All staff at our school work tenaciously hard to ensure that all children receive a broad, balanced and stimulating curriculum which engages them and challenges their learning.

The children in key stages 1 and 2 are taught English, Mathematics, Science, Information Communication Technology, Religious Education, Art, Design Technology, History, Geography, Physical Education and Personal Social and Health Education. We teach French from Year 3. As a school we are innovative with our curriculum design and presentation with English and Maths being at the core of all that we do. 

 The curriculum is chronicled into 3 themes per year. These themes last for approximately ten weeks. They are based on prime learning challenges that seek to inspire the children to lead their own learning through a range of subsidiary challenges, underpinned by key skills, which develop their knowledge and understanding of the world around them and fulfil the requirements of the National Curriculum.

We follow the locally agreed syllabus for RE. This syllabus has a emphasis towards Christianity, but also challenges the children to consider other mainstream religions and people of no faith.

We encourage the children to work with other classes across the school. This is done by planning whole school projects and year groups working together on themes. Also, through ‘The Totally Brilliant All Saints University of Excellence and Uniqueness’, all children are encouraged to pursue their own strengths alongside likeminded children in school.

 It is the substance of education that ultimately creates and changes life chances.

At All Saints CEVA Primary School we carefully design, plan and implement a curriculum which provides breadth for every pupil:

At All Saints CEVA Primary School careful anaysis and discussion about our pupils backgrounds, life experiences and culture has helped us to design a curriculum with three key priorities underpinning every subject area. We strongly believe that by focusing on the following key priorities our children will be ready to successfully meet the challenges of the next stage of their education and their wider future in the world. Our Key Priorities, through our unique curriculum are to create: 1: Successful Learners - we provide experiences which show children the wide range of possibilities available for their future. 2: Confident Individuals - we offer experiences which help them become indepenent and resourceful young people. 3: Responsible Citizens - we provide experiences which help our pupils value their environment and understand their responsibilities towards sustaining the local and global environment alongside understanding the differing views of people. We have designed and planned our curriculum to offer a range of experiences that contribute to every child receiving a full and rich curriculum. The range of experiences we offer not only support but champion our cultural diversity and ensure our children benefit from a full range of academic, spiritual, moral and cultural activities. These opportunities weill enrich their lives and those of our whole school and wider community; making them proud of their British Values an the diverse society to which they belong and make an active contribution to. We are proud that our curriculum gives our children the skills, confidence and self-belief to lead a happy and fulfilled life through its constant encouragement to aim to have a passion for learning, high aspirations and respect for all.

 

At All Saints CEVA Primary School we carefully design, plan and implement a curriculum which provides balance for every pupil:

At All Saints CEVA Primary School it is our overarching belief that every child is valued and has the opportunity to experience the feeling of success in a wide range of curriculum areas. We believe that through our uniquely designed curriculum we can impact on what is in children's heads and how they feel about themselves so that they feel clever, confident and inspired to tackle the challenges that await them. We have designed, organised and planned our curriculum to ensure that every child receives an appropriate mix of academic and personal development which means, in practice, that we place equal importance on both core and foundation subjects. At All Saints CEVA Primary School we place a high priority on ensuring children's physical and mental well-being are met and valued as importantly as we value academic progress. We understand that children will not be successful academically unless they are emotionally secure. With this in mind we carefully design our curriculum and adopt a flexible approach to timetabelling to ensure that we respond to any issues that may arise that impact on mental well-being. We carefully monitor children's personal development progress and our well-planned and embedded approach to Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural (SMSC) learning helps to ensure every child is well cared for and supported. Our insistance on balance in our curriculum is not at the expense of high aspiration for standards in our core learning areas. High standards, enabling children to reach national expectations, is of vital imporance if children are to succeed in the next stages of their education and go on to achieve full and happy lives as contributing members of society. Our full, rich and tailored curriculum, with its range of excellent experiences, ensures that every pupil at All Saints CEVA Primary School makes excellent progress both academically and personally. Our unique curriculum provides the opportunity for all pupils to flourish and shine.

 

At All Saints CEVA Primary School we carefully design, plan and implement a curriculum which provides depth for every pupil:

At All Saints CEVA Primary School our definition of progress is: the widening and deepening of essential knowledge, skills, understanding and learning behaviours. We design, organise and plan our curriculum to ensure that children are not merely covering content but focus on achieving a depth to their learning which enables them to use their skills and understanding in all areas of the curriculum. Our careful curriculum design and planning means that we build in many opportunities for repetition and practice opportunities for essential knowledge, skills and understanding in every subject. This ensures that children are able to revisit previous learning, which allows them to gradually develop a deeper understanding of the skills, processes and connections within subjects, at their own pace and in the best possible way for each individual child. Our curriculum is meticulously designed and planned to move the nature of children's thinking to a higher order level of understanding rather than just acquiring new facts and knowledge.

 

Our Different Approach

Our unique school adopts a very different approach to curriculum design. We begin by asking ourselves "What do our children need to learn about to make them successful learners, confident individuals and responsible citizens?" We then each year decide on the three main whole school themes in the summer term prior to the new academic year. There are numerous factors which we take into account to ensure that the curriculum is broad and balanced but relevant and responsive to both the learning needs and personal interests of the children and the environment they live in on a local and global level. These factors are: The possible barriers to learning that some of our children may have - Does the theme address these needs? Interests of the children - what would they like to find out more about? Subject leaders through their analysis of coverage target areas - what requires deeper investigation? Local and National Events - what is happening that the school community needs to be aware of and part of? Global Issues - what is happening in the world and what part can we play in this? Our phase teams work together to develop learning experiences for the children which excite, inspire, challenge leading to lifelong learning. We build external visits and visiting experts to further enhance the quality of teaching and give opportunities for real and relevant contexts to learning. All of the learning themes are cross curriculum with SMSC running through them. Religious Education and Physical Education can have a more standalone approach but when we build the learning opportunities in to the main learning theme. For the academic year 2016 to 2017 our learning themes were: "I love where i live" (150 years of All Saints Church) Ice Worlds From Farm to Fork For this academic year our learning themes are: Space the Final Frontier? From Horse to Horse Power The Prehistoric Age These learning themes are further enhanced by the opportunity to participate in: House Team afternoons, for example our history leader would organise a whole school house team afternoon learning and developing historians through the context of Space. It is important in the development of confident individuals that we allow our children to support one another from different age groups sharing knowledge and expertise. SMSC - "Things to Do Before You Leave" (Reception, Year 2, Year 4, Year 6). These are a unique list of activities and learning opportunities which focus on SMSC development which are planned into the learning theme.

Curriculum Subjects

(See also our Curriculum Subject page which explores these topics in more detail).

ENGLISH

This comprises of Reading and Reading schemes, writing, spelling and handwriting.

READING

We hope to promote a love and enthusiasm of reading so that children's skills, understanding and enthusiasm are able to reach their maximum potential.

Learning to read involves the development of phonic skills (at All Saints we use the SoundsWrite programme), listening to and being involved with good quality texts and having many opportunities for children to read with adults.

Children participate in guided reading (Book Talk) where they are able to read texts in groups and discuss what they have read and there are also opportunities for small groups and individuals to share books with adults.

Reading is assessed through teacher assessments throughout the year, as well as through tests in Key Stage 2 where children are expected to read a booklet containing different types of writing and answer questions about it. Formal testing takes place in Year 1 (a phonics assessment), Year 2 and Year 6.

READING SCHEMES

The reading scheme used at All Saints is primarily Oxford Reading Tree in EYFS and Key Stage 1, although children may sometimes come home with books that are appropriate from other schemes. Children should not be encouraged to race through the levels in the scheme as quickly as possible, as within each colour band there are a range of textes and topics for children to experience to gain a greater depth in their reading ability. It is also important that children are able to answer a range of questions about the book they have read to show that it has been understood properly. Staff will not move children up to the next level if they fell they can gain more from staying on the level they are on for a while longer.

PHONICS

When your child learns to read, they will be taught the sounds that letters make on their own as well as in different groups. For example, the letters 's' and 'h' have their own individual sounds, but when put together as /sh/, a new sound is created.

Your child will learn blends like /sh/, /ai/ and /ck/, as well as how to synthesise all the sounds together to make words (blending). This is also called sounding out, which is the method your child will use as they read words they've not come across before.

Each school has a phonics scheme which if follows to teach your child to read. All Saints uses SoundsWrite and all staff who work in EYFS or Key Stage 1 (and many Key Stage 2) have been trained in how to deliver it. It is taught in EYFS and Key Stage 1 and elements are used in Key Stage 2 when teaching more complex spellings.

GPS (Grammer, Punctuation & spelling) and Writing at All Saints CEVA Primary School and Nursery

The ability to write and communicate are key life skills. In the long term, your child will be able to use these skills throughout their education and employment and their adult life.

At All Saints, we make GPS (Grammer, Punctuation and Spelling) a focus of our English lessons, through enquiry based learning and opportunities to promote thinking and discussion. We believe that the best way to teach these skills is through good quality texts linked to the theme the children are studying, so that they are given opportunitites to applying and embed the skills they are learning in a stimulating context. For example, rather than completing worksheets about how to use inverted commas, children investigate how inverted commas are used in a text linked to their theme and then be given writing opportunities e.g. to write the next part of the story or a conversation between characters.

In addition, Basic Skills lessons take place on Fridays where spelling, punctuation and grammar can be focused on in specific areas e.g investigating spelling rules or focussing on word classes.

It is important to remember that your child will need to be secure in the previous years' work as well as the current year group they are in.

All children are given opportunities to take part in extended writing, where they can demonstrate their creativity as well as the skills they have learned.

WRITING

Writing is assessed through a number of ways. The main way is through teachers' assessment of how well your child has demonstrated their understanding of what has been taught. The teacher will be looking for examples in their writing of where they have applied their work. Also weekly spelling tests and regular GPS tests help to monitor progress. For a list of the spelling expectations for your child's year group, scan this QR code:

KINETIC LETTERS at AllSaints CEVA Primary School & Nursery

Kinetic Letters is the handwriting programme we use across the school, from Nursery to Year 6. Its aim is to make handwriting automatic so all the attention of the brain can be on the content.

The teaching of Kinetic Letters falls into four strands:

1. Making bodies stronger
2. Holding the pencil
3. Learning the letters
4. Flow and fluency

Making Bodies Stronger:

Children are taught exercises and working/listening positions that help to strengthen their bodies. This supports them in having the necessary upper body strength required to write neatly for sustained periods

Holding the Pencil:

Kinetic Letters teaches a way of holding the pencil that is comfortable and allows children to write fast and legibly. The children learn routine for picking up the pencil each time: Point the pencil at your tummy: pick it up with your holding fingers (thumb and first finger): tip it back to lay across your hand and put your pillow finger (middle finger) underneath.

Learning the Letters:

The letters are spilt into letter families: each family contains the same starting movement. Each letter and letter family group is taught through stories: making large movements in the air to learn the "letter trails"; practising the movements in the air on a smaller scale, using sand trays; practising on whiteboards and finally practising on paper. The structure of Move It, Say It, Write It is followed when practising letters. To help children learn the relative heights of letters, the image of a tree with two branches at different heights is used. Brave Monkey (who makes double height letters) is on the high branch and Scared Monkey (who makes single height letters) is on the lower branch.

Flow and fluency

This enables children to develop speed and stamina. It is influenced by the child's sitting position, paper position and writing materials. Practising with pens on whiteboards enables flow as the pen slides well. Children need to have a strong foundation in the previous three strands in order to do well with flow and fluency and join neatly.

MATHS

The vision for Maths at All Saints CEVA Primary School & Nursery is......

Children at All Saints will:

• Enjoy learning mathematics through a rich and wide variety of meaningful contexts in preparation for use in everyday life.
• Be confident to attempt a variety of mathematical problems
• Use mathematical vocabulary to explain their understanding
• Be able to move between concrete and abstract representations.
• Expertly use questionning to look for patterns and connections.

Mathematics in the Early Years Foundation Stage

Children will be provided with exciting and practical experiences in mathematics under the guidance of the EYFS Framework. We aim to harness a love and confidence in mathematics from an early age, a strong foundation is the key.

We follow a maths mystery approach to the curriculum where children spend longer on a topic so that they can feel secure in their understanding so that they are then able to apply their skills and knowledge in a variety of contexts.

Each class has its own Maths Chest which provides them with a wide range of resources to support the children in their learning. We use the Maths Chests to help the children to develop their independance and problem solving skills, by encourging them to choose thier own resources to help them in their learning.

We also subscribe to MyMaths and TTTockstars to provide our children with access to additional resources which both aid the teaching of maths, but also helps to engage children further. We have seen the use of TTRockstars raise the profile of knowing Times Table through use of competition, and even trying to beat the staff! A Maths Library is hosted every Friday morning for children from Reception up to year 6. They can take a game home to practise their numeracy skills, return it the following week and select a new one. 

SCIENCE

The purpose of Science at All Saints is to enable the children to understand the world in which they live by stimulating their curiosity and encouraging them to ask questions. It is also to show them how to investigate in a systematic manner. The basic aims of our school in relation to the teaching and learning of science are as follows:

• To encourage the asking of questions about their environment and wherever possible find the solutions to these questions collaboratively.
• To provide interaction of different types including whole class work, group and individula work in and out of the classroom.
• To promote a lively interest and confidence in investigative work.
• To develop a logical approach to problem solving
• To emhasise safety factors and the need for careful and correct handling of equipment and substances.

Throughtout the year children have had opportunites to work collaboratively in SMARTS on Friday afternoons. This has enabled children to work scientifically with children from other classes, and age groups. The most recent of which was focussed on water, after the visit of Anglia water. Children were given a range of materials and had to plan there own filtration test. Children came up with interesting questions, methods and deductions and they all recorded results in a way that suited them.

COMPUTING

Computing Vision at All Saints CEVA Primary School:

At All Saints CEVA we teach computing in discreet lessons following the 'Rising Stars - switched on Computing' scheme. Some of the unit titles include:We are treasure hunters

• We are detectives
• We are game developers
• We are network engineers
• We are bloggers
• We are app developers

though we follow this curriculum, teachers use their own initative and ideas to adapt it where necessary. Learning about the key areas of computing enables the children to understand how the skills they are learning can be used in the wider world.

Computing is also actively encouraged in all subjects. Pupils are actively encouraged to use the wide range of devices to research and produce work not possible without the device.

Computing is a highly valued subject at All Saints CEVA school and this is shown through the constant investment made by the school in this area. we have a great range of devices in school that are readily available for all children. Some of the devices that we have in school are

• IPads
• Laptops
• Programmable Robots
• Digital Cameras
• Interactive HD Screens in every room.

E-Safety is at the core of everything related to computing within the school and students are constantly reminded of how to stay safe online and in the virtual world. If they have any concerns they are also taught how to report them appropriately. We recognise the importance of Computing and the need to stay safe online. With this in mind we organise various workshops across the year. In these workshops we talk about the need for Internet Safety and invite experts in to talk to the children.

In 2014/15 All Saints entered a computing challenge along with other schools from the area. Local computing experts were invited to the event.

There were many different awards on offer to the different schools. All Saints CEVA came away with a winners medal for 'Best Technical Game'

RE

RE is taught in all year groups, see the Faith and RE page for details

HUMANITIES

HISTORY

To focus on developing pupils' secure understanding of chronology as well as improving their thinking and knowledge in History by stimulating the pupils' interest and curiosity about the past. Fostering interest and enjoyment in learning through the use of artefacts, proactical activities and outings. Enabling pupils to gain knowledge and understanding about historical periods, significant events in the past and lives of people in the past and appreciating how things have changed over time. Helping pupils understand society and their place within it so theat they develop a sense of their own identity. Using historical terms accurately. Developing the skills of enquiry, investigation, anaysis, evaluation and problem solving.

How History is taught in the school

Here at All Saints CEVA Primary School, we feel it is important to have a solid understanding of British history that extends pupils' chronological knowledge. By understanding the past, we are able to gain a more balanced view of the present. It is the story of our lives - what is news today will be history tomorrow!

Our thrilling WOW events really bring History to life in an exciting and creative way! We give children a first-hand experience of significant historical events which will inspire them to go on and create their own history.

GEOGRAPHY

The vision for Geography at All Saints CEVA Primary School & Nursery is.....

To focus strongly on developing pupils core knowledge in Geography, particularly their sense of place.

To maximise opportunitites for fieldwork to enhance pupils learning and improve motivation.

To make the best use of new technology in Geography to enthuse pupils and provide immediacy and relevance.

To ensure that Geography enables pupils to recognise their contribution to, and responsibilities for their locality, their country and the global community.

How Geography is taught in school

Here at All Saints CEVA Primary School we pride ourselves on our geography lessons being the lessons that prepare our children to understand, develop and protect our world for future generations. We explore places near to home and also give the children a taste of places and cultures from the furthest corners of our world! Children have many opportunities to ask their own questions and with a little guidance, find their own answers! Our inspirational geography lessons provide an opportunity for children to work together, to grow, learn and discover the wonderful world around them.

Each term we have a whole school theme, where each key stage will have a topic based on the main theme. Geography and History will be taught based within the topic of the key stage.

ARTS

MUSIC at ALL Saints CEVA Primary School & Nursery

The vision for Music at All Saints CEVA Primary School & Nursery:

We encourage children to be independant, creative learners, providing them with rich learning opportunities

Our children are enthusiastic when participating in musical activities both in and out of the classroom. We aim to retain our Artsmark award in 2017 through continuing to deliver a broad and stimulating arts curriculum, through art, dance, design and technology and drama.

Music is:

• A way to introduce pupils to a variety of cultures
• An opportunity for pupils to work as a team
• A way to express feelings and emotions
• Beneficial to pupils' learning, confidence, health and social development
• An opportunity for all pupils to sing and perform together.

Extra-curricular activities in Music

• Choir (Years 2-6)
• Strings Ensemble

At All Saints we aim to teach children to:

• Express and communicate their ideas through music
• Explore both tuned and un-tuned percussion instruments
• Be able to confidently perform in small group and whole class settings
• Appreciate live performances
• Explore a variety of genres of music
• Analyse and evaluate works of music
• Have a basic understanding of musical notation
• Be able to compose short pieces based on a given stimulus
• Encourage all children to join in on whole school productions
• Give children the opportunity to participate in national singing choirs i.e: (02 London)

Peripatetic Offers at All Saints

Currently at All Saints, peripatetic teachers provide instrumental lessons in strings.

All pupils have the opportunity to learn an instrument in a whole-class setting. This tuition is provided by the local music trust and there is no cost to parents for this.

Art at All Saints CEVA Primary School & Nursery

Art and Design is:

• A way of stimulating children's creativity and imagination through visual, tactile and sensory experiences;
• A unique way of understanding and responding to the world;
• A process of communication of ideas; feelings and meanings;
• A way of making thoughtful judgements about life and life in different times and cultures

At All Saints we aim to teach children to:

• Use a sketch book to collate ideas and designs;
• Develop a visual awareness;
• Provide opportunitites to use art to record feelings and express creative imagination;
• Develop visual vocabulary;
• Develop mastery of a range of tools, media and processess;
• Develop critical abilities and an understanding of cultural heritage;
• Acquire artistic skills and techniques;
• Develop their ICT capabilities
• Develop their skill to evaluate their own work and that of others
• Know how art and design both reflect and shape our history and contribute to the culture, creativity and wealth of our nation.

 For more information and examples of The Arts at All Saints, please take a look at our Arts Website. 

DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

At All Saints CEVA primary school we believe that children should experience enjoyment and satisfaction in the designing and making of products.

• Design and make a range of products. They will be expected to measure, mark out, cut and join a variety of materials.
• Work with independance and confidence
• Keep sketches, plan drawings, paper mock ups, notes and evaluations in a design book

"DT is an inspiring, rigorous and practical subject. Using creativity and imagination, pupil design and make products that solve real and relevant problems." (DfE, national curriculum in England-design-and-technology).

Health and Safety

• Teachers will always teach the safe use of tools and will demonstrate and expect good practise at all times
• Craft knives and rotary cutters will be used by responsible pupils under direct supervision
• Low melt glue guns can be used in the school under direct supervision
• Food safety procedures will be followed when preparing for food activities
• Protective clothing will be worn by children and adult helpers during food activities
• Food will be stored correctly and wherever possible brought and used on the same day

DANCE

The current National curriculum states that all children should be taught to dance using simple movement patterns in Key Stage 1 and dance using a range of movement patterns in key Stage 2.

We believe that dance also give the children

• Confidence
• A Chance to express themselves
• Good social Skills
• Improved health and fitness

Each child in the school receives 2 terms of dance lessons every year as part of the PE curriculum. These sessions are planned and delivered by Katy Watts from The Beat Project Dance Company.

The dances always link into our whole school theme, for example when our theme was Brazil and the Rainforest, the children performed a colourful street carnival dance.

The school also provides through Katy, the opportunities for the children to join extra curricular dance groups before and after school. The groups include children from all years with the pinnacle being our Unity Dance. This group quite often represent the school at outside performances and we are rightly very proud of the reception they receive.

PE

The vision for PE at All Saints Primary School and Nursery is:....

• For all children to experience excellent physical education, school sport and physical activity that will lead to life-long participation
• For all children to be given leadship opportunities through the delivery of high quality PE and school sports
• For all children to understand the importance of maintaining a healthy and active lifestyle

The whole school currently follows the Real PE scheme. Real PE focuses on developing the foundation skills to a high level rather than a sports specific approach. We believe this gives the children the ability to be successful across many sports instead of the specialising in just one or two

Real PE also gives the children the opportunity to continually assess their own strengths and weaknesses and in turn find their own level. This approach produces confident individuals who continually know how to push themselves.

Competitive Sport

All Saints School are part of the Sainsbury's School Games scheme. This gives children the chance to compete against other schools in our region across a wide variety of sports.

Competition is encouraged in school as well with several House Team events held across the year culmination in Sports Day in the summer.

Please Click Here to see the Schools Sports Page

      

 

MODERN FOREIGN LANGUAGES

The curriculum aims to ensure that all pupils:

• Understand and respond to spoken and written language from a variety of authentic sources
• Speak with increasing confidence, fluency and spontaneity, finding ways of communicating what they want to say, including through discussion and asking questions and continually improving the accuracy of their pronunciation and intonation.
• Can write at varying length, for different purposes and audiences, using the variety of grammatical structures that they have learnt
• Discover and develop an appreciation of a range of writing in the language studied

The Provision

Children in key Stage 2 receive weekly lessons of French which is our chosen language of study here at All Saints.

The lessons are a combination of spoken, written and comprehension skills. We are fortunate to have a French speaking qualified teacher who works alongside the class teacher using the Catharine Cheater scheme of work which is widely used across England. It provides teachers with easy to follow lessons which can be taught to even the most unconfident French speaker. The lessons are challenging and engaging with much use of singing, rhymes, stories and games.

The scheme not only helps children in developing their French skills, but also reinforces their literacy skills.

PSHE

Why is PSHE so important?

'Learning through which children and young people acquire the knowledge, understanding and skills they need to manage their lives, now and in the future.' (The PSHE Association)

We aim to support children's personal development in a structured and developmentally appropriate way, this will not only improve their capacity to learn (across the curriculum) but will ultimately improve their life chances. The jigsaw scheme used across the school is completely child-focused.This is reflected in the innovative way that lessons are structured.

We aim to:

• Improve their social skills to better enable collaborative learning (Connect us)
• Prepare them for learning (Calm me)
• Help the brain to focus on specific learning interventions (Open my mind)
• Initiate new learning (Tell me or show me)
• Facilitate learning activities to reinforce the new learning (Let me learn)