Our KS1 Curriculum
Curriculum Intent
At Chaucer Infant and Nursery School, we are passionate about providing a rich, broad, balanced and exciting curriculum which allows for all of our children to explore, wonder and question. Where subject knowledge and skills are taught sequentially, building on prior knowledge and leading up to a meaningful, relevant outcome.
Through our carefully planned and sequenced topics, we give learners a wide range of exciting, first-hand, practical experiences to promote an understanding of the world around them.
Within our curriculum, we encourage and develop a thirst for knowledge, which in turn promotes the attitudes, values and skills to becoming a life-long learner. Our curriculum is designed to find the strengths of all of our children and enable them to deepen their learning and understanding of the world in which they live, both locally in our community of Ilkeston and globally.
Implementation
Our topics, chosen with the children’s interests in mind, centre around a global theme using a high-quality core text which helps to bring the themes to life for our children. This learning will be achieved through teaching the Early Years Framework and then the National Curriculum knowledge and skills.
Embark’s six Global Themes are carefully woven through the topics to cast curricular lens on wider world issues. These are:
- Social justice and equity
- Identity and diversity
- Sustainable development
- Peace and conflict
- Human rights
- Power and governance
Reading is at the heart of all we do. High quality and engaging picture books used to centre our curriculum enquiry questions. Each class has a carefully curated class library, and along with the whole school library, children are encouraged to read to find out more. Children’s interests are supported through new books and shared reading.
Reading underpins all learning and has a huge focus within each year group. We teach daily phonics sessions and three weekly reading sessions from Reception onwards, following the Little Wandle revised Letters and Sounds government approved Systematic Synthetic Phonics scheme.
Once children in Year 2 are fluent in using their phonic skills to decode, we teach them to further understand spelling patterns using the Spelling Shed spelling scheme.
Writing also has high prominence and spelling skills are taught within the discreet phonic and spelling lessons. We also follow Embark's writing sequence to ensure quality teaching and learning of writing skills. Writing units are sequentially planned, linking to topics throughout the year to give children a wide experience of different purposes for writing.
Mathematics is taught daily from Reception onwards. In Reception, we follow the Mastering Number Scheme, in Key Stage One we follow Power Maths. Year 1 and Year 2 children also have a daily Mastering Number session to build fluency in calculation and a confidence and flexibility with number.
We use Whiterose Science to support the planning of practical science lessons, as well as learning about a different Super Scientist each term.
RE follows the Derbyshire Agreed Syllabus, with standalone lessons taught weekly in Reception, Year One and Year Two.
PE is also taught discretely, following PE hub planning to develop physical skills. Key stage one pupils have two quality PE lessons per week, additional to their daily outdoor, active play at breaks.
PSHE/RSE is taught weekly in school, following the Derbyshire PSHE matters scheme. Music is taught weekly in school following the Charanga programme. Computing is taught through the Teach Computing scheme, links are made to the overall topic
Other subjects (History, Geography, Art and Design, Design and Technology) are taught through a half-termly topic, specifically selected to engage, ensure coverage and breath, deepen development of skills, knowledge and understanding, and make learning memorable and enjoyable.
Being an inclusive school, each child accesses the same learning opportunities, with the same high expectations. A consistent approach throughout the school is applied by all staff, creating a safe, secure environment in which our children develop the confidence, independence, respect and skills required for learning. Please see information about our School Values and our Relationships Policy for more information.
For our staff to concentrate on small, sequential progression steps and skills, we begin our planning with a purposeful and relevent end (a meaningful, relevant outcome) very clearly in mind. Key knowledge, vocabulary and speaking and listening opportunities encourage our children to begin to reflect, explain, justify and question. We are developing the use of our learning environment to show how our learning is organised, represented and adapted.
Impact
Our Curriculum will develop a growing awareness and understanding by our children of love, friendship, respect and responsibility and the ability to start thinking about similarities and differences, promoting acceptance and diversity. Their attainment and progress will be in line or exceed their potential.
Our children will actively:
- experiment and play with possibilities
- research and seek information
- clarify/review existing ideas and change accordingly
- deepen their understanding through sequential learning
- make and test theories
- decide what is right and wrong
- develop an awareness of how their own actions can impact others and the wider community
- develop attitudes and dispositions to make a positive contribution to the world – becoming a GLOBAL CITIZEN
- make connections between prior and new learning
- be resilient to try new ways
- respond well to set backs/getting something wrong
Long Term Plans
Further Information
Each class will hold a meeting at the beginning of the academic year, where parents/carers will be invited in to find out more about our curriculum, and to meet the class teacher.
If you have any questions about our Curriculum and how it us taught, please contact the school office on to make an appointment with the Head of School – Daisy Dawley.
