outdoor education centres. Their strong rooted values-based understanding gives them an excellent platform for embracing difference.

We value the voice of the child and promote democratic processes. Ideas and events are planned and discussed with a chance for debate and putting forward points of view.

Children are given responsibility to run their own activities and lead other children in games and activities so that they are fully involved in all aspects of school life. For instance, our older children are trained as Sports Crew leaders and help to promote our core values. We expect all our children to be good role models for each other, which is encouraged through high expectations of behaviour.

Our curriculum topics provide children with further opportunity to reflect on our core values and British Values.

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