Curriculum: The National Curriculum at CKS

The National Curriculum

Once children move into Year 1 and through to end of Year 6, they work within the National Curriculum.

Art and Design

“Then the LORD said to Moses, … and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with wisdom, with understanding, with knowledge and with all kinds of skills— to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze, to cut and set stones, to work in wood, and to engage in all kinds of crafts.” (Exodus 31:1-5)

Art, craft and design stimulates creativity and imagination providing a visual, tactile and sensory experience. The curriculum will be designed to allow children to use colour form, texture, pattern and different medium and processes to communicate what they see, feel, think and reflect – we want children to be expressive in their creations!

At Charles Kingsley’s our classes are named after inspirational and significant artists which are studied as a unit of work. Through our concept driven curriculum children will explore critically and develop a more rigorous understanding of art and design. 

Computing

“For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.” (Romans 1:20)

Computers are now part of everyday life. In more recent years, technology is essential to our lives, at home and at work. ‘Computational thinking’ is a skill children must be taught if they are to be ready for the workplace and able to participate effectively in this digital world. Our Curriculum uses the Purple Mash computing scheme of work which has been developed to equip pupils with the foundational skills, knowledge and understanding of computing they will need for the rest of their lives. Through our concept led curriculum, concepts such as, ‘Responsibility’, ‘Future’ and ‘Aspirations’  will encourage deeper thinking and children will learn how computers and computer systems work, design and build programs, express and develop their ideas using technology and think logically and creativity for today and the future.

Design and Technology

“But now, O LORD, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand.” (Isaiah 64:8)

Design and technology is an inspiring, rigorous and practical subject. Using creativity and imagination, children will be given the opportunity to design and make products that solve real and relevant problems within a variety of contexts, considering their own and others’ needs, wants and values. The curriculum will support the acquisition of a broad range of subject knowledge and use concepts such as, ‘Future’, ‘Power’ and ‘Perseverance’ to support our children to think more deeply, take risks and become resourceful, innovative and enterprising. Through the evaluation of past and present design and technology, pupils will develop a critical understanding of its impact on their daily life and the wider world.

English

“For we write nothing else to you than what you read and understand, and I hope you will understand until the end.”  (Corinthians 1:13)

At Charles Kingsley’s we plan our English Curriculum so that children are exposed to the highest quality diverse literature which inspires, motivates and develops each child as a reader and writer. Concept led themes such as, ‘Hope’, ‘Courage’ and ‘Motivation’ are all reflected through texts that are read or written by the children.

Reading is a crucial part of the entire curriculum - not just during English sessions. Diverse texts are chosen carefully by looking at themes, cohort needs and interests, current affairs and recommended reads for the age range (including classics and contemporary). Extracts or whole texts will be used as inspiration for writing, during guided reading sessions to focus on developing age appropriate reading skills and to develop a culture of ‘reading for pleasure’ with class readers linked to the half termly concept. Children will be regularly assessed to ensure they are accessing texts from our scheme – Collins Big Cat, which will provide a home school reading link.

Phonics is taught daily in EYFS and Key Stage One following Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised to deliver a systematic synthetic phonics programme. Opportunities will be provided throughout the curriculum for application of these phonic skills. Please refer to our phonics and early reading tab for further information. 

Children will rehearse writing skills through shorter pieces of writing and create extended pieces as authors. The curriculum is planned to enable children to write for a range of purposes, with formal teaching of writing skills as well as creative writing opportunities. The children are taught to plan, draft, structure and edit and improve their work. Children will be taught to present their work in a legible, fluent, joined style of handwriting.

Spelling is taught following the CKS half termly spelling progressions adapted from Hampshire English team. The teaching of spelling encompass a range of phonemic, visual and morphological principles in order that children acquire a range of linguistic approaches in learning to spell. Spellings are taught discretely however they are then applied across the curriculum. Subject specific vocabulary will be taught as appropriate. Grammar and punctuation are taught through genre specific units of work, embedded within the unit of work. At times discrete teaching of these skills will be needed but children will always be given the opportunity of application within context.

Please refer to our phonics page for further information.

Geography

"The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it; for he founded it on the seas and established it on the waters." (Psalm 24:1-2)

Our Geography curriculum has been designed to inspire in pupils a curiosity and fascination about the world and its people that will remain with them for the rest of their lives. We want to equip pupils with knowledge about diverse places, people, resources and natural and human environments, together with a deep understanding of the Earth’s key physical and human processes. As pupils progress though the school, their growing knowledge about the world should help them to deepen their understanding of the interaction between physical and human processes, and of the formation and use of landscapes and environments. Through concepts taught each term such as, ‘Journeys’, ‘Tolerance’ and ‘Identity’ children will question and explore both their local surroundings and the wider global community.

History

“Remember the days of old; consider the years of many generations; ask your father, and he will show you, your elders, and they will tell you."  (Deuteronomy 32:7) 

The History curriculum at Charles Kingsley’s will help pupils gain a coherent knowledge and understanding of Britain’s past and that of the wider world whilst making connections about different time periods. Our aim is to inspire pupils’ curiosity to know more about the past, question sources of evidence, think analytically, examine different points of view and record thoughts on varying perspective and judgement. Through the teaching of History we help pupils to understand the complexity of people’s lives, the process of change, the diversity of societies and relationships between different groups, as well as challenges of the time; leading to an understanding of how the past has shaped the present and future. Teaching History through our concept driven curriculum, will encourage children to see themselves as historians; Concepts such as, ‘Belonging’, ‘Legacy’ and ‘Consequences’ allow for children to build a love for fact finding and curiosity to want to know more.

Maths

"Even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows." (Matthew 10:30-31)

Children are offered a broad, balanced and relevant maths curriculum that provides age appropriate and developmentally matched activities. Children will experience, use and apply maths in a variety of everyday situations and in cross curricular contexts. Activities will be designed to motivate and develop skills which are needed to meet the demands of adult life. A well planned scheme of work will ensure that all aspects of the National Curriculum are covered in a progressive way as your child moves through the school. Children will work in many different contexts including ability and mixed ability groups in order to focus on their individual needs at any one particular time. Through our concept led curriculum children will become problem solvers and think mathematically through concepts such as, ‘Success’, ‘Future’ and ‘Opportunity’.

Modern Foreign Languages - MFL

"And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.” (Acts 2:4)

At Charles Kingsley’s CE Primary School pupils will start to learn French from Year R, with it becoming compulsory from Key Stage 2.  

Learning a foreign language provides a valuable educational, social and cultural experience for pupils. Our aim is to foster pupils’ curiosity and deepen their understanding of the world. The scheme of work has been deigned in order to develop linguistic competence, extend their knowledge of how language works, enable pupils to express their ideas and thoughts in another language and to understand and respond to its speakers, both in speech and in writing. Concepts taught such as, ‘Diversity’, ‘Families’ and ‘Heritage’ allow children to explore similarities and differences not only between language structure but cultural practices.  Through learning another language pupils are able to develop communication and literacy skills that lay the foundation for future language learning.

Music

“Come, let us sing for joy to the LORD; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation.” (Psalm 95:1)

Music is a universal language. Our high-quality music education aims to engage and inspire pupils to develop a love of music and their talent as musicians, and so increase their self-confidence, creativity and sense of achievement. As pupils progress, they will develop a critical engagement with music, allowing them to interrelate skills of performing, composing and appraising.  

Class based music is taught by class teachers, supplemented by a high quality scheme that is engaging and relevant. Year 1, Year 4 and Year 6 have a music specialist teacher and are part of the Hampshire Listen to Me Project. This specialist teaching enables all children to learn three different instruments over the course of the school year. Our music teaching and learning is underpinned by our concept led curriculum which allows skills as an individual musician and as part of a  Christian community to flourish through concepts such as, ‘Courage’, ‘Faith’ and ‘Unity’.

Physical Education - PE

“An athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules.” (2 Timothy 2:5)

PE at Charles Kingsley’s is an integral part of school life and encourages all children to lead active and healthy lives through engaging in purposeful and high-quality activity. Our PE curriculum is taught through a programme of gymnastics, dance, games and athletics which will encourage fitness, improve strength and teach rules of games and allow children to explore concepts such as ‘Determination’, ‘Motivation’ and ‘Aspirations’.  At Charles Kingsley’s we are committed to using the PE and Sport’s Premium Funding (please see report) to enhance the quality of teaching and increase the opportunities for children to be active. Our curriculum is designed to allow all children to gain a sense of achievement and positive attitudes towards themselves and others whilst positively developing teamship, respect and fair play in a variety of inter-school teams and tournaments.

In Year 4 swimming lessons are provided for the children at St Neot’s Prep Pool.

Philosophy for Children

“Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity” (Timothy 4:12) 

Philosophy for Children (P4C) is a wonderful way of bringing together a class community to discuss things that really matter to them! The key principle is for children to experience rational and reasonable dialogue and work together in a ‘community of enquiry’. Successful sessions lead to children not wanting to ‘win’ an argument but to become clearer, more accurate, less self-contradictory and more aware of other arguments and values before reaching a conclusion. Children’s thinking and communication skills are developed throughout and self – esteem is boosted by the community valuing and appreciating all contributions.

The sessions begin with a stimulus such as a video clip, image or story. The children are encouraged themselves (guided by the adult facilitating) to come up with engaging, ‘big’, philosophical questions. Through a democratic vote, the children choose the question they would like to discuss and begin exploring in depth. The teacher guides the children, in an age appropriate way, to think deeply and philosophically whilst explicitly developing the 4Cs of P4C – critical, creative, collaborative and caring thinking.

Religious Education - RE

“It is not darkness you are going to, for God is light. It is not lonely, for Christ is with you. It is not unknown country, for Christ is there.” Rev’d Canon Charles Kingsley (Founder of the school)

Charles Kingsley’s links with the Church and Diocese give us a firm foundation for Religious Education and Collective Worship. As the children move through the school they explore Christian teachings and messages and develop an understanding of the Christian way of life, in a way that is appropriate to their ages, using St Mary’s Church, Eversley for festivals and special celebrations such as Founder’s Day. Although a Church of England school, we do ensure children are taught the principles of others faiths within their wider community. Collective Worship forms a daily part of school life and follows various styles, celebrating children’s work, sharing stories and also presentations by children to which parents are invited. Concepts such as, ‘Hope’, ‘Wisdom’ and ‘Faith’ are focused on over a half term and allow children to ask and explore bigger ideas within their own religious beliefs.

Parents are entitled to withdraw their child from Religious Education and from Acts of Worship. Requests should be made in writing to the Headteacher.

Relationships, Sex and Health Education - RSHE

“God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them."  (Genesis 1:27a)

RSHE will be taught to equip children with the knowledge and understanding to enable them to grow and develop into responsible adults who are capable of having stable, loving relationships. Within a church school, the Christian ethos will provide the context within which all personal development takes place. This means that the breadth of the Christian Values and attitudes will permeate the curriculum. RSHE enables pupils to flourish and gain every opportunity to live fulfilled lives. Concepts such as ‘identity’, ‘responsibility’ and ‘relationships’ will allow children to explore RSHE in context of big ideas. Through RSHE at Charles Kingsley’s pupils will have the chance to learn about how to ensure that they treat themselves and others, at all times and in all contexts, with dignity and respect.

Science

“When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, all flocks and herds, and the animals of the wild, the birds in the sky, and the fish in the sea, all that swim the paths of the seas. Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!” (Psalm 8:3…7-9)

During Science lessons we are curious and explore and answer questions about scientific processes and concepts. Our children will develop an awareness and understanding of how the world works around us. We build on and embed an understanding of the impact Science has on our lives – past, present and future.

The curriculum is designed to give children the opportunity to experience hands on Science and carry out investigations which relate science to their everyday lives and promote the use of scientific language. Scientific learning will be developed through our concept based thematic work such as ‘Discovery’, ‘Exploration’ and ‘Change’ as well as specific skill based teaching will broaden knowledge and deepen understanding.