Curriculum

Through our curriculum, our children will develop an increasing repertoire of skills and explore concepts via enquiry-based questioning.  There will be strong emphasis on knowledge and vocabulary acquisition in each aspect of learning. 

This increasingly sophisticated knowledge base will enable children to make connections across individual subjects and the whole curriculum to lead future learning.  We will promote imagination, communication, creativity, ingenuity.  We will install acceptance of making mistakes as a means of developing resilience - all inventive ideas failed numerous times until they didn't.

In addition to the formal curriculum, we provide extensive opportunities for extra-curricular activities to enable our children to enhance their existing skills and interests, whilst giving them new experiences and encouraging competition and good sportsmanship.   Pupils are regularly encouraged to think about the importance of leading active and healthy lifestyles and the school endeavours to facilitate this.

Click on the link below to go to the DfE website, where you can find out more about the National Curriculum.

ART

As part of art lessons, pupils draw, paint and sculpt as well as having the opportunity to use and develop other art and craft techniques. We want our pupils to develop and master their techniques so we encourage children to practise a particular skill over a series a lessons. This gives children the opportunity to critique and evaluate their work with their peers thus increasing not only artistic, but also personal progression.

COMPUTING

Pupils are taught the fundamental principles of how computers work and how to put this knowledge to use through programming. They build upon their knowledge and understanding throughout each year to create programs, systems and a range of content. Our aim is to provide pupils with a level of expertise which forms the foundation of furthering their computing knowledge at secondary school.

DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

Design and technology provision is monitored through  formative and summative assessment opportunities. 

In design and technology, as in all subjects, we are adamant that pupils who are at risk of underachieving have their needs skilfully and consistently met to protect them from this risk.  The design and technology curriculum at Dunnington Primary School contributes towards this aim by encouraging pupils’s personal development in creativity, independence, judgement and self-reflection. The curriculum engages, inspires and challenges pupils, equipping them with the knowledge and skills to design and create their own products.

ENGLISH

At Dunnington Primary School we aim to enable our pupils to : progress with sustained learning and transferrable skills.  Through the teaching of phonics, our aim is for children to become fluent and confident word readers by the end of KS1. As a Year 6 reader, transitioning into secondary school, we aspire that children are fluent, confident and able readers, who can access a range of texts for pleasure and enjoyment, as well as use their reading skills to unlock learning and all areas of the curriculum. We firmly believe that reading is the key to all learning and so the impact of our reading curriculum goes beyond the results of the statutory assessments.

As all aspects of English are an integral part of the curriculum, cross curricular reading standards have also improved and skills taught in the English lesson are transferred into other subjects; this shows consolidation of skills and a deeper understanding of how and when to use specific reading skills. 

GEOGRAPHY

It is important as children enter a global world that they have an understanding of the world around them. Our geography lessons aim to promote the understanding of the physical world and the impact humans have on the environment. Children develop an understanding of different places and locations around the world as well as developing their field work skills through outside investigations, both within the locality and further afield.

The impact of our geography curriculum is that our pupils are equipped with the geographical skills and knowledge for life as an adult in the wider world and to enable them to be ready for the secondary curriculum. Pupils will be able to discuss their learning and demonstrate their knowledge and understanding through a range of activities. Through their studies in geography, children will learn about the features, diversity, wonder and importance of our world and how it should be treated, setting them up to be responsible global citizens.

HANDWRITING

All children are encouraged to take pride in their handwriting and presentation of their work. Pupils are taught handwriting discretely at specific times throughout the week to ensure that they learn to join their writing neatly and consistently. In Foundation Stage and KS1, it also forms part of the daily RWInc lesson.  There is an opportunity to gain a pen licence when the class teacher is satisfied that all writing work is of a high standard.

HISTORY

The impact of our history curriculum is that our pupils demonstrate a coherent knowledge and understanding of Britain’s past and that of the wider world, in addition to being curious to know more about the past. By the end of year 6, children have a chronological understanding of British history from the Stone Age to the present day. They are able to draw comparisons and make connections between different time periods and their own lives. Use evidence to distinguish fact from fiction or discuss the likelihood of accounts being true. Interlinked with this are studies of world history, such as the ancient civilisations of Greece and the Egyptians. In their studies in History, pupils ask perceptive questions, think critically, weigh evidence, sift arguments, and develop perspective, empathy and judgement. They are equipped with historical and analytical skills for life as an adult in the wider world and are ready for the secondary curriculum. Most of all, pupils will appreciate history as a tapestry of many stories from all over the world, to be linked with many aspects of learning and not just as one discrete subject.

MATHS

At Dunnington Primary School, we believe that, as a result of our curriculum design, you will see children who are resilient, engaged, appropriately challenged and confident to talk about maths and their learning as well as being able to make links between mathematical topics and the wider curriculum. They will also be independent, reflective thinkers who are able to transfer their mathematical knowledge into other areas of the curriculum. We aim to deliver a high quality and engaging curriculum which meets the needs of all our learners. Our implementation is developed through the use of high quality resources and based upon a secure understanding of the curriculum and the subject area.

We aim to build a culture where there is a deep understanding, confidence  and competence in mathematics which will then produce strong, secure learning and progress both across mathematics but also in other areas of the curriculum. In maths, as in all subjects, we are adamant that children who are at risk of underachieving have their needs skillfully and consistently met to protect them from this risk.

PE

The Physical Education curriculum aims to deliver high-quality, inclusive lessons that inspire all pupils to enjoy and succeed in sport and physical activity. We aim to provide opportunities, both inside and outside the classroom, for pupils to become physically confident in a way which supports their health and fitness. We want to provide opportunities to compete in a variety of sports and other activities that build character and help to embed values such as fairness and respect.

The national curriculum for physical education aims to ensure that all pupils:

• develop competence in a broad range of physical activities 
• have a positive attitude to being physically active for sustained periods of time 
• engage in a variety of competitive sports and activities 
• lead healthy, active lives 

In PE, children will study four areas of sport. These are: Gymnastics, Athletics, Games and Dance. Within PE lessons, children will adopt many different roles such as a performer, coach, umpire and leader and also explore many different outdoor activities. 

PSHE

We are aware of the way that PSHE supports many of the principles of safeguarding and links closely to schools Safeguarding, SMSC and British Values Policies. We are all aware of the important role the PSHE curriculum has in supporting school to implement the nine protected characteristics of the Equality Act 2010.

At Dunnington Primary School, we aim to develop children’s understanding so that they:

• develop confidence to make the most of their abilities, through recognising their own worth.
• develop confidence, ocracy skills and self-esteem which enables them to put forward their own views but also understand the views of others.
• work well with others through a process of collaboration.
• prepare to play an active role as citizens in a diverse society.
• develop a healthy and safe lifestyle with the ability to take appropriate risk assessments.
• develop good relationships and respect the differences between members of the school and the wider community.
• make a positive contribution to the life of the school.
• have the confidence to question when something is wrong.

Through our PSHE curriculum, we recognise our duty to ‘actively promote’ and provide opportunity for children understand the fundamental British values first set out by the Government in the ‘Prevent’ strategy in 2014, of:

• democracy
• the rule of law
• individual liberty
• mutual respect
• tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs in order for them to become fair, tolerant and confident adults in a forever challenging world.

Through our RSE curriculum we hope to impact the children by

• Giving them the technical vocabulary associated with their body parts.
• Giving them the knowledge to safeguard themselves from exploitation.
• A clear understanding of how their bodies will change throughout puberty.
• Ability to understand positive and negative relationships.
• The ability to seek help should ever need to do so.
• Understanding of the PANTS rule

RE

The children at Dunnington Primary School extend their knowledge and understanding of religion and worldviews, recognising their local, national and global contexts. They become encouraged to be curious and ask increasingly challenging questions regarding religion, faith, values and human life. Pupils learn to express their own ideas in response to the material they engage with and are able to give their own coherent reasons to support their ideas and views. Through their learning, pupils are given the opportunity to wonder about the world, explore connections between beliefs and practices studied and can reflect about life in the world today.

SCIENCE

The successful approach to the teaching of science at Dunnington Primary School will result in a relevant, rigorous and inspiring science education. Children will be provided with the foundations needed to understand their world and the wide range of opportunities science affords. They will have gained knowledge and skills in line with the statutory requirements and will be competent to use the appropriate scientific vocabulary. They will be able to use their understanding to solve real-world problems and will be able to articulate their knowledge of key scientific concepts. Children will retain a sense of awe and wonder related to the natural world as well as a love of discovery and understanding and they will understand the importance science continues to have globally.