Curriculum
Dedworth Green First School
Curriculum
Ready to School
'School Readiness' can mean different things for different professionals and agencies. At Dedworth Green First School, we have defined what ‘Ready to School’ means for Dedworth Green First School:
- Children who are ready to learn
- Families who are ready to support their child’s learning and development at home
- Looking after their own belongings
- Managing their own personal hygiene needs
- Managing their lunch independently
- Putting their hand up to ask or respond to a question
Dedworth Green First School believes that children are ‘ready to learn’ when they are resilient and confident, with a keenness to learn and have effective personal and social skills. School readiness not only refers to the attributes of a child but also the roles and responsibilities of families and teachers in ensuring children are ready and able to access learning as they enter school and beyond.
School Readiness for DGFS consists of three interconnected strands – child ready, family ready and school ready. These three strands relate, align and interact with each other, working together to ensure the needs of the child and family are met, the child is school ready and DGFS are ready to welcome the child on the next stage of their learning journey.
Six Steps to School Success
The Six Steps to School Success to ensure your child starts their learning with a strong foundation of key skills. This will mean that they are 'ready to learn' and will thrive in their learning journey.
Ready to School…
These steps are to ensure that your child is confident and happy when they are ‘ready to learn’. At Dedworth Green First School we will follow these steps to ensure that your child starts with a strong foundation in key skills, meaning that they are ‘ready to learn’. Once these skills are embedded, your child will thrive at our school as they learn to read, write and recognise letters and numbers.
Ready to Learn
At Dedworth Green First School we aim to provide a broad and balanced curriculum that is fully inclusive ensuring that all of our pupils have the opportunity to achieve. Our curriculum is supportive, ambitious and challenging, but also accessible to all pupils irrespective of their need, ability, background, ethnicity or gender. Through the wide range of the different subjects offered, our pupils are exposed to exciting and challenging experiences that not only help create happy and engaged lifelong learners, but also young people that have acquired the knowledge they require to be ready and inspired for the next stage in their education.
As a school we ensure that our curriculum is coherently planned, methodically sequenced and research informed, to allow pupils to opportunity to develop knowledge, understand concepts and acquire relevant skills. The curriculum at Dedworth Green First School ensures that all pupils experience a continuous pathway of education throughout the five years they are part of our school. As a staff team, we work alongside colleagues at the other First schools, Middle schools and Upper schools to make sure the journey we are providing is consistent, that it compliments prior and future learning and enables successful transitions.
Alongside fulfilling the national curriculum requirements, Dedworth Green First School strives to support every pupil’s physical development and promotes a happy, active and healthy lifestyle. Our curriculum provides a wide range of extra-curricular opportunities and educational visits to further enrich the pupils educational experience and encourage a positive attitude towards learning. Together with our extensive pastoral provision we provide a vast number of opportunities to fulfil our pupils’ spiritual, social, moral and cultural development. These activities also help develop independence and resilience creating happy, confident and inspired pupils.
Throughout EYFS, Key Stage One and Two, all lessons are sequenced and planned to ensure that pupil’s prior knowledge is taken into account; learning is revisited to guarantee content is secure; new content is embedded alongside key skills and scaffold is in place to support all types of learners.
Our curriculum aims are underpinned by the following school values:
In our school, our School Values shapes all that we do. All members of the school community are committed to upholding the Five Core Values:
These values are embedded throughout every aspect of our curriculum and school life and they allow us to create a culture where all pupils believe they can achieve.
Intent
- the extent to which our curriculum (through its design, structure and sequence) sets out the knowledge and skills that pupils will gain at each stage
At Dedworth Green First School our curriculum is always evolving in response to the needs and interests of our pupils and our community, but it remains based on the following key principles:
1. We believe that learning is a change to long-term memory.
2. Our aims are to ensure that our students experience a wide breadth of study and have, by the end of each key stage, long-term memory of an ambitious body of procedural and semantic knowledge, which is interconnected and creates meaning.
3. ‘Together We Achieve’ is the driving force to ensure everyone, every day, is determined to achieve their personal best.
Curriculum breadth is shaped by our intent. It provides the opportunities needed for each child to become a proficient communicator, reader, writer and mathematician by end of lower KS2. As well as this, our curriculum breadth is designed so that our pupils will get to study the best of what has been thought and said by many generations of academics and scholars.
Implementation
- the way our curriculum is taught and assessed, in order to support pupils to build their knowledge and to apply that knowledge as skills
We teach the curriculum as discrete subjects, making links where applicable.
We have chosen three key drivers which are reflected across the curriculum:
Opportunities - this encompasses our desire to introduce the children to as many opportunities as possible. We will enhance this through inviting speakers into school, as well as going on school trips.
Community - we are at the heart of a lovely school community but want the children to learn about and understand the wider communities they are part of, both in the UK and the wider global community. We believe we have a responsibility to help children understand and embrace diversity.
Creativity - we aim to be as creative as possible in how we teach our children, but also want to encourage their creativity across the curriculum.
We aim for all of our pupils to access the curriculum and support children by scaffolding their learning as necessary.
Please see the curriculum overview for more.
Impact
- the outcomes that pupils achieve as a result of the education they've received - they should know more and be able to do more than when they started
The impact of our curriculum is to develop learners who are confident, socially adept and prepared for their next stage of education. Our learners are equipped with the skills and knowledge needed to continue to make good progress as well as contribute positively to society in modern day Britain.
We measure the impact of our curriculum through:
- Use of formative and summative assessments to assess the standards our pupils are meeting in their learning
- Measuring how much knowledge pupils have acquired through regular low-stakes quizzing
- Regular opportunities for pupil voice so that our pupils can articulate what they have learnt and what knowledge they have remembered over time
- Revisiting our curriculum vocabulary at the end of each half term to demonstrate how much new vocabulary was learnt and applied
- Celebrations of success to share and reward progress across a range of subjects
We want children to leave Dedworth Green First School with a combination of skills and knowledge that will serve them well on the next steps of their journey. We recognise that this comes from a broad curriculum offering alongside the teaching of British Values and life skills as well as good physical and mental health.
Ready to Transition
Smooth transitions into and within school are essential to support the emotional health and wellbeing of children. This is particularly important for children with additional needs who may need extra support.
Children who are well supported learn positive ways of coping with change. They are more likely to be emotionally intelligent, resourceful, resilient and go on to fulfil their potential. This needs commitment from everyone working with children.
At Dedworth Green First School, all staff and parents/carers can best support a child’s transition into and within school, by making sure that it begins in the pre-school year and extends into school life. School staff will support your child to settle into school and develop positive ways of managing change. For transition to be successful there needs to be good communication between parents/carers and school.
This is achieved through planning the transition between the early years setting (another school) into Dedworth Green First School, within school and transitioning to the next school.
• Transition planning will take place during the term before they start to discuss and share information about your child. Transition planning will continue and be reviewed as your child moves onto the next stages of learning, for example: playground to classroom, resource base to mainstream classroom, early years to key stage one etc.
• The information shared will include our children’s communication, social, emotional and physical development so that transition plans are adapted for each child.
• All information shared about our children’s learning and development will be valued and respected, recognising that children will behave differently in their new surroundings, within school and moving on to a new school.
• Your child may have a visit to their new school or the classroom. Some children may need extra time and support to familiarise themselves with their new environment.
• Staff may also visit our children within their current setting and/or at home.
• Information will be shared by other professionals working with our children and families regarding any safeguarding concerns.
• Information will be shared in line with general data protection regulations (GDPR).
Please ask if you would like more information about transitions at the office: office@dedworthgreenfirst.com
School will welcome you and your child and build a positive working relationship. It is important that good relationships are built from the very start of your child’s transition into Dedworth Green First School.
Curriculum 2024 – 25 | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | Year 4 | |
Autumn 1
| Literacy and guided reading (CLPE) |
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Maths (NCETM/White Rose) | Previous Reception experiences and counting within 100 | Numbers 10 to 100 Calculations within 20 | Adding and subtracting across 10 Numbers to 1000 | Review of column addition and subtraction Numbers to 10,000 | |
Science (Kapow) | Seasonal changes
| Habitats | Movement and nutrition | Digestion and food | |
History/ Geography (Kapow) | What is it like here? | Would you prefer to live in a hot or cold place? | Why do people live near volcanoes? | How have children’s lives changed? | |
Art/DT (Kapow) | Drawing Make your mark | Drawing Tell a story | Mechanical systems Pneumatic toys | Cooking and nutrition Adapting a recipe | |
RE (Kapow) | Respectful R&W (1 lesson) How did the world begin? Christian, Jewish, Hindu | Respectful R&W (1 lesson) Why do we need to give thanks? Hindu, Christian, Humanist | Respectful R&W (1 lesson) What makes us human? Hindu, Christian, Buddhist, Humanist | Respectful R&W (1 lesson) Are all religions equal? Bahá’í, Sikh, Hindu | |
Music (Kapow) | Keeping the pulse (My favourite things) | Call and response (Animals) | Ballads | Body and tuned percussion (Theme: Rainforests) | |
Computing (Kapow) | Online Safety (1 lesson) Using the internet safely Computing systems and networks Improving mouse skills | Online Safety (1 lesson) What happens when I post online? Computing systems and networks 1 What is a computer? | Online Safety (1 lesson) Beliefs, opinions and facts on the internet. Computing systems and networks 1 Networks | Online Safety (1 lesson) What happens when I search online? Computing systems and networks Collaborative Learning Microsoft Office 365 | |
PSHE & RSE (Kapow/myHappymind) | myHappymind Meet your brain
Introduction lesson Family and relationships | myHappymind Meet your brain
Introductory lesson Family and relationships | myHappymind Meet your brain
Introductory lesson Family and relationships | myHappymind Meet your brain
Introductory lesson Family and relationships | |
PE (RE PE) | Real Gym (Fitness)
WSSP Fundamentals | Real PE (Personal)
Fundamentals | Real PE (Personal)
WSSP Healthy Minds | Real PE (Personal)
WSSP Sports Leaders/Healthy Minds | |
MFL French (Kapow) |
| French greetings with puppets | Portraits - describing in French | ||
Trips and workshops | Literacy: Science museum | Geography: Walk around the local area | Literacy: Circus workshop |
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Autumn 2
| Literacy and guided reading |
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Maths | Comparison of quantities and part-whole relationships Numbers 0 to 5 Recognise, compose, decompose and manipulate 2D and 3D | Fluently add and subtract within 10 Addition and subtraction of two-digit numbers (1) Introduction to multiplication | Numbers to 1000 | Perimeter 3, 6, 9 times tables | |
Science | Everyday materials | Microhabitats
| Forces and magnets | Electricity and circuits | |
History/ Geography | What is the weather like in the UK? | How was school different in the past? | British history 1: Would you prefer to have lived in the Stonge age, Iron Age or Bronze Age? | Why are rainforests important to us? | |
Art/DT | Mechanisms Making a moving story book | Mechanisms Making a moving monster | Painting and mixed media Prehistoric painting | Mechanical systems Making a slingshot car | |
RE | What do some people believe God looks like? Christian, Hindu, Muslim | What do candles mean to people? Christian, Hindu, Jewish | Where do our morals come from? Christian/Jewish, Buddhist, Muslim, Hindu, Humanist | What makes some texts sacred? Sikh, Hindu, Buddhist | |
Music | Tempo (Snail and mouse) | Instruments (Musical storytelling) | Creating compositions in response to an animation (Theme: Mountains) | Rock and roll | |
Computing | Online Safety (1 lesson) Online emotions Programming 1 Algorithms unplugged | Online Safety (1 lesson) How do I keep my things safe online? Programming 1 Algorithms and debugging | Online Safety (1 lesson) Who should I ask? Programming Programming: Scratch | Online Safety (1 lesson) How do companies encourage us to buy online? Programming 1 Further coding with Scratch | |
PSHE & RSE | myHappymind Celebrate
Family and relationships Health and wellbeing | myHappymind Celebrate
Family and relationships Health and wellbeing | myHappymind Celebrate
Family and relationships Health and wellbeing | myHappymind Celebrate
Family and relationships Health and wellbeing | |
PE | Yoga
Multi-Skills Throwing and catching | Real PE (Social)
Football | Real PE (Social)
WSSP Invasion Games | Real Gym (Social)
WSSP Invasion Games | |
MFL |
| French adjectives of colour, size and shape | Clothes- getting dressed in French | ||
Trips and workshops | RE: All Saints’ Church |
| History: Anglo Saxons and Viking workshop | Science/DT: British Museum | |
Spring 1
| Literacy and guided reading |
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Maths | Recognise, compose, decompose and manipulate 2D and 3D Numbers 0 to 10 Additive structures | Introduction to multiplication Introduction to division structures | Right angles Manipulating the additive relationship and securing mental calculation | 3, 6, 9 times tables 7 times table and patterns Understanding and manipulating multiplicative relationships | |
Science | Sensitive bodies | Uses of everyday materials
| Rocks and soil | States of matter | |
History/ Geography | How am I making History? | How did we learn to fly? | British history 2: Why did the Romans invade and settle in Britain? | Where does our food come from? | |
Art/DT | Painting and mixed media Colour splash | Craft and design Map it out | Structure Constructing a castle | Sculpture and 3D Mega materials | |
RE | What is God’s job? Jewish, Zoroastrianist, Muslim, Hindu, Christian | How do we know some people have a special connection to God? Sikh, Muslim, Christian, Jewish, Hindu | Is scripture central to religion? Jewish, Muslim, Christian | Just how important are our beliefs? Sikh, Muslim, Jewish, Hindu, Christian | |
Music | Dynamics (Seaside) | Singing (On this island) | Developing singing technique (Theme: The Vikings) | Changes in pitch, tempo and dynamics (Theme: Rivers) | |
Computing | Online Safety (1 lesson) Always be kind and considerate Skills Showcase Rocket to the moon | Online Safety (1 lesson) It’s my choice Computing systems and networks 2 Word processing | Online Safety (1 lesson) When being online makes me upset Computing systems and networks 2 Emailing Microsoft Office 365 | Online Safety (1 lesson) Fact, opinion or belief? Creating media Website design Microsoft Office 365 | |
PSHE & RSE
| myHappymind Appreciate
Health and wellbeing Safety and the changing body | myHappymind Appreciate
Health and wellbeing Safety and the changing body | myHappymind Appreciate
Health and wellbeing Safety and the changing body | myHappymind Appreciate
Health and wellbeing Safety and the changing body | |
PE | WSSP Gymnastics
Invasion Games | WSSP Gymnastics
| Real Dance (Creative)
Football | Real PE (Cognitive)
Football | |
MFL |
| French playground games- numbers and age | French numbers, calendars and birthdays | ||
Trips and workshops |
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| RE: All Saints’ Church | |
Spring 2
| Literacy and guided reading |
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Maths | Additive structures Addition and subtraction facts within 10 | Shape Addition and subtraction of two-digit numbers (2) | Column addition 2, 4, 8 times tables Column subtraction | Understanding and manipulating multiplicative relationships Coordinates | |
Science | Comparing animals
| Life cycles and health | Light and shadows | Sound and vibrations | |
History/ Geography | How have toys changed? | Why is our world wonderful?
| What did the ancient Egyptians believe? | What are rivers and how are they are they used? | |
Art/DT | Textiles Puppets | Cooking and nutrition Balanced diet | Craft and design Ancient Egyptian scrolls | Drawing Power prints | |
RE | Why should we care for the world? Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Jain, Humanist | What is a prophet? Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Sikh | What happens if we do wrong? Hindu, Muslim, Humanist, Christian, Jewish | Who was Jesus really? Christian, Jewish, Muslim | |
Music | Sound patterns (Fairytales) | Contrasting dynamics (Space) | Pentatonic melodies and composition (Theme: Chinese New Year) | Haiku, music and performance (Theme: Hanami) | |
Computing | Online Safety (1 lesson) Posting and sharing Programming 2 Programming Bee-Bots | Online Safety (1 lesson) Is it true? Programming 2 Introduction to block coding Scratch Jr | Online Safety (1 lesson) Sharing information Computing systems and networks 3 Journey inside a computer | Online Safety (1 lesson) What is a bot? Skills showcase HTML | |
PSHE & RSE | myHappymind Relate
Safety and the changing body Citizenship | myHappymind Relate
Safety and the changing body Citizenship | myHappymind Relate
Safety and the changing body Citizenship | myHappymind Relate
Safety and the changing body | |
PE | Real PE (Cognitive)
Net/Wall Games | Real PE (Cognitive)
Net/Wall Games | Real Gym (Physical)
WSSP Net/Wall | Real PE (Fitness)
WSSP Net/Wall | |
MFL |
| In a French classroom | French weather and the water cycle | ||
Trips and workshops | Science: Whipsnade Zoo | Literacy: Woburn Safari Park |
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Summer 1
| Literacy and guided reading
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Maths | Numbers 0 to 20 Unitising and coin recognition | Money Fractions Time Position and direction | Unit fractions | Review of fractions Fractions greater than 1 | |
Science | Introduction to plants | Plant growth | Plant reproduction | Classification and changing habitats | |
History/ Geography | What is it like to live in Shanghai? | What is it like to live by the coast? | Who lives in Antarctica? | British history 3: How hard was it to invade and settle in Britain? | |
Art/DT | Structures Constructing a windmill | Structures Baby bear’s chair | Drawing Growing artists | Painting and mixed media Light and dark | |
RE | How do we know that new babies are special? Muslim, Hindu, Christian, Humanist | How do some people talk to God? Muslim, Jewish, Hindu | Why is water symbolic? Christian, Sikh, Muslim, Shinto | Why is the Bible the best-selling book of all time? Christian | |
Music | Pitch (Superheroes) | Structure (Myths and Legends) | Jazz | Samba and carnival sounds and instruments | |
Computing | Online Safety (1 lesson) How much time should we spend on technology? Creating media Digital imagery | Creating media Stop motion Using desktops/laptops | Online Safety (1 lesson) Rules of social media platforms Creating media Video trailers Using devices other than iPads | Online Safety (1 lesson) What is my #TeachTimetable like? Programming 2 Computational thinking | |
PSHE & RSE | myHappymind Engage
Citizenship Economic wellbeing | myHappymind Engage
Citizenship | myHappymind Engage
Citizenship | myHappymind Engage
Citizenship | |
PE | Real PE (Social)
WSSP Athletics Sports day prep | Real Dance (Your choice)
WSSP Athletics Sports day prep | Tennis | Real PE (Creative)
Tennis | |
MFL |
| French transport | French food- miam, miam! | ||
Trips and workshops |
| Geography: Bournemouth beach |
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Summer 2
| Literacy and guided reading |
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Maths | Unitising and coin recognition Position and direction Time | Multiplication and division – doubling, halving, quotative and partitive division Sense of measure – capacity, volume, mass | Non-unit fractions Parallel and perpendicular sides in polygons Time | Symmetry in 2D shapes Time Division with remainders | |
Science | Investigating science through science | Plant-based materials | Making connections Does hand span affect grip strength? | Making connections How does the flow of liquids compare? | |
History/ Geography | How have explorers changed the world? | What is a monarch? | Are all settlements the same? | How did the achievements of the Maya civilisation influence their society and beyond? | |
Art/DT | Sculpture and 3D Paper play | Painting and mixed media Life in colour | Textiles Cross-stitch and applique Egyptian collars | Structures Pavilions | |
RE | Why should we care for others? Sikh, Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Humanist | Where do some people talk to God? Hindu, Alevi, Muslim, Sikh | Why is fire used ceremonially? Hindu/Sikh, Zoroastrianist | Does the language of scripture matter? Christian, Muslim, Jewish | |
| Music | Musical symbols (Under the sea) | Pitch (Musical me) | Traditional instruments and improvisation (Theme: India) | Adapting and transposing motifs (Theme: Romans) |
Computing | Data handling Introduction to data | Data handling International Space Station | Data handling Comparison cards database | Data handling Investigating weather | |
PSHE & RSE | Wellbeing Economic wellbeing Transition lesson | Wellbeing Economic wellbeing Transition lesson | Wellbeing Economic wellbeing Transition lesson | Wellbeing Citizenship Economic wellbeing Transition lesson | |
PE | Real PE (Creative)
Real PE (Physical) | Real PE (Creative)
Athletics Sports day prep | Athletics Sports day prep
WSSP OAA | Athletics Sports day prep
WSSP OAA | |
MFL |
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| A circle of life in French | French and the Eurovision Song Contest | |
Trips and workshops |
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| RE: Sikh temple | Activity Week |