St Peter's Infant School

Children in the Early Years Foundation Stage (Reception) are working towards the Early Learning Goals as set out by the Government. St Peters Infant School follows the Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum which is designed to be a precursor to the National Curriculum.

There are 3 Prime areas: Physical Development; Personal, Social & Emotional Development; and Communication & Language and 4 specific areas:

Literacy (Reading, Writing, using ‘Twinkl Phonics’ in phonics work); Maths; Understanding of the World; and Expressive Arts & Design.

Our Early Years curriculum is carefully structured to develop the whole child and ensures that there are opportunities for the children to engage in activities that allow them to practice, build on and extend their knowledge, skills and experiences to develop independence, social skills and a sense of responsibility whilst developing their reading, writing and maths skills as well. Therefore the teaching emphasis is mainly practical with recording of work introduced as appropriate. Play is a vital part of children’s learning and is therefore used to support children whilst they are exploring and developing their understanding of the world.

Questions / further information concerning the curriculum can be addressed initially to the Class Teacher who will be happy to discuss them with you. The Headteacher is also available to discuss any queries that you may have if the Class Teacher is unable to help.

Key Stage 1 (KS1) applies to children of compulsory school age, i.e. aged five to seven years (Years 1 and 2). The National Curriculum forms only part of the school’s broader curriculum and consists of three core subjects: English; Mathematics; & Science and seven foundation subjects: Art & Design, Computing, Design & Technology, Geography, History, Music and PE. In addition, children also study Religious Education and Personal, Social & Health Education. The curriculum is carefully planned by the school for all of the children; we provide continuity between the curriculum for the children in Year R and the children in Years 1 and 2. The links in the next section provide an overview of each subject.

The National Curriculum incorporates:

• English (Includes Reading, Writing, Phonics and Grammar)
• Mathematics
• Science
• Computing 
• Geography
• History
• Design & Technology (DT)
• Art & Design
• Music
• Physical Education (PE)
• Religious Education (RE)
• Personal, Social & Health Education (PSHE)
• Relationships Education 

The curriculum at St. Peter’s is taught through termly topics much of which is facilitated practically, focusing upon skills for life-long learning. ‘Hooks’ are used to draw children in and visits and visitors, especially within and from the local area, enhance the teaching and learning. In addition, a specific English and Maths lesson is usually taught daily which may be cross-curricular in nature. Work set provides challenge and is differentiated to take account of the varying abilities and experiences of the children and different teaching strategies are used. We encourage independence in their learning and responsibility for this.

Questions / further information concerning the curriculum can be addressed initially to the Class Teacher who will be happy to discuss them with you. The Headteacher is also available to discuss any queries that you may have if the Class Teacher is unable to help.

The Governing Body Complaints Committee deal with issues regarding the curriculum which parents may feel have not been appropriately resolved by the staff or Headteacher. There are further appeal stages to the Local Authority (LA) and finally to the Local Government Ombudsman. Leaflets explaining these procedures can be obtained from the Area Education Office.

Find out more about the National Curriculum here

The National Curriculum incorporates:

• English (Includes Reading, Writing, Phonics and Grammar)
• Mathematics
• Science
• Computing 
• Geography
• History
• Design & Technology (DT)
• Art & Design
• Music
• Physical Education (PE)
• Religious Education (RE)
• Personal, Social & Health Education (PSHE)
• Relationships Education 

The curriculum at St. Peter’s is taught through termly topics much of which is facilitated practically, focusing upon skills for life-long learning. ‘Hooks’ are used to draw children in and visits and visitors, especially within and from the local area, enhance the teaching and learning. In addition, a specific English and Maths lesson is usually taught daily which may be cross-curricular in nature. Work set provides challenge and is differentiated to take account of the varying abilities and experiences of the children and different teaching strategies are used. We encourage independence in their learning and responsibility for this.

Questions / further information concerning the curriculum can be addressed initially to the Class Teacher who will be happy to discuss them with you. The Headteacher is also available to discuss any queries that you may have if the Class Teacher is unable to help.

The Governing Body Complaints Committee deal with issues regarding the curriculum which parents may feel have not been appropriately resolved by the staff or Headteacher. There are further appeal stages to the Local Authority (LA) and finally to the Local Government Ombudsman. Leaflets explaining these procedures can be obtained from the Area Education Office.

Find out more about the National Curriculum here

As part of everyday school routine, there is an ongoing process of teacher assessment throughout the child’s time at St Peter’s. Parents are informed of your child’s progress at our termly parent consultations and their attainment at the end of the year is recorded in the children’s individual End of Year Report. In the Summer Term for Year 2 children, a series of formalised assessments are conducted that validate our Teacher Assessments, the results of which form part of your child’s final annual report.

At St Peter’s, we believe in the value and enhancement to children’s learning that educational visits and visitors provide in support of a topic. Parents are always notified of the nature and cost (where relevant) of the visit / visitor. However, we believe that the impact visits / victors have on the children’s’ learning out ways any costs that may be passed on. Families experiencing financial difficulties should see the Headteacher in confidence. A permission slip needs to be signed before children can be taken off the school premises. Risk assessments are always completed prior to any school trip.

There are some children at St. Peter’s who are identified as being Gifted or Talented in a specific curriculum area. Identified by their Class Teacher, these children and are provided with learning experiences that enhance and extend their abilities. This is generally done through differentiated work in the classroom although they may be withdrawn to work in a small group if appropriate.

At St Peter's, English skills are taught, practiced and applied in all aspects of the curriculum. In addition, the children usually take part in one specific English lesson per day. This develops and promotes a range of practical and mental strategies, skills and knowledge via whole class, group teaching and targeted children. It is designed to increase children's success in Reading and Writing that can be applied to all other areas of learning and that support life-long learning.

English lessons may be cross-curricular i.e. it may incorporate one or more other subject areas and tend to be divided into sections. An example of the basic structure is detailed below: 

Reading

Reading is considered by St. Peter’s Infant School to be a pleasurable, important and purposeful life skill. The Reading scheme used is predominantly 'Twinkl Phonics' especially in the early stages as it supports the phonics teaching. This scheme is supplemented by Phonic Bugs, Rigby Rocket, Lighthouse, Big Cat, Oxford Reading Tree and National Geographic. Reading is taught through systematic synthetic phonics on a daily basis using the Gvoernment approved ‘Twinkl Phonics’ scheme. From the beginning of their time in reception, the children are helped to learn the key skills of phonics by developing their auditory, visual and social skills that will in turn develop their enjoyment for reading. Early reading skills of rhyme, rhythm and alliteration are promoted in the Early Years and continue through into Key Stage One.
Children’s understanding of what they have read is very important. Talking, questioning and retelling are vital comprehension skills. Children, therefore, have plenty of opportunities to discuss the texts, to develop these skills and demonstrate their understanding and opinions of what they have read, skills required in all aspects of life.

Books that are read at home are predominantly phonic-based though a variety of text types are available as well in the later phases that are appropriately challenging. These contain tips and guidance for parents when sharing a book together at home. Progress is carefully monitored. The enjoyment of reading is promoted via e.g. inviting parents and grandparents into school on a termly basis to read with their children and links with the local Library are fostered including involvement in the Summer Reading challenges. In addition, there is an ‘Author of the Term’ for each class, a daily story shared with the class and books that are promoted via the topic tables. Children are able to read during lunchtimes. Children apply their reading skills when researching, experimenting and discovering across topics and themes every day.

Writing

Writing is predominantly taught by reading and analysing quality texts to establish key features and language use, exploring the texts and the children’s own ideas via drama and talk then reconstructing the genre to incorporate the children’s ideas and versions. The teacher’s aspirational modelling of the reconstructed text is a key element in providing quality examples for the children to see the process and draw upon to develop their own writing. Phonic knowledge, grammar, punctuation and the spelling of high frequency and common exception words are applied throughout the writing process providing children with the tools and skills to apply to written work in any areas within and beyond their school years. Resources are available on table tops to support the children’s writing e.g. phoneme mats, tricky words mats, common exception spellings for Y1 and Y2.

Phonics (Twinkl scheme)

Daily, synthetics phonics is taught for 20 minutes in Y1 to provide key skills needed to understand print. Phonics is the letter sounds and combinations that are applied to reading, spelling & writing. Y1 & Y2 children who require additional Phonics work from previous phases receive booster sessions.

We follow the Government approved 'Twinkl Phonics' teaching programme. It teaches children to recognise pure sounds as a key strategy. We teach the children to look out for groups of letters that make one sound e.g. digraphs: oa – goat; split-digraphs: a_e – cake; and trigraphs: ear – beard. Much emphasis is placed upon the skills of blending and segmenting to aid reading and spelling. Alongside this work, the children are taught the non-decodable words e.g. ‘was’. Several Phonics Information sessions are held each year for parents to attend.

Grammar

In Y1, Grammar is taught discreetly or as part of the English teaching. It covers the basics of sentence writing e.g. capital letters, full stops, finger spaces, basic joining words. In Y2, a 20 minute discreet daily lesson is taught to support the children’s writing. It is also linked to reading and reinforced in written work so that children can see its relevance in everyday contexts. Suffixes, types of sentences, adverbs, nouns, adjectives, punctuation are amongst that which is taught (see Curriculum Map for detail).

Click here for:

Y1 Spelling Appendices

Y1 Vocabulary, Grammar and Punctuation Appendices

Y2 Spelling Appendices

Y2 Vocabulary, Grammar and Punctuation Appendices

The National Curriculum for Maths is used as a basis for daily mathematics lessons. We have a detailed teaching programme for each term which matches the National Curriculum objectives. Each Maths session is divided into sections, an example of which is laid out below:

Maths lessons contains a greater emphasis upon number and the application of this to reason and solve problems. Children are encouraged to understand the mathematical concepts by using appropriate vocabulary, apply their understanding to solve practical everyday problems as well as learning a variety of recording methods. 

Work is differentiated to take account of the children’s ability and mathematical development. We aim to foster a positive attitude to Maths that relates to everyday learning.

Science is classed as a Core Subject in the National Curriculum Science and is taught through termly topics that focus on working scientifiaclly, plants, animlas including humans, everyday materials, living things and their habitats and seasonal changes. Based around practical activities, observations and investigations, at St. Peter’s we aim to encourage inquiring minds, to develop the children’s observational and investigative skills and to use of all their senses to explore their environment and develop curiosity in, interest in, and an appreciation of, the world around them.

Children are taught practically through a mixture of direct teaching along with investigative problem solving when using IT equipment. They are taught to understand, create and follow simple programmes, to use a variety of technology to develop skills to create, organise, store, manipulate and retrieve digital content, to recognise common uses of IT in the world around them and to be aware of how to use IT safely and respectfully – life-long learning skills. E-safety is at the heart of every Computing lesson to help develop the children’s awareness of how to remain safe when on-line. Social networking sites are not accessible at school. Our e-safety policy is available to read on our website. It also provides links regarding e-safety resources for parents/carers to access as we recognise that this is an important home issue too. Interactive Whiteboards and computers or laptops are based in each classroom and there is use of a mobile IT suite. In addition, each class has access to a digital camera, a visualiser, talking microphones, tablets and access to Beebots. We aim for our children to be able to use all the IT equipment confidently and purposefully.

History is taught via the topic framework. Visits and visitors are used to help develop the children’s understanding and skills to compare and talk about the past and the present – skills that can be taken into adulthood. Children are taught enquiry and fact-finding skills alongside time vocabulary so as to enable them to find out about events beyond living memory, lives of significant historical individuals and events, people and places in the locality with historical significance.

Geography is also taught via the topic framework. Children are taught enquiry skills and Geographical and directional vocabulary that enables them to find out about, talk about, describe features and routes and gain an awareness of the world around them, whilst developing locational knowledge, seasonal and daily weather patterns, and knowledge of the area as well as places further afield. Visits within the local area are used to support this work alongside making use of maps, photos and pictures.

In D&T, children develop the skills of design, selection, construction, joining materials and evaluation. Children consider the suitability of different materials and techniques for their model as well as explore the functionality of the existing design of everyday objects, using this to inform their own design pieces. They also use ingredients to cook and prepare food, talking about the changes they observe whilst considering healthy choices and food hygiene to promote healthy living. 

Emphasis in Art is placed on creativity as well as the development of artistic skills (e.g. line, texture, shape and form, colour), techniques and the ability to talk about and evaluate their work. Children have opportunities to explore and use artistic materials and mediums as well as developing their skills and knowledge and opinions of the work of different artists. This develops an appreciation of the aesthetics of the world around them and enables them to represent and respond to the world around them in different ways.

Children are taught the skills and techniques required to make music, learn about the concepts (e.g. pitch, tempo, rhythm and beat), compare sound types as well as perform and compose using a variety of tuned and un-tuned instruments. This is through discreet lessons that involve e.g. investigatory aspects. The children listen to a variety of music and are given many opportunities to learn and sing songs. Children take part in concerts within the school, sing to the groups within the community and Y2 take part in the Medway Music Festival, where they have the unique opportunity to perform along with other local schools. This develops the children’s creativity and musical skills and a means of creating and appreciating music in its different forms. 

Our RE lessons are based upon the Medway agreed syllabus which is broadly Christian but contains units on other religions too. It is taught through stories, drama, use of artefacts, visitors and visits. It focuses upon places of worship, key beliefs, festivals, religious texts and artefacts specific to each religion so as to enable the children to compare and identify the similarities and differences between them. The children are encouraged to talk about and share their opinions and reflections regarding their learning from religious beliefs and key teachings and the impact they can have upon people’s lives and values. This enables them to begin to shape their own values and ideas. We have a daily act of worship as required by Law which takes different formats including a weekly Visitors’ assembly where possible. Parents have the right to withdraw their child from RE lessons or collective acts of worship if they do not wish them to take part. Should this be the case, please make an appointment with the Headteacher to discuss alternative provision.

In PE we teach the skills and techniques rquried for basic movements (e.g. travelling, stopping, changing direction, which can be applied in a range of activities including team games, dance and gymnastics), team games and dance movements. Children are taught the necessary skills to explore, develop and apply them within other contexts. The children are taught to consider the changes they experience within their bodies when exercising and the benefits of healthy living so as to enable them to develop lifelong healthy living styles.

PE Kit - children will need a separate PE kit: a T-shirt and shorts with bare feet for indoor PE and plimsoles for outside. Please ensure all items are named.

Jewellery - if ear-rings are worn during the school day, please ensure they are studs only. No other jewellery is permitted unless required for specific religious purposes. Please speak to the Heateacher if this is the case. In light of the Health and Safety at Work Act and in line with LA guidelines, children are not permitted to wear any jewellery whilst participating in PE lessons. We recommend that ear-rings are not worn on PE days. Thank you for your cooperation in this matter.

Glasses - if glasses need to be worn at all times they should also be worn in P.E. lessons.  During lessons (particularly gymnastics) a risk assessment can be carried out for particular actions or activities. 

Hair - long hair should be tied back for all P.E. lessons and hard hair bands should be removed.

In Relationships Education, three topic areas are taught: Families and Friendships; Safe and Healthy Relationships; Respecting Self and Others / Feelings and Emotions. This will include three key lessons: My Special People: happy healthy relationships; Growing Up: the human life cycle; changes from baby to child; Everybody’s Body: direct teaching of correct terminology for male and female genitals.