About our School: Curriculum
The overall aims of the curriculum are to help learners:
develop lively, enquiring minds, acquire the ability to ask questions and solve problems, be able to discuss rationally and apply themselves to tasks;
develop knowledge and understanding, skills and personal qualities relevant to their present and future circumstances and to cope effectively with change to prepare them for the adult world;
use language and number effectively;develop respect and consideration for others regardless of differences in ethnic origin, culture, gender, social circumstance, special needs, sexuality, age or religious belief;
develop a critical understanding of, and respect for, the environment and world in which they live and an awareness of the inter-dependence of individuals, groups and nations;
appreciate the significance of human achievements and aspirations
develop self-awareness, a sense of self-respect and capacity to lead life to the full as independent and self-motivated learners with the will to contribute to the welfare of others and to society;
develop the skills needed to work co-operatively together with others by learning to share common objectives and working in groups.
The National Curriculum 
The 1988 Education Reform Act established a National Curriculum which forms the basis for all learning opportunities offered to the children. The children may be taught individually or in groups of various sizes and the lesson content planned by the teachers is both subject and theme based.
Children in Years 1 and 2 will be working in Key Stage 1.
Children in Years 3, 4, 5 and 6 will work in Key Stage 2.
Our youngest children will be taught in the Reception class for two or three terms according to their age on admission.
All teachers within the school, plan and evaluate their lessons very thoroughly to ensure all children have equal access to the curriculum.
The core subjects of the National Curriculum are:
English
There is an emphasis on the need for enjoyment and pleasure in using language with the scope for children to respond to stories that they have chosen and to write for purposes they have devised for themselves
The specific areas for learning are Speaking and Listening, Reading, Writing (including spelling and handwriting.)
Speaking and Listening
The range of activities is designed to develop the children's confidence and competence in speaking and listening.
Reading
Children should have access to an extensive range of reading material including picture books, nursery rhymes, poems, folk tales, myths and legends, newspapers, comics and hear poems and stories read aloud.
They should be encouraged to read for pleasure and acquire reference skills to extract information.
Children should be encouraged to develop their personal tastes in reading.
Writing
The syllabus for writing includes an understanding of grammar and the conventions of writing which will enable children to produce fluent and clearly expressed creatively written work.
Spelling
As children become familiar with the conventions of writing, they begin to learn spelling patterns. They are taught how to spell words which occur frequently or which are important to them in their writing and also those which demonstrate regular and irregular patterns.
Handwriting
The children are taught the conventional ways of forming letter shapes, both lower case and capitals, through purposeful guided practice in order to develop a comfortable and legible style.
Mathematics
We believe that mathematics is a subject to be enjoyed and where understanding, achievement and discovery are at a maximum.
Mathematics plays a crucial role in equipping young people to meet the responsibilities of adult life and therefore during the formative years should be applied to everyday situations whenever possible. Such practical usage of skills learnt is not always self evident to children.
Investigational work leads to children discovering mathematics for themselves in an absorbing and interesting way.
Playing with numbers, their patterns and relationships, shows children that mathematics can be studied in its own right as well as applied in practical or problem solving situations.
The National Curriculum realises that Number is a secure foundation from which other mathematical work can progress. Shape and Measures, Handling Data and Using and Applying Maths are the other areas covered.
Science
The Science Curriculum is designed to encourage the development of knowledge and understanding of the physical and living environment and scientific skills and attitudes.
We believe that children gain a greater degree of knowledge and understanding by having a hands on experience and therefore work in the classroom takes this approach.
The content, whenever possible, is related to the experiences of the children and is in accordance with the stages of development laid down in the National Curriculum.
It lays foundations for progressively deepening knowledge and understanding of scientific concepts and facts that will be useful to the children as adults.
It includes examples of applications of science related to real life problems and technology.
ICT
Our school is exceptionally well resourced to enable our pupils to learn with the latest technology. All of our classrooms are equipped with interactive whiteboards. ICT skills are taught discreetly but we aim to see ICT embedded into all curriculum areas.
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