Our Curriculum

Stanton Cross Primary School | Art and Design Narrative

The following narrative sets out the current intent for the Art curriculum at Stanton Cross. As a growing school, this reflects both practice for the year groups currently in school and the ambition for the curriculum as the school grows to full capacity.

A quality art, craft and design curriculum will introduce children to the highest forms of human creativity. It will engage, inspire and challenge children; equipping them with the knowledge and skills to experiment, invent and create their own works of art, craft and design. The curriculum is focused on children learning to observe the world around them, being taught the skills of observational drawing and collating their ideas in a sketchbook, in readiness to be able to present their ideas creatively and proficiently through the medium of drawing, painting and sculpture.

The curriculum has been intentionally designed to ensure children develop a substantive knowledge (factual content) of artists and art forms alongside the development of disciplinary knowledge (the action taken within a specific subject to gain knowledge) as they master the skills of how to be an artist.

The following high dividend concepts have been identified as part of the Stanton Cross art and design curriculum: colour, line, tone, texture, pattern, shape and form. These will form the ‘Big Ideas’ through which drawing, painting and sculpture will be taught. Teachers will make explicit reference to where children have met these concepts before in the curriculum.

Art, craft and design embody some of the highest forms of human creativity. A high-quality art and design education should engage, inspire and challenge pupils, equipping them with the knowledge and skills to experiment, invent and create their own works of art, craft and design. As pupils progress, they should be able to think critically and develop a more rigorous understanding of art and design. They should also know how art and design both reflect and shape our history, and contribute to the culture, creativity and wealth of our nation. (National Curriculum 2014)

Stanton Cross’ Art curriculum is made up of four strands: mastery in drawing, painting and sculpture, experience of other additional art forms (working with an artist in residence), illustration of work and development of art appreciation as detailed below:

Through the NPAT Art curriculum children will be taught to master skills in drawing, painting and sculpture through a series of well-planned lessons within units of work that progress year on year. The emphasis on the teaching of sculpture will be mainly through the medium of ceramics; other media used to create sculpture will aid mastery of this art form. The children will be taught to think critically and develop a more rigorous understanding of art and design by investigating the work of a diverse range of artists, designers, and craftspeople (see NPAT Artists and Craftspeople Appendix). Through the rigour of the curriculum and by working alongside artists, children will know how art and design both reflect and shape our history, contribute to our culture, creativity, and wealth of the nation.

Schools will also provide opportunities for children to experience other additional art forms such as: printmaking, photography, video, textiles, or filmmaking in addition to the planned units of work. These short standalone experiences will be delivered to enhance and broaden the core art curriculum e.g., in Year Five children will work with an artist in residence as part of the annual RSC programme.

Children will use their drawing and painting skills to illustrate pieces of work throughout the curriculum. They will do this throughout the curriculum three times per year.

The trust has a unique and enduring partnership with the National Gallery. During their time in school, the children will develop art appreciation by exploring prominent artworks and artists within the National Gallery’s collection. Each year the children will undertake in-depth studies of the life and work of an influential artist.

These are: R: Titan ‘Bacchus and Ariadne’ 1523, Y1- JMW Turner ‘The Fighting Temeraire’ 1838, Y2 Jan Van Huysum; ‘Flowers in a terracotta vase’ 1736-7, Y3 George Bellows ‘Men of the Docks’ 1955 1533, Y4 (TOP), Y5 Hans Holbein ’The Ambassadors’, Y6 Van Gogh ‘Van Gogh’s chair’1888. The artist studied in Year 4 will be informed by the focus of the Take One Picture project that year.

The works chosen span the time period of the National Gallery’s collection and represent works that are narrative, landscape, still life, and portrait. The children will compare and contrast these paintings with other dynamic artworks created by a diverse range of other artists, designers and craft people at different times and in different cultures, using a variety of techniques and influences. All children will have the opportunity to visit the National Gallery in Year 4 to further enhance their knowledge and understanding of the work of an artist at first hand.

During EYFS, with reference to the NPAT Curriculum Frameworks for EYFS, children will begin to develop their artistic substantive and disciplinary knowledge through Expressive Arts and Design.

During KS1, with reference to the National Curriculum, children will be taught to use a range of materials creatively to design and make products. They will use drawing, painting and ceramics to develop and share their ideas, experiences and imagination. They will study an artist in depth and be taught the language to describe the differences and similarities between different practices and disciplines and make links to their own work. Children will apply their drawing and painting skills to illustrate a piece of work within the curriculum and bring this up to presentation standard each term.

During KS2, with reference to the National Curriculum, children will continue to build on and develop their techniques, including their control and their use of materials, with creativity, experimentation and an increasing awareness of various kinds of art, craft and design. They will improve their mastery of art and design techniques in drawing, painting and sculpture.

Horizontal links will be made in planning e.g., mark making which children complete in the drawing units leads into brush control in the painting units. All paintings will also start with an observational drawing.

Vertical links will be made in planning where knowledge and understanding are built upon from previous art units e.g., in Year One the children will be introduced to the concept of tone and mark dark and light markings to three tonal values. In Year Two this advances to four tonal values and by Year Three they will be marking to six tonal values.

Diagonal links will be made in planning, particularly where this is cross-curricular e.g., links to History e.g., in the Year Two drawing unit the children will draw local landmarks e.g., key buildings which the children will have learnt about in History. Units in the art curriculum are often “inspired by” other areas of the curriculum.

The NPAT curriculum and pedagogy will therefore enable children to begin secondary school with well-developed painting, drawing and sculpting skills. They will be able to critique artwork and draw on their knowledge of artists and craftspeople to do so.

They will be able to use appropriate artistic terms as well having a well-developed understanding of high dividend concepts.

Key Art vocabulary is specified and explicitly taught as part of the NPAT Art Curriculum. The development of vocabulary progresses throughout the Art curriculum.

Subject Documents

Stanton Cross Primary School | Design Technology Narrative 

The following narrative sets out the current intent for the Design Technology curriculum at Stanton Cross. As a growing school, this reflects both practice for the year groups currently in school and the ambition for the curriculum as the school grows to full capacity.  The narrative will also develop based upon the Trust wide focus of the Enthuse project.

Intent

Through our Design and Technology (DT) curriculum, learners use their creativity and imagination to design and make products that solve real and relevant problems within a wide variety of contexts.

We aim for all learners:

• To develop a curiosity about how things are made and how they work, as well as thinking creatively to problem solve and make products even better.
• To be able to consider their own and other's needs, wants and values within the designing and making process, ensuring their product has a purpose.
• To be equipped with the technical knowledge and vocabulary in relation to structural design, mechanical and electrical systems, textiles, food production and nutrition.
• To build and apply a repertoire of knowledge, understanding and skills in order to design and make high-quality prototypes and products for a wide range of users.
• To make connections and apply their knowledge of Mathematics, Science, Computing, and Art.
• to know how to take risks, develop new innovative designs and be reflective, evaluating their own work, as well as the design and work of others within school and the wider world.
• To understand and apply the principles of nutrition and learn how to cook.

Implementation:

Design and Technology is a crucial part of school life and learning. It provides children with the opportunity to build and apply skills such as problem solving, creativity and resilience, helping the children to develop their life skills that are important for their futures. For this reason, we are dedicated to the teaching and delivering of a high-quality Design and Technology curriculum.

This is implemented through:

• A well thought out, whole school, yearly overview of the DT curriculum which allows for progression across year groups in all areas of DT (textiles, mechanisms, structures, food and electrical systems).
• We have chosen to implement our DT curriculum using the planning, guidance and resources supplied through the scheme: PlanBee. We have chosen this scheme carefully because we feel it aligns with our intent and curriculum approach; it also meets the scope and ambition of the National Curriculum.
• We complete well planned and resourced design and technology projects to provide the children with practical, hands-on experiences.
• Teachers are given ownership and flexibility to teach the units across a term, whether this be teaching a lesson every two weeks, completing a week of afternoons or connecting two lessons of DT together in one afternoon where necessary.
• Each project from Year 1 to Year 6 addressing the principles of designing, making, and evaluating and incorporating relevant technical knowledge and understanding in relevant contexts.
• We are committed to ensuring the children understand that they are being designers, engineers and chefs throughout their design and technology experience.

Design and Technology learning in the Early Years

In Early Years, they will learn, through Expressive Arts and Design and Physical Development (fine motor skills), to:

• Use a range of small tools, including scissors, paintbrushes, cutlery and cooking utensils.
• Safely explore a variety of materials, tools and techniques, experimenting with colour, texture, form and function.
• Share their creations, explaining the process they have used.

There are also regular opportunities for children in the Early Years to develop knowledge of how to keep themselves healthy, including daily, structured snack time

Building on from Early Years

We have chosen to implement our DT curriculum using the planning, guidance and resources supplied through the scheme: PlanBee. We have chosen this scheme carefully because we feel it aligns with our intent and curriculum approach; it also meets the scope and ambition of the National Curriculum.

Our curriculum is progressive, providing opportunities for learners to revisit, build on and strengthen knowledge and skills they have previously learned. Learning is divided into units of textiles, structures, mechanical and electrical systems and nutrition/ food technology. Through each unit, learners also develop and apply the skills of investigating, designing, making and evaluating their products.

Design and Technology will be taught in all year groups, in blocks of approximately 6 lessons, three times a year – usually alternating with the teaching of Art and Design across a whole term. E.g Autumn term, Spring term and summer term.

Key DT vocabulary is specified and explicitly taught as part of the Curriculum. The development of vocabulary progresses throughout the DT curriculum.

 Subject Documents

Stanton Cross Primary School | Geography Narrative

The following narrative sets out the current intent for the Geography curriculum at Stanton Cross. As a growing school, this reflects both practice for the year groups currently in school and the ambition for the curriculum as the school grows to full capacity.

The NPAT Geography curriculum has been intentionally designed to ensure children develop substantive knowledge (factual content) alongside the development of disciplinary knowledge (the action taken within a specific subject to gain knowledge) as they learn the fundamental elements of what it is to be a geographer. Through key geographical high-dividend concepts, children will study a range of spaces including their local area and the wider world which is around them. The curriculum has been designed and sequenced to equip our children with a secure, coherent knowledge of their locality, the United Kingdom, weather patterns, and locations across the world. Units of work have been deliberately planned and sequenced within the long-term map to aid children’s retention of knowledge, using the principle of Cognitive Science.

The NPAT Geography curriculum is based on the National Curriculum 2014.

A high-quality geography education should inspire in pupils a curiosity and fascination about the world and its people that will remain with them for the rest of their lives. Teaching should equip pupils with knowledge about diverse places, people, resources and natural and human environments, together with a deep understanding of the Earth’s key physical and human processes. As pupils progress, their growing knowledge about the world should help them to deepen their understanding of the interaction between physical and human processes, and of the formation and use of landscapes and environments. Geographical knowledge, understanding and skills provide the frameworks and approaches that explain how the Earth’s features at different scales are shaped, interconnected and change over time. (National Curriculum 2014)

The following high dividend concepts have been identified as part of the NPAT Geography curriculum: change, culture and diversity, scale, sense of place, space, sustainability and the environment. These will form the ‘Big Ideas’ through which all geography will be taught. These form the key conceptual understanding through which geography is taught. The concepts are frequently reinforced and developed. Teachers will make explicit reference to where children have met the concepts previously in the curriculum. These concepts are defined in the NPAT High-Dividend Concept Progression document. The progression of these concepts from EYFS to Upper KS2 is mapped out in the NPAT High-Dividend Concept Progression in Geography document.

The teaching of geography is driven by an enquiry question approach that seeks to capitalise on children’s curiosity and prior learning. Units of work are structured around an overarching geographical enquiry to ensure teaching is focused and children are working towards clearly defined outcomes. The overarching enquiry is broken down into smaller sub-enquiries to provide incremental progression that grows over a series of lessons to allow learning of content to be more manageable. The geography pedagogy and curriculum has been developed to ensure learning is not just encountered but remembered. The substantive knowledge content is detailed within the unit planning and knowledge organiser, disciplinary knowledge is mapped out with in the NPAT Disciplinary Knowledge progression in Geography document as well as within unit planning. At the heart of our curriculum approach is retrieval practice and revisiting knowledge. Retrieval practice involves deliberately recalling knowledge from memory to make learning stick and become connected in the schema. Units of work refer to learning from previous units to enable children to build their geographical knowledge over time as they progress through the curriculum.

The curriculum has been carefully constructed to ensure children obtain a solid understanding of key geographical concepts as well as substantive and disciplinary knowledge. The knowledge content is specified in detail and is taught to be remembered, not just encountered. Knowledge is sequenced and mapped deliberately and coherently. There are vertical and horizontal links which ensure the construction of a secure geographical schema. There will also be opportunities to make diagonal links to other disciplines which have been explicitly planned for.

Horizontal links will be explicitly made. E.g., In Year 1, children will learn about their local area in the Autumn term, which will be built upon in the summer term through a study of their local area and another area of the UK. 

Vertical links will be made where knowledge and understanding are built upon from previous geography units e.g. In Year 3, the Autumn unit (From North to South – how are spaces in England different?) will build upon knowledge and understanding of space from the Year 2 unit (How is Northampton different to India?). In this Year 2 unit, there would be direct reference to Year 1 learning in the “Where do I live?” unit.

Diagonal links will be made, particularly where this is cross-curricular. e.g., links between Science and Geography - such as Environmental Change (Science) with Sustainability and the Environment (Geography) and Rocks, Soils and Fossils (Science) with Volcanoes (Geography).

Sustainability and the Environment are at the heart of the NPAT Geography curriculum with units explicitly linked in Years 1, 3, 5 and 6. It is also explored implicitly through the journey of the curriculum.

During EYFS, with reference to the NPAT Curriculum Frameworks for EYFS, children will begin to develop their geographical substantive, disciplinary and conceptual knowledge.

During Key Stage 1, children will begin to develop knowledge of their local area, an understanding of the United Kingdom, and the names of the 7 continents and 5 oceans. They will recognise weather patterns, seasonal changes and begin to learn basic geographical terms. They will use globes, maps and atlases, begin to compare locations and have opportunities to explore their immediate environment through fieldwork. The following areas of focus have been selected: Where do I live? How can I be sustainable in my local area? Where would you rather live – Northampton or Hunstanton? From farm to fork – how does your food travel? How is Northampton different to India? Are all deserts hot?. This range of units will build geographical knowledge and an awareness of the locality using fieldwork. It will provide the opportunity for children to develop their awareness of their locality to the wider world.

During Lower Key Stage 2, children will be given the opportunity to develop their knowledge of their locality and the wider world. The following areas of focus have been selected: From North to South – how are spaces in England different?  How do natural disasters impact Europe? What can England learn about sustainability from Europe? Why is the Rainforest Important to Me?  Are all rivers the same? Year Four will also participate in the National Gallery Take One Picture Programme with explicit geography links made to the painting each year.

During Upper Key Stage 2, children will broaden their locational knowledge to include a wide variety of places on each continent, including their main geographical characteristics. They will explore the natural processes of the Earth and consider the impact of people on our planet. They will continue to explore the world around them interpreting a range of sources of geographical information, including maps, diagrams, globes, aerial photographs and Geographical Information Systems which they will learn to use in detail. The following areas of focus have been selected: Where would you rather live- in Northampton, England or Northampton, USA? Canals and Rivers. What is the difference? Global Warming and Climate Change. Are they the same thing? Where is Africa and what is it like? Why is water so valuable? Sustainability and the Environment – how can I make a difference? 

 Key Geography vocabulary is specified and explicitly taught as part of the NPAT Geography Curriculum. The development of vocabulary progresses, is revisited and embedded throughout the curriculum journey.

Through engaging with the NPAT Geography curriculum from EYFS to Year Six children will move to secondary school with a sound locational knowledge of the world and an appreciation of the geographical features and events that make each space unique. They will understand similarities and differences across the world and be able to use geographical vocabulary to discuss these. They will be confident when using a variety of sources, including a range of maps and atlases. Children will understand how they, as Geographers can use fieldwork to increase their geographical knowledge and become proficient in applying this disciplinary knowledge. They will understand the importance of being sustainable and how they can affect the world around them positively.

Subject Documents

Stanton Cross Primary School | History Narrative

The following narrative sets out the current intent for the History curriculum at Stanton Cross. As a growing school, this reflects both practice for the year groups currently in school and the ambition for the curriculum as the school grows to full capacity.

The history curriculum has been intentionally designed to ensure children develop a substantive knowledge (factual content) alongside the development of disciplinary knowledge (the action taken within a specific subject to gain knowledge) as they learn the fundamental elements of what it is to be a historian. Through key historical high-dividend concepts, children will study a range of cultures and historical perspectives. The curriculum has been designed and sequenced to equip our children with a secure, coherent knowledge about local, British and world history with an understanding of influential key people, events and time periods from the past. This develops both subject proficiency and deeper learning associations in order for children to construct a secure historical schema. Units of work have been deliberately selected and sequenced within the Long-Term Map to aid children’s retention of knowledge, utilising the principles of Cognitive Science. 

A high-quality history education will help pupils gain a coherent knowledge and understanding of Britain’s past and that of the wider world. It should inspire pupils’ curiosity to know more about the past. Teaching should equip pupils to ask perceptive questions, think critically, weigh evidence, sift arguments, and develop perspective and judgement. History helps pupils to understand the complexity of people’s lives and the process of change over time, the diversity of societies and relationships between different groups, as well as their own identity and challenges of their time.

 (National Curriculum 2014)

The following high-dividend concepts have been identified as an integral part of the history curriculum: change, conflict, community, culture, legacy, locality, power (including monarchy) and trade. These form the key conceptual understanding through which history is taught; they are frequently reinforced and developed. Teachers will make explicit reference to where children have met these concepts previously in the curriculum.

The teaching of history is driven by an enquiry question approach that seeks to capitalise on children's curiosity and prior learning. Units of work are structured around an overarching historical enquiry to ensure teaching is focused and children are working towards a clearly defined outcome. The overarching enquiry is broken down into small sub-enquiries to provide incremental progression that grows over a series of lessons to allow learning of content more manageable. The history pedagogy and curriculum has been developed to ensure learning is not just encountered but remembered.  The substantive knowledge content is detailed within the unit planning and knowledge organiser; disciplinary knowledge is mapped out in the NPAT Disciplinary Knowledge Progression in History document, as well as within unit planning. At the heart of our approach is retrieval practice and revisiting knowledge. Retrieval practice involves deliberately recalling knowledge from memory to make learning more robust and connected.  Units of work refer to learning from previous units to enable children to grapple with historical concepts such as 'continuity and change', and 'similarity and difference' (see links referenced below). Units of work have been intentionally selected and sequenced to ensure children have knowledge of historically significant men and women from a range of diverse cultures. 

Horizontal links are explicitly made e.g., Year Three children learn about the impact of the Romans on Britain in Autumn One, including the invasion, culture, the rebellion of the Celts and the Roman legacy. When children learn about the Anglo-Saxons teachers will explicitly link the chronology, how the culture of the Anglo-Saxons was different to that of the Romans etc. Where there is legacy within a time period then this will be explored explicitly. If there is no real legacy, then this will also be explored.

Vertical links will be made where knowledge and understanding are built upon from previous history units. E.g., In Year Two, the Great Fire of London unit will build upon knowledge and understanding from the Year Two unit, the Great Fire of Northampton.

Diagonal links will be made, particularly where this is cross-curricular. e.g., links between History and Geography: such as the Year One Term Five Northampton Boot and Shoe Industry (History) with the Year One Term Two unit Where Do I Live? (Geography), Year Three Term Three The Romans (History) with the Year Three Term Four unit How do Natural Disasters Impact Europe? (Geography) and the Year Four Term Five unit Ancient Egypt (History) with Year Four Term Six unit Are all Rivers the Same? (Geography). Links between History and Science: such as the Year Five Term One unit The Industrial Revolution (History), Year Five Terms Three and Four Properties and Changes of Materials and the Year Six Term Two unit Evolution and Inheritance (Science).

During EYFS, with reference to the NPAT Curriculum Frameworks for EYFS, children will begin to develop their historical substantive, disciplinary and conceptual knowledge through Understanding the World – Past and Present.

During KS1, with reference to the National Curriculum, children will develop their knowledge of changes within living memory, the lives of significant individuals and historic events that occurred nationally or within their locality. The range of units selected will build both historical substantive and disciplinary knowledge. The following units of work have been selected: Past and Present, Edith Cavell and Mary Seacole, the Northampton Boot and Shoe Industry, The Great Fire of Northampton, Christopher Columbus and Neil Armstrong and The Great Fire of London. They will also complete two short units in each year about Remembrance Day and The Gunpowder Plot.

By the end of KS2, with reference to the National Curriculum, children will gain coherent knowledge and understanding of Britain’s past and that of the wider world and of the legacy both at the time and that still influences our lives today. This has been done through attention to chronology, the study of a range of time periods, and through the study of local history. The range of units selected will continue to build both historical substantive and disciplinary knowledge.

During Lower Key Stage 2 the following units of work have been selected: The Stone Age through to the Iron Age, The Romans, Anglo-Saxons, Vikings, a School Designed Local History study and Ancient Egypt. Opportunities to develop their understanding of local history are explicit throughout.

During Upper Key Stage 2, the following units of work have been selected: The Industrial Revolution, Shakespeare in the time of the Tudors, Walter Tull (World War I), World War II, Benin AD 900 – 1300 and Ancient Greece. Local historical knowledge will continue to be developed through the study of Walter Tull in Year Five. 

The NPAT History curriculum reflects our various localities to ensure children have a rich understanding of their local heritage as well as changes over time. Local history is woven into our history curriculum to ensure it is explicitly taught in Years One, Two, Four and Five and that links with larger historical themes are made. For example, in Year One, Northamptonshire children learn about the Boot and Shoe Industry, its relevance, legacy and historical significance to the local area. In Year Five, children in Northamptonshire schools learn about Walter Tull a local war hero, and football legend. The NPAT curriculum and pedagogy will therefore enable children to begin secondary school being able to articulate, with a secure chronological knowledge, aspects of local, British and world history. They will be able to use appropriate historical terms as well as note connections, contrasts and trends over time.

Key History vocabulary is specified and explicitly taught as part of the NPAT History Curriculum. The development of vocabulary progresses throughout the History curriculum.

Subject Documents

Stanton Cross Primary School | Modern Foreign Language Narrative

Introduction

Learning a foreign language is part of the primary National Curriculum and is a requirement for all children within key stage 2 (KS2). Stanton Cross Primary School  has adopted a whole school approach to the teaching of French to all KS2 pupils.

Aims

Our aim is to develop the confidence and competence of each child in the foreign language they are learning. Our goal is for them to be passionate, curious and confident about their own foreign language learning abilities when they finish the primary school phase of their education.

We will help them develop and demonstrate substantial progress in the 5 key language skills necessary for learning French:

• Speaking
• Listening
• Reading
• Writing
• Grammar

We aim to ensure that pupils of all abilities develop solid foundations in these key language learning skills - properly preparing them for the next stage of their language learning journey. These skills will develop children’s ability to understand what they hear and read and enable them to express themselves in speech and writing. We will extend their knowledge of how language works and explore the similarities and differences between the foreign language they are learning and English. We will also help strengthen their sense of identity through learning about culture in other countries and comparing it with their own.

Teaching and Learning Overview

Our whole school approach to language teaching and learning is in line with the recommendations of the National Curriculum and the requirements outlined in the Department for Education Languages Programme of Study for Key Stage 2.

The National Curriculum for languages aims to ensure that all pupils:

• Understand and respond to spoken and written language from a variety of authentic sources
• Speak with increasing confidence, fluency and spontaneity, finding ways of communicating what they want to say, including through discussion and asking questions, and continually improving the accuracy of their pronunciation and intonation
• Can write at varying length, for different purposes and audiences, using the variety of grammatical structures that they have learnt
• Discover and develop an appreciation of a range of authentic writing in the language studied.

By the end of key stage 2, pupils should be able to:

1. Listen attentively to spoken language and show understanding by joining in and responding.
2. Explore the patterns and sounds of language through songs and rhymes and link the spelling, sound and meaning of words.
3. Engage in conversations; ask and answer questions; express opinions and respond to those of others; seek clarification and help.
4. Speak in sentences, using familiar vocabulary, phrases and basic language structures.
5. Develop accurate pronunciation and intonation so that others understand when they are reading aloud or using familiar words and phrases.
6. Present ideas and information orally to a range of audiences.
7. Read carefully and show understanding of words, phrases and simple writing.
8. Appreciate stories, songs, poems and rhymes in the language.
9. Broaden their vocabulary and develop their ability to understand new words that are introduced into familiar written material, including through using a dictionary.
10. Write phrases from memory, and adapt these to create new sentences, to express ideas clearly.
11. Describe people, places, things and actions orally and in writing.
12. Understand basic grammar appropriate to the language being studied, including (where relevant): feminine, masculine and neuter forms and the conjugation of high-frequency verbs; key features and patterns of the language; how to apply these, for instance, to build sentences; and how these differ from or are similar to English.  

Displays of the topics being taught in French will be displayed around individual classrooms (if space allows) or will feature on a general school board.

Organisation & Delivery

French is taught in a whole-class setting by the class teacher or language specialist and is therefore not reliant on one key member of staff.

Teachers plan their lessons using the Language Angels scheme of work and can supplement this with their own ideas and experience and those of their colleagues.

The lessons are designed to motivate, captivate and interest children from the first moment. They have clear, achievable objectives and incorporate different learning styles. SEN children have access to the curriculum through variation of task, grouping or support from an adult.

Each class has a timetabled lesson of at least thirty minutes per fortnight.

French can also be revisited in short sessions throughout the week to consolidate knowledge and ensure new language is retained.

French lessons include:

• PowerPoints and interactive whiteboard materials
• Interactive games (which pupils can access from home to consolidate their learning)
• Songs & raps
• Differentiated desk-based consolidation activities
• Worksheets (at three different levels of challenge) are provided throughout each teaching unit and can be used in class or can be sent home to be completed as a homework exercise

Each lesson will focus on a combination of the 5 key language learning skills (speaking, listening, reading, writing and grammar). 

Below is an example outline of the units we will cover throughout KS2:

* Core Vocabulary lessons cover; Classroom Commands; Colours; Days Of The Week; Maths Calculations; Months Of The Year; Numbers 1 – 100; Maths Calculations.

Resources

The Language Angels scheme is a fully online resource enabling all teachers in all classes to have instant and continuous access to all the resources they need to teach whichever lesson they choose.  

Evidence of Teaching & Learning and Transition at End of Key Stage

Where appropriate worksheets completed by the children may be kept in their books which can be passed through the years and become a portfolio of their learning. Teachers can also upload scans of pupil written work along with audio and video recordings of pupils speaking and presenting in French to a centralised secure file store on their Tracking & Progression Tool.   

All of this information along with the pupil’s individual Learning & Progression Timeline and skills progress reports can be forwarded to their secondary school at time of transition.

Assessment of Pupil Learning & Progression

Two forms of assessment are available at the end of every Language Angels unit:

1. Peer and self-assessment ‘I can do…’ grids. A quick and easy way for all pupils in the class to record which units they have completed and the progress they are making.
2. More detailed skills based assessments using bespoke skills assessment worksheets. This form of assessment enables us to determine the learning and progression of all pupils in the key language learning skills as well as monitoring their progress against the 12 attainment targets stipulated in the DfE Languages Programme of Study for Key Stage 2.

Monitoring and evaluation

The Subject Leader monitors the effectiveness of the language teaching provided throughout the school via regular termly observations with feedback given to teachers delivering foreign language lessons. The Subject Leader and class teacher will together monitor the learning and progression made by pupils across the key stage.

The Subject Leader will encourage, where appropriate, class assemblies and presentations in French. They will also encourage cross-curricular topics be taught in French to knit together various areas of the curriculum.

All data, ranging from evidence of classroom teaching to individual pupil skills reports, is securely stored on a password protected database. This can be accessed by class teachers, the Subject Leader and SLT so all key stakeholders can evaluate delivery, performance and progress. This data can be presented to parents at parent-teacher meetings and will also be used to ensure the Foreign Languages SEF is updated as appropriate.

Subject Documents

Stanton Cross Primary School | Music Narrative 

The following narrative sets out the current intent for the Music curriculum at Stanton Cross. As a growing school, this reflects both practice for the year groups currently in school and the ambition for the curriculum as the school grows to full capacity. 

Music is a universal language that embodies one of the highest forms of creativity. A high-quality music education should engage and inspire pupils to develop a love of music and their talent as musicians, and so increase their self-confidence, creativity and sense of achievement. As pupils progress, they should develop a critical engagement with music, allowing them to compose, and to listen with discrimination to the best in the musical canon.

(National Curriculum 2014)

The music curriculum has been intentionally designed to ensure children develop a substantive knowledge (factual content) alongside the development of disciplinary knowledge (the action taken within a specific subject to gain knowledge) as they learn the fundamental elements of what it is to be a musician. Units of work have been deliberately selected and sequenced within the Long-Term Map to aid children’s retention of knowledge, utilising the principles of Cognitive Science. 

Disciplinary knowledge in music is the interpretation of the interrelated dimensions of music and how this knowledge is used when singing, playing instruments, improvising and composing, to develop creative and original pieces and performances. 

At Stanton Cross Primary School, it is our intention that our music curriculum is aspirational, enabling, inclusive and enriching. We intend to teach music so that our pupils enjoy and gain knowledge of how music making and music appreciation can enrich their lives. Our music curriculum is intended to:

• Give children the opportunity to appreciate, perform, understand and compose music from a range of times, traditions, genres and composers.
• Enable children to sing and play musically with increased confidence and control.
• Give all children an opportunity to learn/play a musical instrument.
• Ensure our children develop the technical vocabulary which will help them understand and appreciate music.
• Encourage mental health and wellbeing by bringing the whole school community together through music.

Working in partnership and with our local Music Hub (Northampton Music and Performing Arts Trust), we intend to create a strong musical culture within our school. Music has the power to foster connections within the brain which will improve memory, coordination and wellbeing.

The skills involved in playing and listening to music will also help learners develop the self-esteem, self-discipline, cooperation, creativity, and self-motivation necessary for success. We aim to establish a lifelong passion for music as an art form is that it is accessible to all. It is an art form that is entwined into the fabric of our lives, and we aim to enable children to enrich their experience of all types of music, grow in confidence as they develop their performance skills and become passionate in their responses to music.

Music is taught every week by class teachers using the Sparkyard Music Curriculum. As Stanton Cross grows, projects and instrumental lessons will be taught throughout the school by Specialist teachers from Northampton Music and Performing Arts Trust.  Specialist teaching ensures all pupils access high quality teaching from staff who are confident and passionate practitioners. This allows pupils to access a wide range of music from across all genres and time periods. 

During EYFS, with reference to the NPAT Curriculum Frameworks for EYFS, children will begin to develop their love and learning of music through Communication and Language, Expressive Arts and Design and Personal Development.

Children will:

• Sing a wide range of nursery rhymes and songs (this is also mapped out in our writing curriculum and part of our oracy)
• Perform songs, rhymes, poems and stories with others and try to move in time to music.
• Combine different movements with fluency
• Listen carefully to songs and rhymes, paying attention to how they sound.
• Explore, use and refine a variety of artistic effects to express their ideas and feelings
• EYFS children are also allocated a performance poem in line with the rest of the school in the Spring term

Children in the Early Years have a music lesson taught by a specialist teacher once a week.

Building on the Early Years

As a school, we have adopted Sparkyard’s music curriculum (based on The Model Music Curriculum) which is logically sequenced with clear progression of substantive and disciplinary knowledge. It has been written by specialists, encompasses our ethos for high quality music teaching and has clear end points with content logically chunked over time which builds towards these outcomes.

The units taught involve:

• Listening and appraising
• Learning to play a range of instruments
• Singing
• Learning ways to show musical notation
• Reading musical notation
• Creating their own compositions

During KS1, with reference to the National Curriculum, children will learn to use their voices expressively and creatively by singing songs and speaking chants and rhymes, play tuned and untuned instruments musically, listen with concentration and understanding to a range of high-quality live and recorded music and experiment with, create, select and combine sounds using the inter-related dimensions of music.

During KS2, with reference to the National Curriculum, be taught to sing and play musically with increasing confidence and control. They will develop an understanding of musical composition, organising and manipulating ideas within musical structures and reproducing sounds from aural memory, play and perform in solo and ensemble contexts, using their voices and playing musical instruments with increasing accuracy, fluency, control and expression, improvise and compose music for a range of purposes using the inter-related dimensions of music, listen with attention to detail and recall sounds with increasing aural memory, use and understand staff and other musical notations, appreciate and understand a wide range of high-quality live and recorded music drawn from different traditions and from great composers and musicians and develop an understanding of the history of music.

Key music vocabulary is specified and explicitly taught as part of the Stanton Cross curriculum. The development of vocabulary progresses throughout the music curriculum.

Enrichment and the Co-Curriculum

During the school year, our children have the opportunity to see live musical performances from visiting music practitioners from the NMPAT Music Hub. During Assemblies, children have opportunities to listen to music from different composers, genres and and sing age-appropriate songs.

In time, in addition to the curriculum music teaching, children are offered the opportunity to study a musical instrument with peripatetic teachers. Children are encouraged to perform and show their progress to their peers during class and school assemblies. All instrument learners are also given the chance to showcase their talents and progress.

As we grow, we will have a school choir who will take part in performances in the community and the wider area. Performances will include singing to residents at local care homes, singing at special school events, performing at the Wellingborough Castle Theatre and Northampton’s Derngate Theatre.

The impact of our music curriculum is measured through:

• Pupil voice/discussion and by how they are able to talk about and appreciate a range of Music.
  • Observations of pupil performances including singing and school productions
  • Evaluating compositions.
  • Achieving awards and quality marks such as: Music Mark to bench mark our provision and outcomes against.

Assessments should show a development of vocabulary, musical knowledge (substantive and disciplinary) and application of skill.  Class teachers will liaise with visiting specialists to share information on pupil performance, outcomes and attainment. They also provide information for our Parents’ Evenings and Annual Reports

Subject Documents

Stanton Cross Primary School | Personal, Social, Health Education (PHSE) Narrative 

The following narrative sets out the current intent for the PSHE curriculum at Stanton Cross. As a growing school, this reflects both practice for the year groups currently in school and the ambition for the curriculum as the school grows to full capacity.

At Stanton Cross Primary School, our PSHE curriculum is adaptive, enabling and inclusive; it sits at the heart of everything that we do. We value the importance of developing our children as local, national and global, healthy citizens and every year children know more, do more and remember more.

The overarching aims of our curriculum is that children will:

• Develop the knowledge, skills and attributes that they need to navigate their lives now and in the future.
• Understand how to keep healthy and safe; including how to have purposeful and reciprocal relationships.
• Understand the importance of valuing similarities and differences and how to recognise and manage their emotions.

Underpinning all learning and woven throughout will be the British Values of:

• Democracy,
• Rule of Law,
• Individual Liberty,
• Mutual Respect and
• Tolerance

We took the strategic decision to adopt the Jigsaw programme to deliver our PSHE curriculum as it builds on our already good practice, is grounded in research and follows a comprehensive and progressive coverage of key concepts. Through the implementation of this curriculum, it is intended that children are taught how to navigate their changing world and supported to develop positive relationships with themselves and others. 

During Key Stage 1, children will

• Have a positive relationship with themselves, peers and adults within the school
• Demonstrate a healthy attitude towards school and learning
• Begin to demonstrate the British Values of democracy, tolerance, mutual respect, the rule of law and liberty
• Know how to stay safe in their physical and digital worlds
• Begin to have an awareness of their own mental health and well-being
• Begin to develop an inclusive attitude that challenges discrimination in all of its forms
• Understand the changes that happen to themselves and other animals and have taken part in age appropriate RSE

During Key Stage 2, children will

• Have a positive relationship with themselves and the wider school community
• Have developed a positive body image
• Demonstrate a healthy attitude towards learning and its place in their future
• Understand what constitutes as a healthy relationship and how to seek help if they find themselves in an unhealthy situation
• Have respect for themselves and others
• Know how to stay safe in their digital and physical world
• Have an inclusive attitude that actively challenges discrimination in all of its forms
• Have an awareness and understanding of their own mental health and wellbeing and know where to turn for help should they need it
• Understand change and have strategies to draw on when they need to approach changes in their lives
• Understand the physical aspects involved with RSE at a developmentally appropriate level

Key PSHE vocabulary is specified and explicitly taught as part of the Curriculum. The development of vocabulary progresses, is revisited and embedded throughout the curriculum journey.

Emotional Literacy and Intelligence

It is our intention that Emotional Literacy is integral to our curriculum. Emotional intelligence has been defined as:

‘...the ability to perceive accurately, appraise and express emotion, the ability to access and/or generate feelings when they facilitate thought, the ability to understand emotion and emotional knowledge; and the ability to regulate emotions to promote emotional and intellectual growth’ (Salovey & Sluyter, 1997, p.10).

The Jigsaw approach facilitates this and by the end of their progression through the programme children will have:

• Built resilience,
• Nurtured their physical and mental health and
• Developed an emotional awareness alongside positive learning behaviours.

Impact

Due to the personal nature of the subject, PSHE needs to be assessed in a distinctive way. Progress and attainment will manifest itself through:

• The routines and expectations lived everyday at Stanton Cross and how children interact with adults, peers and view themselves.
• Pupil’s manners and positive learning behaviours.
• In the conversations that children hold and the values which they display.
• Work and the reflections children complete

Subject leaders will monitor its implementation through pupil voice, conversations with staff and learning walks.

The following narrative sets out the current intent for the P.E. curriculum at Stanton Cross. As a growing school, this reflects both practice for the year groups currently in school and the ambition for the curriculum as the school grows to full capacity.

The P.E. curriculum has been intentionally designed to ensure children develop a substantive knowledge (factual content) alongside the development of disciplinary knowledge (the action taken within a specific subject to gain knowledge) as they learn the fundamental elements of P.E., units of work have been deliberately selected and sequenced within the Long-Term Map to aid children’s retention of knowledge, utilising the principles of Cognitive Science. 

We intend for our curriculum to:

1. Be ambitious for all our pupils.
2. Inspire all pupils to enjoy, succeed and take part in a range of Physical Activities including gymnastics, dance, games, competitive and non-competitive sports which can benefit to developing competence in the Gross Motor skills and Fundamental Movement Skills.
3. Provide opportunities for pupils to become physically confident in a way, which supports their health and fitness.
4. Provide our children with ambitious opportunities to compete in sport and other activities to build character and help to embed core values such as fairness, sporting behaviour and respect.
5. Teach our children a range of sports and allow opportunities for children to continually develop an understanding of these, whilst applying and using a range of rules, strategies and tactics.
6. Teach our children how to live a healthy and active lifestyle and understand the importance of health living and healthy participation
7. Develop an understanding of the benefits sport can have on their physical and mental health as well as raise their self-esteem.
8. Teach our children about the world of sport including athletes and significant competitions e.g. the Olympics and World Cup etc.
9. Be taught by highly-skilled practitioners.

Every child at Stanton Cross Primary school receives at least 2 hours of PE a week. The children are also given opportunities at break times and lunchtimes, to take part in physical activities and develop and foster a love for PE/sport.

At Stanton Cross, we use The PE hub as our whole school PE approach. We chose this curriculum because it is adaptive, inclusive of SEND and EYFS.

PE Hub provides coverage of the National Curriculum by dividing it up into three Main areas;

1. Physically competent, physically active.
2. Tactics & strategies, decision maker, creative and competitive.
3. I can, I want to, I will.

Each of these areas are taught via competitive games, activities and games-based scenarios.

In time, and as appropriate, we will engage in district sports competitions and may engage Specialist Sports Coaches to deliver our PE curriculum as overseen by the PE lead.

All children, by the time they leave KS2 will have been given the opportunity to attend swimming lessons and swim 25m. We use part of our Sports Premium to fund ‘Top Up’ lessons for those that require it.

The Early Years

From the start of the Early Years, we immerse our pupils in a love for PE, fostering the fundamental movement skills alongside teamwork and co-operation.

We also use The PE Hub in the Early Years as it complements their learning in: PSED, EAD and PD lessons. The children will learn to: 

• Be confident in trying new activities with independence
• Explain the reasons for rules and follow them
• Manage their own self-care needs
• Work and play cooperatively
• Negotiate spaces and objects safely
• Demonstrate balance, strength and coordination when playing
• Move energetically such as running, jumping, skipping, climbing and dancing
• Perform rhymes, songs, poems and stories with others and try to move in time with music.

This then supports cumulative and progressive learning into, and beyond, Year 1.

Building on from the Early Years

Throughout their time in Key Stage 1, our children will become increasingly competent and confident in accessing a broad range of opportunities to extend their agility, balance and coordination, individually and with others. The children will engage in competitive, non-competitive and co-operative physical activities, in a range of situations which are all aligned to the National Curriculum requirements. 

In Key Stage 2, the children will continue to develop the fundamental skills which have been taught in Key Stage 1. Throughout the time the children are in Key Stage 2, we allow the children to apply and develop these skills through, a range of competitive games and scenarios.

Enrichment

We have engaged with Matrix gymnastics and Huxlow Secondary school to provide high quality gymnastics and dance sessions.

Huxlow have also organised and run a Spots Day with their Young Leaders.

Children in Key Stage 2 will have Sports leadership opportunities.

Children in Year 6 will take part in bikeability.

The school holds an annual Wellbeing day ensuring that the children learn the importance of health and exercise. This event is both competitive and non-competitive. During the fortnight the pupils are taught a range of sports and are teachers ensure they are physically active as often as possible. Pupils are reminded of healthy eating and making healthy life choices.

As school grows, we will be part of the Northamptonshire Sport Partnership, taking part in a range of sporting competitions such as: Tag Rugby, Cross Country, Sportshall Athletics, Gymnastics, Benchball, Arrows and Archery, Inclusive Arrows and Archery, Quicksticks Hockey, Netball, Quadkids Athletics, Football and Rounders.

We currently offer a tennis club before school and, in time, will offer a range of before and after extra-curricular clubs. Many of these are taught by external agencies. We believe by using external agencies it allows specialist subject knowledge to be passed onto the children to develop and foster a passion for a particular sporting area.

Although we mostly use a non-competitive basis in school we also believe that it is important in developing healthy competition through competitive small games, as we believe this develops the whole child’s approach to Physical education in being able to take part as a team and building a strong ethos of teamwork and the correct sporting behaviour and how each child can conduct themselves in all lessons.

Impact

The impact of our PE curriculum will be assessed through a multi–faceted approach including:

• The PE Hub and NPAT assessment framework s.

• Teacher observations and questioning.
  • children participating well in PE lessons, demonstrating the ability to work individually, work with others and cooperate and contribute to working as a team.

• Pupil voice: children enjoying and can talking positively about games, gym and dance.

• Pupil voice: children understanding the importance of a healthy lifestyle and are able to discuss this with others.

• In time, our dance productions will be of a high standard – these productions are seen by other NPAT schools in our trust as well as being viewed by parents.

• Children learning to swim 25m by the end of KS2.

• Attendance at extra-curricular clubs by pupils of all ages.

Subject Documents

Stanton Cross Primary School | RE Narrative

The following narrative sets out the current intent for the RE curriculum at Stanton Cross. As a growing school, this reflects both practice for the year groups currently in school and the ambition for the curriculum as the school grows to full capacity.

Children are growing up in world where there is increasing awareness of diversity of religious and non-religious world views. It is therefore vital that the RE curriculum provides a rigorous and rich study of religious and non-religious worldviews. A quality RE curriculum creates another space for respect, exploration and understanding of the diversity of world views and belief systems. “RE is an important curriculum subject. It is important in its own right, and it also makes a unique contribution to the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of pupils and supports wider community cohesion.” (Religious Education in English Schools: Non-statutory guidance 2010). Learning about religion and worldviews will help the children to develop respect, understanding and empathy for others. They will be provided with a safe space in which to have deep, meaningful discussions during which they learn to respectfully understand, challenge and accept differing viewpoints, to reflect critically and responsibly on their own spiritual, philosophical and ethical convictions. 

During EYFS, with reference to the NPAT Curriculum Frameworks for EYFS, children will begin to develop their scientific substantive, disciplinary and conceptual knowledge though Understanding the World – People, Cultures and Communities.

During KS1, children will explore and develop their knowledge and understanding of beliefs and practices of Christianity, Judaism and Islam. Children will start with concepts that are more personal to them and their communities.  Once they have looked through this lens, they are able to move outwards linking their community/network to faith.  They will be encouraged to raise questions and begin to express their own views in response to the material they learn about and in response to questions about their ideas.  To compare and contrast religions and religious beliefs children need to understand various world faiths.  This will help them to understand why their own community may follow certain traditions or celebrations.  Judaism has been introduced early on so that children understand that The Old Testament is important to Judaism as well as Christianity.   It is important in today’s society that children understand the origins of Islam and that it is a peaceful religion.  Children are introduced to big questions and have the chance to agree and respectfully disagree with each other, knowing it is acceptable to have different views.  For example, children are asked to think about why it is important to look after the world, whether they are religious or non-religious.

During KS2, the RE curriculum provides opportunities for children to make connections between their knowledge and understanding of Christianity and the religious traditions and beliefs in Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Sikhism, Buddhism and those of no faith. They will be provided with learning opportunities to make connections between the beliefs of others and their own lives and their way of understanding the world.

During Lower KS2, the following areas of focus have been selected: Christianity - Creation, Jesus as a loving and caring person, The Old Testament (Promises), Pentecost, Festivals – Christmas through light and love, Ramadan, Passover and Easter, Hinduism, Sacred books and Commitments. Through Hinduism children are introduced to the first non-Abrahamic faith and are starting to see greater differences between different faiths.

During Upper KS2, children continue to make connections in the following areas of focus that have been selected: Christmas through Peace, Judaism, Buddhism, Stories of Faith, Christianity through the arts, Islam, Humanism, The Old Testament (Freedom), Creation and Science, Sikhism and Pilgrimage.

The following high dividend concepts have been identified as part of the NPAT RE curriculum:  belief, worship, festivals and community. These will form the ‘Big Ideas’ through which all RE will be taught. Teachers will make explicit reference to where children have met these concepts before in the curriculum. As a child progresses through school, core concepts are expanded upon and explored in greater depth. Some units are thematic. These units refer to more than one religion to explore a religious concept such as sacred books, worship or life as a journey. The RE curriculum has been carefully constructed to ensure children acquire a rich deep knowledge and understanding of belief and practice. Children are given opportunities to use reasoned arguments and debate to explore differing controversial views in a familiar and supportive environment. They explore current social injustice which exists in the world. Thus, enabling children to make connections between differing faiths and beliefs and their own lives and ways of understanding the world.

The curriculum has been carefully sequenced to ensure a progression in substantive and disciplinary knowledge and to reveal the interplay between them. The content is specified in detail and is taught to be remembered, not just encountered. Disciplinary knowledge is embedded within the most appropriate substantive context. Teachers will make explicit reference to prior learning and planning will identify relevant links throughout the curriculum:

Horizontal links will be explicitly made e.g. In Year 1, children begin by learning about belonging to communities and faith and then later pick up the Jewish holy book when learning about the Torah in their Judaism unit.  They also learn about the Creation story at the end of the year.

Vertical links will be made where knowledge and understanding are built upon from previous RE units e.g., in Year 4 Holy Week builds upon knowledge and understanding from the Year 2 unit on Easter.

Diagonal links will be made, particularly where this is cross-curricular. e.g., links between RE, Science and Geography such as Environmental Change (Science) with Rainforest and the story of Creation and RE and Science – Crenation and Science with Adaptation and Evolution (Science).

Key RE vocabulary is specified and explicitly taught as part of the NPAT RE Curriculum. The development of vocabulary progresses throughout the RE curriculum.

Legal Requirements

Religious Education must be provided for all registered pupils in full time education except those withdrawn at their parents’ request. (DfE Circular 1/94, paragraphs 44 & 49, and Non-Statutory Guidance 2010 page 28). The law relating to Religious Education for pupils who are not yet in Key Stage 1 is different from that relating to subjects of the National Curriculum. As Religious Education must be taught to ‘all registered pupils at the school’, it includes pupils in reception classes, but not those in nursery classes or playgroups.

Right of Withdrawal

In keeping with the law, parents may withdraw their children from Religious Education provided they give written notification to the school. Parents are not required to give their reasons for wanting to do so. The school must ensure that suitable supervision is provided for the pupil. However, in view of our ethos and values, anc ommitment to inclusivity and diversity, we would hope that all pupils will participate fully in RE, and that anyone wishing to withdraw their child would discuss this with the Head Teacher before making such a decision.

Subject Documents

Stanton cross Primary School | Science Narrative

The following narrative sets out the current intent for the Science curriculum at Stanton Cross. As a growing school, this reflects both practice for the year groups currently in school and the ambition for the curriculum as the school grows to full capacity.

A quality science curriculum will support children in gaining a fascination for – and understanding of - the world around them. They will become curious about our planet and gain a desire to learn more about the physical and natural phenomena to be found both there and in the wider universe. They will learn about: the physical laws and principles which have shaped our world and maintained the systems found therein; the chemical processes and concepts controlling all forms of matter; the diversity and inter-relatedness of all living things, with particular emphasis on the life processes which are essential to the maintenance and health of the human body. They will learn about the effects that science has on our everyday lives and will develop a sense of responsibility for the care of our world, recognising how an understanding of science is essential in the preservation of our natural and human environments and of how resources can be managed sustainably.

During EYFS, with reference to the Stanton Cross Curriculum Frameworks for EYFS, children will begin to develop their scientific substantive, disciplinary and conceptual knowledge though Understanding the World – The Natural World.

During KS1 children will be given the opportunity to experience and observe phenomena, exploring in ever-increasing detail the natural and humanly constructed world around them, as specified in the National Curriculum. They will be encouraged to be curious and to ask questions about what they notice. The following areas of focus have been selected: identifying and naming common plants and animals; identifying body parts; exploring plant structure and growth; investigating habitats and the inter-relatedness of all living things; investigating materials and their properties. This range of units will foster greater self-awareness and encourage an understanding of the natural and material world through investigation and problem-solving, hence inspiring an interest in - and a responsibility towards - the balance of nature and the wider world around them.

During Lower KS2, children will be given the opportunity to broaden their scientific view of the world around them. The following areas of focus have been selected: human biology (including nutrition, the digestive system and the functions of the skeleton and muscles); plants; classification; environmental change; states of matter; rocks; light and sound; frictional force and magnets. This range of units will provide pupils with a broad grounding in the scientific disciplines of biology, chemistry and physics.

During Upper KS2, children will be given the opportunity to develop a deeper understanding of a wide range of scientific ideas. They will encounter more abstract concepts and begin to recognise how these will help them to understand and predict how the world operates. They will begin to recognise that scientific ideas change and develop over time. The following areas of focus have been selected: human biology (including the circulatory system and healthy lifestyles); evolution and inheritance; classification; life cycles; material science; forces; light; electricity; Earth and space. This range of units will complete a broad and comprehensive science education within the disciplines of biology, chemistry and physics in readiness for the challenges of secondary school science.

The following high dividend concepts have been identified as part of the Stanton Cross Primary science curriculum: Energy, Forces, Matter, Earth and Space, Life, Evolution. These will form the ‘Big Ideas’ through which all science will be taught.

The curriculum has been carefully sequenced to ensure a progression in substantive and disciplinary knowledge and to reveal the interplay between them. Children will obtain a solid understanding and knowledge of the key scientific concepts, laws, theories and models of science as well as the knowledge of the practices of science. This is a knowledge-rich science curriculum. The content is specified in detail and is taught to be remembered, not just encountered. Disciplinary knowledge - in the form of Enquiry (and the associated investigative skills) - is embedded within the most appropriate substantive context. Teachers will make explicit reference to prior learning and planning will identify relevant links throughout the curriculum:

• Horizontal links will be made where knowledge and understanding are built upon over the course of the academic year. E.g., Where observation over time is identified as a key concept (such as in Year 1, where Seasonal change is revisited at four points throughout the academic year) or where scientific concepts bridge units (such as in Year 5, where gravity is encountered in the Earth and Space unit and then explored in greater depth later in the same year in the Forces unit).

• Vertical links will be made where knowledge and understanding are built upon from previous science units. E.g., In Year 6, the Light unit will build upon knowledge and understanding from the Year 3 unit, Light and Shadows; likewise, in Year 4, the Digestive System unit will make direct references to the Nutrition unit covered in Year 3.

• Diagonal links will be made where knowledge and understanding are built upon across the wider curriculum. E.g., links between science and geography - such as Environmental Change (Science) with Rainforests/Deforestation (Geography) and Rocks, Soils and Fossils (Science) with Volcanoes (Geography).

Key Science vocabulary is specified and explicitly taught as part of the Stanton Cross Primary Science Curriculum. The development of vocabulary progresses throughout the Science curriculum.

Subject Documents