Key Information

Curriculum Plan 2020-21 Year 1-6

Curriculum Overview

Intent: 

The curriculum at Stifford Clays Primary School aims to prepare children in understanding the world around them and prepare them for the next stage of their education. We want our pupils to be both interesting and interested and to have a sound command of basic English and mathematics skills so that they are secondary ready when they move to their secondary school phase of education.  By the time learners have left Stifford Clays Primary School, they will have mastered a range of both skills and factual knowledge through regular requirements to recall and demonstrate them; opportunities to deliberately practise and careful planning for progression and depth. Our curriculum is customised to meet the local needs of our learners.  

Implementation:  

Teachers are provided with detailed lesson plans from which they adapt their teaching to meet the needs of the learners in their classes. Importantly PPA sessions focus on discussion of HOW best to teach not WHAT to teach as this is provided as a starting point.

• The unit overview outlines knowledge (including vocabulary) all children must master;
• A cycle of lessons for each subject, which carefully plans for progression and depth;
• Challenge questions for pupils to apply their learning in a philosophical/open manner;
• Trips and visiting experts who will enhance the learning experience;
• A curriculum overview for parents and carers so learners can be supported at home.

Impact: 

We measure the impact of our curriculum through the following methods:

• A reflection on standards achieved against the planned outcomes;
• A celebration of learning for each term which demonstrates progression across the school;
• Tracking of progress in assessment task and tests
• Review pupil responses for the highest achieving pupils in relation to the philosophical/open question provided;
• Pupil discussions about their learning;
• A sample of pupils’ learning across the school demonstrating mastery and greater depth of understanding;
•  The annual tracking of standards across the curriculum.

Phonics and early reading

We use Read Write Inc as a scheme through which to teach basic skills in reading and writing which will then be used across all subjects in the years to come. Read Write Inc focuses on a very structured approach to teaching reading through phonics in EYFS and Year 1.

Mathematics

We use Abacus Maths as our core scheme. This has been chosen to focus on ensuring that maths knowledge and skills are taught sequentially and there are repeated opportunities for children to “over learn” and revisit in order that they are secure in reaching the expected standard in each year group.  Teachers are supported through detailed lesson plans and high-quality resources.

Our focus and priority is to increase the number of children at EXS in each year group.

English

Our English curriculum can be divided into its component parts:

Reading Comprehension – Nelson Reading

Writing – Literacy Read Plus and Wordsmith (to ensure an exciting and engaging curriculum which draws on both media and high-quality texts)

Grammar, Punctuation and Spelling – Wordsmith is used to teach a highly structured approach to grammar to ensure it is clearly ordered with opportunities to over-learn and build on prior knowledge.  Spelling is taught explicitly weekly with homework being used to support the learning of high frequency words and those taught as part of a mapped-out sequence of spelling patterns and irregular words.

Foundation Subject Curriculum

We use Cornerstones which has been chosen because of its four-stage process to ensure high quality teaching and learning of the foundation subjects. This allows us to offer a broad and balanced curriculum with a mix of skills, knowledge and creativity, using a range of online tools and resources.

Engage

Hook learners in with a memorable experience.

Set the scene and provide the context for learning.

Ask questions to find out children’s interests.

Spark children’s curiosity using interesting starting points.

Develop

Teach facts and information for deeper understanding and knowledge.

Demonstrate new skills and allow time for consolidation.

Provide creative opportunities for making and doing.

Deliver reading, writing and talking across the curriculum.

Innovate

Provide imaginative scenarios that encourage creative thinking.

Enable children to apply previously learned skills.

Encourage enterprise and independent thinking.

Provide opportunities for collaborative working and problem solving.

Express

Provide environments for reflective talk.

Create opportunities for shared evaluation.

Celebrate and share children’s success.

Identify next steps for learning.

The Cornerstone Units are mapped out overleaf.  These are shared across all of the SWECET primaries and this adds opportunities for professional collaboration and support.  They have been chosen for engagement, excitement and relevance to our local setting.

Other subjects where there is an agreed syllabus:

The Extended School

We offer lots of first-hand experience from Early Years classes right through to Year 6, with visits and visitors supporting work across the curriculum in all year groups. We expect our children have residential visits in Years 5 and 6.

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Extra – Curricular Activities & Music Lessons

In addition to the main curriculum, there are activities organised as a valuable extension to the school day.

Thurrock Music Hub provided Wider Opportunities Music to year 5 pupils.

There is a wide range of clubs offered at lunchtime and afterschool.  Activities change from term to term depending upon what members of staff are able to offer. A typical range of activities would include netball, football, cookery, board games, rugby, choir, ICT and art.

Although our children have fornightly music lessons, they are also offered the chance to learn a musical instrument. These lessons are organised by the school but are paid for by parents. Children can learn the guitar, woodwind instruments, piano or drums.

Some extra-curricular activities are offered by outside organisations. For example, karate and range of other sports activities.

Cornerstones Units – Whole School 2019-20