Subject Curriculum Overviews
If you are interested in seeing the sequence of learning for any of our topics, feel free to click on that title to view the medium-term plan of lessons. (As this is the first year for our new curriculum, some topics may not yet have a MTP available but these will be made available prior to the half-term before a topic is due to start.)
EYFS Curriculum
This ambitious Early Year’s curriculum aims to teach all children the knowledge and skills so that they reach the seventeen Early Learning Goals described in the Early Years Foundation Stage. We teach through a range of teaching methods including child-initiated learning, whole class teaching, group teaching, investigations and problem solving together, and independently. As many activities as possible follow the children’s current interests and are play-based; however, there is also a need for direct teacher-led activities to ensure children gain essential knowledge and skills from their teacher. All activities are expertly modelled, and children are given sufficient time, support and resources to repeat and practise them.
History & Geography Topics
We are committed to providing children with a range of learning opportunities to engage with the past. Our teaching of History aims to help children develop a chronological framework for their knowledge of significant events and people, both in Britain and the wider World. Through this, children develop a sense of identity and an awareness of the challenges of their time. The teaching of History at Leamore aims to help pupils understand the process of change, the diversity of societies and the relationship between different groups in their own local area and those unfamiliar to them. The teaching of historical enquiry allows children to develop the expertise required to interpret and evaluate evidence, ask questions, think critically and argue for their point of view- skills highly valuable in adult life.
We also aim to teach children that Geography is more than just a study of the world's maps, how it was, how it is and how it will be, but also a curiosity about places near or far. At Leamore, we wish to give children an insight into how the world works and the problems it faces now and in the future. In addition to studying their own locality, children will be given opportunities to visit landscapes and places that they do not ordinarily have the chance to experience and are given the chance to question and receive critically accurate explanations about things they do and are learning to understand.
Here is an overview of the current curriculum for History and Geography - click a unit to see the Medium Term Plan (Unit of Lessons) or click the Year Group at the start to see the skills progression document underpinning our knowledge and skills curriculum.
History Useful Links
- World and British History for Kids - Woodlands Resources
- KS2 History - BBC Bitesize
- Historical Association
- Welcome to the Homework Gnome! | TheSchoolRun
Fun History Activities and Quizzes
- Horrible Histories: Awesome Women - CBBC - BBC
- Ancient Greece - Daily Life - Typical House - The British Museum
- Raid and Trade - Free Primary KS2 History Game - Learn about Vikings - BBC Bitesize
- KS2 History game - Learn about ancient Greece and the Olympic games for Primary school children - Ancient Greeks: The Argo Odyssey - BBC Bitesize
Art & Design Technology Topics
Imagination and creativity are explored, challenged and innovated through Art and Design at our school. Children have opportunities to take their experiences of the world and transform them through drawing, painting, textiles and 3D sculptures. This helps to prepare them for all of the different artistic areas they will be exposed to after life at Leamore. Our goals are:
- to ensure that all our children develop the necessary skills in Art & Design and Technology that will enable them to consider health and safety aspects to ensure they are safe whilst working with tools and equipment
- to give pupils opportunities to design, make and evaluate purposeful, functional and innovative products that are both appealing and functional when necessary.
- to allow pupils to explore and develop an enjoyment of working with a range of materials and mediums.
Our delivery of the Art & Design Technology curriculums does not follow a commercially available scheme. Instead, we have developed a home-grown knowledge and skills based curriculum with progress linked Long Term and Medium Term plans. (see below). We have decided to use this as our base because it allows us to make art bespoke for our pupils - building their cultural capital.
An example of how this materialises can be seen when children in Year 1 begin learning and using their skills within painting. These children start looking at primary colours and how these can mix. This knowledge is then transferred into Years 2 to 5. The children need to have the experiences in Year 1 to help broaden their understanding of primary colours to then look at secondary and tertiary colours before beginning to look at the colour choices of specific artists such a Georges Seurat when using his style to build pictures from individual coloured dots.
| Autumn 1 | Autumn 2 | Spring 1 | Spring 2 | Summer 1 | Summer 2 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year 1 | ||||||
| Year 2 | D&T - Use of Materials / Construction | Art - Collage / Printing | Art - Drawing | |||
| Year 3 | ||||||
| Year 4 |
| |||||
| Year 5 | Art- Drawing Skills | D&T- Textiles | Art- Painting | D&T- Kite Making | Art- Digital Imagery | D&T- Cooking |
| Year 6 |
* Due to the specific needs of some classes, Art and D&T may be alternated whilst still delivering all knowledge and skills - see above.
Computing Curriculum
We use the Purple Mash computing curriculum as the main base for our learning. This scheme is linked to the objectives from the National Curriculum and ensures a progression of skills and knowledge across the year and across school. The knowledge, along with the skills, learned in the younger years is instrumental in allowing pupils to develop more complex skills and secure further knowledge as they develop [For Example: simple sorting in Year 1 is an introduction data handling and this is developed and carried right through school until developing rather complex spreadsheets in Year 6.]
In addition to the Purple Mash scheme of work, we have worked with Walsall Council's Computing Curriculum team to develop an Online Safety curriculum to make sure our children are aware of the digital world they will become a part of. Below are the unit over views for the Purple Mach scheme (however, teachers may adapt the order to better fit History / Geography topics being covered. Please ask your child's class teacher if you would like to know the current or up-coming unit.)
Through this curriculum, the pupils of Leamore will be confident, competent and responsible users of technology who can use their skills to achieve a range of outcomes. They will have an understanding of the processes of programming and be able to debug issues and resolve them. They will be receptive to developments in technology and be able to use their secure foundations to stay current in emerging technological frontiers.
French Curriculum
Our MFL curriculum is designed to increasingly develop children’s skills and knowledge in languages, through regular taught French lessons. Children progressively acquire, use and apply a growing bank of vocabulary organised around topics. All of these approaches help to equip our children with the skills and knowledge needed to be confident global citizens. This will give them confidence to explore further languages later on both in and out of education.
The National Curriculum underpins our coverage of skills and knowledge. This enables children to have the experiences and exposure they need to enable their future understanding to be developed. We ensure children learn more and remember more over time by providing opportunities to explore new aspects and by building on previous learning. An example of this can bee seen in the context of numbers whereby children in Y3 start off their journey by learning numbers 1-10. This is developed consecutively in the following years (year 4-6) as the children broaden their understanding of numbers all the way to 100.
Music Curriculum
We use the Charanga Scheme of work, a world-leading music teaching and learning platform used in 62 countries. It offers a vast library of resources, songs, instrumental courses and creative apps. The pupils of Leamore Primary School love learning Music through this scheme and it allows them to develop their skills in all areas of music including musical appreciation, performance on instruments and with voice, composition and recording and reflection. They learn about a variety of composers and music genres right from the younger years to our Year 6 class. For example, Year 2 is an introduction to learning about Rock music using composers such as Queen, Deep Purple, Status Quo, Chuck Berry and The Beatles. This knowledge is then covered again in years 4, 5 and 6 where they develop further their knowledge and skills eg the work of Bon Jovi, Journey etc.
Through this curriculum, we aim to equip our children with a good understanding of music and the theory behind it. Through high quality teaching and enthusiasm from staff, they will develop their musical ability.
Science Curriculum
We follow the Collins 'Snap Science' scheme of work as our curriculum for Science. This scheme is a very engaging programme that the pupils of Leamore absolutely love! It combines exciting investigations with imperative knowledge and opportunities to develop scientific skills and enquiry by bring science alive. The scheme ensures National Curriculum coverage and ensures progression from Year 1 through to Year 6.
With such a rich offering, it is our intent that the pupils of Leamore Primary school will be confident scientists who can recognise the power of rational explanation and have developed scientific skills to allow them to explore their curiosity in the world around them. They will understand how science can be used to explain what is occurring, predict how things will behave, and analyse causes and will be prepared to continue their scientific journey as they transition to secondary school.
Science Long-Term Plan
PE (Physical Education) Curriculum.
Our PE curriculum ensures a progression of skills and knowledge across each year and across school. The knowledge, along with the skills, learned in the younger years is instrumental in allowing pupils to develop more complex skills and secure further knowledge as they develop. After reviewing several different schemes, we decided to develop our own PE curriculum that allows us to develop our cultural capital for our children. For example, children in Year 1 will learn how to move to music, and then develop this skill through to year 6, where they will develop imaginative dances in a specific style.
It is our intent that children at Leamore Primary School are exposed to a high-quality level of Physical Education. We want to teach children how to cooperate and collaborate with others, as part of a team, understanding fairness and equality of play to embed life-long values. Our children are encouraged in a safe, stimulating, challenging and active environment.
PSHE Curriculum
We believe that children are individuals and therefore, we aim to encourage mutual respect, responsibility and build self-esteem in a caring and supportive environment. Our curriculum allows students to develop an understanding of the world around them and gain the skills necessary to live healthy, safe, fulfilling, responsible and balanced lives through the use of the Jigsaw scheme of work.
The Jigsaw Programme offers us a comprehensive, carefully thought-through scheme of work which brings consistency and progression to our children’s learning in this vital curriculum area. The scheme promotes the spiritual, moral, cultural, mental and physical development of pupils at the school and of society, and prepares pupils for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of later life.
Pupils from Year Groups 1 to 6 learn skills through 6 puzzle pieces, with each piece covered termly:
- Being me in my world
- Celebrating Difference
- Dreams and Goals
- Healthy Me
- Relationships
- Changing Me
The skills and knowledge in these pieces are developed through each year group, with pupils building upon prior learning. For example, in Year 1, as part of the Celebrating Difference puzzle piece, pupils learn about bullying. In the year groups that follow, pupils knowledge and understanding is developed further as they learn about different types of bullying and ways in which bullying can be dealt with. In addition, the Jigsaw scheme of work is compliant with the DfE regulations (2019) for statutory Relationships and Health Education. This is taught as part of the Relationships and Changing Me puzzle pieces.
RE (Religious Education) Curriculum
We use the Walsall SACRE Scheme of work. We use this scheme because RE, unlike other areas of the curriculum, is a local responsibility. Through the SACRE, our local community has the opportunity to influence directly what pupils learn in RE. The Syllabus aims to promote understanding between all people and prepares the children and young people of Walsall for active citizenship in a diverse and rapidly changing world. The scheme provides clear development of religious topics that are explored right from the younger years to our Year 6.
Through this curriculum, it is our intent to equip our children with the skills they need to be respectful towards others and have an awareness of the cultural diversity within our world. Children learn about a wide range of religions and compare and contrast these faiths to develop a balanced knowledge of faith and community. Children are given opportunities to learn about religions whilst being encouraged to be respectful and be a good citizen within our community.
Curriculum Enrichment Overview
