Curriculum Subjects (1)

Religious Education

Religious Education is at the heart of the curriculum enriching and informing all other areas of learning. Infant assemblies are held once a week and Junior assemblies three times each week.

Weekly or class Mass, attended by Years 3 to 6 is celebrated in the John Fisher Chapel or at Laleham Lea. Children in Year 3, after preparing for and receiving the sacraments of Reconciliation and Communion in their own parishes have a special thanksgiving Mass as a class, in June .

English

From Nursery to Year 6 children are provided with a programme of work that is suited to their age, aptitude and ability. From Year 1 the school implements the National Literacy Strategy and all planning takes account of this. Children are given a firm grounding in skills, which include speaking and listening, reading and comprehension, writing, spelling, grammar, handwriting, poetry appreciation and dictionary skills.

Ginn Reading, Oxford Reading Tree and Collins Focus on Literacy are the main Reading and Language Schemes used and there is a wealth of supplementary literacy material available throughout the school. There is also a variety of software and videos available in each classroom and a library, well stocked with fiction and non-fiction resources.

Mathematics

From the beginning, children are taught to develop a positive attitude towards mathematics and to enjoy the subject. Special emphasis is placed on the mastery of the four operations, mental arithmetic, problem solving and tables up to 10 times. Children are taught the full range of the Numeracy Curriculum, which includes fractions, decimals, money, percentages, averages, shape and measure and data handling. Target Maths in Year 6 and New Heineman Maths are the main schemes used throughout the school. In each classroom the children have access to a wide variety of maths games, equipment, videos and software, all of which help to develop and reinforce the concepts and skills taught during the daily lesson.

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Science

Science is taught mainly by two specialist teachers and activities are carried out by whole class, in groups or individually. At Key Stage 2 Physical Processes, Life Processes and Living Things and Materials and their Properties are covered. Emphasis is placed on scientific enquiry. Through group work children learn to cooperate in planning, carrying out investigations and in communicating and explaining results.

French

Children are introduced to French from the beginning of Year 2 and continue learning throughout Key Stage 2. "Skoldo" is the main scheme in use. In Year 3 the basics such as numbers, names of everyday objects, families, and parts of the body are covered and children are able to translate and compose their own simple sentences. Children learn French songs and practise conversation. Basic grammar points, verbs, adjectives, phrases, the world of work, school, food and drink, likes and dislikes, weather and activities are all taught by Year 6.

History

From Year 1 to Year 6 the full range of National Curriculum topics is taught. These include study of the Romans, Anglo Saxons, Vikings, Normans, Tudors and Stuarts, Victorians and Britain from the 1930's. An ancient civilisation is also covered in Year 4. Outings to historical sites are taken throughout the year.

Geography

At Key Stage 1 the curriculum aims to give the children the opportunity to investigate the physical and human features of their surroundings such as map skills, the weather, the locality of the school and its environment. At Key Stage 2 the children are taught to develop their knowledge, skills and understanding relating to different peoples, places and environments in the UK and the rest of the world. Individual topics such as a village in Africa, monsoons in Bangladesh and environmental issues such as local traffic are covered.

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