Early Years Foundation Stage
The Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum is delivered to children in Reception. There are 7 key areas within the EYFS, these are:
Prime Areas
· Physical Development
· Personal, Social and Emotional Development
· Communication and Language
Specific Areas
· Literacy
· Mathematics
· Expressive Art and Design
· Understanding the World
The National Curriculum 2014
The National Curriculum is delivered to children in KS1 and KS2, the subjects are:
Subjects:
· Mathematics
· English
· Science
· ICT
· Geography
· History
· Art
· Design Technology
· Music
· Physical Education
· Religious Education
The vast majority of these subjects are taught as part of a creative curriculum approach. This means that the basic skills of all subjects are more important than information learning.
Key Stage 1
Key Stage 1 consists of Years 1 & 2 (children aged 5 - 7 years)
Key Stage 2
Key Stage 2 consists of Years 3, 4, 5 & 6 (children aged 7 -11 years)
For more details on the national curriculum follow the link below.
Please contact School if you wish to discuss the curriculum.
English
English covers the development of skills in Reading, Writing, Phonics, Spelling.
Reading
We aim to foster a love of reading in all our children. We understand that children starting at our school have a wide range of different experiences and knowledge. These experiences can serve to provide a firm foundation for children learning to read, giving them an understanding that print contains a message; that pictures are story-telling clues; that we move along a line of text from left to right. Building on this we aim to develop further the children’s experiences, knowledge and understanding of texts allowing the children to become confident readers and enjoy reading. At Roughlee we use the Pearsons Phonics Bug & Bug Club reading schemes.
Foundation / Key Stage 1
When children begin their time in Reception, they are taught using a phonics based approach as they learn to 'sound out' letters. We use Letters and Sounds and Jolly Phonics. These are both recognised as synthetic phonics schemes. This leads to the children being able to break down (or segment) an unknown word by sounding out each letter and then 'blending' the sounds together (eg c-a-t cat). Phonics sessions happen daily, usually in the morning. The children will also learn a variety of other key words by sight.
The first books the children bring home may be wordless picture books, which encourage the children to tell the story in their own words and to understand what might be happening, then predict what might happen next. They then move onto books which contain CVC (Consonant-Vowel-Consonant) words to practise segmenting and blending. Children take home books and we encourage parents to listen to their children read as often as possible. Reception children will read text in some format every day and reading books are changed regularly to match individual needs.
Daily phonics teaching continues into Year 1 and Year 2. Again we encourage parents to listen to their child read as often as possible and we aim to listen to children twice weekly. Children are encouraged to discuss the content of the books they have read.
Guided reading, where a group reads copies of the same book, supported by an adult, takes place with the children. The adult will lead discussion and ask questions about the book.
As a school, we do not have a set reading scheme. We use books from a variety of schemes and publishers so that the children can experience a wide variety of texts and styles of writing by different authors. We currently use the coloured book banding system which allows progress to be monitored.
Key Stage 2
In Key Stage 2 we aim to build on the skills the children have developed. Children read with an adult regularly. This varies depending upon the age and ability of the child. The types of reading include shared reading, guided reading, individual reading and independent reading, as appropriate, depending upon the child, the text, and learning objectives. Children will explore a wide variety of genres, within fiction and nonfiction.
Additional phonic sessions/intervention are also provided in KS2, if required.
Library
Our School is very fortunate to have an extensive library for both Key Stage 1 and 2. Our books in school are supplemented by the local authority Library Service, which exchanges books for us each year. This service also provides project loans to support topics in other subjects.
Writing
We have a fully integrated, structured writing programme which flows seamlessly through all years. Children receive daily English lessons. We support children with expressing creativity through their writing and encourage children's individual personalities and imagination. At Roughlee we are passionate about developing spelling skills and have adopted a whole school spelling policy so that children skills can progress through the years, each child has their own dictionary and spelling journal in class.
During themed weeks we have arranged visits from local children's authors which provide children with the opportunity to express their ideas and develop their skills.
KLIPs - Maths & English
We utilise Key Learning Indicators of Performance (KLIPs) to informour planning and assessments. Please click on the link above to see what you child will be learning throughout the year in Maths & English.
If you have any questions regarding the curriculum we teach please contact the school directly.
