Curriculum Policy

At Westmorland Primary School we value a creative curriculum because:

- Teaching the subjects; History, Geography, Art and Design, Design and Technology and Music through a cross curricular topic provides a more valuable and enjoyable context for the children’s learning. As a result it contributes to the development of the whole child emotionally, aesthetically, spiritually, intellectually and socially.

 

- It enables teachers to approach the key skills required in the curriculum with greater enthusiasm, adopting a more active and engaging teaching approach, in which children’s learning is founded in real life contexts. This gives the children’s learning a greater sense of purpose.

 

Teaching Teaching methods will vary according to the age, ability and experience of the children and the concepts being taught.

• All teachers are provided with a list of key skills to be covered across History, Geography, Art and Design, Design and Technology and Music, in Key Stages 1 and 2.

• Teachers are responsible for addressing all of the key skills relevant to their year group through the delivery of a range of topics agreed with their partner teacher.

• Class teachers are responsible for breaking down these key skills into Learning Intentions for individual lessons which are relevant to their year group and to ensure progression.

• The Key Stage 1 and 2 key skills documents include reference to the breadth of study required in each key stage. Responsibility for coverage of these topics has been allocated to certain year groups through highlighting. Any unhighlighted items in the breadth of study requirements will be covered by all year groups within a key stage.

• Chosen topics are discussed with the Curriculum Co-ordinator and recorded on the school’s long term plans for each half term.

 

Assessment and record keeping Assessment for History, Geography, Art and Design, Design and Technology and Music at Westmorland works in line with the Assertive Mentoring assessment documents used in Literacy and Mathematics.

 

• The key skills for each subject have been broken down into assessment statements which have subsequently been divided into levels 1-5.

• In every class, every child’s name is recorded on each subject assessment class grid at the appropriate level.

• Children are then assessed against each assessment statement as the key skills are taught.

• The codes of assessment are: .

• pupil has not met this assessment statement /

• pupil is working towards this assessment statement X

• pupil has met this assessment statement.

• After each topic, every child’s marks are totalled and this provides a sub level for each pupil’s attainment in each subject across all year groups.

• This assessment allows teachers to focus the children’s next steps in learning to address the gaps in their knowledge. Thus ensuring progression for every child, enabling them to meet their full potential in every subject.

• The assessment grids are kept by class teachers but also saved in an assessment area for all staff to access.

• At the end of the school year, the class assessment grids for every subject are passed on to the new teacher. This ensures progression within the key skills throughout the key stages.

 

Differentiation                                                                                                                              Differentiation within lessons is enabled and supported by the levelled assessment grids. A teacher will be able to clearly see the gaps in their classes’ knowledge in all subjects at all relevant levels. They can then use this information in a formative way to plan their coverage of the key skills. As such, learning intentions in individual lessons will be differentiated according to the ability of the pupils in the class. This differentiation will ensure that the creative curriculum meets the needs of all pupils within the school whilst also challenging them appropriately.

 

Cross-curricular connections                                                                                                           Topics taught in our creative curriculum, where possible, will be linked to Mathematics and Literacy teaching. For example, if Year 3 are teaching instructions in Literacy, they will then incorporate instructional texts based upon their chosen topic. This ensures that the children’s learning remains relevant and focused. Topic books will provide evidence of the key skills being taught.

 

Celebrations of success and display policy                                                                                           It is important that every child’s success across the Creative Curriculum is acknowledged and celebrated appropriately. One of the ways that this will be addressed is through display in classrooms and around school. There will also be opportunities for children to share their topic work in termly class assemblies, these are watched by parents and carers.

 

Resource management                                                                                                                  Classrooms have a store of basic resources. However, specialist resources and equipment will be centrally stored in the appropriate subject cupboards and, where appropriate, in topic boxes.

 

Role of the Subject Leader

At Westmorland Primary, subject leaders work together in Curriculum Teams who support each other to ensure continuity and progression across the subjects. The Curriculum teams are as follows:

• Language and Literacy - Literacy, ECAR, MFL, Phonics, ICT, EAL, Sign and Shine, EYFS- Communication and Language, EYFS- Literacy

• Pastoral - Parental Involvement, PSHCE,EYFS- Personal, Social and Emotional Development, Inclusion

• Creative - D&T, Art, Music, PE, EYFS- Expressive Arts and Design, EYFS- Physical Development

• Enquiry and Investigation - Numeracy, Science, EYFS- Mathematics

• Knowledge and Understanding of the World - History & Geography, RE, Educational Visits, EYFS- Understanding the World

 

The rational for the curriculum teams is to allow subject leaders to work collaboratively to improve standards in similar subjects. Some advantages to working in this way are:

• Greater collaborative learning between teachers

• Stronger links between key stages across the school

• A wider consultative base

• A system less likely to stall if individual teachers move on

• A greater opportunity for teachers to gain expertise for a range of subjects

 

The role of the Curriculum Teams is to:

• Ensure that the creative curriculum policy is implemented consistently throughout the school. · Collate and review assessment data to ensure progress throughout the school. · Ensure coverage of key skills and breadth of study across both key stages. This will be achieved through planning scrutiny, lesson observations and work scrutiny.

 

January 2014: The New National Curriculum

The Curriculum Leader has considered how the changes to the National Curriculum in September 2014 will effect Westmorland’s Creative Curriculum.

A Curriculum overview has been created to outline how the programmes of study will be achieved across each key stage and also allows meaningful links to be made between subjects. Topics for each half term have been shared with staff so that preparations can be made ready for the changes in September 2014. This includes additional planning and preparation time and subject leadership budgets to reflect the need to purchase additional resources. CPD for all teachers has been planned to ensure that teachers feel supported in delivering new subject content. A Mathematics and a Humanities consultant has worked with staff to support the changes to the planning, delivery and assessment of the Curriculum.

 

Years 3 and 4 (the first cohort to complete the new testing arrangements in 2016) have changed their delivery of Mathematics and Literacy from January 2014 and the children are responding well to these changes.