Curriculum

The curriculum is at the heart of what we do at our school. We aim to ensure that throughout their time with us, the pupils will develop a deep knowledge and understanding of all curriculum subjects as well as a diverse range of skills and, that they will be exposed to a breadth of experiences and different concepts which they can then link and apply to their learning both in and out of school. Furthermore, we hope to instill in our pupils a life-long love of learning. We take a very active hands-on approach to learning, encouraging pupils and adults to engage themselves with the school’s wonderful rural location.  We have invested much time and effort into creating our own curriculum over the last year. Using The Sonar Curriculum as our structure, we have mapped out skills for each subject across the primary phase; this has ensured correct coverage of the National Curriculum  and progression across year groups.  Each half-term is based on a topic of study which the majority of subjects are taught through.

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Subjects

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• Literacy

We believe that all pupils deserve to achieve a high standard of literacy: reading, writing, speaking and listening. These key skills are then transferred to all other areas of the curriculum. The pupils in Key Stages 1 and 2 have daily literacy lessons. Reading focuses on the key skill of comprehension, teaching pupils how to fully engage with text.  Pupils in Reception and Key Stage 1 are taught daily phonics lessons using the validated Rocket Phonics Scheme; this is complemented by the Rising Stars Reading Scheme where reading books are matched to their current phonological knowledge.  In literacy we follow a sequence of learning over 2/3 weeks where an independent piece of writing is produced at the end of the sequence; the specific skills (grammar, reading and writing) are tailored and matched to the specific genre. Their is a focus on writing with a purpose (why we are writing) and for an audience (who we are writing for).  Editing and improving work is a major cornerstone of our work. Drama also forms part of our literacy curriculum; activities are used to develop confidence, explore the meaning of text and to rehearse writing.

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• Maths

At Quainton Primary School, we are committed to providing our children with a curriculum that has a clear intention and impacts positively upon their needs. Our school is committed to providing all pupils with the best possible learning opportunities, using teaching strategies which are proven to be effective and evidence based.  Over the last 2 years we have transitioned from Collins Maths to a maths mastery approach through White Rose Maths. This allows children to be taught the same content but allowing children of different abilities to still access the curriculum.

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• Science

Our science curriculum has been developed over the last two years to allow more opportunities for pupils to carry out investigations, both independently and in small groups. Although we have a well-resourced science laboratory, much use is made of the school grounds and the local area to provide an exciting environment for learning and, to allow pupils to participate in fieldwork.

• Topic (ICT/Geography/History/Art/DT)

We teach these subjects through a half-temly topic which brings all the individual subjects together in an holistic approach resulting in an end purpose.  For example Year 3's topic may be The Rainforest; their end product might be a shoe box diorama. The diorama could display the different layers of the rainforest (Geography knowledge), use collage for the canopy (art skills), involve moving animal models (DT skills) and the animal movement be planned through programming in Scratch (ICT skills). We feel this brings a purpose to the learning and helps connect the different subjects. All subjects are still carefully planned across the year groups to ensure progression of skills. We also use knowledge organisers to establish key knowledge and to allwo all children to access the learning.

• Religious Education & Personal, Social & Health Education (PSHE)

As a Church of England school, we place high importance on learning from and about Christianity, in addition to other world religions. Pupils can then relate what they learn to their own experiences. There is a strong link between RE and PSHE, helping pupils to make sense of the decisions they have to make in their daily lives. At our school we encourage pupils of all faiths to share their beliefs and throughout the year we invite parents and religious leaders to contribute to the life of the school. We have adopted the Local Authority’s agreed RE syllabus.  Whilst we accept the right of parents to withdraw their children from RE, we aim for everyone to be a part of our inclusive experience. We teach our PSHE through a bought in scheme - Jigsaw.

• Physical Education

Our vision is that every pupil enjoys sport and develops a life-long positive attitude towards their own health and well-being. Through PE and sport, we aim to:

• Improve fitness, health and well-being.
• Encourage regular and active participation in sport.
• Enable each pupil to achieve their full potential.

The values, discipline and teamwork associated with sport are paramount in helping the spiritual, moral, social and cultural (SMSC) development of pupils, in addition to supporting other areas of the curriculum.

Play leaders encourage Key Stage 1 and EYFS pupils to actively participate in sport by offering them a variety of fun lunchtime activities and games. Additionally, pupils from all year groups are encouraged to organise their own lunchtime clubs, resulting in a huge range of activities from cheerleading to football.  There are also a number of other extra-curricular sports clubs led by staff, volunteers and external agencies: football, multi-skills, hockey, dance, martial arts, netball, athletics, rounders and Change4Life clubs (skipping and running).  Our summer term always culminates in an exciting sports day where pupils display incredible sportsmanship and team work.

Furthermore, this year we were awarded the Gold Sports Mark, a government led award for acknowledging all our hard work and commitment to the development of competition across the school and into the community. Well done Quainton Primary School!

• Modern Foreign Languages (MFL)

Our main focus of learning modern foreign languages is for pupils to develop the ability to communicate orally and to instill an enthusiasm for languages. Weekly French lessons begin in Year 3 and continue on until Year 6 through the Language Angels schem.

• Music

We are presently redesigning our music provision and curriuclum and will launch in Autumn 2. Please be reassured we will cover all areas of the curriculum this year. In the meantime Mr De Silva will be running singing assemblies to stir the children's love of music!

For more information please contact the School's Office
Tel: 01296 655242
Email: office@quainton.bucks.sch.uk