CURRICULUM

Intent

At Biggin C of E Primary school we teach the National Curriculum. This is enhanced and delivered in a way which provides rich and stimulating learning for all children in school. We focus on core skills in Reading, Writing, Mathematics and Science as well as providing a broad education in Foundation Subjects. We are extremely fortunate to live and work in a very special and beautiful part of the Peak District and attempt to take advantage of this as much as possible in our learning.

At Biggin we are also very fortunate to enjoy the benefits of belonging to a very small village school. This provides small class sizes and enables teaching staff to get to know children very well. The curriculum allows for plenty of opportunities for children to learn in detail about our local environment, community and heritage, including local geography, history and industry. However we recognise that looking outwards to the wider world is an essential requirement of the education we provide for our children.

In particular we recognise children benefit from visiting cities and beginning to understand the contribution we make to national and global communities.

Wherever possible we work with other small schools to enable children to get know other local children and experience working in larger groups. This is regularly part of our Sports and Physical Education provision but has also been achieved in Drama, Art and Religious Education work.  We find this helps our children make smooth and confident transitions to High School, too.

Implementation

We aim to teach our curriculum mostly in a topic based way which we believe brings learning to life and is interesting for the children. Topic-based learning also enables links to be made easily between topics and subject areas. Making learning memorable is crucial; we start with what the children know and build on that knowledge. We place a strong emphasis on vocabulary and understanding and ensure knowledge and skills are built on and revisited.

KEY STAGE ONE

English

The Foundation Stage children are working towards the Early Learning Goals in Literacy and Communication and Language.

 The Early Learning Goal in Literacy is split into the two aspects of Reading and Writing and the Early Learning Goal in Communication and Language is split into the three aspects of Listening and Attending, Understanding, and Speaking.

The children are encouraged to write in self-initiated activities and also in directed activities. They are given the opportunity to develop emergent writing and also to apply their growing phonic knowledge in a variety of ways each day. Writing is usually linked to the current KS1/Foundation Stage topic.

In reading we start children on the Oxford Reading Tree scheme as soon as they are ready.

In our daily phonics lesson we use Letters and Sounds supplemented with resources from Phonics Bug and Phonics Play.

The children have multiple daily opportunities to develop their skills in speaking, listening and understanding.

We follow the National Curriculum objectives for Y1 and Y2.

Writing is usually linked to the current topic in order to make it interesting and meaningful for the children and also to ensure they are given opportunities to write about well-resourced subjects.

Reading is linked to the Oxford Reading Tree scheme but supplemented with a wide range of additional reading books. The children have access to our library of picture books and non-fiction books as well as the mobile library van. 

Daily phonics lessons are based on the Letters and Sounds scheme using resources from Phonics Bug and Phonics Play.

Mathematics

FOUNDATION STAGE (FS)

The Foundation Stage children are working towards the Early Learning Goals in the Foundation Stage Curriculum 2013.

The Early Learning Goals in Mathematics are split into the two aspects of Number and Shape,Space and Measure. The children work on practically based activities to learn the mathematical goals. We supplement the EYFS curriculum with resources from New Heinemann maths.

Physical Education/Physical Development

The Foundation Stage children are working toward the Early Learning Goals for Physical Development, This includes physical education, control and co-ordination, handling equipment and tools safely and with growing dexterity. As part of their Physical Development education they will also learn about ways to keep safe and healthy.

In KS1, PE is planned on a long term yearly cycle, which ensures the breadth of the areas of the National Curriculum 2014 are covered. We use specialist teachers such as Derby County Football in the Community Trust coaches to enhance the children's learning experiences.

Religious Education

RE is taught both as a discreet subject and as part of our programme of cultural weeks and follows the Derbyshire Agreed Syllabus for Religious Education 2014 - 2019.

The Principal aim of RE in Derbyshire schools is to enable pupils to participate in an on-going search for wisdom, through exploring questions raised by human experience and answers offered by the religions and beliefs of the people of Derbyshire and the wider community, so as to promote their personal development.

It is a legal requirement that R.E. is taught but parents have the right to withdraw their child from these lessons after discussion with the Headteacher.

Science

This is taught as part of a 2 year topic cycle which covers the objectives from the National Curriculum 2014 for Y1 and Y2. The Early Learning Goals in Understanding the World, Expressive Art and Design and Personal,Social and Emotional Development are also incorporated into the same topic cycle in order to ensure that all aspects of the EYFS curriculum arebtaught.

There are cross-curricular links made to other subject areas such as Art, English, Mathematics and Design Technology.

The History and Geography objectives from the National Curriculum 2014 are included in the 2 year topic cycle.

The topic cycle is as follows:

Year 1: Hiding in the Hedgerow; Ourselves; The Great Fire of London and Feeding the Birds in Winter; Homes; Mexico; Trail and Wood

Year 2: Now I am Big; Same but Different; Fantastical Creatures; Traditional Tales; Growing Things; The Sea

Most topics are biased towards Science. However, some are biased towards History or Geography.

KEY STAGE 2

The curriculum is delivered primarily through over-arching topics, although some subjects such as Science, Religious Education and Computing are often taught as stand-alone units. Maths is almost always taught separately. 

English

Strong literacy skills are essential for success and it is a priority to ensure children leave primary school well-equipped for high school.

We follow the National Curriculum objectives for Key Stage 2. Wherever possible, we make links to the current topic or provide real opportunities for children to practise their writing skills.

In reading, we continue to use Oxford Reading Tree supplemented by an extensive class library to ensure children read a variety of genres. All children in Key Stage 2 use the Accelerated Reading scheme to support their learning, choosing reading books at the appropriate level, taking comprehension quizzes and working towards targets.

The grammar punctuation and spelling scheme follows the National Curriculum for lower and upper KS2.

Mathematics

 The White Rose scheme for teaching Maths Mastery is used . Children build fluency, reasoning and problem solving skills progressing through a concrete, pictorial and abstract approach.

Science

This is taught as topics on a two year rolling programme.Thus, all children cover each topic in both lower and upper KS2, building on their previous learning and developing deeper understanding. Opportunities to revisit knowledge and vocabulary are planned into teaching to help children retain their learning. Learning about plants, animals, nature and the environment is often outside the classroom.There is a strong emphasis on children working scientifically as well as specific STEM projects.

Computing

There are opportunities to use IT across the curriculum in addition to the National Curriculum for Computing being taught discretely.

Religious Education

RE is taught both as a separate  subject and follows the Derbyshire Agreed Syllabus for Religious Education 2014 - 2019.

The Principal aim of RE in Derbyshire schools is to enable pupils to participate in an on-going search for wisdom, through exploring questions raised by human experience and answers offered by the religions and beliefs of the people of Derbyshire and the wider community, so as to promote their personal development.

It is a legal requirement that R.E. is taught but parents do have the right to withdraw their child from these lessons after discussion with the Headteacher.

Physical Education

We offer the children a range of physical opportunities to enable them to: develop competence to excel in a broad range of physical activities, be physically active for sustained periods of time, engage in competitive sports and activities, lead healthy and active lives.

We have our own playing field and hard play surface for games and school sports and we employ Derby County Football in the Community coaches to support our sessions.

We take part in organised events held with other schools involving swimming, football, netball, basketball, hockey and athletics.

The village hall is used for gymnastics and dance during the winter months.

Each year we offer Outdoor Adventure Activities to Year 6 children in our Small School Cluster at the White Hall Centre, near Buxton.

Languages

Spanish and French are taught in KS2 to. We use a variety of resources over a two-year cycle. Opportunities to explore other languages take place on themed language days.

Music

All children learn to play the recorder. Wherever possible other aspects of the music curriculum are linked to topics or specifically for concerts. 

Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education

We provide a range experiences in PSHE through discreet lessons, cross-curricular opportunities, and collective worship. This includes e-safety and sex education at an appropriate level to the developing child and as approved by the school governors.

Geography 

History 

History is taught on a four yearly cycle to ensure a full range of topics is covered:

Character Education

Educational Visits

Implementation