Ravenscroft Curriculum Provision
Our curriculum meets the statutory regulations of the national Curriculum 2014 and through our enrichment curriculum ensures a creative experience that engages, develops, and inspires. We provide an innovative curriculum with varied opportunities to allow children to express themselves, with children placed at the centre of the curriculum and their learning. They are encouraged to take on both challenges and ownership in a happy and safe learning environment.
At Ravenscroft the curriculum gives children the opportunity to achieve the highest possible standards of English and Maths, whilst ensuring they can become confident in physical, artistic, practical and social skills. We provide a broad and balanced education that allows for the individual needs of each child to be met within well-planned learning experiences. We provide an innovative curriculum with varied opportunities to allow children to express themselves, with children placed at the centre of the curriculum and their learning.
Core Subjects
Maths
English
Science
Foundation Subjects
Computing
History
Geography
Design Technology
Art & Craft
Music
Physical Education
PSHE/Citizenship
Religious Education
Foreign Languages (Y3-Y6)
Maths
We aim to provide a Maths curriculum that is accessible and meaningful to all children, giving them the skills and knowledge they will need for future learning and living. Pupils are encouraged to make connections across procedures and concepts to ensure fluency, reasoning and competency in solving problems.
At Ravenscroft, we believe that the basic skills in maths are fundamental to ensuring a child is able to progress. We practise counting, representing numbers in a variety of ways, explore relationships between numbers as well as carrying out intelligent practise of number bonds and times tables. Children are able to work towards their Bronze, Silver and Gold awards to demonstrate their ability to recite times tables and to recall multiplication and division facts rapidly.
We have high expectations of the children in Maths and children are able to use concrete apparatus and pictorial representations to demonstrate their understanding or to help them reason and solve problems. Children’s learning is deepened by carefully chosen questions and challenges to allow further connections to be made. Assessment is used regularly to inform planning and intervention so that children can receive additional support quickly.
English
At Ravenscroft, we believe that language and communication skills are a priority for the success of our children and that an understanding of language will provide access to the whole curriculum. Through our teaching of English, pupils will develop skills and understanding in all areas of language which will enable them to become confident speakers, readers and writers and to express themselves confidently and effectively.
Pupils are taught the importance of speaking confidently and with expression in order to communicate meaning effectively. To develop spoken language, pupils are encouraged to structure language to express themselves clearly in discussions and debates. We believe that spoken language underpins reading and writing and that pupils should discuss their ideas to develop an understanding of their learning.
By using high quality texts, we encourage our pupils to have a love of reading, enabling them to form personal responses about a variety of text types. We aim for all children to read regularly to a high standard across a range of subjects. Through guided reading, we encourage our children to discuss books and extracts, focusing on fluency, comprehension, and the acquisition and understanding of new vocabulary.
Through our curriculum, we provide children with experiences and opportunities to develop their skills to write imaginatively and creatively. We want our children to confidently edit and improve their writing so that they feel proud of the finished product.
Science
Children learn about a wide range of living things, materials and phenomena. They investigate by exploring, observing, asking questions and collecting evidence. They learn to work independently and with others, communicating their ideas by using scientific language, diagrams, charts and graphs.
Computing
At Ravenscroft we believe that computing is an essential part of the national curriculum. Computing is an integral part of modern day life and therefore provides a wealth of learning opportunities, explicitly within computing and also across other curriculum subjects. Through the study of computing, children are able to develop a wide range of fundamental skills, knowledge and understanding that they will need for the rest of their lives. Computers have become a part of everyday life. For most of us, technology is essential to our daily lives, at home and at work. ‘Computational Thinking’ is a skill children must be taught in order to provide them with essential knowledge and skills that will enable them to participate effectively in the digital world.
The new national curriculum defines three clear aspects of computing curriculum: Computer Science (CS), Information Technology (IT) and Digital Literacy (DL). Children will be given the opportunity to develop their knowledge and understanding in each area from the Foundation Stage to Year 6.
History
The study of history helps children understand how the past has influenced today’s society, how they fit into that as an individual and as a member of a community. Children consider how the past influences the present. What past societies were like, how they organised their politics and what beliefs and cultures influenced their actions.
Geography
Children studying Geography develop knowledge of places and environments throughout the world, an understanding of maps and a range of problem solving skills. It is a focus for understanding and resolving issues about the environment and for children to explore cultural diversity.
Art and Design
Children are provided with opportunities to stimulate their creativity and imagination. Our curriculum aims to engage, inspire and challenge pupils, equipping them with the knowledge and skills to experiment, invent and create their own works of art, craft and design. Children will develop their skills through a variety of techniques, including painting, drawing, textiles, pottery and 3D work. They will explore ideas and meanings in the work of artists, crafts people and designers from different cultures.
Design Technology
At Ravenscroft we recognise that children are living in a highly developed technological world. In Design Technology we provide children with the opportunities to develop and use a range of skills that will prepare them for a constantly changing society, increasingly dependent on technology. Children learn to think creatively to design and make products that solve real problems in a variety of contexts – understanding the processes involved from planning through making, to evaluation and refinement. Children will also develop the skills and knowledge associated with healthy living, nutrition and cookery.
Music
Singing is at the heart of our school – we are a Platinum Sing Up school. Children learn to sing and to use their voices, to create and compose music of their own and with others. Children have the opportunity to perform in either the KS1 singing club or the KS2 choir. Regular performance opportunities are offered to all children (e.g Sing Up annual assembly).
KS2 children have the opportunity to learn a musical instrument. All children in KS2 will have learned at least one instrument by the end of the key stage. Instrumental lessons are delivered by music specialists. The inter-related dimensions of music are explored during music lessons as pupils listen with attention to detail to music across a range of historical periods. The works of the great composers and musicians are studied throughout their time at Ravenscroft and children will appreciate and understand a wide range of music drawn from different traditions. Children are able to use technology as well as classroom instruments to compose their own pieces.
Physical Education
Through P.E. children learn new skills, discover their aptitudes and abilities and make choices about how to become involves in life- long physical activity. At Ravenscroft we provide opportunities for children to be creative and competitive, to face different challenges as individuals and in teams. In the Summer Term Y6 pupils have the opportunity to attend a Residential. They take part in team building and outward bound activities.
Personal, Social, Health Education and Citizenship
PSHE and Citizenship help to give children the knowledge, skills and understanding they need to lead confident, healthy, independent lives and to become informed active, responsible citizens. Children are encouraged to take part in a wide range of activities and experiences across and beyond the curriculum, contributing fully to the life of the school and community. In doing this they will learn to recognise their own worth, work well with others and become increasingly responsible for their own learning, reflecting on experiences and issues that are a part of growing up.
Religious Education
Collective worship, broadly Christian in nature, is offered daily. Religious Education helps children develop a framework of values, attitudes and beliefs and a respect for beliefs and values of other races, religions and ways of life. The right to withdraw for both children and teachers on the grounds of conscience is respected at Ravenscroft.
Foreign Languages
We aim to develop an enthusiasm for languages through KS2. The language we teach across KS2 is French. We hold yearly Creative Curriculum days that develop and enhance children’s knowledge of different cultures and languages.
Homework
We do have a homework policy which is available to parents. The homework is tailored to meet the needs of the children in the year that they are in. The homework mirrors the learning that takes place in school. We strongly believe that homework does benefit the children as it strengthens the links between home and school. We do however want the homework to be fun and a pleasurable time for parents and children. If there are problems or concerns over homework we are happy to help. We run a KS2 homework club after school on a Wednesday.
Curriculum Timetable
Maths and English are taught daily across the school. Science, RE, ICT, and PE are taught weekly. Some Foundation Subjects are taught as a block across a half term depending on the theme for example Art and Technology, History and Geography.
Curriculum Impact
The curriculum is monitored regularly by Senior Leadership Team and Subject Leads to ensure:
- Depth of coverage of all subjects
- Knowledge and skills
- Careful balance of all subjects
- Consistent standards across all subjects
- Engaged, creative independent learning evident
- Curriculum links to context of school and learner
- Accurate assessment for learning
- Impact on standards and progress for all learners
- Feedback moving the learning forward
