Chapel Haddlesey Church of England
Primary School
Curriculum 2014-15
Aims
At Chapel Haddlesey we teach a broad curriculum that is enquiry led, follows the children’s interests
and engages and enthuses them to build a lifelong love of learning. As often as practical we take
children out of the classroom to place their learning in real life contexts: cookery for D&T, maths and
science and English; gardening for D&T, maths, science and English; walks around the village for
English, History, RE, Geography and Science.
Besides this we have visits and visitors to broaden all children’s experience and give them a new
perspective. All subjects are taught in cross curricular topics though the skills of each subject are
taught discretely. Maths, English, RE and PE, music and French have their own designated times.
Emphasis is on children drawing parallels and finding connections in their learning, and where
possible Maths, English, RE and PE are fitted in with the learning of other subjects in the topic.
Sometimes a topic will be specifically Mathematical (Money Week) or RE (Easter). English is taught
and reinforced throughout, and with designated time to teach specific spelling and grammar.
General
Early Years
The statutory Early Years Foundation Stage curriculum is followed:
Children are assessed by their progress in the six areas covered by the early learning goals and
educational programmes:
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Personal, Social and Emotional Development
Communication, Language and Literacy
Problem Solving, Reasoning and Numeracy
Knowledge and Understanding of the World
Physical Development
Creative Development
None of these areas of Learning and Development can be delivered in isolation from the others.
They are equally important and depend on each other to support a rounded approach to child
development. All the areas must be delivered through planned, purposeful play, with a balance of
adult-led and child-initiated activities. (Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage
2007)
Parents are involved in the assessment of their children, by sharing with us what has happened at
home. In school, the children’s Learning Journey files record observations, photographs and the
child’s own independent work to inform assessment. In addition, moderation of Baseline
assessments is carried out with other local schools to ensure judgements are consistent.
Years 1-6
The new (Sept 2014) National Curriculum is followed throughout school. In our mixed age classes,
each child is grouped according to their individual readiness and need, rather than simply their
calendar age. However each child is assessed according to the expectations of the year group they
belong to and are supported or extended to ensure they all reach at least End of Year Expectations.
Children who are failing to thrive or who are making greater than expected progress are supported
by timed interventions, or extended by working with a higher ability group.
Rather than giving a child work from the next Key Stage, higher ability children are given more
breadth to undertake deeper research, or opportunities to use their knowledge in problem solving,
puzzles and further real life contexts.
Religious Education
It is important that children have an understanding of the five main religions, and recognise the
similarities between them. Christianity has formed the basis of Britain’s laws and culture, but the
children must understand the contributions made by people of all faiths and none in modern Britain.
In order that our children gain this understanding we follow the North Yorkshire Agreed Syllabus,
where the emphasis is on what can be learnt from religion as much as about religion.
“Religious Education… will encourage and enable pupils to explore their own beliefs, values and
traditions and those of others in a meaningful and engaging way. RE will encourage pupils to share
their diverse range of experiences and grow individually and together with sensitivity and respect
towards people of all faiths and none.” (The North Yorkshire SACRE RE Agreed Syllabus 2013-18)
Early Years: RE Fits with PSHE and KU of the World
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Reflect on the awe and wonder of the natural world around them
Ask questions that are philosophically challenging and to have them taken seriously
Reflect on the need to develop positive, respectful relationships with peers and adults
Explore their own feelings and emotions and develop empathy for others
To have the opportunity to talk about and reflect on events, times and places that are
important to them, their peers and the community
Listen to and talk about stories from a number of different faiths
Develop a sense of belonging and with it an awareness of personal responsibility
Key Stage 1
Key Areas of Learning (abridged)
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Story: Why are some special? What makes these stories special in religion?
Myself: Who am I? What makes me unique?
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Belonging: Why is belonging important?
Leaders and Teachers: What can we learn from figures who have had an influence on
others?
Celebrations: Why are celebrations important in religion?
Symbols: How and why do symbols express religious meaning?
Believing: What do different people believe about God and the world?
Key Stage 2
Key Areas of Learning (abridged)
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Beliefs and questions: How does belief make a difference in people’s lives?
Teaching and Authority: What do sacred texts and other sources say about God and the
World?
Worship, Pilgrimage and sacred places: Where how and why do people worship at different
places?
The Journey of Life and Death: Why are some occasions sacred? What do people think about
life after death?
Symbols and Religious Expression: How can religious and spiritual ideas be expressed
differently?
Inspirational People: What impact do they have on the world?
Religion and the individual: what is expected of followers of a religion?
Religion, Family and Community: What contribution does this make to life in North
Yorkshire?
Beliefs in action in the World: How does religion respond to global issues of human rights,
fairness, social justice and the importance of the environment?
English
English phonics, grammar, writing and reading skills are taught in Key Stage 1 using the Oxford
University Press scheme: Read Write Inc. Children begin their learning journey in phonics in the
Early Years and continue until they are fluent readers usually Year 2.
The scheme is good for teaching basic writing and reading skills but its prescriptive nature means
that something else needs to be in place to teach and assess children’s writing in the other
Foundation subjects, in their topic work.
As some writing genre types are missing from this scheme, in Year 2 the children are introduced to
Progress in Genres, where they are introduced to a genre of writing and the requirements of that
genre are taught. The children can see the progress they make, and what they need to do to
improve. At this stage we are still working on the old National Curriculum Levels to report progress,
but the sheets show the children the next steps in their learning.
By Key Stage 2, most children are beyond the Read Write Inc scheme and move on to the Progress in
Genres for all their writing, which is mostly found in Foundation subject work and Science. English
specific writing also takes place (poetry, story writing) but is linked as far as is practical to the topic
being covered.
Reading is taught through Read Write Inc and a love of stories through story time and book sharing.
From Year 2 the children begin on Accelerated Reader which is a web based resource that uses
books that interest the children. They all do a reading assessment online and from that are given a
level of book they should be reading. We have many in school, but the children’s own books from
home will feature on the reading list the site has. When they have read a book they do a quick web
based comprehension test on it for which they earn points. They have a target number of points
they need to attain for each term based on the child’s age and ability. This is overseen closely in
school to ensure children are reading enough and at an appropriate level. We also check to ensure
the children are reading widely from popular authors, classics for children and some non-fiction
books.
Once a week, class 2 join Class 1 for a book sharing activity: children are paired so the older children
can consolidate their own skill, and help that of a younger child. This session is typically 20 minutes.
Spoken Language is taught through News sessions in class 1, reading aloud in both classes and
Collective Worship. Children are taught to listen and respond to each other in class discussions, and
to respect each other’s opinions. Correct English and diction is modelled by the adults in school. No
attempt is made to change the accent or dialect of a child as these are very much a part of the
individual and their family, and part of their identity in a community. However, all children should be
able to use Standard English in their speaking and writing, and be aware when it is appropriate to
use formal or vernacular language.
Maths
Maths is taught throughout the school using the Oxford University Press scheme Maths Makes
Sense. It was chosen for its adaptability for our mixed age classes, and differentiation for different
age groups and ability of children is straightforward. It fits well with the Early Years as the adult led
teaching time easily leads to setting up activities for the children to access independently
afterwards.
All the blocks are mapped to the new 2014 Curriculum for maths ensuring total coverage.
In addition to the formal lessons, the school has begun a fifteen minute session at another time of
the day, when the class gets together to take part in several rapid fire activities. These activities
might reinforce skills such as tables or telling the time, require some lateral thinking such as giving
reasons for a number to be the odd one out, or using and applying maths in a puzzle situation such
as giving the next three numbers in an unknown sequence, or spotting a pattern of numbers.
Questions are geared to all abilities and children develop fluency in maths as they use their
knowledge in an informal way. Currently this session is called Morning Maths Meeting, but may take
place at the teacher’s discretion at any point in the day.
In addition to the scheme, teachers will use other strategies and resources in parallel to ensure all
children are making good progress in maths and to support weak learners and extend strong
mathematicians. Once a term there is a themed maths week: Autumn 2014 had a money week,
which included an enterprise scheme for KS2. Spring 15 will have a week on measures, and the
summer term 2015 will be on patterns in mathematics. These weeks help put maths in a real life
context for the children.
Science
Science is a core subject and is a vital body of knowledge for the children to have if they are to be
informed individuals in an increasingly technological age. We do not follow a scheme, and the
subject may be taught in a block, or as an ongoing topic (e.g. gardening- how plants grow; changing
seasons). Planning shows full coverage of the 2014 syllabus for science.
Emphasis is placed on practical experiences for the children, and they get a balance of observation,
classification, investigations involving fair tests, looking for patterns and research from secondary
resources to answer a question.
In Class 1, science is often recorded in a class big book which shows coverage and the children’s
comments showing what they have learned.
In Class 2, Class big books can be used in addition to the child’s own science exercise book
ICT
ICT has moved away from just learning the secretarial skills of using Word, Excel and Power Point, as
these skills are taught alongside other subjects and as they need to use them. The new syllabus for
ICT places an emphasis on learning how to program a computer and to use the internet effectively
and responsibly
In the Early Years, children are taught how to manipulate a mouse and find their way around simple
programs.
Throughout KS1, they learn to save and share their work on computer. Through working with
programmable devices such as Bee-Bot, they learn to write clear unambiguous programmes to make
the robot travel a given route.
In KS2 programming is taken further using Scratch and Raspberry pi devices. In alternate years they
will design and build a website.
Both classes will be taught responsible use of the Internet, and how to keep themselves safe. They
will be taught how to report any concerns they have about what they see on computer.
PE
Both classes have two hours of PE a week. There is a cycle of games, athletics, gym and dance so
every child has a broad experience of PE. In alternate years, the whole school is taken swimming.
Professional coaches come and teach the children and train our staff for blocks of six weeks at a
time, giving the children top quality PE.
In alternate years, Year 5 and 6 attend a residential outdoor activity centre and have experience of
climbing, orienteering, kayaking and raft building. They develop leadership and team building skills.
Foundation subjects
History, Geography, Art, and Design and Technology are taught in association with a topic. The skills
of the subject are taught explicitly (e.g. map reading in Geography, recognising primary and
secondary sources in History) and coverage of the content is included in the planning for the topic.
Music and French have their own discrete lessons; music skills are taught using the North Yorkshire
Scheme of Work; songs are learned that connect with the time of year or with the topic being
studied.
French conversation is taught in both classes and enhanced with simple songs. The North Yorkshire
scheme of work informs planning.