CURRICULUM – Basic

Literacy

Literacy Vision

Literacy is fundamental, not only to our personal and social development, but also to our ability to understand, evaluate, dissect and disseminate knowledge and, consequently, to our ability to function effectively in society.

 In Meadow Hall, we believe our students should be given every opportunity possible to develop their reading, writing and speaking and listening skills that they may cultivate the tools necessary to reach their full potential.

  • READING

To ensure a lifelong love for reading, we encourage our children to read for pleasure. In order to achieve this, children are exposed to and encouraged to read a wide variety of genres; they have access to reading materials through well-resourced classrooms and a school library. We intend that our pupils will be both independent and reflective readers who can read fluently and for meaning. We also intend that children use a variety of reading skills to enable them access all other areas of learning. We bring reading to life and give it purpose by using role-play and initiative, Drop Everything And Read (D.E.A.R).

  • SPEAKING AND LISTENING

Literacy is at the heart of all learning. It enables us to communicate with others effectively. We believe that the ability to both speak and listen well is essential for children to be able to articulate their feelings, give opinions and share ideas. Alongside this, valuing the thoughts and views of others as well as treating them with respect and integrity is a vital part of our children’s lifelong learning.

  • WRITING

Our intention is that every child will learn to become writers by their exposure to and immersion in exciting, inspiring and original materials from a wide range of genres. We believe that this approach will enable them develop a genuine love for writing as they gradually develop into confident, capable and enthusiastic writers. They will write independently for a range of audience and purpose. They will also learn to reflect on their writing and those of others which should lead to an understanding that writing has a real purpose and that word choice and style can bring about societal change.

Numeracy 

Numeracy  Vision 

Our vision is to provide our pupils with a Numeracy skills which will produce individuals who are literate, creative, independent, inquisitive, enquiring and confident.

We are able to achieve this through our provision of a stimulating environment, equipped with adequate resources to enable pupils develop their mathematical skills to their fullest potential.

In Meadow Hall, the teaching of Numeracy is done according to the National Numeracy Strategy Framework of teaching Mathematics. The subject is expected to be taught under the following strands:

  • Numbers
  • Geometry and Measures
  • Handling Data

Specific Aims  

Our pupils should:

  • Have a sense of the size of a number and where it fits into the number system
  • Know by heart number facts such as number bonds, multiplication tables, doubles and halves
  • Use what they know by heart to figure out numbers mentally
  • Calculate accurately and efficiently, both mentally and in writing and also draw on a range of calculation strategies
  • Recognise when it is appropriate to use a calculator and do so effectively
  • Make sense of number problems, including non-routine problems, and recognise the operations needed to solve them
  • Explain their methods and reasoning using correct mathematical terms
  • Judge whether their answers are reasonable and have strategies for checking them where necessary
  • Suggest suitable units for measuring and make sensible estimates of measurements
  • Explain and make predictions from the numbers in graphs, diagrams, charts and tables
  • Develop spatial awareness and an understanding of the properties of 2D and 3D shapes

Science

Science Vision

At Academic Planet School, our vision is to develop every child’s skill in science as we provide opportunities to enable them explore and discover the world around them.

We realise that young children are naturally curious and passionate about learning; we therefore provide a stimulating, hands on, inquiry-based, science curriculum that nurtures children’s natural curiosity and their on-going intellectual development. Our aim is that these stimulating experiences will further challenge them as they explore, investigate and extend their scientific knowledge.

Intent

We intend for children to:

  • develop scientific knowledge and conceptual understanding through the specific disciplines of biology, chemistry and physics
  • develop understanding of the nature, processes and methods of science through different types of science enquiries that help them to answer scientific questions about the world around them
  • Equip our children with the scientific skills required to understand the uses and implications of science, today and for the future. We understand that it is important for lessons to have a skills-based focus, and that the knowledge can be acquired through this method.

Implementation

Teachers create a positive attitude to science learning within their classrooms and reinforce an expectation that all children are capable of achieving high standards in science. Our whole school approach to the teaching and learning of science involves the following;

  • A cycle of lessons for each subject, which carefully plans for progression and depth
  • Through our planning, we include inquiry-based and problem solving opportunities that allow children to find out for themselves
  • Spaced retrieval questions through our ‘Assessments” which help create a deeper level of processing any previously learned content into children’s long term memory
  • We build upon the learning and skill development of the previous years
  • Working Scientific skills are embedded into lessons to ensure these skills are being developed throughout the children’s school year
  • Teachers demonstrate how to use scientific equipment, and the various working scientific opportunities to develop children’s understanding of their surroundings by accessing outdoor learning whenever possible;

Impact

Our Science Curriculum is well thought out and planned to demonstrate progression. We measure the impact of our curriculum through the following methods:

  • A reflection on standards achieved against the planned outcomes
  • Tracking of knowledge in pre and post learning quizzes/ assessments/exams.
  • Pupil discussions about their learning