Beliefs & Values Overview

Barrow CEVC Primary School Beliefs and Values (R.E.) Intent

The four key attitudes for RE from the Suffolk Syllabus: respect for all, open-mindedness, appreciation and wonder and self-awareness are fully embedded into all aspects of our Beliefs and Values teaching and learning.

At Barrow CEVC Primary we are using the Suffolk Emmanuel Project (written collaboratively by local teachers and the Diocese of St. Edmundsbury and Ipswich) to ensure high quality teaching which explores concepts as well as information. We are committed to our children being aware of the different beliefs and values people hold in their local environment and the wider world, with a special focus on a deep understanding of the Christian faith in a variety of expressions. They gather information and encounter people who are different from them in order to develop a respectful attitude and enjoy the variety of different cultures

Implementation:

The Emmanuel Project uses 5 steps to take the children on a journey through key phases;

Engage, Enquire, Explore, Evaluate, Express

They are encouraged to ask questions and work in a range of creative ways to learn new information, develop empathy, ask powerful questions and reflect on their own beliefs and values.

The units explore Christianity, Islam and Judaism as the three ‘Abrahamic’ faiths which have strong similarities and comparisons to be drawn. They also explore Sikhism, Buddhism and Hindusim to broaden their understanding of world faiths. 

Individual learning is driven by ‘learning about religions’ and ‘learning from religions’ statements which help the children measure their own progress as they move through the school.

The scheme caters for EY up to Y6 in order to give a cohesive learning pathway for Primary age children and prepare them to be welcoming and tolerant citizens of the UK as well as being excited about travel opportunities in the future. It also gives time and space for their own spiritual development and shapes their sense of identity.

Impact:

We will measure the impact of teaching through; 

•  Pupil voice
• Written and drawn evidence in Beliefs and Values books linked to differentiated success criteria
• Photographs of creative and drama-based learning experiences
• Scrapbooks of Beliefs and Values (R.E.) units, days and special visitors compiled and annotated by the children
• Cold and hot assessment tasks at the beginning and end of units with focus on use of key specialist ‘golden vocabulary’.
  

Computing Curriculum intent statement

Technology is an integral part of every day life. At Barrow we aim to prepare our children for a future in an environment which is shaped by technology.

Our main priority of computing at Barrow is to engage children with cross-curricular learning through interacting with a variety of technology; we see technology as enriching learning opportunities. Therefore, we endeavour to provide computing opportunities throughout each area of the curriculum. 

We aim to develop confident, independent learners who are able to plan, design, create, program and evaluate information through the use of ICT. As well as the benefits of ICT, we are also aware of the risks. This is why we prepare our children to stay safe online through the use of e-safety awareness sessions and safer internet days.

The teaching of computing at Barrow is integrated within our topics as part of our new ‘Cornerstones Curriculum.’

The national curriculum for computing aims to ensure that all pupils:

• can understand and apply the fundamental principles and concepts of computer science, including abstraction, logic, algorithms and data representation
• can analyse problems in computational terms, and have repeated practical experience of writing computer programs in order to solve such problems
• can evaluate and apply information technology, including new or unfamiliar technologies, analytically to solve problems
• are responsible, competent, confident and creative users of information and communication technology
  

English Curriculum Statement

Reading

At Barrow School, children are taught to read widely, fluently and confidently for both enjoyment and information gathering.

The ability to decode words is taught through synthetic phonics using letters and sounds and ‘Jolly Phonics’ actions. It is taught systematically in response to ongoing assessments and the needs of individual children. A phonological approach to reading is encouraged across the whole school.

Reading is a key tool for life. Teaching children to become excellent readers is a key and integral part of what we do at Barrow. We have lots of opportunities for reading exciting books and materials. A variety of books are available in every classroom and in our book nooks across the school. Reading is taught as an integral part of our new ‘Cornerstones’ curriculum where is it embedded into our themes, as well as being explicitly taught through the week focussing on specific strategies to develop their reading comprehension.

Each week parents, teachers and volunteers listen to children read in school and we ensure reading books are carefully matched to ability. We encourage children and parents to record and respond to their reading through the child’s reading record. We have recently updated our reading scheme to make it more relevant and exciting to the children. We follow a levelled reading system which is made up of Oxford Reading Tree books. Within each level there is a variety of books such as stories, non-fiction, play scripts, Hero Academy and decodable books. Children start with picture books and progress through the levels, building on their reading experience until they have gained the necessary skills to be a secure reader. Once a child can read fluently through the levels, they become a free reader and have access to a wide range of chapter books.

Summer holiday challenges are given to children to keep them excited and engaged in reading over the summer. World Book Day is celebrated at Barrow, this gives children an insight into new and upcoming authors as well as getting children talking about reading and characters. Throughout the year we have visiting authors and poets to provide enrichment learning opportunities. Parents are invited in throughout the year to a number of workshops known as discovery cafes. In these sessions parents are given an insight into a variety of reading areas such as vocabulary and inference.

We have a strong belief that children benefit from hearing stories read to them as well as them reading to themselves. Each class has a daily timetabled story time, where a class book is shared. The teachers stress the patterns and intonation in the words during these sessions to help children understand how to read out loud and the fluency needed.

Handwriting

Children have an explicit handwriting lesson weekly where they are taught correct letter formation and joins through a scheme called ‘Letter Join.’ In Reception the children print, but from Year 1 children are taught cursive handwriting with joins from Year 2 and beyond.

Writing

At Barrow School it is our vision that every child will learn to write by being given real and exciting materials and opportunities. Writing is an integral part of lessons at Barrow and children will be taught to write for a purpose by linking all our writing to topics thorough our new ‘Cornerstones’ curriculum.

In the Early Years, children are given opportunities to write in all areas of the curriculum and access this through continuous provision inside and out. From the autumn term the children experience many fine motor skill activities. For example, funky fingers or doh disco, these enable the children to develop the muscles in their fingers in order to be able to hold a writing implement effectively. From the first half of the Autumn Term the children have a daily 20 minute phonics input, this includes children forming letters correctly and giving meaning to the marks they make.

We begin making children word aware from the Early Years Foundation Stage, throughout the whole school, vocabulary is a key priority and we are currently working alongside other outstanding schools in a vocabulary project. Each class has a set of topic related words which are taught explicitly throughout the half term. These are then revisited and used many times throughout the topic and beyond, with the hope that children will retain them in their long term memory and become part of their everyday vocabulary.

At Barrow we consistently use new research and ideas to help improve the quality of our writing. Children are taught to write imaginatively and articulate texts using a ‘Talk for Writing’ approach. This involves immersing children in powerful writing which they can learn and perform. To ensure progress is ongoing, we also use a ‘slow writing’ initiative that teaches the children the basics of sentence structure. As part of this, the children may use sentence stacking to edit and improve the quality of sentences. To ensure they are secure in a variety of age appropriate writing techniques we have put in place a progression document which details the different sentence types to be taught in each year group. The sentence types are designed to help the children write exciting, sophisticated pieces of writing that use the right tone for their purpose.

Spelling is a high priority at Barrow. Children are given a weekly set of spellings to learn at home. Some are common exception words (tricky words where usual spelling rules or applying phonics do not apply) and others follow a spelling pattern or an element of grammar taught throughout that week. They are then tested in a dictation style where the teacher puts the word into a sentence, putting the words into sentences helps the children’s understand the meaning of the words and enables them to put it into context.

Humanities Curriculum Intent Statement

At Barrow CEVC Primary school History and Geography learning teaches children about the world in which they live and how it has changed over time. Our History and Geography Curriculum focuses on acquiring facts and knowledge as well as developing historical and geographical skills. We teach children about larger global concepts such as humankind, place, significance, processes and change.

The teaching of History and Geography at Barrow follows the National Curriculum and is integrated within our topics as part of our new ‘Cornerstones Curriculum.’ Great emphasis is placed upon acquiring historical and geographical knowledge and vocabulary through our Knowledge Organisers.

History

History at Barrow aims to help pupils gain a coherent knowledge and understanding of Britain’s past and that of the wider world and inspire pupils’ curiosity to know more about the past. As our pupils progress they will become equipped to ask perceptive questions, think critically, weigh evidence, sift arguments, and develop perspective and judgement. We want pupils to understand the complexity of people’s lives, the process of change, the diversity of societies and relationships between different groups, as well as their own identity and the challenges of their time. Our history curriculum provides identity, improves decision making and judgement, alongside developing a sense of chronology. Our History curriculum is enhanced through the addition of visitors to the school, drama, use of artefacts, day trips and residential visits.

Geography

Geography element of our school curriculum aims to inspire pupils with a curiosity and fascination about the world and its people that will remain with them for the rest of their lives. Our geography curriculum enables children to develop a sense of place, whilst exploring, investigating and understanding the man made and natural processes that impact on our planet. We aim to equip pupils with knowledge about diverse places, people, resources and natural and human environments, together with a deep understanding of the Earth’s key physical and human processes. As pupils progress, their growing knowledge about the world should help them to deepen their understanding of the interaction between physical and human processes, and of the formation and use of landscapes and environments. We want our children to gain confidence and practical experiences of geographical knowledge, understanding and skills that explain how the Earth’s features at different scales are shaped, interconnected and change over time. We achieve this through a variety of day trips, residential trips and local field work, exploring the immediate vicinity of the school.

Mathematics curriculum Statement

Mathematics at Barrow is taught using a mastery approach, which has number at its heart. The basis for planning and curriculum content are the White Rose Maths Hub’s schemes of learning. Within our curriculum, a large proportion of time is spent reinforcing number to build competency, ensure teachers stay in the required key stage and support the ideal of depth before breadth. We try to ensure students have the opportunity to stay together as they work through the schemes as a whole group, provide plenty of opportunities to build reasoning and problem solving elements into the curriculum.

The basis for our teaching is the use of a Concrete-Pictorial-Abstract approach. When introduced to a new concept, children should have the opportunity to build competency by going through the stages to embed understanding:

Concrete – children should have the opportunity to use concrete objects and manipulatives to help them understand what they are doing.

Pictorial – alongside this, children should use pictorial representations. These representations can then be used to help reason and solve problems.

Abstract – both concrete and pictorial representations should support children’s understanding of abstract methods.

MFL Curriculum Statement

“Learning a language enriches the curriculum. It provides excitement, enjoyment and challenge for children and teachers, helping to create enthusiastic learners and to develop positive attitudes to language learning throughout life. The natural links between languages and other areas of the curriculum can enhance the overall teaching and learning experience. The skills, knowledge and understanding gained can make a major contribution to the development of children’s oracy and literacy and to their understanding of their own culture/s and those of others.”

The Key Stage 2 Framework for Languages (DfES 2005).

At Barrow Primary School we believe that the learning of a foreign language provides a valuable educational, social and cultural experience for our pupils. It helps them to develop communication skills, including the key skills of speaking and listening, and extends their knowledge of how language works. Learning another language gives children a new perspective on the world, encouraging them to understand their own cultures and those of others.

At Barrow we have provided learning opportunities for all children in Years 3 and 4. The focus language taught in our school is French.

Aims and objectives:

The aims and objectives of learning a modern foreign language in primary school are to ensure that pupils:

• listen attentively to spoken language and show understanding by joining in and responding.
• explore the patterns and sounds of language through songs and rhymes and link the spelling, sound and meaning of words.
• engage in conversations; ask and answer questions; express opinions and respond to those of others; seek clarification and help.
• speak in sentences, using familiar vocabulary, phrases and basic language structures.
• develop accurate pronunciation and intonation so that others understand when they are reading aloud or using familiar words and phrases.
• present ideas and information orally to a range of audiences.
• read carefully and show understanding of words, phrases and simple writing.
• appreciate stories, songs, poems and rhymes in the language .
• broaden their vocabulary and develop their ability to understand new words that are introduced into familiar written material, including through using a dictionary.
• write phrases from memory, and adapt these to create new sentences, to express ideas clearly.
• describe people, places, things and actions orally and in writing.

The children will be given opportunities to:

• listen carefully and recognise sounds and combinations of sounds which are similar to, or different from, those of English;
• understand and respond with increasing competence, accuracy and confidence in a range of situations;
• join in songs, rhymes, raps and stories which enable them to practise the sounds of the language in an enjoyable and non-threatening way;
• take part in conversations at an appropriate level, reacting to instructions and questions and expressing opinions and feelings;
• memorise and recite short texts.

Reading and writing

The children will be given opportunities to:

• read stories and rhymes for enjoyment and to gain awareness of the structure of the written language and to practise vocabulary;
• remember grapheme-phoneme correspondences and vocabulary directly taught and reinforced through word games and similar activities;
• read, copy and write independently familiar words and simple phrases in context e.g. classroom items, display labels, weather chart, date;
• write sentences and short texts independently and from memory.

Intercultural understanding

The children will be given opportunities to:

• become aware of the life of children in the France,
• identify similarities and differences in everyday life, social conventions, traditional stories and celebrations;
• understand and respect cultural diversity.

Planning and resources

The teaching of French is planned following the guidelines set out in the Wakefield Scheme of work written by Rachel Redfearn and published by La Jolie Ronde. This ensures that there is continuity and progression in both skills and content across all classes.

A variety of resources are available in school and are allocated to particular year groups. Published resources include: fiction and non-fiction texts, posters, CDs, DVDs, computer software and websites are available for use throughout the school.

Music Curriculum Intent Statement

Music is taught through our new curriculum ‘Cornerstones’ by the means of topic work across the school and is considered a key part of learning for the children at Barrow Primary school, particularly as the school is currently in the midst of the ‘Artsmark’ award, led by Mrs Victoria Bush. We are working towards silver/gold award mark for September 2019. It is also taught as a separate subject and in addition to this as a means to showcase at Barrow School in the form of plays and shows.

Music is being taught by the ‘Suffolk County Music Service’ throughout KS1 and KS2 on a rota basis. This service provides a variety of instruments and knowledgeable teachers of the subject to teach the children and support teachers with CPD of the subject. The year 4 children also access ‘play on’ which is a chance to learn an instrument with tuition. Peripatetic piano and guitar teaching is available to book in school time and are accessed by some children. These children enjoy this offering and make very good progress, receiving certificates and rewards and showing off their musical skills through our yearly ‘Barrow’s Got Talent’ shows.

Musical and singing assemblies are taught every week and are Values and Christian ethos linked. They often use actions to engage the children and to make them accessible to all the ages to remember the words. Presentations are provided for teachers by the arts co-ordinator for teachers that are leading the singing assemblies or other assemblies that week, including: warm-up/cool down ideas and activities, entrance music and a wide song bank for the teachers to choose from that are linked to that term. The music co-ordinator also provides a ‘Composer in the Spotlight’ half termly, with a display and focused music for each assembly. A separate music display is also now in the entrance to the school. The school hosts several arts-based extra-curricular activities e.g. Musical Medley and for three consecutive years, we have held a staff Panto with much singing, dancing and theatrical style acting, which inspires the children to follow suit. Staff also provide singing entertainment along with the children through the yearly ‘Summer Show’: all this provides the children with performance skills and enables a time to showcase their singing and musical skills.

The national curriculum for music aims to ensure that all pupils:

• perform, listen to, review and evaluate music across a range of historical periods, genres, styles and traditions, including the works of the great composers and musicians
• learn to sing and to use their voices, to create and compose music on their own and with others, have the opportunity to learn a musical instrument, use technology appropriately and have the opportunity to progress to the next level of musical excellence
• understand and explore how music is created, produced and communicated, including through the inter-related dimensions: pitch, duration, dynamics, tempo, timbre, texture, structure and appropriate musical notations
  

PSHE at Barrow Primary School curriculum statement

PSHE at Barrow Primary School

PSHE (Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education) is an important part of the curriculum at Barrow Primary School.

PSHE is a program of learning through which children acquire the skills and knowledge they need to live healthy and happy lives now and in the future. Through PSHE education children develop and build on ‘Life Skills’ that they need to succeed as individuals and as a member of society. Through PSHE we explore and counter any ‘Barriers to Learning’ that children may have.

The Programme of Study

At Barrow Primary School, we believe that it is vital to put the child at the heart of our planning. We therefore have adopted and adapted aspects of different programmes of study including SEAL the programme of study to ensure that we are catering to the needs of all the children in our school.

Our main focus of study is based on three core learning themes

1. Health and Wellbeing
2. Relationships
3. Living in the wider world

We teach the core areas through our embedded PSHE curriculum within the Cornerstones curriculum framework as well as holding specific PSHE learning days each half term.

Aims

The aims of PSHE education at Barrow Primary School is:

• To provide children with the knowledge and skills they need to live healthy, safe, responsible and balanced lives.
• Eliminate ‘Barriers to Learning’.
• Provide children with opportunities to explore their own needs, beliefs and values and appreciate differences in others.
• Ensure all children become positive and active members of society.
  

Science curriculum statement

At Barrow CEVC Primary School we believe that a high quality science education can give all children a strong understanding the world through the specific disciplines of biology, chemistry and physics.

As one of the core subjects taught in Primary Schools, we give the teaching and learning of Science the prominence it requires. This is achieved by embedding the primary science curriculum within engaging topic based learning including specialist vocabulary for topics specifically taught and consolidated throughout the school year.

Our science curriculum aims to support the inquisitive nature of our children, to promote respect for living and non-living things and equip pupils with the scientific knowledge required to understand the universe today and in the future. Our science curriculum builds upon these principles and aims to promote the skills required needed for scientific enquiry in order to deepen pupils scientific knowledge.

Through ‘hands on’ practical lessons children are encouraged to think about their own understanding of the world, to ask questions and to explore ways in which these questions can be answered through investigation. Children are taught how to make predictions, plan investigations, keep tests fair, use equipment safely, measure and record their results, draw conclusions and present their results.

The National Curriculum provides the structure and skill development for the science curriculum being taught throughout our school, which is now linked, where possible to the theme topics to provide a creative scheme of work, which reflects a balanced programme of study.