Taking into account the starting points of every pupil, our curriculum is planned so that we provide a language rich environment in which all pupils develop their communication skills. Starting with learning how to speak in sentences as they join the nursery, through the Early Years department where stories and poems develop vocabulary and knowledge of culture; through to the acquisition of reading and writing skills, our curriculum is planned to offer pupils exciting learning opportunities through which they explore and explain using vocabulary from across a range of subjects.
Knowing our children enter with limited vocabulary and language, we focus on developing early communication and reading skills through the high-quality teaching of phonics and fostering a love of reading. We maintain this vocabulary focus across all areas of the curriculum.
Our curriculum is designed to excite, inspire and empower our children through half termly themes and big ‘I wonder’ questions. Each theme has been chosen to give pupils an understanding of the world around them and prepare them for the next stage in their learning. This includes creating a knowledge and skills-based curriculum that provides opportunities to learn about diversity beyond their own experiences. Through a children develop a clear sense of what it is to be an expert in each subject.
We have a curriculum which meets the needs of our classes and ensures progression of skills and knowledge. We use Kapow in supporting our delivery of this curriculum and ensures full coverage of the National Curriculum.
Teachers plan lessons and additional enrichment opportunities to develop and inspire children to have a love of learning and the world around them. The lessons develop language and vocabulary, an understanding of diversity and a love of reading.
We track children’s progress on an ongoing basis through our progressive statements (Kapow Objective Statements) to ensure that we are revisiting, embedding and building on new learning. This ensures we are challenging them with appropriately pitched, individualised learning.
Enquiry in Action:
Questioning forms the basis of all curriculum planning. Pupils are encouraged to ask who? what? why? when? in relation to their learning across the whole curriculum. Practical learning opportunities are provided across the school through which exploration takes place as pupils learn the knowledge and skills required to understand the world around us. As pupils develop an understanding of who they are and their potential to make an impact on the future, they are encouraged to solve problems and to communicate their ideas through a range of media.
Global perspective:
Pupils are given an understanding of where they fit in the world, the impact that they have on the environment and their potential to make a difference in the future.
Reception
The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) Framework, sets out the standards for development, learning and care of children from birth to five. It is important that all children are given the opportunity to experience the best possible start to their education. We need to ensure that our children enter school having established solid foundations on which they can build. Children will start in our Nursery Class having had a range of different experiences. Within the Nursery Class and Reception Year, learning experiences of the highest quality are planned, considering children’s needs and achievements and the range of learning experiences that will help them make progress. Play is one of the main ways in which our children learn. It helps to build their self-confidence and independence, enables them to feel good about themselves and develop their social skills and imagination. It also teachers them self-expression. Our Early Years environment provide activities and resources to help engage, encourage and develop our children’s learning in many different ways. It is important that learning is fun at this stage and children explore and experiment with different ways of doing things. Through play, our staff observe children and carefully intervene where appropriate, to build on and develop the characteristics of effective learning. Through positive relationships, a rich environment, and thoughtful interactions, our children are encouraged and supported to take risks, explore new experiences and be active learners who persevere, concentrate and are proud of their goals.
The EYFS sets out the following seven areas of learning to be used for planning learning and development opportunities; all areas are important and inter-connected. They fall into two groups; The Prime and the Specific areas for learning.
These are recognised as essential areas for your child’s healthy development. They form an essential foundation for children’s future learning ability and are a key focus for Early Years learning.
• Communication and language,
• Physical development
• Personal, social and emotional development.
As children consolidate skills in the Prime areas, they are able help to develop knowledge and skills in these four specific areas.
• Literacy
• Mathematics
• Understanding the world
• Expressive arts and design.
Phonics
The school uses Essential Letters and Sounds programme. This is taught in EYFS and Key Stage 1 to help our children to develop their reading skills. Essential Letters and Sounds, aims to build children’s speaking and listening skills in their own right as well as to prepare children for learning to read by developing their phonic knowledge and skills. It sets out a detailed and systematic programme for teaching phonic skills for children starting by the age of three, with the aim of them becoming fluent readers by age seven. Information on this can be found on the website https://essentiallettersandsounds.org/parents. On EYFS and Key Stage 1 Class pages you can also watch videos of the sounds being taught and the correct pronunciation.
With ELS, there is a daily phonics lesson where the teacher teaches a new sound, or reviews sounds learned earlier in the week. This is shown to the class on the whiteboard.
Children learn the letters that represent the sounds. They are then asked to read words and sentences with the new sounds in. Children will also practise writing the letters that represent the sounds.
New sounds are taught each day, with some review days and weeks to help children practise what they’ve learned. Click below to reveal the sounds your child will learn in ELS.
Children learn to read letters or groups of letters by saying the sounds they represent. Pronounce the sounds as you would say them within a word. Make sure you don’t add ‘uh’ onto the end, so for ‘m’ say ‘mm’ not ‘muh’ and for ‘l’ say ‘ull’ not ‘luh’. The below video gives you all 44 sounds in English.
English
The best readers read regularly and read a wide range of different texts. We encourage you to develop your child’s reading by exposing them to reading in lots of different contexts, be this through newspapers, comics, reading menus and signposts, reading online, looking at fiction and non-fiction books and of course regular visits to the library.
Reading has a very high priority at St James the Great School and we encourage pupils to read as much as possible at home. We aim to develop children’s love of reading through organising units of lessons around motivating books and texts. We use a text-based, whole-class teaching approach providing opportunities for learning and reinforcing:
When pupils are first learning to read, they take home a book matched to the phonics they are learning in class, which has a controlled vocabulary, with the aim of encouraging reading fluency. In addition to this, pupils may also take home other books that they wish from the class or school library.
In older year groups, children are encouraged to read books matched to their ability. Reading a book that is too difficult can be demoralising for a child, however, you can always read more challenging books together.
Children receive Dojo rewards for reading regularly at home.
In school, we promote reading for pleasure in two ways.
Firstly, each class has a class reading book that is read at a regular timeslot each day. This book is read by the class teacher. The children may sometimes get a choice, at the teacher’s discretion, of which book will be read next.
Secondly, we have OTTER time (Our Time To Enjoy Reading). This is ten minutes in the school day when everyone, including the teacher, reads a book of their choice without any worry of someone asking a questions about what they’ve read.
Speaking and listening skills, collectively known as oracy, are vital in the classroom because they improve academic attainment, boost confidence, foster critical thinking and problem-solving, enhance social and emotional development, and are essential for success in all aspects of life. Through active dialogue and attentive listening, students can better understand complex topics, articulate their own ideas, and build positive relationships with peers and teachers.
Writing provides children with a vehicle to express who they are as people and to actively engage in daily life. Writing makes children’s thinking and learning visible and permanent. It provides children with opportunities to explain and refine their ideas to others and themselves.
At St James the Great School we teach writing through two different methods. EYFS use Drawing Club and Y1 to Y6 use Ready Steady Write.
EYFS – Drawing Club
Drawing Club is a true adventure and perfect for Reception. Based around the Golden Blend of picture books, tales and animations, it involves a short period of Time Together as a whole class followed by time with children exploring their ideas and creativity that can be adapted to how you believe is best.
Drawing Club gives teachers the freedom to explore and the world of story to life.
Year 1 to Year 6 – Ready, Steady, Write
Our writing curriculum is designed to provide a broad and balanced education that meets the needs of all children. We follow the award-winning Ready Steady Write from Literacy Counts to develop confident, independent and successful writers with high aspirations. Our writing curriculum is research-informed and impact-proven, carefully designed to support all children to master the foundational skills and write for a clear audience and purpose. Through the use of high-quality, vocabulary-rich texts, we provide exciting and meaningful reasons to write. Children are immersed in literature and taught to craft their writing with precision, using a range of pedagogical approaches, including sentence accuracy, modelled writing and shared writing, as well as regular opportunities for editing.
We value spoken language as a foundation for writing. Through structured talk, drama and vocabulary exploration, children learn how to organise and express their ideas clearly before writing them down. Our aim is for every child – regardless of need – to write fluently and take pride in their work. We want our pupils to leave primary school as enthusiastic writers, ready for the next stage of their education.
Handwriting is taught using Letter-join. Letter-join offers a wealth of handwriting resources including interactive features for IWBs, PCs and tablets as well as worksheets that use your pre-selected letterforms. Letter-join includes animations of all the letters of the alphabet with a spoken commentary on how to write each letter. Patterns, letters and words can all be watched and traced on-screen. Magic Patterns allows children to trace pre-cursive patterns and fun shapes on a variety of ‘magic’ backgrounds and with Magic Words they can trace over their own words on different backgrounds on IWBs or tablets.
Children in EYFS are taught to print first. Cursive style is introduced in Year 1 and further built upon in Year2. By the time the children reach KS2 they should be writing using a cursive style.
Spelling is taught using Spelling Shed. A renowned spelling programme it is the most up-to-date scheme available based on cutting edge research into the teaching of spelling.
Based on phonics, morphology and etymology, it includes main teaching inputs, which can then be followed up with additional activities that can be carried out immediately after the input during an extended session or revisited throughout the week in order to consolidate the learning further. There are online games that the children can use to practice their spelling, and you should get a username and password for your child to be able to do this. A weekly spelling test is held to ensure the children are learning their spellings.
Mathematics
Maths Curriculum St. James 25-26
Intent, Implementation and Impact for Mathematics at St. James the Great:
At St. James the Great Primary and Nursery School, we view Mathematics as an interconnected subject in which pupils need to be able to move fluently between different representations of mathematical ideas across a range of concepts. These mathematical concepts are organised into distinct domains, whereby pupils make solid connections across mathematical ideas to develop fluency, reasoning and competence in solving increasingly sophisticated and challenging problems. Pupils apply their mathematical knowledge to Science and other subjects where appropriate. At St. James’, we foster and develop positive, independent attitudes towards mathematics. As part of lessons, pupils develop key skills; concrete, pictorial and abstract representations through the use of ‘White Rose’ Maths scheme’; an accessible, whole-school approach method for all pupils to access at their own individual levels across all concepts. We believe children can achieve in mathematics and therefore teach for secure and deep understanding of mathematical concepts through a progressive approach. The National Curriculum is written with three core aims: Fluency, Reasoning and Problem Solving. The joy of Mathematics lies in the ability to appreciate pattern and order in the subject and hence the universe; to solve puzzles that stimulate the brain and make us aware of the evolving nature of Mathematics and its applications. Here at St James C of E, we encourage an enthusiasm for Mathematics as a lively and exciting subject.
We achieve this by encouragement, by stimulation and by a practical approach. We endeavour to present tasks that will challenge the pupils to think and this practice will then equip them well in life. The basis for the programme of study is the National Mathematics Curriculum (2014). The emphasis is placed on a thorough grounding of basic concepts, whilst developing investigative minds capable of problem solving. Children need to develop a mastery of mathematics rather than achieving the next objective year on year.
The curriculum is written so that children can strengthen deeper understanding and apply knowledge into different contexts within the field of mathematics. Although it is necessary to learn and repeatedly apply basic procedures, the importance of understanding along the way is considered vital for the progression and development of mathematical knowledge. We build on each topic through our White Rose Maths scheme, increasing fluency and competency layer by layer, allowing each pupil to progress comfortably.
Intent and Impact
We want all children in School to be able:
Through a focus for learning on:
With measurable outcomes:
OBJECTIVES
1. Use and apply number through problem solving, communicating and reasoning.
2. Use numbers and the number system through counting; investigating number patterns and sequences; reading, writing and ordering numbers, and using fractions, percentages, decimals and ratios.
3. Understand and apply the number operations and the relationships between them through mental, written and (eventually) calculator methods.
4. Solve numerical problems in ‘real life’ contexts, such as money and measurement.
5. Measure with an appropriate degree of accuracy (including time), read scales and dials, recognising the need for standard units of measurement, and estimation.
6. Visualise, describe, make and draw 2-D and 3-D shapes. Understand their properties and use related vocabulary.
7. Understand the properties of position and movement.
8. Use and apply handling data skills through problem solving, organising information and reasoning.
9. Process, represent and interpret data, and develop and understanding of probability.
Strategies for Implementation:
Successful and aspirational learning.
A curriculum that is responsive to a changing world.
A supportive environment in which children are open to new experiences and feel able to take risks and celebrate mistakes as learning opportunities.
“In Year 1, we are learning different ways of doing things,” (Thomas, Y2).
“In Maths, we have challenges that make you think with your brain!” (Alex, Y3).
“I like Maths because I have really been trying and I am now getting the hang of it. I can use Numicon,” (Evelyn, Y2).
Key-Learning-In-Mathematics-Year-1
Key-Learning-In-Mathematics-Year-2
Key-Learning-In-Mathematics-Year-3
Key-Learning-In-Mathematics-Year-4
Key-Learning-In-Mathematics-Year-5
Science
At St James’ Primary and Nursery our vision is to give children a Science curriculum which enables them to explore and discover the world around them, confidently, so that they have a deeper understanding of the world we live in. To achieve this it involves exciting, practical hands on experiences that encourage curiosity and questioning.
Our aim is that these stimulating and challenging experiences help children secure and extend their scientific knowledge and vocabulary. We believe that these opportunities will ensure that our children are confident, life-long leaRners who will explore the world around them.
Science represents a body of knowledge which is built up through experimental testing of idea and which is organised in a way that makes it easy to use. It is also a methodology, a practical way of finding reliable answers to questions.
Aims:
Our aims in teaching Science are that all children will:
Please view our vocabulary lists for science topics
Topic Specific Science Vocabulary
Science Home learning lessons
From Year 1 to Year 6. Lessons with PowerPoints and activities
Science for One
Experiments at home with easy accessible equipment
Science Experiments
A variety of science experiments for daily or weekly remote learning
What is a year?
How long is a year on Earth?
How long is a year on Neptune?
Why are they so different?
In Year 5 we are describing the reproduction of plants through pollination. We dissected flowering plants to look for the female parts (carpel: stigma and style, ovary and ovules) and male parts (stamen: carpel and filament).
We learned about the term ‘viscosity’ and predicted which liquids would prove to be more viscous. The children designed and carried out liquid races to see if their predictions were correct!
We looked at melting points and made some delicious treats using chocolate! We found that chocolate melted at 32ºC, which was very different to our ice experiment. We like this kind of experimentation!
We had a competition to see who could make the tallest tower from ice cubes. Pupils were given the freedom to choose from a selection of ingredients to see if they helped or caused extra problems! Pupils were given the option of using gloves – many turned this down as they thought it would ‘warm up’ the ice cubes! We discovered that this was a misconception!
By using salt, we found that cubes would fuse together. We researched why this happens and thought about practical applications for salt in cold weather.
Religious Education
Our aim is to provide high-quality RE that will support pupils’ religious literacy. In the context of the syllabus we use, being religiously literate means that pupils will have ability to hold balanced and well-informed conversations about religion and worldviews.
Pupils will be able to make sense of religion and worldviews around them and begin to understand the complex world in which they live.
RE is primarily about enabling pupils to become free thinking, critical participants of public discourse, who can make academically informed judgements about important matters of religion and belief which shape the global landscape.
The aims of religious education are to enable pupils to:
· know about and understand Christianity as a diverse global living faith through the exploration of core beliefs.
· gain knowledge and understanding of a range of religions and worldview appreciating diversity, continuity and change within the religions and worldviews being studied.
· engage with challenging questions of meaning and purpose raised by human existence and experience.
· recognise the concept of religion and its continuing influence on Britain’s cultural heritage and in the lives of individuals and societies in different times, cultures and places.
· explore their own religious, spiritual and philosophical ways living, believing and thinking.
How do we achieve this?
At St James’ the Great Church of England Primary School and Nursery, we plan and deliver our RE lessons around the Norfolk Agreed Syllabus 2019 with an RE curriculum based on a multi-disciplinary approach. RE is rooted in three key areas: theology, philosophy and the human / social sciences.
Theology is thinking through believing. It is about asking questions that believers would as. It requires pupils to think like theologians, or to look at concepts through a theological lens. Pupils will explore questions and answers that arise from inside religions and world views.
Philosophy is thinking through thinking. It is about asking questions that thinkers would ask. It requires pupils to think like philosophers, or to look at concepts through a philosophical lens. Pupils will explore questions and answers raised through considering the nature of knowledge, existence and morality.
Human / Social Sciences is thinking through living. It is about asking questions that people who study lived reality or phenomena would ask. It requires pupils to think like human and social scientists, or to look at concepts through a human / social lens. Pupils will explore questions and answers raised in relation to the impact of religions and worldviews on people and their lives.
Our pupils deepen their RE understanding in a variety of ways – they part take in creative learning, visit religious places as well as enjoy visits from visitors at school, engage in personal reflection and discuss religious and philosophical questions as a class. By the time they leave our school, pupils have learned to be respectful, tolerant and to embrace diversity.
Through their RE lessons, they have gained an understanding of different religions and beliefs and why they exist, as well as considering their own values and views and their own place in the world.
Throughout all our year groups we focused on the Creation story. Each year group worked hard to create a display to portray their learning and understanding of the Creation story and how this impacts the beliefs of Christians.
We had a fabulous Diwali celebration day:
*We dressed up in our best clothes;
*We took part in Mendhi Patterns and learning more about these;
*We enjoyed some Indian snacks;
We enjoyed a delicious Indian dinner;
*We took part in Indian dancing;
*We created some Diyas
*We learnt about what Diwali means and why it is celebrated too
What great memories to help us to understand our diverse world and religions.
WHOLE-SCHOOL-OVERVIEW-Primary-Curriculum-Map
RE – Progression Skills document
CHRISTMAS 2025 at ST JAMES THE GREAT
BLESSING OF THE CRIB
This term we focused on ‘Incarnation’ and the meaning of it.
Geography
Geography is a valued part of the curriculum. It provides us with the means to explore, appreciate and better understand the world we live in and how it has evolved. Geography explores the relationship between the Earth and its people through the study of place, space and environment. In geography pupils will learn the skills of understanding a locality and how and where people fit into its overall structure. Geography encourages children to learn through experience, especially practical and fieldwork activities.
Intent for Geography
At St James Primary School, we use The International Primary Curriculum for pupils ‘to gain greater knowledge of the wider world’. We want pupils to explore and develop their life experiences outside of where they live, to learn about other cultures so that they gain a greater understanding to prepare them for life in modern Britain. Our geography curriculum encourages research and fieldwork, allowing our pupils to become inquisitive skilled investigators and learners. We want to inspire in pupils a curiosity and fascination about the world and its people which will remain with them for the rest of their lives.
Our intent is that our teaching of Geography will help pupils become more aware of the area they live in. Through having a global balance in terms of locations studies, pupils will gain knowledge and understanding of diverse places, people, resources in 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 resources, and of the formation and use of landscapes and environments. Through their learning, we want pupils to understand the importance of respect for their environment. We believe that Geography helps to provoke and provide answers to questions about the natural and human world around them.
Implementation
Geography is predominantly taught in the Spring term across the school, however, it is integrated throughout other subject areas to ensure continuation of progression.
Our ‘Progression of knowledge and skills in Geography’ documents outline what pupils will be taught in each year group.
The key skills that pupils will be taught are:
Within lessons pupils are encouraged to ask questions and answer them through exploration and research. Teachers model relevant key vocabulary and encourage pupils to use it. This vocabulary is also on each class page of the website so children and carers can access it and support from home. Opportunities are taken to develop independent research and study skills through the use of books, computing and technologies. Appropriate resources will be available to ensure that pupils have access to secondary resources through our School Library and topic box library loans.
We aim to exploit opportunities for cross-curricular work so that learning is placed within a firm context and opportunities are created to embed reading, writing and communication and, where appropriate, mathematics across the curriculum.
Experiences are enriched as pupils take part in local studies, involving investigations and fieldwork, beginning with the school grounds and the local area as they begin to understand and appreciate the world around them. Our vast field and wildlife area encourage outdoor learning opportunities. Within school, we are developing our school grounds with the help of the Essex Wildlife Trust, and hope to create a pond and ‘bog’ area so we can encourage a whole range of wildlife including frogs, newts, insects and plants as well as providing water for our other nature visitors such as the muntjac deer and foxes. Also, we will be planting wildlife pollinator plants throughout our grounds to encourage Bees.
Additionally, we work hard to encourage an understanding of sustainability through our assembly programme, Courageous Advocates and Eco-Warriors Club, alongside teaching the key messages through our curriculum.
Who am I?
To start our year, we took two weeks to study ourselves; where we come from, what our flags look like, what food we like to eat, how many different languages spoken. Here are a selection of our displays showing what we discovered about ourselves.
History
In History, we aim to develop an enthusiasm for learning and skills progression in both Historical and Chronological understanding of the world around us.
History is about events that have taken place in the past, whether it is 100 years ago or last week.
It is about the diversity of human experience, and pupils will be able to understand more about themselves as individuals and members of society through learning this subject. What they learn can influence their decisions about personal choices, attitudes and values. Skills developed through historical inquiry have a wide application to everyday life and historical awareness promotes responsible citizenship.
PSHE
Personal, Social, Health and Economic (PSHE) lessons at St. James’ are an important element of our curriculum and our overall aim is to give pupils the skills to thrive as individuals, family members and members of society. From making responsible decisions about budgeting to learning about peer pressure, PSHE education helps pupils to manage many of the most critical opportunities, challenges and responsibilities they will face growing up. It is not enough to simply teach pupils about the issues covered but it is vital that pupils have opportunity to explore their attitudes, values and beliefs and develop the skills, language and strategies necessary to manage such issues should they encounter them. Our Programme of Study has been designed to enable pupils to thrive in a time of rapid change. Each pupil has two lessons a week of PSHE, we follow the PATHS Scheme of work, ensuring that the ‘language of emotion’ is taught throughout the school.
Relationships and Sex Education is taught through PSHE and Science lessons. Sex education is taught in the Summer term across the school. Parents are invited into school to view resources and ask questions prior to the teaching.
Art
At St James’, we believe that every child is an artist. Our Art and Design curriculum reflects the school’s ethos, ensuring that questioning, reflection and thoughtfulness are at it’s heart.
Through our ‘Kapow’ scheme, children are inspired to experiment and invent their own works of art while learning new skills and developing their abilities. Through the four strands of Drawing, Painting and Mixed Media, Sculpture and 3D, and Craft and Design, children will build on their making skills, generating ideas, understanding the formal elements, knowledge of artists and evaluating.
Children will express themselves as individuals, whilst learning about and responding to the work of diverse and relevant artists. As part of their art learning, children are given opportunities to explore the art in their local community through gallery visits. Children will collaborate as a school in the Summer term, and create a piece to be displayed in a local gallery. The Art and Design learning at St James’ will ensure development of our pupil’s cultural capital.
The art experiences offered to children at St James’ will be positive, memorable and rich. They will become proficient in using their own autonomy whilst developing their artistic abilities throughout their creative journey.
Physical Education
Physical Education is placed to support children’s all-round development. As well as developing physical skills, PE teaches children intellectual skills, helps them navigate complex social situations and nurtures their emotional well-being.
At St James’ we have adopted the Real PE approach. This approach supports children to create positive relationships with physical education for life. The video below demonstrates Jasmines journey.
The fundamental movement skills are inter-woven within the 6 multi-ability cogs. The multi-ability cogs are;
Scan the QR codes to view each year groups curriculum map.
Foundation Stage
Year 1
Year 2
Year 3
Year 4
Year 5 & 6
At our school, children have access to two hours of PE every week.
Early Years Foundation stage
Children are taught to;
Key stage 1
Children are taught to;
Key Stage 2
Children will be taught to;
Swimming
St James’ children in Year 4 and 6 are given the opportunity to learn how to swim at Leisure World pool. They are taught by qualified swimming instructors, and are grouped according to their abilities.
Year 4 swimming – Summer Term
Year 6 swimming – Spring Term
Children are taught to;
Extra-curricular activities
Extra-curricular sports clubs – to be confirmed
Soon we will provide a range of extra-curricular sports clubs during lunchtime and after school to continue to promote sport throughout every year group, as well as a healthy attitude to living and learning at school and at home.
PE days
On the day your child has PE, they should come to school wearing their PE kit. Please also make sure earrings are removed and hair should be tied back.
| Year group | PE day (session 1) | PE day (session 2) |
| Foundation Stage | Wednesday (start date – 6th November 2024) | |
| Year 1 | Monday | Wednesday |
| Year 2 | Monday | Wednesday |
| Year 3 | Tuesday | Friday |
| Year 4 | Monday | Thursday |
| Year 5 | Monday | Thursday |
| Year 6 | Tuesday | Friday |
Music
At St James’, we believe that Music gives children the opportunity to experience the world around them and express themselves in a variety of ways. By providing opportunities to perform, listen to and evaluate music, children experience through first hand. We follow ‘Charanga’ to organise and plan our Music curriculum to ensure that children learn knowledge and skills progressively, term on term and year on year as they move through the school.
At our school, children have the opportunity to take part in a range of hands on Musical activities. Through song, movement, dance, relaxation, daily worship and choir (as an extra-curricular activity). Music is cross-curricular therefore is incorporated throughout many lessons throughout the week rather than just stand-alone lessons. Music is vitally important to develop their creativity, imagination and improve their self-esteem and wellbeing.
Music is being taught across the school in various ways. Teachers are confident with the Charanga resource and will deliver the lessons on a weekly basis. Some music lessons are taught by music professionals within the school team who will focus on the practical aspect of learning to play an instrument.
It is important that pupils learn to play a musical instrument with increasing accuracy, fluency, control and expression, using and understanding musical notations. They will also develop their understanding of rhythm, rhyme and keeping to a beat.
Pupils are able to achieve because they feel successful with their learning, especially with their musical ability and skills they learn. All pupils whatever starting point they have are enabled to have equal learning opportunities and are encouraged to be ambitious and aspire to achieve great things. Music enables pupils to feel creative and experimental. Music also enables pupils to see that they have potential and musical ability giving them confidence for their next steps in their lives.
EYFS Curriculum
Key Stage 1 Curriculum
Pupils should be taught to:
Key Stage 2 Curriculum
Pupils should be taught to sing and play musically with increasing confidence and control. They should develop an understanding of musical composition, organising and manipulating ideas within musical structures and reproducing sounds from aural memory.
Pupils should be taught to:
Extra Curricular activities
Computing
St James – Computing Curriculum Map- Whole School
At St James we believe that Computing underpins today’s modern lifestyle therefore it is essential that all pupils gain the confidence and ability that they need in this subject to prepare them for the challenge of a rapidly developing and changing technological world. The school aim to use Computing in order to enhance and extend children’s learning across the whole curriculum whilst developing motivation and social skills.
We will:
Design and Technology
