New National Primary Curriculum
The start of the new academic year saw the introduction of the new national primary curriculum. All
maintained schools are required to implement the new curriculum which was written following a review
by the Government.
If you wish to find out more about the new curriculum and understand the key changes follow the link
below.
http://www.theschoolrun.com/primary-national-curriculum-2014
How have we responded?
Here at John Clifford we have spent last year:

Establishing a working party that:
o
Reviewed our own practise and current curriculum.
o
Reviewed how we were going to implement the statutory requirements of the new
curriculum.
o
Asked how we could add lots of creativity and energy to our curriculum.
o
Asked how we could engage children and encourage independent thinking and problem
solving.
o
Asked how we could ensure coverage, rigour and breadth of study in our new
curriculum.
o
Asked how we could use the new curriculum to raise standards for ALL children.
What are the outcomes and results?
The Government were keen for schools to take ownership of the new curriculum and shape it in
response to the needs and culture of each individual school. As a result of the work from the
curriculum working party, consultations with pupils, parents and Governors, John Clifford created a
cross-curricular literacy led model. We have initially put together a fixed twelve month plan that
gives all stakeholders a clear vision of our curriculum.
Autumn Autumn 2 Spring1
1 2014
2014
2015
FS
Me,
myself
and I
(3 wks)
Changes
(4 wks)
Elmer
Belonging
Percy the
Park Keeper
Guess how
much I love
you
Mr Men
Little Miss
Titch
World War I
(4 wks)
Christmas
(3 wks)
Archie’s War
Christmas
Stories
Do you
think-esaurus?
Dinosaur Roar
Dinosaur
Galore
Dinosaurs love
underpants
Non-fiction
Harry and his
bucket full of
dinosaurs
Spring 2
2015
Once upon a
time…
The Orchard Book of
Nursery Stories
POR - The Gigantic
Turnip
Three stories
Summer
1 2015
JC Garden
POR –Jaspers
Beanstalk
POR – the old
woman and the
red pumpkin
Oliver’s
Vegetables
Oliver’s Fruit
Salad
Oliver’s Milk
shake
Non-fiction
Billy’s beetle
Summer
1 2015
The Jolly
Roger
The pirate next
door
Captain Flinn
stories
Peter Pan
Pirate Pete
Information
books
Ships
Explorers
Land
Maps
Once there
were giants
Year
1
Year
2
Do You
live
around
here?
Mr
Wuffles
by David
Weisner
Flanimals
by Ricky
Gervais
They made a
difference
(4 weeks)
The Great
Outdoors
Living together;
Living apart
Villains
Heroes
Christmas
Topic
(3 weeks)
The Jolly
Christmas
Postman by
Janet & Allan
Alhberg
WWI Poetry
We’re
going on a
bear hunt
by Michael
Rosen
Mirror by Jeannie
Baker
Fairy Tales &
traditional
stories/comic
books
Fairy Tales &
traditional
stories/comic
books
Science /
Geography
Bob the
Man on
the Moon
By Simon
Bartram
History
Science
Geography
History
Time
Travelling
Room on
the Broom
The Owl who was
afraid of the
dark
Africa
By Mwenye
Hadithi
History /
Geography
Farmyard
Fairytales
Remembrance
and Guy
Fawkes
(4 weeks)
By Julia
Donaldson
By Jill Tomlinson
Art & DT
Science
Geography,
Art & DT
Stone Age
Fairy Tales
Australia
Egg Hunt
Film /
Animation
The Egyptian
Cinderella by
Shirley Climo
A variety of
Aboriginal
non-fiction
texts.
Geography
/ DT
Vikings
History/Geography
History /
Geography
The Rules of
Summer by
Shaun Tan
(School trip)
The Little
Red Hen,
The Three
Billy Goats
Gruff and
The Three
Little Pigs
Christmas
Topic
(3 weeks)
Science /
History
Year
3
Rivers
A variety
of nonfiction
texts.
Geography
Year
4
The Great
Greeks
Myths &
legends
(Usbourne
The Jolly
Christmas
Postman by
Janet & Allan
Alhberg
WWI Poetry
History / RE
They made a
difference
(4 weeks)
Christmas
Topic
(3 weeks)
A child’s
garden
Michael
Foreman
History
They made a
difference
(4 weeks)
Christmas
Topic
The Theft
of Thor’s
Hammer by
Henrietta
Mowgli’s
adventure
The Jungle Book
by Rudyard Kipling
Science,
Geography,
Art & DT
Ancient
Egypt
Tbc
History
Alternative
Fairy Tales
On the way
home by Jill
Murphy
Year
5
Year
6
books)
(3 weeks)
Branford
History /
Geography
Can you
dig it?
History
History
Science
PSHE
They made a
difference
(4 weeks)
Welcome
to the
world of
tomorrow!
Midsummer
Night’s Dream
Enterprise
The
Hobbit by
J.R.R.
Tolkien
History /
DT
Schools of
the future
There’s a
boy in the
Girls
Bathroom
by
Louis
Sacha
History /
Geography
/ DT
Christmas
Topic
(3 weeks)
War of the
Worlds by
H.G.Wells.
A Midsummer’s
Night Dream by
William
Shakespeare
The Lion, The
Witch and
The
Wardrobe by
C.S. Lewis
History
Science
Science
They made a
difference
Saving the
world
Inventions that
changed the world
Poetry by
Siegfied
Sassoon
If the
World
Were a
Village by
David J.
Smith and
Shelagh
Armstrong
History
Geography
/ Science
Billionaire Boy
By David Walliams
Science
The Snail
Patrol by
Chris D’Lacey
Art / DT /
ICT
Tales from
India
The Jungle
Book by
Rudyard
Kipling
Geography /
DT
Survival
History /
Geography
Romans
Hatchett
by Gary
Paulsen
The Eagle of
the ninth by
Rosemary
Sutcliffe
Geography /
Science
History
So what are our next steps?
We will continue to evaluate the effectiveness and impact our new curriculum has on pupils’ progress,
attainment and engagement over the course of this year. As the year progresses we will begin to
draft a second twelve month plan that allow us even greater ability to proactively manage our time
and ensure each half term project is rigorous in challenge and exciting in content.
How can you help?
Are you an expert on Roman History, the works of Shakespeare or the geography of Nottingham? If
so our class teachers would love to talk with you and see how you could help bring these topics to life
for our children. Please contact the office or speak directly to a member of staff.
Questions, thoughts and feedback
We always appreciate an opportunity to receive any feedback and discuss how we are performing for
our pupils, parents, carers and the wider community. Please feel free to email Mr. Oakland,
Coakland1@johnclifford.notts.sch.uk, with any questions, thoughts or feedback.