Thematic Approach

Curriculum Statement:

Our curriculum is a driver for the message ‘Learning is for life, enjoy the journey’. We seek to engage all members of the school community: pupils, parents, staff and governors in the joy of learning, the experiencing of new things and striving towards a happy and fulfilled life.

Our curriculum is individual to us. It is grounded within our local community and the needs of the pupils. We seek out opportunities for cultural growth, academic progress, personal success and happiness to ensure all of our Beal Vale family grow together.

Rationale

At Beal Vale Primary want pupils to feel confident to make links between the knowledge they are acquiring and to be able to use their skills to develop their understanding of key concepts and ideas. To this end we have designed a curriculum based around cross-curricular topics that change each half term.

The thematic curriculum promotes high quality learning through engaging topics and it is sequenced to provide a clear framework of progression in skills and knowledge to equip children for the next stage of their education.

There is good evidence that teaching subject knowledge and skills as part of a wider topic-based curriculum allows pupils to make useful links between subjects and different areas of learning and also consolidate skills. Children are also likely to be more engaged in their learning if it has an exciting context. Topic links are also made to English and Maths learning.

Equal opportunities and accessibility

Beal Vale Primary School is committed to providing an appropriate and high quality education to all children living in our local area. We believe that all children, including those identified as having Special Educational Needs and/or Disability (SEND) have a common entitlement to a broad and balanced academic and social curriculum, which is accessible to them, and to be fully included in all aspects of school life. We believe ‘Learning is for Life, Enjoy the Journey’ and strive to embed this belief in all our children. We promote an inclusive curriculum and whole school ethos which reflects our diverse society. Please refer to the equality policy and the SEND policy for further details.

Further Information

If you require further information regarding the Beal Vale Curriculum please contact the school office on 0161 770 5752 or email admin@bealvaleprimary.com  Our Curriculum Leader is Mr A. Rashid (Deputy Head Teacher).

English

English is fully embedded in our Thematic Scheme of Work. Our main aim as a school is for all children to develop a love of reading as well as the necessary skills needed in writing for life and also be able to have access to future learning. Reading is taught through whole class lessons across the week which aim to teach the children essential skills needed in order to become a confident and fluent reader. Reading begins in Foundation Stage through sharing books with simple or no text so that the children can learn how to tell a story using images. Children progress through the reading bands accordingly with each book level introducing new reading and comprehension skills. There is an emphasis on children learning to decode through daily phonics teaching and developing their sight vocabulary for common exception words. We have developed a curriculum which ensures children are taught the common features and skills in reading and writing in order to have a more coherent English curriculum and therefore be able to develop mastery in English. The curriculum has been adapted using various methods such as: talk for writing, having a strong grammar focus, using high quality novels and books as well as using a range of drama conventions. Teaching is underpinned by using high quality texts and high quality examples from the teacher which focus on skills to be taught. These texts are then analysed in depth with the children in order for them to learn and apply those skills.

Reading

We aim for all our children to become fluentconfident readers who are passionate about reading. Children who read regularly or are read to regularly have the opportunity to open the doors to so many different worlds! More importantly, reading will give your child the tools to become independent life-long learners.

We can achieve this together through:

  • Read Write Inc, a program to help to your child read at school
  • Encouraging children to develop a love of books by reading to them daily, at home and at school
  • Giving children access to a wide range of books at school and at home

At Beal Vale Primary we use Read Write Inc Phonics (RWI) to give your child the best possible start with their Literacy development.  Mrs Muzyka is our Read Write Inc lead teacher, so if you have questions about RWI, contact school who can refer you to her.

Read Write Inc (RWI) is a phonics complete literacy programme which helps all children learn to read fluently and at speed so they can focus on developing their skills in comprehension, vocabulary and spelling.  The programme is designed for children aged 4-7. However, at Beal Vale we will continue teaching RWI to children beyond the age of 7, as we use a stage not age approach. RWI was developed by Ruth Miskin and more information on this can be found at https://ruthmiskin.com/en/find-out-more/parents/.

All children are assessed regularly by our RWI lead teacher.  From these assessments children are grouped into stages, where they work with peers on the same stage.

Mathematics

We teach Mathematics using the White Rose Maths, based on the National Curriculum objectives. At Beal Vale Primary School we make sure all children have the same opportunities to learn and the support they need to fully grasp concepts. We focus on making maths fun for the children and helping them to find enjoyment whilst learning because when pupils are engaged in learning and enjoying maths, that’s when lessons really sink in and deep learning happens. We make sure topics are introduced to children in a logical order and revisited throughout the year to encourage deep learning and ensure children have the foundational knowledge they need, before moving on to more advanced maths concepts and tackling more challenging number problems.

Science

Science is fully embedded in our Thematic Scheme of Work. Both knowledge and skills are covered through asking simple questions and recognising that they can be answered in different ways; observing closely, using simple equipment; performing simple tests; identifying and classifying; using observations and ideas to suggest answers to questions; gathering and recording data to help in answering questions.

Religious Education

Our RE curriculum explores big questions about life, to find out what people believe and what difference this makes to how they live, so that pupils can make sense of religion, reflecting on their own ideas and ways of living.

Following the SACRE scheme for Religious Education means that RE makes a positive contribution to pupils’ learning. Knowledge and skills developed by RE contribute to pupils’ readiness to participate in life in modern, diverse Britain and in a plural world. Good RE is never coercive: this area of learning is not about making pupils into believers but tries to help them become literate and articulate about religions and beliefs, and to be thoughtful members of a plural society, so that in learning from religion they are able to make informed choices about how they want to live their lives whilst also understanding more about the faith of other people they meet.

Enrichment

Every Thursday afternoon, children come off the National Curriculum timetable and participate in a range of non-academic learning opportunities. These provide opportunities to learn ‘life-skills’, try new experiences and learn something different. In mixed year groups, children participate in activities such as: sewing, orienteering, photography, British Sign Language, dance, weaving, cooking etc.

Curriculum Maps

Each year group has a curriculum map that outlines the topics for each half term, and the cross-curricular links between the subject areas. Please see below the maps for each year group.

Year 1 - Year 6 Curriculum Map
Reception Curriculum Maps
Religious Education Curriculum Maps