Curriculum

At High Ham Primary School, we offer an engaging and inclusive curriculum, which builds on the skills, knowledge and understanding of all children. The aim of our curriculum is to ensure we provide thought-provoking, hands on experiences that are contextual to our school and will equip our pupils for today, as well as tomorrow. Our curriculum includes creative, inspiring and stimulating activities that allow children to aspire to be life long learners. This is underpinned by our growth mindset philosophy and school ethos of ‘Discovering, Learning, Believing Together’. Our curriculum reflects the needs of all children who enter our school and we strive to support children in achieving their potential and exploring their curiosity.

Intent

At High Ham Primary School, our curriculum leaders have planned inclusive lessons to ensure children learn transferable skills and knowledge for their future learning which also develop an interest and curiosity in their own learning.

Implementation

Our school is dedicated to providing clear subject knowledge and to using meaningful assessment in order to progress learning through thoughtfully planned sequences of lessons.

Impact

Through our development of a broad curriculum, we strive to develop the skills and knowledge of children, whilst fuelling their aspirations for future learning.

School Context

Statutory considerations

The National Curriculum states that we are ‘legally required to follow the statutory national curriculum, which sets out in programmes of study and subject content for those subjects that should be taught to all pupils’ (National Curriculum, 2014: pg. 5). Therefore, our curriculum has been structured to take account of this requirement whilst also making the curriculum relevant for our school context.

The foundations

We have based our curriculum using the National Curriculum, 2014. Our RE Curriculum is based on the ‘Understanding Christianity’ resources, which has been recommended by the Diocese of Wells. This has been chosen to support our school ethos and researched by our SIAMS committee. It offers a broad and in-depth approach to teaching Christianity, alongside the study of different religions from the AMV teaching scheme. Each year is planned carefully to ensure curriculum coverage whilst being adaptable to the needs of the class, particularly in mixed classes.

Providing additional learning activities

As well as broad and engaging curriculum, our school provides opportunities for children to explore and extend additional learning through a wide range of activities:

• A varied collective worship programme, which includes guest speakers, members of our church community for ‘Respond and Reflect’ sessions, rewards and worship through song
• A wide range of after school clubs
• Participation encouraged in the wide range of CLP Sporting events and taster sessions at Huish Academy
• Encouraged participation in activities that will develop links within the school and the wider community, such as working with the Dementia Alliance Society at the village hall, Remembrance Services and Carol Services
• Performances, including our Christmas production and CLP Music events
• Taking part in Poetry Competitions and taking part in the ‘poetry slam’ at Dillington House (2019)
• Opportunities to develop a student voice, such as the School Council, Digital Leaders and House Captains
• Residential overnight trip for Year 6
• Visits to sites further afield, such as Bristol Museum, Theatre and Fleet Air Arm Museum
• Opportunities to explore our local area

Developing our curriculum

High Ham Primary School has worked hard to develop and implement a creative and well-balanced curriculum. The teachers and staff maintain and implement this curriculum to ensure fundamental concepts and skills have been taught. We strive to ensure that intent, implementation and impact is at the heart of our planning.

Annual Learning Overview

Each year, our teachers create planning overviews, which demonstrate the learning objectives being taught in each curriculum area.

The RHSE policy is covered throughout the year and can be accessed by clicking on the RHSE page of the website.

Termly Learning Overview

Each term, our teachers create termly learning overviews, which outline the learning objectives being taught in each curriculum area.

The RHSE policy is covered throughout the year and can be accessed by clicking on the RHSE page of the website.

Curriculum area overviews

Each curriculum lead has written a curriculum overview to clearly outline how the subject area is taught at High Ham. In each overview we have explained our curriculum intent, implementation and impact.

Each subject leader has created a curriculum plan for their subject across the school to support their monitoring.

Our latest statistical information is on the performance page of our website.

Our Reception class follows the Early Years Foundation Curriculum with an exciting, engaging and hands-on approach to learning. Examples of work can be found on their twitter feed (Ash Class).

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) is the statutory framework that all early years settings must meet to ensure that children learn and develop well. The revised framework for the EYFS has been implemented from September 2021.

Children in the Foundation Stage (Reception Year) have a profile that tracks their progress against 17 Early Learning Goals. This profile summarises and describes children’s attainment at the end of the Reception year. It is based on observations and assessment in the three prime areas and four specific areas of learning as well as the three learning characteristics, set out below:

The Prime Areas of Learning:

• Communication and Language;
• Physical Development;
• Personal, Social and Emotional Development

The Specific Areas of Learning:

• Literacy
• Mathematics
• Understanding the World
• Expressive Arts and Design

The Learning Characteristics:  

• Playing and Exploring
• Active Learning
• Creating and Thinking Critically

A completed EYFS profile consists of 20 items of information: the attainment of each child assessed in relation to the 17 ELG descriptors, together with a short narrative describing the child’s three learning characteristics. For each ELG, practitioners must judge whether a child is meeting the level of development expected at the end of the Reception Year (expected), exceeding this level (exceeding), or not yet reaching this level (emerging). As the completed Profile must include a short commentary on each child’s skills and abilities in relation to the three key characteristics of effective learning this will form the basis of the End of Year Report for the Reception Class.

Our English Lead has produced a short presentation to explain our  approach to reading in line with current Government expectations.

The National Curriculum (2014) states that schools should ‘promote high standards of language and literacy by equipping pupils with a strong command of the spoken and written word, and to develop their love of literature through widespread reading for enjoyment’. At High Ham Primary School, we strive to encourage children to develop a love of reading, by introducing them to a range of authors, text types and structured activities to ensure wider reading is promoted and children are reading fluently with understanding.

Our reading system ensures that books children bring home run alongside our teaching of Grapheme Phoneme Correspondences (GPCs). Therefore, teachers and parents/carers know that every book a child reads is at an achievable level and only includes GPCs previously taught.

Reading activities for all children

• In Reception, Year 1 and Year 2, each child will take home a book linked to their current knowledge of GPCs that runs alongside our Systematic Synthetic Programme (SSP). Our expectation is that each book is read three times: once for decoding, once for comprehension and once for fluency. Once the three reads per book have been completed, the book is changed (normally twice a week) and another book is given
• Towards the end of Year 1 and beginning of Year 2, once children have been assessed and show fluency with their reading, children are moved onto the coloured book bands. Children will read these at home with an adult and can be changed after one read
• Reception children take home bags that include a prop and a nursery rhyme or tale that can be shared at home
• In Year 3, children will join the Accelerated Reader scheme if they are reading fluently at the highest book band level. After an initial assessment, a reading range is assigned and children explore a range of texts within this level. Assessments are made termly to ensure reading ranges reflect comprehension levels.
• Guided Reading takes place in each class and provides the opportunity to discuss texts and vocabulary with adults and their peers.
• At 3:15pm, everyday in each class (unless they are in PE), the class teacher will read from the class reading book. This reading book is chosen to expose children to vocabulary beyond their reading age and to develop listening and enquiry skills. In Reception, Year 1 and Year 2, a range of picture books will be read in the Autumn Term
• World Book Day is celebrated each year, with themed activities to engage and inspire children to read

Reading activities for children not at Age Related Expectations (ARE)

• Targeted interventions from our phonics scheme of Unlocking Letters and Sounds are in place to promote the ‘keep up’ not ‘catch up’ approach.
• When possible, additional reads for children may take place across the week.
• The lowest 20% of children will be listened to at least twice during the week. This may be individually or through a guided reading session.

At High Ham Church of England Primary School we teach from the validated Unlocking Letters and Sounds scheme. This is a systematic synthetic approach to teaching phonics that has been approved by the DfE. All resources within class (such as sound mats and flashcards) and the interventions we deliver are from this one scheme. Teachers assess phonics and monitor progression every half term.

At High Ham we believe all children should be happy and reach their full potential. We guide, encourage and support children to become reflective and thoughtful learners. We want all children to be able to recognise their own strengths and yet be aware of how to support and help themselves through the use of appropriate resources when required. Our aim is for children to become confident and independent individuals, living fulfilling lives; we want them to be prepared for adulthood. We use different teaching approaches and resources throughout the school to facilitate this aim. We have recently been awarded Inclusive Dyslexia Friendly Status (2018), recognising our commitment to the children in our care. Details of our annual SEN report can be found on the  SEN page of the school website.

We report to parents/carers termly. In the autumn and spring we hold a parents/carers meeting. Prior to this meeting a short interim report will be emailed to all parents/carers to support discussions about progress with the class teacher.

In the summer term we provide a full written report and there is an opportunity to make an appointment to discuss the report, should parents/carers wish.