Curriculum Guide

At Bentfield Primary School we aim to teach our curriculum in an engaging, interesting and inspiring fashion. With the introduction of the new National Curriculum in September 2014 we have been able to review our provision to meet the new statutory requirements. The document links at the bottom of this page show the relevant objectives across year groups or key stages in all subject areas. They will show the progression across year groups for the core subjects of reading, writing (including punctuation and grammar), maths and science, and, in addition to this, the key stage objectives for the foundation subjects (those which are non-core). We also use the Essex curriculum for religious education and our own PSHE (personal, social and health education) curriculum.

It would, of course, be impossible to set out everything your child will learn in the next six years of primary education, so these objectives act as an outline of typical content. As a school we use these objectives to plan a thematic approach to learning and many of the topics change regularly to excite and stimulate our pupils. The learning maps of each thematic topic area can be found in the relevant class sections alongside any further guidance, for example curriculum newsletters or meet the teacher information sheets.

In addition to these objectives we have considered the key elements that need to filter throughout our entire curriculum. These key principles should be at the forefront of all curriculum planning, alongside the school vision statement of 'Inspire, Discover, Encourage one another'- Inspired to reach our true potential in a fun, nurturing environment, confidently learning for life. When planning units of work the following will always be taken into consideration-

 

• Fun, enjoyment, awe and wonder
• Independent, active and open ended learning
• Learning with a focus on the real world (local and world based, including current affairs)
• An emphasis on skills and being able to use and apply what is learnt
• The importance of health and well-being, especially through PSHE and Physical Education
• Fun, enjoyment, awe and wonder
• A fully inclusive approach where all children are engaged
• Assessment to inform learning, so that all pupils are making the most possible progress
• Different styles and approaches for varying intelligences
• Learning beyond the classroom (forest schools and other outdoor activities, class trips etc.)
• An overarching desire to create pupils who are literate, numerate and demonstrate good speaking and listening skills
• Pace and challenge for all pupils
• The use of a wide range of technology
• A flexible and broad overview which has cross curricular learning where appropriate
• The development of the 'whole child'
• An involvement of parents and the wider community especially through extra-curricular activities and homework

 

Curriculum Overview- Reading

Curriculum Overview- Writing

Curriculum Overview- Maths

Curriculum Overview- Science- Key Stage 1

Curriculum Overview- Science- Lower Key Stage 2

Curriculum Overview- Science- Upper Key Stage 2

Curriculum Overview- Foundation Subjects- Key Stage 1

Curriculum Overview- Foundation Subjects- Key Stage 2

 

Reading and Phonics

Our children learn to read using the Letters and Sounds phonic programme throughout Early Years and KS1. This is supported by a reading scheme of colour banded levelled reading books from a variety of educational publishers (e.g. Ginn, Rigby Star, Project X and Rapid Readers). This gives the children a range of reading materials to practise their newly acquired reading skills.The banded reading scheme continues into KS2, until the class teacher assesses that the child is a mature and fluent enough reader to continue their reading choices independently.

Daily reading is essential and we urge parents to hear their children read on a daily basis. There are also some great websites that are useful for pupils to practise their phonics at home. They have some fun interactive games that will help your child with segmenting, blending, applying and improving their phonic knowledge. The games will also be useful for Year 1 children as practice for the National Phonics Screening in June.

For example both www.phonicsplay.co.uk and www.phonicsbloom.com have some free games that help children practise phases 2, 3, 4 and 5, which they learn at school throughout EYFS and Year 1. There is also a phase 6 section for extending pupils' phonics understanding further. The games allow your child to use their phoneme knowledge and not just guess the word. In each phase there are also games on sentence substitution and these can help your child with reading the words and creating sentences that make sense. The websites have sections for parents which you may find very useful.

Phonics is so important because it helps your child understand how words are put together. This in turn helps to improve their reading, spelling and writing.

If you have any questions about reading or phonics please do not hesitate to contact your child's class teacher.