Curriculum

General Information

National Curriculum

The National Curriculum is organised into blocks of years called ‘key stages’ (KS).

• Key Stage 1 is from 5 – 7 years, encompassing Year 1 and Year 2 children;
• Key Stage 2 is from 7 – 11 years, encompassing Years 3, 4, 5 and 6 children.

The stage before the age of 5 is referred to as the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS).

Curriculum Overview

Please click each of the subject areas for further information.

SKILLS BUILDER

We work with the Skills Builder Partnership on their Universal Framework which focuses on the building of eight essential skills. These are listening, speaking, problem solving, creativity, staying positive, aiming high, leadership and teamwork. 

The framework breaks each of these down into small steps which are then developed and built upon as the children go through the school. The children start from where they are with the skill and the teacher selects activities and tasks which support them in progressing through the steps from their starting points.

We introduced this in September 2023 and have taken the approach of focusing as a whole school on a skill or couple of skills over each half term.

Autumn Term  - Listening and Speaking

Spring Term - Staying Positive and Problem-Solving

Summer Term - Teamwork , Leadership, Aiming High and Creativity 

The teachers or curriculum leaders will be pleased to answer any questions that you have about the curriculum. 

Curriculum Leaders

Information on Assessment

We use assessment continuously to inform the next step in learning. It is a central part of the teaching and learning process and teachers assess skills, knowledge and understanding informally on a daily basis. This informs the next step in learning and helps teachers to provide work at an appropriate level for each individual child.

Our children also take end of term NFER tests in Reading, SPAG and Maths. The results of these indicate whether they are working at the expected standard, below or above. The assessments reported to the parents are in the form of a Teacher Assessment but the results of these tests will have been used to inform this.  

The statutory DfE assessments take place as follows:

Reception     Baseline Assessment

Baseline Assessment is completed within the first 6 weeks of a child starting in Reception. It is an age-appropriate assessment of Mathematics, Literacy, Communication and Language. It takes approximately 20 minutes to administer. 

Reception             The Foundation Stage Profile

Throughout the Foundation Stage, as part of the teaching and learning process, teachers and teaching assistants assess each child’s development in relation to the developmental age-related stages which form part of the ‘ Curriculum Guidance for the Foundation Stage’. These assessments are made on the basis of the teachers and teaching assistants accumulating observations and knowledge of the whole child. By the end of the foundation stage, the Foundation Stage Profile sums up that knowledge.

Year 1          The Phonics Test

This is a national test taken by all Year 1s. Children are expected to reach a pass mark. If they fail to do so, they re-take the test the following year. As part of this test, the children are expected to read phonic combinations and words. The pass mark has been 32 for several years out of a possible total of 40. 

Year 2          End of KS1 Assessments (Optional from 2024)

Tests are taken in Maths (a Reasoning paper and an Arithmetic paper), Reading and SPAG (Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar). The raw scores are then converted to a scaled score. Those who have a scaled score of 100 or above are deemed to have met the national expectations at Year 2.

Year 4

Year 4s take a statutory multiplication test.

Year 6          End of KS2 Assessments

Children take tests in Maths, Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar (SPAG Test), and Reading. The teacher also gives each child a Teacher Assessment result for Writing and Science. These are reported alongside the test results.

If you require any further information, the class teachers will be pleased to help you.