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St Christophers Academy

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Our Curriculum

Curriculum Intent

We have developed an approach to our curriculum at St Christopher’s Academy which has evolved over time. We can describe this as having three distinct components that interconnect and intertwine with each other to form a broad and rich learning experience for children during their time here. Layer one lays the foundation for learning. We believe that happy children who feel emotionally settled and want to come to school learn best. To this end we have a robust nurture and family support programme that enables us to support children and their families to ensure we achieve this aim. Layer two is the taught curriculum. This is subject based, meets the requirements and ambitions of the national curriculum and is dovetailed with key attainment indicators that ensure children meet their milestones across the breadth of the curriculum. Layer three compliments the taught curriculum with a rich range of experiences that have been designed to provide contexts for and embed learning in the classroom. In addition to this, layer three provides bespoke opportunities for children who may not have access to normal every day experiences and by doing this we promote equality of opportunity and raise aspirations.   We are mindful of current educational thinking and theories and to this end we have dovetailed the curriculum and assessment to enable children to achieve and build on key milestones, to make links across curriculum areas and accumulate the knowledge and skills they need to succeed.

We intend that our children should experience a curriculum that allows them to:

  • Read early so we can quickly move from learning to read into reading to learn.
  • Acquire a wide vocabulary that will unlock understanding over a broad range of subjects.
  • Develop number fluency that will scaffold and support their problem solving and reasoning skills.
  • Develop resilience and be prepared to persevere and extend their own thinking.
  • Have a good understanding of the faiths and cultures of others in our school and in the wider world and some of the broader issues around this.
  • Develop tolerance and respect for others regardless of race, faith or culture.
  • Practice our school Values and develop healthy social and emotional attitudes.  
  • Have well developed local and wider historical and geographical knowledge and understanding expected for their age.  
  • Gain the scientific knowledge, understanding and skills expected for their age.
  •  Take an interest and become involved in a broad range of environmental issues.
  • Experience a range of musical and sporting opportunities both in and out of school
  • Be well prepared at each transition phase for the next stage in their journey of learning by building on the intellectual capital the children have already gained.  
  • Have a voice and see the impact of their opinions.

 

Curriculum Implementation

Layer One

Conditions for Learning

We believe strongly that children learn best when they feel happy and safe. Our Vision was designed in 2013 and is revisited every year and it is by no coincidence that the first few statements are focussed on children wanting to learn.  We believe that children have to be keen to come to school and eager to learn before deep learning can occur. To this end we instil our Values in all we do, we work hard to promote pupil voice through our Investors in Pupils agenda and ensure that it has impact. We support our most vulnerable children through our nurture programme, we expect and promote high levels of behaviour and attitudes and hold a strong moral purpose.

Layer Two

The Taught Curriculum - The Core. 

At the heart of our school is the taught curriculum. We believe this should be rich in knowledge, challenging, progressive and balanced in terms of skills and content. We aim to enable children to gain the skills they need to access the curriculum and gain a full understanding of the content therein.

We recognise the value of quality texts and appreciate the intellectual capital they can add to learning, therefore out English curriculum is taught through quality texts. We prioritise the acquisition of a wide vocabulary across all disciplines as the basis to support an accumulative understanding of the areas we teach.  

We teach maths to promote the Essence of Mastery which is encapsulated by the nine statements included in our document ‘How we Teach Maths at St Christopher's Academy’

 We teach a subject specific curriculum that has clear age related expectations of the outcomes required at each stage of the primary phase.  Our foundation subjects are led by an enquiry based approach that encourages children to consider and question.

Progression, balance and consistency is ensured through comprehensive curriculum mapping which is overseen by class teachers and subject leaders.

Layer Three

This component of our curriculum is both supplementary and complimentary and provides children with a range of experiences in and out of school that equally contextualise and add depth to their learning. This part of the curriculum is in many ways unique to our children and community and is designed to meet their particular needs as well as embedding and extending the learning that takes place in the classroom.

Impact of the Curriculum

Academic Attainment and Progress

The core purpose of our school is to provide children with an education that will prepare them well for the next stage in their journey. In an academic context, we strive to ensure that whatever their starting point and whatever the barriers to learning, we enable the children to achieve the best outcomes by considering Age Related Expectations and the children’s individual potential.  

Our curriculum is mainly subject based and each subject is broken down into steps that indicate the expectations of knowledge and skills to be attained for each stage of the primary phase. It is our intention that the children meet these expectations at each stage and that each stage provides the building blocks for the next stage.

Transition

In preparing children for the next stage in their journey we ensure that:

Our Nursery children are school ready and have acquired the developmental stages they need to proceed to start school and our children in Reception classes build on this development to enable them to access the KS1 curriculum.

Our children in Year 1 are provided with the phonic skills and knowledge they need to learn to read efficiently so they can quickly transition into reading to learn. We build the resilience needed in our KS1 children so they are prepared for the demands of the KS2 curriculum and our children in year 6 are prepared for the academic and social and emotional demands of life at secondary school.

Social, Moral and Cultural Understanding,

The impact of the time and focus in this area is seen in the children’s attitudes to each other, to adults in school, to their conduct on school visits and trips and to the way in which they approach their learning. The children at St Christopher's Academy are often complimented on their behaviour in the wider community and we pride ourselves on this.

Our school is a diverse community composed of families from around the globe and through our Values programme and the ethos and culture of our school, we see Tolerance and Respect demonstrated on a daily basis.

Many children and their families encounter difficulties that stretch far beyond the control of the school, however through our family support system and our nurture programme we provide advice, support and practical help that impacts positively on the wellbeing of the family and therefore the child.  

Equality

The school has due regard to the principles and ethos of the Equality Act 2010 in respect of the delivery of our curriculum and strives to:

  •  Promote an inclusive and collaborative ethos in their classroom
  •  Challenge prejudice and discrimination
  • Deal fairly and professionally with any prejudice-related incidents that may occur
  •  Plan and deliver curricula and lessons that reflect the school’s inclusivity and diversity strategy.
  •  Maintain the highest expectations of success for all pupils
  • Support different groups of pupils in their class through differentiated planning and teaching, especially those who may (sometimes temporarily) find aspects of academic learning difficult
  • keep up-to-date with equalities legislation. 

 

If you would like any further information about the curriculum our school follows, please do not hesitate to contact us (01582 500960 or SCA-admin@bestacademies.org.uk).

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Phonics

  • Phonics is taught systematically across the school using the 'Letters and Sounds' programme. This is introduced in the Foundation Stage and is consolidated throughout Key Stage. It is expected that children will have progressed through, and completed, 'Letters and Sounds' by the end of Key Stage 1. Children will then begin to follow the 'Support for Spelling' programme in Key Stage 2.
  • Children are set into phonics groups across Foundation Stage. In Key Stage 1 they are taught in their classes as part of their guided reading and Literacy lessons. It is expected that children will have progressed through, and completed, 'Letters and Sounds' by the end of Key Stage 1. Children will then begin to follow a bespoke scheme of work for teaching spelling in Key Stage 2. 
  • Some pupils will undertake specific intervention programmes if they experience any difficulties with reading and/or spelling.
  • The school has a wide selection of phonic reading books which may be sent home with children in addition to their regular reading book. These are used to support children who need more practice applying their phonic knowledge into their reading.  

 You may find the Letters and Sounds website information useful: http://www.letters-and-sounds.com/

 

Maths

 

Mathematics at SCA

 

Intent

At SCA, our intention is to enable all pupils to meet their maximum potential in Mathematics and become fluent, resilient and independent-thinking mathematicians with the power to reason and deploy their learning in new contexts.

To meet this intention, we employ a Mastery approach to Mathematics.  We teach mathematics to whole classes and all children are included and should feel included.  It is our intent to represent the diversity of our school, our local community and the wider UK in our Mathematics lessons and the resources we use in positive and inclusive ways that support a sense of self-worth, identity and value.  All pupils are encouraged to believe that by working hard, persevering and adopting a positive mindset focused on resilience and growth they can succeed in Maths.

The key elements of a Mastery approach are essential in meeting our intent:

  • Maths teaching for mastery rejects the idea that a large proportion of people ‘just can’t do maths’.
  • All pupils are encouraged by the belief that by working hard at maths they can succeed.
  • Pupils are taught through whole-class interactive teaching, where the focus is on all pupils working together on the same lesson content at the same time, as happens in Shanghai and several other regions that teach maths successfully. This ensures that all can master concepts before moving to the next part of the curriculum sequence, allowing no pupil to be left behind.
  • If a pupil fails to grasp a concept or procedure, this is identified quickly and early intervention ensures the pupil is ready to move forward with the whole class in the next lesson.
  • Lesson design identifies the new mathematics that is to be taught, the key points, the difficult points and a carefully sequenced journey through the learning. In a typical lesson pupils sit facing the teacher and the teacher leads back and forth interaction, including questioning, short tasks, explanation, demonstration, and discussion.
  • Procedural fluency and conceptual understanding are developed in tandem because each supports the development of the other.
  • It is recognised that practice is a vital part of learning, but the practice used is intelligent practice that both reinforces pupils’ procedural fluency and develops their conceptual understanding.
  • Significant time is spent developing deep knowledge of the key ideas that are needed to underpin future learning. The structure and connections within the mathematics are emphasised, so that pupils develop deep learning that can be sustained.
  • Key facts such as multiplication tables and addition facts within 10 are learnt to automaticity to avoid cognitive overload in the working memory and enable pupils to focus on new concepts.

(NCETM, 2016)

We believe that our intent can be met through our Maths curriculum.  This is carefully structured to ensure that pupils have the opportunity to meet all National Curriculum objectives during their time at our school.  The timing, order and duration of the learning are deliberately chosen to allow longer to be spent on topics which gives all pupils the chance to develop a deep and meaningful mastery of the concept. 

Our intention is to provide a cumulative Maths curriculum where knowledge and skills are gained, retained and connections are strengthened in future terms and years. 

Implementation

The big ideas of Teaching for Maths Mastery are central to the how we meet our intent: 

  • representation and structure;
  • mathematical thinking;
  • fluency;
  • variation and
  • coherence through small steps. 

 

To help fulfil our intent, each SCA year group follows a careful journey through a schedule of learning blocks.  Each lesson within a block focuses on one key conceptual idea reflecting the small step, mastery approach.  These lessons may last longer than one day each depending on what is necessary for the pupils.

In planning for each lesson, teachers identify the incremental key learning points (micro-steps) that will be required and decide the order in which to expose the pupils to each key learning point in a carefully ordered episodic fashion during each small step lesson.  Potential misconceptions are also thought through during the planning stage and incorporated into the lesson as opportunities for learning.  Key vocabulary that will occur during the block is predicted in advance so that the correct terminology can be taught, repeated, moved into active use and contextualized.  Planning also deliberately builds in opportunities to expose the underlying structure of the mathematics that allow generalisations to be formulated from reasoning about specific cases. 

Lesson delivery involves an initial task; teacher structuring using appropriate representations (concrete, pictorial and abstract) and class recording of the learning; application of the learning with incremental addition of key learning points before pupils have the chance to apply the accumulated learning independently. 

Any resources used in Maths should take account of our responsibility to represent the diversity of our school, our local community and the wider UK.  This means that images used to support questions and names used as examples in questions should be reflective of all the pupils in our school and our communities.  Pupils should experience positive ‘role models’ in Maths that promote positive empowerment in an inclusive way.  Any learning that involves the history of Maths should include innovations and ideas that come form a range of historical cultural backgrounds reflecting that breakthroughs in Mathematics have never been limited to one particular ethnicity or culture.

Reasoning skills such as pattern spotting, identifying what is the same and what is different, forming conjectures and providing convincing evidence and proof that support mathematical thinking are always promoted in an SCA Maths lesson.  Pupils also have the opportunity to reflect on and take ownership of their learning in a lesson, often being asked about successes and areas that might be proving more difficult.

Further challenge, extension and deeper thinking tasks are made available to pupils who complete work and challenge will always be present in lessons through the teacher questioning; promoting mathematical thinking and connections; developing reasoning skills and moving from the specific to the general.

At SCA, we know that number fluency requires continuous practice.  Becoming fluent with number facts helps to avoid cognitive overload as mathematical concepts and contexts become more intricate.  As well as including specific number fluency lessons in our curriculum blocks, we also use key points of the school day to allow practice in the form of puzzles, word problems and drills.  Homework is often number fluency based as that allows parents to support their child with the fundamental facts.  Another aspect of fluency is the flexibility to use alternative methods and representations which is encouraged in our lessons.  Strategies for checking working including comparisons to ‘common sense’ are also part of the concept of fluency.

Impact

The immediate impact of a SCA Maths lesson will be apparent within the lesson.  The opportunities for discussion, engagement in talk and questioning allow teachers to quickly ascertain the pupils’ level of understanding and provide further guidance as necessary.  Much of the independent work can be marked “live” giving pupils instant feedback on their efforts as feedback closest to the point of action is the most effective.  The sole purpose of feedback should be to further the children’s learning.

Where necessary and possible, intervention is provided as quickly as possible to help maintain the intention that the whole class is working together.

The progress that pupils make over time is clear evidence of the impact of the teaching and learning.  To measure this progress, teachers integrate a combination of formative assessment (gathered during discussions, questioning, resourced activities, paired and independent tasks) and summative assessment carried out at the end of each block.  By considering all the evidence, teachers can evaluate a pupil’s true understanding of each Maths block in a way that allows for the ever-present disparity between the natural, relaxed situation of demonstrating understanding in a lesson and the rigid, formality of a test where interpretation of the question may be the biggest stumbling block.  

This informed teacher assessment is compared against age-related expectations for each term of the academic year.  Demonstrable solid understanding of all the blocks within a term will meet age-related expectations for that stage of the year.  Through the internal assessment process, gaps in understanding can be identified and addressed and parents can be informed of their child’s progress over the course of the year to date.

Of course, children at SCA participate in the external assessments of SATs during Year 2 and Year 6 and the Multiplication Tables check at Year 4.  Although our intent is to enable learners to develop deeper mathematical understanding (rather than just meeting the requirements of tests), these assessments are important measures of the impact of the teaching and learning at SCA.  Pupils in the relevant year groups also undertake mock tests in the build up to the external tests which provide additional evidence for the teacher’s judgement.

All pupils should feel that Mathematics teaching is inclusive. This can be assessed by Subject Lead through the regular pupil voice processes that are prevalent at SCA.

 

Reading

At St Christophers Academy we share a passion for books with a love of reading at our heart. We know that the development of reading skills, along with speaking and listening skills, is fundamental to the progress that our children make and we are determined to enable our children to become confident, fluent, enthusiastic and effective readers. We have high expectations for our children and encourage them to approach books actively, expecting them to make sense and developing an assortment of strategies to help them not only decode but also to understand what they are reading. All at St Christophers Academy are committed to ensuring that this happens and this policy clearly sets out how reading is taught in our school.

Aims

We aim to develop literate children who:

  • Read with enjoyment across a range of genres
  • Read for pleasure and enjoyment as well as information
  • Love reading and get excited about books
  • Have the opportunity to listen to books that are beyond their reading ability, for enjoyment
  • Build their bank of sight words to become fluent readers
  • Are aware of their own progress and development of reading
  • Develop their experiences through a variety of texts including use of libraries, ICT and other available media
  • Are provided with an environment in which the teacher models good reading practice and associated skills

 

Early Reading and Phonics

Phonics is given high priority at St Christophers Academy with daily sessions in FS2 and KS1. Children in our nursery (FS1) take part in whole class and small group ability sessions to ensure that children make a positive start. Children are taught phonics following the Letters and Sounds programme.

Children in our early years are given picture books or reading books for parents and carers to share with their children. In FS2 children will be given home reading books when class teachers assess it to be appropriate. These home reading books are phonically decodable books from Collins Big Cat, Oxford Reading Tree or another school scheme.  We also believe that the teaching of phonics and reading should be in a rich language and text based curriculum, where children are taught a range of other strategies to help them become independent readers.

Children in Y1 are tested to check that their phonics decoding is an age appropriate standard. These skills are addressed in daily phonic sessions, using Letters and Sounds and a combination of other resources. Children are routinely assessed for their sound recognition, blending and reading- and extra intervention is organised where appropriate.

 

Planning

Teaching staff plan for a variety of reading opportunities:

Shared reading

In shared reading sessions the teacher’s role is to make overt what good readers do. They assume the role of the expert reader, modelling the reading process to the whole class and providing a high level of support. In shared reading children can access a text which may be challenging to them individually. Reading skills and strategies should be clearly modelled, and discussion should help children to a deeper understanding of the text. Shared reading should have a specific focus and all abilities should be included in discussions with differentiated questions. Teaching objectives are pre-planned and sessions are characterised by explicit teaching of specific reading strategies, oral response and high levels of collaboration.

Guided reading

Guided reading sessions should happen at least 3 times a week. In these sessions children may be split into ability groups or Kagan seating structures may be used, where children practise, refine and apply key reading skills. In KS1 and lower KS2 (in groups of no more than 6), children work through a number of skills over the course of the week, related to the book they are studying. In UKS2 guided reading is conducted as a whole class. The skills covered will relate to the reading focuses/genres for the half term. For example the fiction unit will include prediction, clarifying, questioning and answering activities, which develop over the weeks. The teacher will monitoring the impact on future learning to ensure the children make progress.

Independent reading

Pupils take responsibility for selecting and reading a variety of texts including fiction, non-fiction and poetry from the school reading scheme, class libraries, web pages, print and text around the school etc. In The pupils should be able to read these books independently and comprehend them with little or no teacher/adult support. The focus for the reading is to provide practise, develop reading for pleasure and to develop personal response to text.

Independent reading response

From year 1 children have reading journals, where a range of evidence is collected and can be used to form an accurate assessment of their reading. Teaching staff plan an independent reading response activity for pupils at least once per week. This activity is a written response located in pupils’ reading journals. This provides evidence to support level judgements and the moderation process. It also provides pupils with regular opportunities to formulate written responses to a text.

 

Examples of intervention strategies which may be used in school:

 

  • Better readers programme (BRP)

This is a short term intervention program ( 10 weeks, three times a week) aimed at improving key reading skills by focusing on: independent use of reading strategies and skills, increased ability to discuss texts and understand them beyond literal level, increased confidence, leading to increased enjoyments and motivation to read.

 

  • Modelled Reading

This is where a group of children work with a teacher, adults precisely model reading sentences according to punctuation and expression and the children copy and repeat these sentences as modelled. This strategy is only used for groups of children who will benefit from this intervention.

 

  • Individual Readers:

Provision for individual reading in school occurs for all children in EYFS, KS1 and KS2 with identified children throughout the school. Year groups are focused at different points in the academic year, for example reception in the summer term. In key stage 2, adults will listen to identified children, who are not reading at home and or have been identified from termly standardised reading tests.

Home reading

In the foundation stage children should be sharing a book daily with and adult at home, retelling the story, making predictions about the text, noting print on the page and discussing text. In KS1 children should read at home to an adult daily and adults should write comments in pupils’ reading records. Children receiving little or no support at home with their reading should be identified and receive 1:1 reading support within school. Pupils in KS2 should read at home with an adult at least 3 times a week with the adult writing comments in the pupils’ reading record. Children should still be encouraged to read independently; developing their reading stamina and reading for pleasure.

Reading books

Children take home a variety of books throughout the primary phases in order to develop reading for pleasure and progression in decoding and comprehension:

EYFS

Children will be given an independently chosen library book. As the year progresses, children in FS2 move onto CVC books or scheme books which are level appropriate. These books are phonically decodable and match the phonics phase the children are working on.

KS1

All children are given an independently chosen class library book and a reading scheme/book banded text at appropriate reading age and comprehension level. Children may also have a decodable text at appropriate phonics phase. There is no specific scheme used, books are sourced from a variety of schemes and retailers and book banded for our readers.

 

KS2

All children are given an independently chosen class library book, an Accelerated Reading scheme text at appropriate reading age and comprehension age, class core reading text and if receiving phonics intervention, a KS2 decodable text at appropriate phonics phase and age related interest level.

 

 

In the unfortunate event of books being lost by pupils, parents/carers are notified that a £5 charge per item is necessary for the school to restock each item.

The reading environment

Each class will have a class library/book corner, containing a range of fiction, non-fiction and poetry and real life texts. Favourite books, book reviews, collections of books on a similar theme, weekly newspapers or reading displays will also be in classrooms. At lunchtimes there are school reading role models who take part in a range of reading activities to inspire and help other children.

In KS2 the reading display may be linked to Accelerated reader and the children’s achievements.

Assessment

 Children are assessed against the Early Years Foundation Stage Profile (EYFSP) and the National Curriculum. These provide guidance for teachers in understanding how their children will progress through the three stages of the primary curriculum (Foundation Stage, KS1. KS2). Teachers assess children against these frameworks to determine starting points and targets for children in their class.

 Assessment methods

  • Home/school reading diaries track daily progress.
  • Teachers observe progress during reading activities within lessons daily and annotate planning.
  • Reading journals
  • Reading session planning records track weekly progress.
  • Pupils’ phonics progress is tracked by phase and assessed half-termly.
  • The EYFS profile, and National Curriculum year group expectations are used to assess progress periodically half termly.
  • Accelerated Reading assessments are carried out at the beginning of every half term and are used in conjunction with Rising Stars reading assessments to inform teacher assessment.
  • In KS1 and KS2, teachers record pupils’ progress against the National Curriculum objectives using St Christophers Academy KPIs (Key performance indicators) on the school assessment and tracking system, Classroom Monitor. Classroom Monitor is then used for half termly summative data collection and analysis;
  • Rising Stars reading assessments are done half termly and inform termly teacher assessments.

 

Leadership and Management

The literacy coordinator is responsible for reviewing and improving the standards of teaching and learning of reading though out the school by: analysing data, pupil progress through lesson observations, book trawls, pupil interviews, auditing and supporting professional development, purchasing and organising resources.

 

 

 

 

Physical Education

The Intent, implementation and Impact of our PE Curriculum

 

Intent

PE at St Christophers Academy aims to develop the knowledge, skills and competencies essential for mental, emotional, social and physical wellbeing in our children now, and for their future. Physical fitness is an extremely important part of leading a healthier lifestyle. It teaches self-discipline and that to be successful you must work hard, show resilience and have the determination to believe that anything can be achieved. We want our children at St Christophers Academy to use their school values and the core Olympic/ Paralympic values to help them achieve this.

The 3 core Olympic/ Paralympic values are;

1. Excellence

This means doing the best we can, on the field of play or not. The important thing is not winning, but taking part, making progress and enjoying the healthy combination of body, will and mind.

2. Respect

This includes respect for yourself and your body, for other people, for rules and regulations, for sport and for the environment.

3. Friendship

Friendship is at the heart of the sport. It encourages us to see sport as an instrument for mutual understanding between individuals, and between people all over the world.

To help fulfil our intent at St Christophers Academy, we aim to incorporate these core values into our lessons and teach children life skills that will positively impact on their future.

At St Christophers Academy, we deliver high-quality teaching and learning opportunities that inspire all children to succeed in physical activities. We want to teach children to co-operate and collaborate with others, as part of a team whilst understanding equality for all.

Implementation

Children at St Christophers Academy participate in weekly, high quality PE and sporting activities.  Our PE scheme of work incorporates a variety of sports and skills to ensure all children develop the confidence, tolerance and the appreciation of their own and others’ strengths and weaknesses.

At St Christophers Academy, we use the ‘Complete PE scheme of work which aims to teach a deep and broad curriculum of the highest quality.

In addition to our PE lessons, we provide opportunities for all children to engage in extra-curricular activities before, during and after school. Children also have opportunities to take part in local competitive sporting events. This is an inclusive approach which endeavours to encourage not only physical development but also well-being.

We teach lessons so that children;

  • Have fun and experience success in sport
  • Secure and build on a range of skills they have learnt throughout their time at St Christophers Academy.
  • Develop good sporting attitudes
  • Understand and use basic rules in games
  • Experience positive competition by participating in intra-school and inter- school competition

Children in Key Stage 2 also participate in swimming lessons and ‘The Daily Mile’.

Remote Learning – In the event of a school/ bubble closure or self-isolation, we will set the children short physical activity challenges via our school website. These short physical activity challenges aim to keep the children active whilst at home and can be completed without the use of PE equipment. Children can challenge themselves to achieve bronze, silver and gold achievements.

Impact

At St Christophers Academy, we ensure that our PE Curriculum is progressive and allows children to develop fundamental skills and apply them to a variety of sports and activities.

PE is taught as a basis for life-long learning in which our curriculum aims to improve the wellbeing and fitness of all children at St Christophers Academy. This is done not only through the sporting skills taught, but through the underpinning values and disciplines that PE promotes.

Within our lessons, children are taught about self-discipline and that to be successful you need to take ownership and responsibility of their own health and fitness. We want to motivate children to use these underpinning skills in an independent and effective way in order to live happy and healthy lives. 

Religious Education 

Religious Education at St Christophers Academy

 

Intent

Intent
At SCA, we believe that Religious Education (RE) contributes dynamically to children’s education by provoking challenging questions about meaning and purpose in life, beliefs about God, learning about and from other religions and cultures and developing a self-reflective learner. Our world is enriched by a wide and profound diversity of cultures and beliefs. Engaging and stimulating religious education helps to nurture informed and resilient responses to misunderstanding, stereotyping and division. RE offers a place of integrity and security within which difficult or ‘risky’ questions can be tackled within a safe but challenging context.

RE is not a National Curriculum subject, but must be taught to all pupils as part of the Basic Curriculum.  As RE is not nationally determined, a Local Education Authority must provide an Agreed Syllabus for us to follow. Therefore at SCA, to meet our intention it is the Bedfordshire RE Agreed Syllabus 2018-2023, alongside the Learning challenge curriculum which we have used as the basis of our planning and delivery of RE.

 

Aims and Values                                                                                                         

We believe at this school that RE both supports and strengthens what we aim to do in every aspect of school life.  Our caring ethos and the value which we place on the development of the whole child; spiritually, morally, socially, culturally and intellectually is reflected in the RE curriculum.

 

Specifically, RE at our school aims to enable pupils of whatever ability and level of development to:

  1. Acquire and develop knowledge and understanding of principal world faiths practised in Great Britain.  These include Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism and Sikhism, each of which is represented in Bedfordshire; also atheism.
  2. Develop an understanding of the influence of beliefs, values and traditions on individuals, communities, societies and cultures, including the local community;
  3. Develop the ability to make reasoned and informed judgements about religious and moral issues with reference to the teachings of the principal religions;
  4. Enhance their own spiritual, moral, social and cultural development by:
  • developing awareness of the fundamental questions of life arising from human experiences, and how religious beliefs and practices can relate to them;
  • responding to the fundamental questions of life in the light of their experience and with reference to religious beliefs and practices;
  • reflecting on their own beliefs, values and experiences in thelight of their study;
  • expressing their own personal viewpoints in a thoughtful,
  • reasoned and considerate way;

5. recognise the right of people to hold different beliefs within an ethnically and socially diverse society.

 

We believe that our intent can be met through our RE curriculum. This is carefully planned and structured to ensure that children have sufficient coverage of a range of faiths and religions that reflect our locality. Whilst at SCA, children will be given opportunities to have the experience of visiting local places of worship and have visitors come in to speak to the children.

Our intention is to provide an expressive and exciting RE curriculum to equip children with knowledge and understanding of a range of religions and other world views, enabling them to develop their own ideas, values and identities.  


Implementation

To help fill our intent, each SCA year group will follow the structured Medium Term Plan (MTP), which shows the key question that the class will be asking each term throughout the academic year. From this, in conjunction with the Bedfordshire Scheme of Work, teachers plan inspiring lessons for the children. At the beginning and end of each unit of work, children will carry out a pre-learning and post-learning task. This will be able to show clear progression from what the children know at the beginning of the topic and then at the end of the topic.

Families who send their children to SCA are from a range of different faith backgrounds. RE is concerned with “learning about religion” and “learning from religion” and it is not the practice of this school to preach to or convert the children.  The faith background of both the staff and child’s family is respected at all times.

Parents of a pupil at our school have a right to withdraw their children from RE. If a parent asks for their child to be wholly or partly excused from attending any RE the school must comply unless the request is withdrawn. Any parent who wishes this may consult the Principal.  Teachers may also withdraw from the teaching of RE (section 71(1) of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998, paragraph 1/ DfE circular 1/94).

 

Impact

 Our Religious Education Curriculum is high quality, well thought out and is planned to demonstrate progression. Through R.E. our children are developing an understanding of other people’s cultures and ways of life, which they are then able to communicate to the wider community. If children are keeping up with the curriculum, they are deemed to be making good or better progress. In addition, we measure the impact of our curriculum through the following methods:

  • A reflection on standards achieved against the planned outcomes.
  • Assessment through the Key Performance Indicators and half termly quizzes.
  •  Pupil discussions about their learning.

Modern Foreign Languages (MFL)

Intent

At St Christophers Academy, our intention is to provide all children with a valuable educational, social and cultural experience through learning Modern Foreign Languages, primarily French. We aim to provide children with essential and practical skills and knowledge whilst also fostering an interest in language learning. This will subsequently lay the foundations for the future study of languages.

We believe that our intent can be met through the scheme of work that we follow to deliver our Modern Foreign Languages curriculum. This is structured to ensure that all pupils have the opportunity to achieve the objectives outlined within the Key Stage 2 National Curriculum for Modern Foreign Languages whilst at our school. The scheme of work provides various opportunities to develop speaking, listening, communication and written skills alongside opportunities to develop awareness of cultural differences. Our intention is to provide a curriculum where knowledge and skills are gained, retained, strengthened and challenged as children progress through the year groups.

 

Implementation

To accomplish our intent, each year group in Key Stage 2 follows the Wakefield scheme of work, published by La Jolie Ronde which includes detailed lesson plans designed to meet the National Curriculum requirements -  in particular focusing on the strands: Oracy, Literacy and Intercultural Understanding. These plans allow for flexibility and can be adapted by teachers to suit the particular needs of their class. Similarly, Key Stage 1 follow the Little Languages scheme of work, also published by La Jolie Ronde. The aim of this scheme is to provide a wide variety of language experiences to excite and enthuse children who are beginning their language learning journey.

Alongside both schemes of work are a variety of resources for teachers to use which directly link to the outlined lessons. Resources include: sound files for language support, video clips, CDs of songs and poems and resources for use with the interactive whiteboard. The scheme of work also outlines suggested core vocabulary to be incorporated within lessons.

In addition to the scheme of work, we believe our intent can also be fulfilled through the themed days planned for each term. These provide the children with further opportunities to explore cultures and languages different to their own in an enjoyable, engaging and creative manner.

At St Christophers Academy, we understand that the key to successful learning and retention is rehearsal and repetition of the knowledge and skills taught. Therefore, previously learnt knowledge and skills are revisited frequently throughout the years, whilst also allowing for the addition of new learning to ensure that progression throughout the year groups is evident.  

 

Impact

The immediate impact of the teaching and learning should be evident within the lesson. Opportunities provided by the teacher for discussions through questioning and the application of knowledge and skills will give an effective insight into the understanding of individuals. All feedback provided should be given with the purpose of furthering learning and is given in line with the school’s feedback policy. Oral work in particular allows for instant and effective feedback, alongside live marking within the lesson which is effective in highlighting and addressing any misunderstandings or misconceptions immediately. Assessment for Learning (AFL) opportunities such as questioning at the beginning and end of a lesson can also allow teachers to see the direct impact of teaching and learning. This can be verbal, recorded as a class or recorded individually in books.

The progress that pupils make over time is evidence of the impact of the teaching and learning. Teachers are provided with end of year outcomes that the children are working towards meeting throughout the year, and these are used as an assessment tool in Modern Foreign Languages. Looking at the outcomes for previous and future years allows for teachers to see any areas for development or gaps in knowledge from prior learning as well as where the children are heading in the next academic year.

With vocabulary being a whole school priority, the self-assessment of key vocabulary is incorporated within Modern Foreign Language lessons, focusing on what the translation is in to English rather than the meaning of words. At the beginning of a new topic, teachers isolate French vocabulary that is going to arise within future lessons and ask the children to use traffic lighting to show their knowledge of each word. Using traffic lighting for self-assessment once again at the end of the topic allows children to reflect on their understanding of the vocabulary after learning and gives a further insight in to their understanding for teachers. The children can also record the translation in to English to further evidence this once they have learnt it.

Science

Intent

Science can be seen as a quest for knowledge. As an academic subject, it aims to develop scientific knowledge and conceptual understanding through the specific disciplines of biology, chemistry and physics. Scientific method is about developing and evaluating explanations through experimental evidence and modelling.  Because science links direct practical experience with ideas, it can engage learners at many levels and provide them with a way of thinking that will bring skills and techniques that can benefit them in a range of situations. Critical and creative thought is a characteristic that will prove useful to learners throughout their entire lives.  Through science, pupils understand how to make predictions, to gather and analyse results and to test hypotheses.

 

The school aims to:

  • Stimulate, excite and satisfy pupils’ curiosity about phenomena in the world; 
  • Enable pupils to develop scientific knowledge and conceptual understanding through the specific disciplines of biology, chemistry and physics
  • develop pupils’ understanding of the nature, processes and methods of science through different types of science enquiries that help them to answer scientific questions about the world around them
  • are equipped with the scientific knowledge required to understand the uses and implications of science, today and for the future

At SCA, our intention is to enable all pupils to meet their maximum potential in all areas of the Science curriculum. It is well recognised that Science can help to develop the skills, attitudes and attributes that can also support learning in other national curriculum subjects. This includes listening skills, the ability to concentrate, creativity, and perseverance, the ability to work in a group, self-confidence and sensitivity towards others.

 

Implementation

To help achieve our intended aims, each SCA year group follow The Kent Scheme of work for Primary Science 2019, which is closely linked to the statements in the National Curriculum 2014.

Every year group will be taught science on a weekly basis. Each new area of learning will beginning with an over-arching enquiry question. This is then broken down into smaller enquiry questions, which the children will spend a lesson or more answering. These enquiry question are based on the National Curriculum statements and take into account children’s prior knowledge gained from a pre-learning task.

 

At the beginning of a new area of learning, children will complete a pre-learning task which will provide teachers with the children’s prior knowledge and understanding. It is also used as a tool to highlight any misconceptions which will inform future planning. Once this area of learning is complete, the children will complete a post learning task providing teachers with how much the children have learnt. In addition to this, children will also complete an end of unit assessment which will assess their knowledge and understanding on the science they have been taught.  

 

In both KS1 and KS2, Science is planned, taught and assessed by the class teacher. Weekly Science lesson will have an intended learning outcome as well as incorporate an element of working scientifically. Children experience hands on indoor and outdoor learning where they are encouraged to ask their own questions and be given the opportunity to use their scientific skills and research to discover the answers. Scientific vocabulary is directly taught by teachers and the use encouraged in order for these to be embedded into the children’s minds.

 

Regular events, such as British Science Week, allow all pupils to come off-timetable, to provide broader provision and the acquisition and application of knowledge and skills. These events often involve families and the wider community. Children are also offered a wide range of visits, trips, visitors and after school science clubs to compliment and broaden the curriculum. These are purposeful and linked with the knowledge being taught in class.

 

Remote learning - In the event of a school, bubble closure or a child having to self-isolate due to Covid-19, we will provide children with online lessons which will have clear learning outcomes linked to the National Curriculum outcomes for Science. Lessons will be well-thought-out to ensure that the learning is accessible remotely and any resources needed will either be provided by the school or suggestions made on what can be used from around the house/garden etc. 

 

Impact

The successful approach at SCA results in a fun, engaging, high-quality science education, that provides children with the foundations and knowledge for understanding the world. By engaging the children with the local environment ensures that they learn through varied and first hand experiences of the world around them. Frequent, continuous and progressive learning inside and outside the classroom is embedded throughout the science curriculum. Through various workshops, trips and interactions with experts, children have the understanding that science has changed our lives and that it is vital to the world’s future prosperity. Children at SCA overwhelmingly enjoy science and this results in motivated learners with sound scientific understanding.

Music

Music at SCA

Intent

Music is a universal language that embodies one of the highest forms of creativity. We provide opportunities for all children to create, play, perform and enjoy music, to develop the skills to appreciate a wide variety of musical forms, and to begin to make judgements about the quality of music. At SCA, our intention is to enable all pupils to meet their maximum potential in all areas of the music curriculum. We place an important emphasis upon pupil’s creative and emotional development and feel that music makes a significant contribution to these aspects of education as well as to the spiritual and moral development of pupils. Through musical activities, children can experience a sense of individual and collective achievement, which helps to promote social skills and cooperation.

To meet this intention, we offer a diverse curriculum to all pupils from Nursery, all the way up to Year 6 to ensure needs of the individual year groups are met to the best of our ability.

Nursery and Reception children follow the scheme Music Matters. This Early Years scheme follows the structure of looking at the unique child, positive relationships and enabling environments which then leads to learning and development in music. Towards the end of Reception, children are transitioned into using the Charanga scheme of work ready for KS1.

In KS1 and KS2, all children follow the Charanga scheme of work from Inspiring Music.

 

Implementation

To help achieve our intended aims, each SCA year group follow a particular musical journey. During each school year, every class will have the opportunity to learn a new musical skill, which is taught by a music specialist from Inspiring music. We believe that with this specialist tuition, tailored to our individual school needs, our children can only thrive. Currently, our music programme sees our children learning the following instruments during their time in KS2 - Recorder, Ukulele, J-Sax and Garage band (focusing on music technology). As well as this, during their time in KS2, the children will receive specialist vocal training for two consecutive years. In KS1, the specialist music lessons focus on understanding and appreciating music before moving onto learning an instrument of their own.

We believe that by offering these musical opportunities to our children, the expectations from the NC are met.

 : “…learn to sing and to use their voices, to create and compose music on their own and with others, have the opportunity to learn a musical instrument, use technology appropriately and have the opportunity to progress to the next level in musical excellence…”.

“Pupils should be taught to sing and play musically with increasing confidence and control. They should develop an understanding of musical composition, organising and manipulating ideas within musical structures and reproducing sounds from aural memory”.

“Pupils should be taught to: play and perform in solo and ensemble contexts; using their voices and playing music instruments with increasing accuracy, fluency, control and expression”

 When our children are not partaking in their specialist music lessons, teachers deliver lessons following the Charanga scheme of work. Charanga units of work enable children to understand musical concepts through a repetition-based approach to learning. Learning about the same musical concept through different musical activities enables a more secure, deeper learning and mastery of musical skills.

 

Over time, children can develop both new musical skills and concepts, and re-visit established musical skills and concepts. Repeating a musical skill doesn’t necessarily mean their progress is slowing down or their development is moving backwards! It's just shifting within the spiral. Mastery means both a deeper understanding of musical skills and concepts and learning something new.

 

Each unit of work comprises of the strands of musical learning which correspond with the National Curriculum for Music:

1. Listening and Appraising

2. Musical Activities

a. Warm-up Games

b. Optional Flexible Games

c. Singing

d. Playing instruments

e. Improvisation

f. Composition

3. Performing

 

Impact

The immediate impact of a SCA Music lesson will be apparent within the session. Whilst children are listening and appraising, we would typically expect to hear the key vocabulary within their discussions which is a key school priority alongside the development of their listening and appraising skills.  The constant opportunity for performance builds confidence but also gives the teacher the opportunity to assess the learning and address any misconceptions or preconceived ideas.  

Formative assessment for learning will be based on the objective within a particular lesson and assessed by the teacher in preparation for the next. At the start of a unit of work, children will carry out a pre-learning task to determine what they know before any teaching has taken place and at the end of the unit, the same task will be carried out -  the post learning task. This should show clear progress and demonstrate the learning that has taken place. The pre/post learning tasks may take different forms depending on the age and ability of the children.

Finally, we hope that the overall impact of the exposure to a range of musical experiences at SCA will help to inspire and encourage children to pursue their love of music in their next school and beyond.#

 

For more information regarding our curriculum please contact the school office who will direct you to the relevant staff. 

 

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