Mathematics
Maths is an important creative discipline that helps us to understand and change the world. We want all of the children at Oare Primary School to experience the beauty, power and enjoyment of mathematics and develop a sense of curiosity about the subject with a clear understanding.
At Oare Primary School, we foster positive ‘can do’ attitudes, believe all children can achieve in mathematics and teach for secure and deep understanding of mathematical concepts. We use mistakes and misconceptions as an essential part of learning and provide challenge through rich and sophisticated problems before acceleration through new content.
Our pupils have many opportunities to solve problems by applying their mathematical understanding to a variety of problems with increasingly sophistication, including in unfamiliar contexts and to model real-life scenarios. Mathematical ideas are discussed and reasoned and not just received ‘passively’ by our pupils.
Writing
At Oare Primary School, we strive to help our children develop into articulate and imaginative communicators, who are well-equipped with the basic skills they need to become life-long learners; English learning is key in this. We aim to ensure all of our children develop a genuine love of language and the written word, through a text-based approach.
Writing at Oare Primary School is centred around a high quality hook that captures the children’s interest from the outset. This may a story, a poem, a piece of non-fiction text or even a short film clip. The model that is used to teach writing is a personalised approach based around best practice taken from ‘The Write Stuff’, an approach that aims to enhance the provision and practice of writing in schools. The school environment enfolds children in stories, settings and language. There is a focus on drama, oracy and language development, equipping children with fundamental knowledge and skills that will enable them to successful throughout their lives.
Careful links are made across the curriculum to ensure that children’s English learning is relevant and meaningful: where possible linking our reading, writing to the content that we are covering in History and Geography. We ensure that children develop an understanding of how widely writing is used in everyday life and, therefore, how important and useful the skills are that they are learning.
Science
At Oare Primary School, we encourage children to be inquisitive throughout their time at the school and beyond. The Science curriculum fosters a healthy curiosity in children about our universe and promotes respect for the living and non-living. We believe science encompasses the acquisition of knowledge, concepts, skills and positive attitudes. Throughout the programmes of study, the children will acquire and develop the key knowledge that has been identified within each unit and across each year group, as well as the application of scientific skills. We ensure that the Working Scientifically skills are built-on and developed throughout children’s time at the school so that they can apply their knowledge of science when using equipment, conducting experiments, building arguments and explaining concepts confidently and continue to ask questions and be curious about their surroundings.
Physical Education
In 2013 the government introduced provided substantial primary school sport funding. The funding has been jointly provided by the Departments for Education, Health and Culture, Media and Sport, and has seen money going directly to primary schools to spend on improving the quality of sport and PE for all their children. Since 2017 schools have received £16,000 plus an extra £5 per pupil each year. This money is ring-fenced for sport and PE provision only. All schools have to spend the sport funding on improving their provision of PE and sport, but there is freedom to choose how we do it. At Oare Primary School we recognise the contribution of PE to the health and well-being of the children. In addition, we believe that an innovative and varied PE curriculum and extra-curricular opportunities have a positive influence on the concentration, attitude and academic achievement of all children.
Geography
Geography is essentially about understanding the world we live in. It helps to provoke and provide answers to questions about the natural and human aspects of the world. At Oare Primary School, children are encouraged to develop a greater understanding and knowledge of the world, as well as their place in it. The geography curriculum enables children to develop knowledge and skills that are transferrable to other curriculum areas. Geography is an investigative subject, which develops an understanding of concepts, knowledge and skills. At Oare Primary School our intent, when teaching geography, is to inspire in children a curiosity and fascination about the world and people within it; to promote the children’s interest and understanding of diverse places, people, resources and natural and human environments, together with a deep understanding of the Earth’s key physical and human processes.
History
History is all around us. The study of history ignites children’s curiosity about the past in Britain and the wider world. Through finding out about how and why the world, our country, culture and local community have developed over time, children understand how the past influences the present. History enables children to develop a context for their growing sense of identity and a chronological framework for their knowledge of significant events and people. What they learn through history can influence their decisions about personal choices, attitudes and values. At Oare Primary School, our intent, when teaching history, is to stimulate the children’s curiosity in order for them to develop their knowledge, skills and understanding.
