Enderby Road Infant School
Our Key Stage 1 curriculum – what we are learning and how,
in classes 3 and 4 for 2014 – 2015.
The new 2014 National Curriculum has brought many changes to subjects in KS1.
At Enderby Road we have been looking at how we can meet the challenges of change and
deliver the new curriculum in an exciting and engaging way, so that the children really
enjoy what they are learning and want to do more!
From September 2014 all schools will be starting to use a new version of the National
Curriculum for Numeracy.
At Enderby Road we have been preparing for these changes and last year started to use
an exciting new approach to maths developed by Paul Broadbent.
(www.broadbentmaths.com)
Paul Broadbent is an experienced teacher, advisor and trainer of teachers and has written
over 400 primary maths books. He has an exciting approach to maths, which has made
our planning and delivery of number work more creative. It has encouraged us to teach
each maths focus around a theme or context and to include problem solving, reasoning
and data handling within every 2 week unit. This provides opportunities for children to
explore and investigate practical mathematics, using equipment such as Numicon, and
they will have the chance to develop their problem-solving and communication skills as
well as their mathematical reasoning.
One of the features we particularly like is the way each unit is broken down into very small
steps of progression. This means teachers can really see where children need some help
and shows us how to move them along to their next target.
Each area of maths is revisited each term within a spiral curriculum, providing
opportunities to consolidate and develop skills.
To develop the fluency required in the new National Curriculum, and for life, all children
will be given the challenge of using “Learn Its” to develop their instant recall of basic
number facts. There are a few facts each half term, from Reception to Y2. Instant recall
saves a lot of time “working out” simple number facts, and also makes the children feel
very cool when they are the first to answer!
From September 2014 all schools will be starting to use a new version of the National
Curriculum for Literacy.
The school has invested in new ways of improving speech and language, phonics,
reading and writing in accordance with the new curriculum. We encourage articulacy and
engage our children in wider opportunities to give them new experiences. Phonics Bug
introduces children to phonics using an exciting, infant friendly format, and supports their
progress. Our consistent, whole school approach to handwriting is underpinned by
PenPals and our children are excited to see their rapid progress displayed all around
school. Quality questioning in lessons and clear feedback enables every child to know
how to improve their reading and writing. In September, we invested in Wordsmith, a
whole school approach to English that has reading for pleasure and a rich thread of
grammar woven throughout. The school’s reading area encourages children to know their
reading level and select their next book as they would from a library. During guided
reading with their teacher, small groups of children work on making progress with new
strategies and understanding. The joy of reading in school and at home has recently been
enhanced with the online reading programme Bug Club, and we also have our daily after
school reading club with Mrs. Vaughan – expertise and enthusiasm at hand to encourage
and support the home-school reading partnership.
From September 2014 all schools will be starting to use a new version of the National
Curriculum for all the foundation subjects (such as geography, history and art).
After much consideration and consultation with other schools and colleagues we have
decided to use the Imaginative Learning Projects produced by Cornerstones.
(www.cornerstoneseducation.co.uk)
Each project is split into sections, which see children progress through four stages of
learning:
Engage, Develop, Innovate and Express.
We felt this approach dovetailed perfectly with the Enquiry Based Learning approach we
have been developing so successfully in school. From the wide range of topics available,
we have selected the ones that we feel our children will be most interested in. Judging by
the excitement we saw in July when we announced our first Imaginative Learning Project
would be “Superheroes” I think we have made the right choices! There are lots of
opportunities for parents to get involved with the projects so be prepared!
KS1: 2014 - 2015
Engage
At the ‘Engage’ stage, children:

gain memorable first-hand experiences, such as going on a visit or inviting a special visitor into school

enjoy ‘WOW’ experiences

get an exciting introduction to a topic or theme

begin researching and setting enquiry questions

get lots of opportunities to make observations

develop spoken language skills

take part in sensory activities

have lots of fun to fully 'engage' with their new topic.
Develop
At the ‘Develop’ stage, children:

improve their knowledge and understanding of the topic

develop and practice their new skills

compose, make, do, build, investigate, explore, write for different purposes and read across the
curriculum

research their own questions and those set by others

follow new pathways of enquiry based on their interests

complete homework activities that support their learning.
Innovate
At the ‘Innovate’ stage, children:

apply skills, knowledge and understanding in real-life contexts

solve real or imagined problems using everything they’ve learnt

get inspired by imaginative and creative opportunities

revisit anything not fully grasped at the ‘Develop’ stage.
Express
At the ‘Express’ stage, children:
.

become the performers, experts and informers

share their achievements with parents, classmates and the community

evaluate finished products and processes

link what they have learnt to where they started

celebrate their achievements!