Our Curriculum

Curriculum Statement

At Lee Mount we provide our children with their entitlement of a curriculum that focuses on basic skills but then uses these basic skills to ensure that the objectives of the National Curriculum are taught.

The National Curriculum objectives ensure that we deliver all the knowledge-based learning to meet the needs of our pupils. This knowledge is then broadened with a themed approach based on History, Geography or Science focuses. The visual arts are used as a vehicle through which this themed approach culminates, creating stimulating displays that celebrate the children’s work.

What do our children need?

· A broad and balanced curriculum

· An exciting, themed based approach

· A focus on speaking, vocabulary development and reading skills

· To believe they can write

· To feel safe and secure with a development of self-esteem and moral values

· A concrete and pictorial approach to number

· A curriculum that is enriched by stimulating hooks and trips

· A curriculum that uses sport and the performing arts to instil confidence and a ‘can do’ attitude

· A curriculum that establishes the children’s place in the world and creates a sense of awe and wonder, starting with their local area and their own ‘cultural capital’.

The strands of our curriculum:

1. The educational purpose – established content, along with what is statutory, based on the National Curriculum - our INTENT

2. Stimulating and original delivery – how we IMPLEMENT the curriculum, how it is organised and how we engage the children.

3. The value of the curriculum – have the children really learned it? Has it changed minds? How will we check and assess this? What will we assess? What IMPACT has it had?

 

Reading at Lee Mount

We use a wide range of strategies to promote children’s love of books.

The first and foremost strategy is to get children to be efficient and confident de-coders. For this we use the Read Write Inc programme in Early Years and Key Stage 1. This is a proven synthetic phonics programme that ensures early success in reading, writing and spelling. It includes Speed Sound Cards, Word Cards, Ditty Books and Story Books . Children put into ability groups for these daily lessons and are assessed on their progress regularly (at least every half term) and moved groups if necessary. All teachers and teaching assistants who deliver this method are highly trained by Read Write Inc practitioners. All children take home appropriate phonics reading books according to their current attainment and also ‘tricky words’ that they need to know for their stage in their education.

 

Reading Scheme

Our core reading scheme is the Ruth Miskin Read Write Inc books, but these are supplemented with a variety of other reading books that are colour coded according to the reading stage of the children. Children may continue on these staged books until KS2, if necessary. Some children in KS1 also receive top up phonics lessons where they will use the Read Write Inc materials.

Accelerated Reader – books for home/school reading

In KS2, all children have a reading book from the school library. We are introducing Accelerated Reader which uses software of monitoring the practice of reading. Children chose their own books to read (most books written for children have been incorporated into this system) and when they have finished their book, they take a quiz. The teacher then uses the results of these quizzes to help the children set goals and direct ongoing reading practice. Accelerated reader results also give accurate reading ages and other standardized scores, again with help the teacher target the children’s areas for improvement. Books are both fiction and non-fiction.

 

Our Reading Curriculum

Our children’s reading diet in school consists of:

· A whole class text which drives the writing curriculum which is linked to the curriculum theme

· Whole class reading – shared and guided – children work with a challenging text and complete a range of tasks set by the teacher. This could be in groups or at an individual level and will include the teacher demonstrating reading strategies using a shared text.
Teachers use collaborative reading structures for lessons which include questions based on the National Curriculum assessment domains and also use the VIPER question techniques. These assess the children’s knowledge of Vocabulary, Inference, Prediction, Explanation and Retrieval.

· Every Friday (KS2) the children will complete a selection of comprehension questions independently. These comprehension tasks reinforce the specific objectives from that week as well as familiarizing children with a variety of test type questions.

· All children will have a story read to them at the end of the day. This text is chosen for a variety of reasons: the children could be reading another text by the same author, it could link to the theme, it could be from a selection of traditional stories that the children need to get to know and love, it could be for the purpose of introducing them to a theme that is going to be taught the following week or they could simply just love the book for its own sake!

In EYFS:

· Whole class enjoyment of books making links to letters and sounds

· Text rich provision areas to promote rich vocabulary and talk to ignite their interests

· Children choosing books in provision and read the together showing an awareness of vocabulary, rhymes and different text genres

· Small group work to discuss books, poems and other texts

· Children will be heard reading 1:1 at least once a week

· All children will have a daily phonics lesson

· Children will have at least 2 story times a day

In KS1

· Children will be heard reading at least once per week 1:1 or as targeted intervention

· Children will have daily phonics lessons

· Children will have whole class reading following the VIPERS structure at least twice per week – in Y1 responses are put in the class floor book

· From Yr 2, children will have comprehension activities that familiarize them with test type questions at least twice a week, more from the Spring Term

· Children will have a daily story time

In KS2

· Children will be heard reading 1:1 at least once per week or as part of a targeted intervention

· Children will have daily whole class teacher-led reading lessons and supporting activities

· Children will have at least 15 minutes reading independently every day and then completing Accelerated Reader activities

· Children will complete a weekly comprehension sheet

· Children will have a daily story time

Assessment

Assessment at Lee Mount falls into two categories: formative assessment and summative assessment.

· Formative assessment is part of an on-going process that is done on a lesson by lesson basis; a daily basis and a half termly basis.
Our teachers assess children’s maths daily and offer children who need to ‘keep up’ additional intervention time before the next lesson. This intervention takes place during daily assemblies.
Writing is assessed at the point of composition and the teacher will offer feedback on a group or individual basis the following day, during a taught session. This happens twice a week.
When planning foundation subjects, teachers plan an end point towards the end of the half term, which integrates knowledge and skills the children need to have gained. This can be in a stand alone subject, but is often in a way that links disciplines together, i.e., assessing a history outcome through the medium of art or DT. Or assessing a geography outcome through a written task.

· Summative assessment takes place a planned times of the year to ascertain development with reference to national norms and the National Curriculum. Standardised tests are used termly (PIRA and PUMA in Y1, SATs tests in Y2, NFER tests in Ys 3 4 and 5 and Sats tests in Y6.

· The progress of children in these standardized tests is recorded on the schools tracking system and is overseen by the Headteacher.