Winkfield St Mary's CE Primary School

OUR SCHOOL CURRICULUM

Aims (INTENT) - Our curriculum will:

1. Be firmly based on the school and its relationship with the locality and wider world

2. Be rich, broad and balanced and meaningful

3. Consider the well being of the children as a whole

4. Enable all children to reach their full potential in all areas of the curriculum as well as developing individual talents and interests

5. Encourage curiosity and a love of learning

6. Develop highly functional, independent, flexible learners for now and the future

Principles - In order to achieve these aims, we will plan learning experiences that:

1. Be firmly based on the school and its relationship with the locality and wider world:

• Use contexts based where possible on the local and extending to the national and global

• Respond to current events or issues at a local and wider level

• Provide opportunities for children to make a positive contribution to the community, both locally and in the wider world

• Involve members of the community

2. Be rich, broad and balanced and meaningful:

• Meet and go beyond the requirements of the National Curriculum

• Make links within and between subjectsInclude a variety of stimuli, contexts, types of activity and means of expression

• Are relevant to the children and have a clear purpose

3. Consider the well-being of the children as a whole:

• Have social, moral and spiritual and cultural aspects embedded within all areas

• Promote a healthy lifestyle (mental and physical)

• Enable children to develop the personal skills needed for happy and successful future lives

4. Enable all children to reach their full potential in all areas of the curriculum as well as developing individual talents and interests:

• Are challenging for all

• Provide plentiful opportunities for children to apply what they have learned in other contexts

• Respond to the needs and interests of the children

5. Encourage curiosity and a love of learning:

• Inspire - through exciting topics with engaging starters, memorable events and motivating outcomes

• Encourage children to question and hypothesise

6. Develop highly functional, independent, flexible learners for now and the future:

• Embed core skills in mathematics, literacy and ICT across the curriculum

• Teach key life skills

• Encourage children to be adventurous and regard mistakes as opportunities for learning

• Teach children how to learn as well as what to learn, so they are prepared for whatever they may need to learn in the future

• Provide opportunities for children to take control of their own learning

In order that our topics should meet these aims and principles, we have developed curriculum maps for each subject that show a clear progression of skills as well as the greatly slimmed down content of the new National Curriculum. This enables us to be more flexible in our planning so we can respond to the needs and interests of the children and recognise events of local, national or global significance.

Each class also has a curriculum overview document which shows the required curriculum coverage for all subjects. This can be used to identify links between subjects to develop topics which may change from year to year.

The curriculum overview documents and individual subject curriculum maps for each year group can be accessed below.

N.B. Due to this more flexible way of planning, for most subjects it is not possible for us to show which aspects will be taught in which term. Over the course of the year all the required content for each subject will be covered. Each term teachers will provide a curriculum newsletter which will let you know the topic/s and main curriculum content for that term

View our interactive whole school curriculum by clicking here

Or go to the year group class pages to see the current curriculum map.

Other school publications of interest

View our statement for 'Promoting British Values' HERE.

View our  MATHS CALCULATION POLICY or 'How we teach calculations at Winkfield' by clicking HERE.

Information regarding the teaching and learning of the new National Curriculum can be found HERE.

The children are organised into mixed ability year group classes and the curriculum is delivered using a variety of approaches. Whole class, group and individual teaching and multi sensory approaches are used as appropriate to the subject matter and needs and abilities of the children. Classes are supported by our excellent Teaching Assistants.  A large proportion of the curriculum is covered through termly Topics, which encourage cross curricular links, but for some areas subject specific work is more appropriate.

Foundation Stage children learn through half termly topics, covering all areas of learning:- Personal, Social and Emotional Development; Communication, Language and Literacy; Physical Development, Literacy; Understanding of the World; Maths and Expressive Art and Design. 

Children in R and Y1 learn phonics based on 'Essential Letters and sounds'. View our statement for 'Reception year at WSM' HERE.

Our R/KS1 Reading scheme is largely Oxford Reading Tree. Oxford Owls produces lots of information and activities to support parents at home based on these books:  https://www.oxfordowl.co.uk/for-home/find-a-book/oxford-reading-tree-levels/ 

Throughout the school we employ the use of sports coaches and peripatetic music teachers to enrich the curriculum and add to the children’s enjoyment of school life.