The curriculum at Chew Magna Primary School is planned through the National Curriculum, and encompasses a syllabus for Religious Education along with a varied programme of extra-curricular activities.

We aim to provide a broad, balanced and responsive curriculum which actively engages, challenges and excites our learners.

Please click here for our curriculum intent summary statement .

Click here for our curriculum knowledge mapping overview.

Click here for our wider curriculum statements.

The National Curriculum 

The National Curriculum 2014 sets out programmes of study for children from Year 1 to Year 6 and ensures children receive a curriculum that is broad, balanced and relevant. It also provides a framework for teachers to set standards against Age Related Expectations. Staff use the National Curriculum as a basis for their planning. The curriculum includes:

Core Subjects:  English, Mathematics, Science. (You can find an overview of the maths & literacy curriculum for each year group on the individual Class pages of our website.  You can also click here for the maths calculation booklet which explains to parents how we teach maths in KS1 and KS2).

Foundation Subjects:  RE, History, Geography, Art, ICT, PE, Design & Technology, Music, a foreign language - currently French, PSHE

At the beginning of each year, each class holds a Curriculum Meeting for parents and carers in which teachers discuss expectations and routines and explain how the curriculum is taught in their class. Each class also sends home a class newsletter 3 x year detailing the curriculum, including which topics will be taught and with ways of supporting learning at home. These newsletters can be found on the class pages.

You can find details of the curriculum topics being covered by each class on the individual class pages.

If you would like more information about the curriculum for your child's class, please ask their teacher.

Early Years Foundation  Stage Curriculum

 Children starting in Foundation Stage follow the Foundation Stage Curriculum  2021 which includes the following areas of learning:

•  Communication &  language;
• Literacy;
• Numeracy:
• Emotional development;
• Understanding the world;
• Physical development;
• Expressive arts & design.

 Our Kestrel Class EYFS teachers teach through a topic based approach. They follow the children`s interests with a 'planning in the moment' approach to learning as well as planning around stories linked to familiar settings and following seasonal themes.  Children are encouraged to try a wide range of activities that are available both inside the classroom and in the outdoor learning environment. Children are encouraged to work together in groups and to develop their social skills.

 Kestrel Class staff make detailed assessments of children’s interests and skills and use this information to plan future activities, experiences and topics which engage the children.

Phonics & Reading

Click here for our Reading and Phonics curriculum intent statement

Pupils in EYFS and targeted Y1 pupils have short, focused daily phonics using our DFE approved Synthetic Phonics Programme ‘Phonics Shed’. If children entering Key Stage Two need still need support with their phonics, we put intervention sessions in place. We are currently awaiting phonics intervention programmes for KS2 from Phonics Shed to ensure fidelity to a scheme and a consistent approach.

 We want all children to develop a love of reading. Our reading books are categorised in EYFS and Key Stage One using the learning sequence of phonics from Phonics Shed. Children learning to read take home books that are matched closely to their current phonic knowledge and understanding. We ensure that children enjoy a rich diet of books by carefully chosen class stories and access to a wide range of quality texts within the classroom and across school.

  When children are confident in their reading, we encourage them to choose their own reading materials from the wide range of reading books we have in school (for Year Two children who have moved off the scheme books, we call this ‘free reading’). When children first become ‘free readers’ they have a supported change of books by a member of staff, to ensure they can access and enjoy the text.

 We timetable ‘Everyone Reading In Class’ time to ensure that regular reading is embedded practise. We encourage children to read at home four times a week as we believe that this extra practise really increased fluency and confidence in younger readers and develops comprehension for older readers. 

Reading skills are further developed through well targeted Guided Reading in lower Key Stage Two (Buzzard Class) and a clear focus on reading skills in upper Key Stage Two (Golden Eagle Class). 

 

You can find out how to support your Foundation Stage and Key Stage 1 child with their reading at home by clicking here, and how to support your Key Stage 2 child here.

For the Reading Trust`s great Book Guide, see: https://www.booktrust.org.uk/books-and-reading/our-recommendations/great-books-guide/

Here is the Independent`s list of 30 best children`s books

Here are tips on sharing stories together

Here are 5 ways to encourage your children to read

Here is Sharing stories with 5-8 year olds: a a parent information sheet

How we organise our curriculum

 

Y1-6 SPARROW HAWK/BUZZARD/GOLDEN EAGLE CLASSES: OUR TOPIC APPROACH
We teach much of our curriculum through a cross-curricular approach where links can be logically made. We start our topics with a big question designed to engage learners. Each class has a topic which usually lasts for a term. The list of topics planned for the year can be found on each class page.

We plan topics from the National Curriculum objectives and the school`s skills progressions. 

Where subjects do not fit into the term`s topic, they are taught discretely.

Both Key Stage One and Key Stage Two classes teach:

Literacy (see below)

Maths (see below)

Science: based on the 2014 National Curriculum

Computing: Mr P ICT DARES scheme of work

Art: CMPS curriculum based on 2014 National Curriculum

Design Technology:  CMPS curriculum based on the 2014 National Curriculum

Music: Music Express

History :CMPS curriculum based on the 2014 National Curriculum

Geography: CMPS curriculum based on the 2014 National Curriculum

Religious Education: Twinkl Plan It scheme of work

Personal, Social, Heath Education SCARF scheme of work

Physical Education: Scheme of Work

Modern Foreign Languages: French- A and C Black

 
LITERACY

We believe that the study of English develops children’s ability to listen, speak, read and write for a wide range of purposes, including the communication of their ideas, views and feelings.  Children are enabled to express themselves creatively and imaginatively, as they become enthusiastic and critical readers of stories, poetry and drama, as well as of non-fiction and media texts.  Children gain an understanding of how language works by looking at its patterns, structures and origins.  Children use their knowledge, skills and understanding in speaking and listening, reading and writing across a range of different situations.

To support our teaching of writing in Sparrow Hawk, Buzzard and Golden Eagle Classes, we have a long term framework which is the basis of our planning of Literacy. This ensures we teach different units across the year each based on a  high quality text and the children will learn about a range of fiction and non-fiction text types. Teachers use this to model and scaffold high quality  writing with the children. Punctuation and Grammar teaching comes from these texts and are taught in a meaningful context. Each class has a Literacy Working Wall that supports learning.

We teach reading skills through Guided Reading sessions and individual reading according to the age and ability of the children.

Click here for our Writing curriculum intent statement.

MATHS

We want our children to feel confident in using and applying mathematics in a wide range of situations. In mathematics we aim to develop lively, enquiring minds encouraging pupils to become self-motivated, confident and capable in order to solve problems that will become an integral part of their future.

We target Maths teaching. Year One is taught Maths as a cohort. Year Two is taught as a cohort . Years Three and Four are taught separately as cohorts daily as are Years Five and Six .

We use The White Rose Hub as the basis for our Maths planning. This is a mastery approach to the curriculum where children are equipped to be able to solve problems and explain their learning. It follows progression of concrete resources, to pictorial resources and then to abstract concepts to support learning.

Click here for our Maths Curriculum  intent statement.

We have a Calculation Policy which show the progression in teaching of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division from Y1-Y6. This contains useful information  on the physical (concrete) resources we use in teaching Maths and the teaching methods. This would be useful for parents wanting to support learning at home.

Click here for the addition and subtraction calculation policy.

Click here for the multiplication and division calculation policy.

 

HOMEWORK

We set regular homework for our pupils. Sometimes homework is of a practical nature where families are encouraged to interact with their child by playing a game, finding out information, designing and making something etc. Where it needs recording, homework books are supplied or homework files are kept in school. Sometimes homework is a consolidation exercise, other times it may be more of a challenge. In upper KS2, the volume of work increases, in preparation for Secondary School.

EYFS and Key Stage 1 Homework

At Key Stage 1 the main homework is reading. This should be a relaxed and enjoyable time for parent and child to share. We recommend at least 10 minutes daily, but if you feel that your child is tired it is sensible to leave it until another time or day. Parents are encouraged to initial or to write a comment in the child’s homework diary when they have heard their child read. Pupils who have 4 home reading sessions recorded in their diary over a week will receive a head teacher’s sticker.

 Phonic work (the focus on the mechanics of spelling) is given, where relevant, to develop and consolidate literacy skills through Phonics Play, TES and other phonic resources. This can also include key words .

 In Years One and Two a weekly maths homework activity which links to that week’s work is sent home in the book bags to be returned the following week in Years One and Two each Wednesday. Sometimes this will take the form of a practical task or Mathletics.

 Key Stage 2 Homework

 Lower Key Stage Two (Buzzard Class)

 Homework will consist of the following:

• Spelling patterns sent home on a Monday with an activity to support these (linking with focus of learning in class Multiplication tables using Times Tables Rock stars to support this;
• Reading – at least 15 minutes a night. More fluent readers do not need to read aloud but it is important that they discuss their book with someone at home. (At Key Stage 2 the onus is on the child to take responsibility for changing their reading book either in the class or the library or from home.) Pupils who have 4 home reading sessions recorded in their diary over a week will receive a head teacher’s sticker.
• 1 week to complete a Maths activity or an activity from a different curriculum area (alternated)

 Upper Key Stage Two (Golden Eagle Class)

Homework will consist of the following:

• Online spelling activity linking with focus of learning in class
• Mathletics activity linked to learning in class
• Reading – at least 15 minutes a night. More fluent readers do not need to read aloud but it is important that they discuss their book with someone at home. (At Key Stage 2 the onus is on the child to take responsibility for changing their reading book either in the class or the library or from home.) Pupils who have 4 home reading sessions recorded in their diary over a week will receive a head teacher’s sticker.
• Weekly task from an activities grid drawing from five different areas of the curriculum

 

Holiday Homework

We set whole school optional holiday homework tasks for half terms and Easter. During the summer break we encourage children to participate in the Summer Reading Challenge as well as keeping a scrapbook of their holiday adventures.

 
P.E

Each class has 2 P.E sessions a week. Our Sports Coach teaches every class weekly. Over a year Sparrowhawk, Buzzard and Golden Eagle Classes cover the following units:

• Dance
• Gynmastics
• Games
• Athletics
• Health Related Fitness
• Swimming

Buzzard and Golden Eagle classes each have 10  weeks of swimming sessions in a year at Midsomer Norton Leisure Centre and work towards meeting the end of Key Stage 2 swimming requirements of being able to:

• swim competently, confidently and proficiently over a distance of at least 25 metres
• use a range of strokes effectively [for example, front crawl, backstroke and breaststroke]
• perform safe self-rescue in different water-based situations

 

MUSIC

Children in Year Two learn to play the recorder. Children in Years Three and Four have ukulele lessons.  Every class will cover key music skills across the year.

Children in Key Stage Two can also pay for peripatetic Music lessons which take place during school hours. We offer clarinet, guitar, ukulele and violin lessons. We also have an enthusiastic Key Stage Two choir who have weekly sessions with Sam Kite. Our choir perform to the local community whenever they can!

All children take part in weekly singing assemblies. Singing plays a big part in our Nativity and end of year whole school production.

RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

Children will learn about religions and from religions. They explore and reflect on  learning about different faiths, discussing challenging questions and finding out about the major religions in modern Britain in a safe and supportive environment. We promote religious understanding and respect and challenge prejudice and discrimination.  

 PSHE including RSE

We use SCARF for our curriculum planning for Personal, Social and Health Education. this includes Relationships and Sex Education. Our PSHE policy including RSE can be found on our policies page. Please see here for how we plan and  teach RSE units across the school. We have carefully selected and sequenced units from SCARF which have created our school programme of study. For RSE sessions, we teach single year groups to ensure that content is age appropriate.

MODERN FOREIGN LANGUAGE

In our two Key Stage Two classes we teach French. Our main aim is for children to enjoy learning a new language through a variety of speaking and listening experiences. Reading will be included where appropriate .