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; we believe all children can achieve in mathematics and we 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.
Oare Primary School Maths Curriculum
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.
PSHE
Our whole curriculum is shaped by our school vision ‘WE CARE’ which aims to enable all children, regardless of background, ability, additional needs, to flourish to become the very best version of themselves they can possibly be.
Our Personal, Social, Health education curriculum has incorporated the statutory guidance, 2019: ‘Relationships Education, Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) and Health Education’.
Throughout their time at Oare CofE Primary School, we aim for our PSHE (and SRE) curriculum to; support children to grow their knowledge of the world of which they are a part, develop an understanding of themselves, learn about the many factors that contribute to a happy, healthy and fulfilled life, arrive at informed opinions and critically challenge the ideas of others and develop an awareness of our feelings, thoughts and emotions whilst learning how to manage these in a positive way.
PSHE supports our learners to develop their own values and explore those values that underpin a healthy society including those that are explicitly identified as British Values:
- Democracy.
- Rule of Law.
- Respect & Tolerance.
- Individual Liberty.
DFE Statutory Guidance Relationships Education, RSE and Health Education
Jigsaw UK 3-11 and statutory relationships and health education map
RSHE A guide for parents and carers leaflet 2020
Relationships and Sex Education Policy
Church of England Principles and Charter in relation to RSHE
Music
Given the all-pervasive and life-giving nature of music, at Oare CE Primary School we think of music education as an active – rather than a passive – experience; and this runs through our curriculum. This is not just in the way that every lesson involves hands-on musicianship for every student, but also in the way we encourage learners to engage with and inquire into the broader role music plays or enjoys in our lives and society.
From the early years to Year 6, our spiral curricula progressively revisit and build upon the interlinking elements of music that are introduced in the first year, while simultaneously exploring music’s broader role in society in an age-appropriate manner. It is our hope that, as a result, students are not only empowered to be the best musicians they can be – and lifelong learners and lovers of music – but that they are also given the keys to unlocking some of music’s other mysteries, thereby helping them gain a better understanding of themselves, their communities and what it means to be human today on this exquisite planet we call home.
To do this, each of the six units in every year group couples a Musical Spotlight with an inquiry into a broad Social Theme. Our whole curriculum is shaped by our school vision ‘WE CARE’ which aims to enable all children, regardless of background, ability, additional needs, to flourish to become the very best version of themselves they can possibly be. We know that excellent music education is a crucial part of a much broader educational responsibility in shaping a more peaceful and sustainable future for all of us on this planet: Global Citizenship Education and Education for Peace. Through our Social Themes, we touch upon the major components of a commitment to peace, human rights and sustainable development, right down to the personal level of seeing music as key to individual well-being and friendship.
Art and Design
At Oare C of E Primary School, we believe that through art, craft and design we want to engage, inspire and challenge pupils by introducing them to a broad range of techniques, materials and artists, craftspeople and designers. We want to equip them with the knowledge and skills to experiment, explore, take risks, invent and create. It will enable them to authentic and explore their own identity as well as being curious about respecting and connecting with others. Most importantly, we want them to foster a positive, life-long relationship with the subject and have fun.
Computing
Computers are now a key part of children’s everyday lives at both home and school. It is our intent that children will leave Oare C of E Primary School not just confident using a range of devices and applications but also with an understanding of how they work. As children’s lives increasingly move online, we want the children to know how to keep themselves safe and how to make the most of the digital tools at their fingertips. We want to kindle in the children a knowledge and enjoyment of computer science and STEM learning which they can take forward into their future learning.
Religion and Worldviews
All humans have viewpoints, lenses through which they see the world. In the Religion and Worldview classroom, pupils should be encouraged to understand that ‘everybody stands somewhere’. In other words, everybody has a personal worldview which affects how they see life, the world around them and other people. This worldview may be related to a particular religion or secular organisation; it may grow, develop and change over time. ‘Where do I stand?’ requires all pupils to think deeply about different religions and worldviews, and the complexity and diversity of belief and practice which surround them. It also requires discussion of ‘big’ questions, which provide space for all to draw on new learning, to explain their own ideas, and to form, strengthen or refine these.
Our intent in the teaching of Religion and Worldviews is to provide an enquiry-led approach to learning from EYFS (Reception) to Year 6.
The Religion and Worldview curiculum at Oare C of E Primary School will:
- Develop pupil’s knowledge and understanding of, the beliefs and practices of Christians and people of other principal world religions, and non-religious world views.
- Enable pupils to explain how beliefs and practices can inform and change the way people see the world and the way they live and treat others.
- Help pupils to gain an understanding of differences held within a religious or non-religious worldview and of the similarities of beliefs and practices held in common by people within and across traditions
- Equip pupils to be sensitive to others’ beliefs, able to express their own views well, show curiosity and have the skills to ask appropriate questions when meeting people different to themselves
- Make sense of religion and worldviews around them and begin to understand the complex world in which they live.
- Make academically informed judgements about important matters of religion and belief which shape the global landscape.