Our Curriculum Intent
English At Glendale we believe that a quality curriculum should develop children's love of reading, writing and discussion. We aim to inspire an appreciation of a rich and wide variety of literature and a habit of reading widely and often. We offer a nurturing culture in which children take pride in their writing, write clearly and accurately, adapting their language and style for a range of contexts. We want to motivate children to be confident and articulate speakers and respectful listeners, using discussion to communicate, develop and expand vocabulary and further their learning. We believe that children need to develop a secure knowledge base in English which follows a clear path of progression and includes regular assessment. It is also important that pupils develop a secure basis in English skills to enable them to access a broad, high quality education. Phonics and Reading
| Maths At Glendale we aim to provide a mathematics curriculum that is planned and sequenced ensuring new knowledge and skills build on what has been taught before and towards its clearly defined end points. We address the barriers that prevent pupils from achieving in maths. This includes the highest attaining pupils in relation to more independent thinking and problem solving. Over time, pupils build up more than a shallow knowledge of objectives, but a richer set of skills that allow them to navigate through the mathematical world. These skills are developed cumulatively from Reception onwards so that pupils can become increasingly fluent in making connections, thinking mathematically, and feeling confident to tackle new aspects.
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Personal Development and Values
Personal, Social and Health Education Through our PSHE learning we want our children to acquire the knowledge, understanding and skills they need to manage their lives both now and in the future. We have six key values that we focus on throughout the school year. These are; independence, responsibility, collaboration, perseverance, honesty and respect.
| Religious Education At Glendale we want our pupils to develop religious knowledge and empathy, to prepare them for life in a modern, diverse Britain. Pupils should understand that religious life is a choice and develop a respect for the religious choices of others whom they may meet. We follow the agreed syllabus for religious education (SACRE) for Coventry and Warwickshire.
| Relationship and Sex Education We want all of our children at Glendale Infant School to feel safe and be safe. The programme recommended for Warwickshire schools which we will be using; 'My Feelings, Friends and Family' focusses on how children can have healthy friendships and family relationships as well as knowing what to do if they don't feel safe. This, as well as our protective behaviours programme will help our children to respect other people, as well as expecting that same level of respect to be shown to themselves.
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British Values We promote the fundamental British values of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty, and mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs.
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Discovery
Science We aim for all children to be prepared for life in an increasingly scientific and technological world. Through our imaginative, purposeful, practical, Approach to science we strive to provide our children with an enjoyable experience. We encourage children to develop a deep and lasting interest about the world around them.
| Computing We want our pupils to be responsible, competent, confident and creative users of information and communication technology. We strive for our pupils to be provided with opportunities to develop computational thinking analytically to solve problems and apply the fundamental principles and concepts of computer science, including logic, algorithms and data representation. We strive for pupils to have a good understanding of how to use technology safely and respectfully, keeping personal information private and identifying where to go for help and support when they have concerns.
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Creativity
Design Technology We want our pupils to be inspired and acquire a broad range of skills and understanding in a practical subject that encourages creativity, resourcefulness, problem solving and imagination. We aim to provide a high-quality design technology education which engages, inspires and challenges pupils, equipping them with the knowledge and skills to design, investigate, analyse and evaluate their own work. Pupils will be given the opportunity to evaluate past and present design and technology and develop a critical understanding of its impact on daily life and the wider world. We strive for our children to have a passion for this subject and aim to inspire them to be the designers and makers of our future.
| Art We believe that art is inclusive and encourages creativity and curiosity for all children. We value art as an important part of the children's entitlement to a broad and balanced curriculum. Art provides the children with the opportunities to develop and extend skills and an opportunity to express their individual interests, thoughts and ideas. We want our pupils to engage in the skills of drawing, painting, collage and sculpture. We strive to introduce children to a wide range of work, styles and artists reflecting current and historical art in society.
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Music We aim to engage all children in making music, singing songs and rhymes and to have lots of opportunities to listen and respond to a wide range of music. The children have opportunities to acquire the knowledge, skills and understanding to make music. Children perform regularly and we have a variety of visitors including performers and specialist teachers deliver music lessons.
| Physical Education At Glendale, we encourage all our children to be active and have positive attitudes towards physical activity. We enjoy PE lessons and sport both within the curriculum and during morning warm up, after school clubs and lunchtime activities. We want our children to experience learning new skills in games, dance, gymnastics and athletics lessons. Our PE lessons and school promote teamwork, fair play and health and fitness in a fun and safe environment where all children are challenged and motivated to enjoy and achieve.
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History and Heritage
History We strive for our curriculum to enrich the children's knowledge and understanding of British history. We aim to provide the children with the skills to think critically, ask intuitive questions and analyse evidence to develop their own judgements and historical inquiry. Their exploration through time enables them to see how people have shaped this country and how Britain has influenced and has been influenced by the wider world.
| Cultural Heritage We strive for our children to gain a greater understanding and to value their own identity and heritage. As citizens of Nuneaton, Warwickshire and the UK we strive to develop understanding of their cultural roots and their role as members of the global society.
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Understanding the World
Geography We want our pupils to discover more about their locality, country and the world around them through questioning, research, discussion and fieldwork. We aim for them to learn subject specific vocabulary relating to physical and human geography in order to express their thinking, knowledge and ideas. We strive to use the outdoor environment to observe, process, understand, plot/read maps and use geographical vocabulary to enhance and deepen their geographical knowledge and understanding.
| Current Affairs We aim for children to learn, at an age-appropriate level, about current affairs relating to people and places, and those that can affect our communities and planet. We want for them to consider what can be done to influence change for the better and how we as citizens can help.
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The School Curriculum
In Reception children follow the final year of the Early Years Foundation Stage which is for children from birth to five years old. In Years 1 and 2 the children will follow the National Curriculum for Key Stage One. For many years we have been teaching through a themed topic approach to the curriculum and will continue to do so. All Early Years Foundation Stage and National Curriculum objectives have been grouped into topics. The staff have a variety of resources with which they are familiar and they have the autonomy to select the most appropriate lesson or groups of lessons to meet that objective. Lessons are specifically planned to develop certain skills, concepts, knowledge and understanding. Our curriculum includes multi-cultural education promoting racial harmony and equal opportunities. We always seek to see children as individuals, with their own needs and unique personalities, and our aim is to help them achieve their full potential.
More information about the curriculum and children's learning can be found in the termly topic letters, newsletters and by speaking to the class teacher.
Topics
Reception run a child led curriculum which encompasses the children’s interests through learning and play, alongside some adult initiated topics. The areas of learning and development are used to shape activities and experiences for our children in Reception.
Reception | Year 1 and Year 2 | |
Cycle A | Cycle B | |
We are Special | Here and There | Hot and Cold |
Let's Celebrate | Toys | Zoom to the Moon |
All Around Us | Water, Water Everywhere | Into the Woods |
All Creatures Big and Small | ||
Take a Walk on the Wild Side | ||
Under the Sea |
The Early Years Foundation Stage
Every child deserves the best possible start in life and the support that enables them to fulfil their potential. At Glendale we recognise that children develop quickly in the early years and that their experiences in their reception year have a major impact on their future life chances. Four guiding principles that shape our practice in Reception:
· Every child is a unique child, who is constantly learning and can be resilient, capable, confident and self-assured.
· Children learn to be strong and independent through positive relationships with adults and their peers.
· children learn and develop well in enabling environments with teaching and support from adults, who respond to their individual interests and needs and help them to build their learning over time. Children benefit from a strong partnership between teachers and parents and/or carers.
· The importance of recognising children develop and learn at different rates. Our curriculum covers the education and care of all children in our school including children with SEND.
There are seven areas of learning and development that shapes our curriculum. All areas of learning and development are important and inter-connected. They are:
Communication and Language
The development of children’s spoken language underpins all seven areas of learning and development. At Glendale, we understand the
importance of interactions and the quality of these conversations they have with adults and other children throughout the day, and therefore try to create a language-rich environment. We do this by commenting on what children are interested in or doing, and echoing back what they say with new vocabulary added. Reading and story time is an important part of the day and an opportunity to engage children in stories, non-fiction texts, rhymes and poems. Each Reception class has a role play area and reading nook where children can share their ideas and receive modelling and questioning from their teacher, allowing our children to become comfortable using a rich range of vocabulary and language structures.
Personal, Social and Emotional Development
Children’s personal, social and emotional development (PSED) is crucial for children to lead healthy and happy lives, and is fundamental to their cognitive development and helps shape their social world. At Glendale we build strong, warm and supportive relationships with our children and teach them how to understand their own feelings and those of others by managing emotions, developing a positive sense of self, setting themselves simple goals and having confidence in their own abilities. We will teach them how to look after their bodies, including healthy eating, and managing personal needs independently. Through supported interaction with other children, they will learn how to make good friendships, co-operate and resolve conflicts amicably. These attributes will help them to thrive at Glendale and in later life.
Physical Development
Physical activity is vital in children’s all-round development, enabling them to pursue happy, healthy and active lives. Gross and fine motor experiences develop incrementally throughout early childhood, starting with sensory explorations and the development of a child’s strength, co-ordination and positional awareness. At Glendale we provide opportunities for play both indoors and outdoors, adults support children to develop their core strength, stability, balance, spatial awareness, co-ordination and agility. Gross motor skills provide the foundation for developing healthy bodies and social and emotional well-being. Fine motor control and precision helps with hand-eye co-ordination, which is later linked to children’s early literacy skills. We offer opportunities to explore and play with small world activities, puzzles, arts and crafts and the practice of using small tools, with feedback and support from adults, allowing our children to develop proficiency, control and confidence.
Literacy
At Glendale we know how important reading is and encourage children to develop a life-long love of reading. We build on children’s comprehension skills by reading a variety of quality texts including fiction and non-fiction and talking about the books we are reading and new vocabulary. Phonics is taught using the Read Write Inc programme where our children are taught a key set of phonic skills including grapheme recognition, phoneme pronunciation, oral segmenting and blending and decoding that can be transferred into reading and writing in familiar and unfamiliar contexts. Children are taught to form letters correctly, spell words using their phonic knowledge, orally rehearse sentences and to write sentences that can be understood by themselves and others.
Mathematics
At Glendale we strive to teach children the necessary building blocks to excel mathematically. Children are taught to count confidently, develop a deep understanding of the numbers to ten by understanding the relationships between them and the patterns within those numbers. Our curriculum also includes rich opportunities for children to develop their spatial reasoning skills across all areas of mathematics including shape, space and measures. We encourage our children to develop positive attitudes and interests in mathematics, look for patterns and relationships, spot connections, ‘have a go’, talk to adults and their peers about what they notice and not be afraid to make mistakes.
Understanding the world
This area involves guiding children to make sense of the world and their community. The frequency and range of children’s personal experiences increases their knowledge and sense of the world around them – from visiting parks, libraries and museums to meeting important members of society such as police officers, nurses and firefighters. We build on our children’s understanding and vocabulary in this area by reading them a wide variety of stories, non-fiction, rhymes and poems.
Expressive Arts and Design
The development of children’s artistic and cultural awareness supports their imagination and creativity. At Glendale our children have regular opportunities to engage with the arts, enabling them to explore and play with a wide range of media and materials. We have quality and varied
resources in our provision to develop children’s understanding, self-expression, vocabulary and ability to communicate through the arts.
Characteristics of Effective Learning
They run through and underpin all 7 areas of learning and development. They describe factors which play a central role in a child’s learning and in becoming an effective learner. They are vital elements of support for transition from Reception into Year One.
There are 3 characteristics:
· playing and exploring - children investigate and experience things, and ‘have a go’
· active learning - children concentrate and keep on trying if they encounter difficulties, and enjoy achievements
· creating and thinking critically - children have and develop their own ideas, make links between ideas, and develop strategies for doing things
Aims specific to the Early Years Foundation Stage
We believe that the EYFS has its own aims in addition to the whole school aims.
These are:
– To define and build upon the child’s existing knowledge and experiences in partnership with parents.
– To encourage independence, autonomy and self-control.
– To enable all children to develop their interests and abilities fully; encouraging lively and enquiring minds.
– To know and value themselves and their own strengths whilst understanding personal limitations.
– To ensure that the child is appropriately prepared for the challenges and demands of their future education.
– To give children the opportunities and skills to communicate effectively.
National Curriculum – Key Stage One
The subjects covered in Key Stage One are as follows:
– English
– Maths
– Science
– History
– Design Technology
– Music
– Geography
– Physical Education
– Art & Design
– Computing
– Religious Education
– PSHE & Citizenship
Collective Worship
The children share in Acts of Worship which, in accordance with the Education Act, is mainly Christian in character. We also encourage members of the local community to join with us or we visit places of worship so that we can enjoy the experience of a multi-faith society. Parents have the right to request that their child is withdrawn from Religious Education and Collective Worship but will need to make alternative arrangements.
Curriculum Enrichment
In addition to the National curriculum, at Glendale we offer a variety of practises which help develop learning, for example after-school clubs. Educational visits out of school and visitors into school. The children are given learning challenges to complete at home.
Creative Teaching and Learning
We believe that creative learning should be on-going to enable children to be continuously engaged and enjoy their learning. School staff use a range of approaches and activities to engage the children, including using the outdoor environment as a stimulus. Creative learning is always at the forefront of the teacher’s minds when planning for children’s development.