Curriculum Overview

Academies are required to have a broad and balanced curriculum which promotes the spiritual, moral, cultural, mental and physical development of pupils and prepares them for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of later life.

For pupils in the Foundation Stage, academies are required to follow the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS).

While academies are not required to follow the National Curriculum they are required to ensure their curriculum:

• includes English, maths and science;
• includes Religious Education, although the nature of this will depend on whether the school has a faith designation;
• includes sex and relationship education

We teach through topics and work with the children to take account of their interests, making links between subjects, developing knowledge, skills and positive attitudes to learning in a range of contexts.  We provide a wide range of stimulating day trips and residential visits to enhance the children’s learning.

We recognise that learning is not just about subjects and knowledge, but also about developing a child’s personal and social qualities: consideration for others, empathy, compassion, resilience, honesty, respect, etc.  These qualities are encouraged and modelled by staff, volunteers and visitors throughout the school day and beyond.

Expectations of Literacy

 The Long term Literacy plan sets out the texts to be taught in each year group and the objectives to be covered at certain times of the year. Babcock Literacy sequences can be used to support the teaching of some of the texts. Literacy Teaching Sequences will clearly include the following elements:

Outcome

This section suggests a description of what the children will have written by the end of the sequence.

Learning Objectives

These need to be listed at the beginning for the whole teaching sequence and they must be taken from the national curriculum.

Learning about the text

The purpose of this stage is to capture the children's interest and help them get to know the text really well. This is through both 'reading as a reader' - exploring and sharing personal responses to what they read - and through 'reading as a writer' - recognising and

investigating/understanding the features the writer uses to engage and manipulate the reader. It often will involve some form of learning and remembering of trickier or interesting sections to be used as an initial model for writing.

Each sequence will contain some or all of these:

· a hook into the text

· reading and responding to the text

· comprehension activities

· retelling the text

· talking about the text

· in role in the text/drama

· vocabulary work

· analysing the text

· grammar in context (writing targets)

· identifying the structure of the text

These activities often contain some element of writing to record process, outcome or learning.

Practising Writing

During this stage, children need to try out the elements of writing that they are less sure of so that they can use this experience when writing independently. This means that they need opportunities to play around with the language and structures that they've been learning about and will be supported by their teacher(s).

In teaching sequences, this section tends to include many of the following:

· generating ideas to write about and one idea chosen

· a shared activity to generate content for the chosen content

· recording key ideas alongside the structure of the text

· telling and talk to generate the text

· story mapping the text where necessary

· opportunities to practise using writing targets within writing

Shared writing supports...

· modelling writing the text, usually in sections applying learning from the first phase

· children writing their own version of the text using the class idea

· editing writing

· proof-reading writing

 

Independent Writing

Children choose their own content to write about and collect ideas. These can then be recorded on the text structure chart as one method of planning, but individual sequences may suggest a number of alternative ways to plan and organise a piece of writing.

Children write their text using proof-reading and editing to improve it.

*When planning writing, Sue Palmer (or an adapted version) planning formats should be used

 

 Expectations of Reading

KS1

· 90% of children in EYFS and Year 1 are expected to be reading the appropriate book that matches their phonic phase

· Children in EYFS and Year 1 will follow the Little Wandle reading practice

· It is expected that children in Foundation and KS1 read at least three times per week at home. Teachers will check this through the Little Wandle online ebook system.

Reading band expectations:

When the Little Wandle programme is complete, children will move on to the Accelerated Reader programme. If there is evidence that children are ready to progress on to this before the end of the programme, teachers will Star Test these children. Analysis from the accelerated programme should be reviewed weekly.

 KS2

· Pupils on AR read daily at school, outside of the GR sessions

. Pupils who are not reading at Age Related Expectation are listened to read at least once a week

. Pupils who did not pass the PSC in Year 2 will take part in precision teaching

Accelerated Reader

· Teachers will conference pupils who are on AR weekly in relation to their ‘Quizzing’

· When children score 75% or above in a quiz, they must move on to the next point scale

· Teachers to ensure all pupils on AR take a ‘Star Test’ every ½ term and track and monitor progress in this

Guided Reading:

KS1

. Children in EYFS and Year 1 will follow the Little Wandle reading practice

· From January, Year 2 will begin to introduce the whole class guided reading programme as below.

KS2

Whole class guided reading will be taught daily for 30 minutes to all pupils except for agreed with SENDCO, out of year group SEND children who will be completing other targeted learning during this time with a TA.

 · This MUST take the form of daily whole class guided reading using the following structure:

· Day 1- Teacher model session with a focus on context, understanding text, summarising and ordering events

· Day 2- Vocabulary focus session

· Day 3- Retrieval focus session

· Day 4- Inference focus session

· Day 5- Extended text (with same context as Day 1) with a mixture of comprehension Qs to answer

· Guided reading books should have the correct date, LO and be marked weekly.

*Outside of GR time, pupils will have a daily 15 minute slot where they will read their AR books with an opportunity to quiz. During this time teachers and TAs will be listening to readers or pupil conferencing about AR books/quizzes.

Class Read:

· It is expected that children are read to everyday for at least 10 minutes.

· Class reads are to be selected from the St Andrew’s Book Spine document.

Phonics:

Phonics MUST be taught daily following the Little Wandle Programme

Spellings:

EYFS & Year 1:

· Children to be given opportunities to practise their white and yellow curriculum words weekly

Year 2-6:

· Spelling sessions will take place three times per week following No Nonsense Spelling pathway. Weekly spellings will make up 5 words from the spelling pathway and 5 words from the year group’s curriculum word list. These words will be tested weekly.

Expectations of Maths

. Follow Hamilton Maths planning

· Year 1 – 3 will teach oral mental session every day- from Hamilton at the start of the maths lesson. Year 4-6 will teach an oral mental session three times a week at the start of a maths session and Fluent in 5 two times a week

· Teach oral mental everyday, 3 times a week this needs to be multiplication focus (outside of lesson; this could be when lining up for lunch etc)

· Arithmetic session- once a week (from Yr 2 onwards) Teachers to use Twinkl tests (Lesson structure: teach aspect of arithmetic/ have a go at the paper/ mark together/ revisit and have another go at incorrect answers)

· Teachers to compile a record of arithmetic scores over time. Teachers to use results to choose next focus area in the following arithmetic session.

Times Tables Rockstars:

· All children will be set up on automatic mode.

· Children will be given regular opportunities to access Times Table Rockstars/Numbots. Children should play on the Garage or Arena sections.

· Teachers will set regular battles on TTRockstars to motivate the children.

· Teachers will get children to complete a Gig, in school, at the end of each half term and keep a record of the results. Teachers will then use the analysis from the results to assess which children require further intervention. Letters will be sent home to parents informing them of this.

 Expectations of Topic

Topic to be covered each term/half term to be taken from the Long Term Plan

Milestones to be taken from Chris Quigley

Planning MUST be on St. Andrew’s paper format

Each topic must include an Art or DT sequence of work as appropriate as per the Long Term Plan

Each block of work is a learning journey where skills taught lead to a final outcome/product

Children need to understand that they are historians, geographers etc and must, therefore, be taught the age-appropriate vocabulary, knowledge and skills in individual subject areas. There should be evidence in pupils’ books, and on display, of skills and knowledge being both taught and applied.

The topic outcome, “Product” must be shared with the children at the beginning of the topic so that children understand what they are working towards.

Previous learning should be weaved into current topic.

Objectives in books must link to Milestones

A trip out or a visitor in MUST form part of every Topic taught

Expectations of PE

1 Real PE session taught per week and one other sport OR Gym OR Dance OR Swimming as per the rolling programme

Swimming includes opportunities for year 6 Top Up sessions to be included with all other year groups

REAL Gym and Dance will be used as a scheme of work for this subject matter

Cricket will be taught by Devon Chance to Shine

Premier Sports will be used to provide extra-curricular opportunities after school

Expectations of ICT

ICT is taught as per the rolling programme

Teachcomputing.org is used as a programme to support delivery

Expectations of PSHE

PSHE is taught as per the rolling programme

One Decision is used as a programme to support delivery

Expectations of Music

Music to be taught as per the rolling programme

Charanga used to deliver this content

Each year group will learn to play a different musical instrument as per the rolling programme

Expectations of MfL

French is taught to pupils in years 5 and 6

Topics should be taken from the rolling programme

Twinkl will be used as a support for delivery

Expectations of RE

RE to be taught as per St. Andrew’s rolling programme

Devon agreed syllabus to be used to aid delivery

Expectations of Home Learning

 Children will be given a menu of home learning activities linked to their topic- termly.

Finished home learning products can be brought into school and shared or posted onto TEAMs.

Parents are expected to practise key skills with the children. These include reading, weekly spellings and multiplication facts.

 

More information on the National Curriculum can be found on the Department for Education website.