Art Intent

At Newbold Verdon Primary School, we want to inspire children and develop their confidence in experimenting with and inventing pieces of art work. Our lessons are designed to give our children the opportunity to explore and investigate different art techniques whilst at the same time expressing their ideas and thoughts about the world that they live in. We want our children to develop their talents, reflect their personal experiences and interests, and develop our key values of curiosity and perseverance in a creative way. Our curriculum supports the development of independence, high expectations, and a willingness to take a risk, and is centred around inspiring children to create, experience and appreciate great art and culture. We encourage our children to express their individuality and to explore the world around them in a creative and imaginative way.

Implementation

We follow the Kapow Scheme of work which is designed around four consistent strands. These are:

• Making skills
• Formal elements (line, shape, tone, texture, pattern, colour)
• Knowledge of artists
• Evaluating

These strands are revisited in every unit. Pupils have the opportunity to learn and practise skills discretely. The knowledge and skills acquired are then applied through other units in the scheme. Key skills are revisited again and again in a spiral curriculum model, affording the children many opportunities to retrieve and apply prior learning, whilst also continuing to develop new skills and progress further.  All lessons are practical and are based around exploratory and experimental learning. Lessons are differentiated to allow all children to achieve their full potential, with knowledge organisers available to support children’s knowledge and understanding. Modelling forms a key part of every art lesson, with teachers scaffolding learning through modelling techniques in an engaging and stimulating way. Children are encouraged during lessons to evaluate their own work and to identify their own successes and areas for development.

Impact

Our curriculum is designed so that every child is able to recall of key facts and information about art, demonstrate a range of art techniques and skills, and talk confidently about their own art learning journey and what they need to do to improve.

Our children will:

• Produce creative work, exploring and recording their own experiences
• Be proficient in drawing, painting, and other art techniques
• Evaluate and analyse creative work using subject specific language
• Know about great artists and the historical and cultural development of their art
• Meet the end of key stage expectations outlined in the national curriculum for art.

All children have an art book which reflects their learning and the skills and techniques that they have explored and developed. Children’s progress and attainment is tracked by teachers, indicating whether they have met unit expectations. More importantly, children evaluate their own learning and their successes and development points, which is a key part of our teaching and learning.

Computing Intent

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 the 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.

Intent
At  Newbold Verdon Primary School we believe that a quality English curriculum should develop children’s love of reading, writing and discussion.  We have a rigorous and well organised English curriculum that provides many purposeful opportunities for reading, writing and discussion. Our curriculum closely follows the aims of the National Curriculum for English 2014 to enable all children to:

• read easily, fluently and with good understanding
• develop the habit of reading widely and often, for both pleasure and information
• acquire a wide vocabulary, an understanding of grammar and knowledge of linguistic conventions for reading, writing and spoken language
• appreciate our rich and varied literary heritage
• write clearly, accurately and coherently, adapting their language and style in and for a range of contexts, purposes and audiences
• use discussion in order to learn; they should be able to elaborate and explain clearly their understanding and ideas
• are competent in the arts of speaking and listening, making formal presentations, demonstrating to others and participating in debate.

These aims are embedded across our English lessons and the wider curriculum. We will provide the means for children to develop a secure knowledge-base in English, which follows a clear pathway of progression as they advance through the primary curriculum. Rigorous assessment and review will ensure that we are able to provide targeted support so that all children experience success in English; we believe that a secure basis in literacy skills is crucial to a high quality education and will give our children the tools they need to participate fully as a member of society.

Implementation
Early reading is supported through the Read Write Inc synthetic phonic’s scheme.  Regular training and development days ensure that staff are equipped to teach with the expertise and skills required to promote excellent progress, as well as a love of reading. Children that require further support in Key Stage 2 continue with the RWI programme until they can read fluently and accurately. Children who need support in Years 5 and 6 use the Fresh Start intervention scheme. At Newbold Verdon Primary school we do not want any child to be left behind and use the phrase ‘keep up not catch up’.
Children are taught comprehension skills through Whole Class Reading (WCR), this starts in Foundation where we use RWI Talk through Stories. 
Teaching the whole class means that pupils can:

• Read with the teacher more often
• Broaden the discussion of texts
• Engage with richer and more complex texts
• Benefit from the teacher’s expert explanations, modelling, questioning, and feedback regularly

At Newbold Verdon Primary School, children have access to a rich, varied and diverse selection of texts that both mirror their own lives and provide windows into the lives of others.
When planning literacy lessons, teachers make links to other areas of the curriculum to ensure that cross curricular links provide further context for learning.  Teaching blocks focus on fiction, non-fiction or poetry, in line with the 2014 National Curriculum and comprehension, grammar and writing are embedded in lessons.  Lesson sequences themselves build progressively towards an extended piece of writing.  Handwriting is taught using Letter-Join and we have high expectations of handwriting across the curriculum. Spelling is taught using the Read Write Inc. Spelling programme.

Assessment for Learning is embedded in literacy lessons and children are active in reviewing the successes in their work and identifying, with support from their teacher, target areas for development to ensure a continuous and individualised approach to improving their work.

Impact
The organisation of the English curriculum, has realised a community of enthusiastic readers and writers who enjoy showcasing their developing literacy knowledge and skills. Children are confident to take risks in their reading and writing, and love to discuss and share their ideas.  Outcomes of work in both literacy and topic books evidence the high quality of work and the impact of varied and cross curricular writing opportunities.  These enable children to write across a range of forms and adapt their writing successfully, considering the purpose.

Forest School is a child-centered inspirational learning process that offers opportunities for holistic growth through regular sessions.  It is a long-term programme that supports play, exploration and supported risk taking.  It develops confidence and self-esteem through learner-inspired, hands-on experiences in our natural setting.

Geography Intent

At Newbold Verdon Primary School, we believe that Geography helps to provoke and provide answers to questions about the natural and human aspects of the world.

• Children are encouraged to develop a greater understanding and knowledge of the world, as well as their place in it. The geography curriculum at our school enables children to develop knowledge and skills that are transferable to other curriculum areas, and which can and are used to promote their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.
• Geography is, by nature, an investigative subject, which develops an understanding of concepts, knowledge and skills.
• We seek to inspire in children a curiosity and fascination about the world and its people, which will remain with them for the rest of their lives; to promote the children’s interest and understanding of diverse places, people, resources and natural and human environments, together with a deep understanding of the Earth’s key physical and human processes.
• The curriculum is designed to develop knowledge and skills that are progressive, as well as transferable, throughout their time at Newbold Verdon Primary School and also to their further education and beyond.

History Intent

At Newbold Verdon Primary School, we are HISTORIANS! We want our children to love history. We want them to strive to become archivists, museum curators, archaeologists or research analysts. Our aim is that, through the teaching of History, we stimulate all children’s interest and understanding about the life of people who lived in the past. We teach children a sense of chronology, in order to develop a sense of identity and a cultural understanding based on their historical heritage. We identify and focus on significant people in Black History to widen our children’s understanding of our multicultural country. This enables our children to learn to value their own and other people’s cultures in modern multicultural Britain. We aim to make all children aware of the actions of important people in history and enable children to know about significant events in British history, whilst appreciating how things have changed over time. History will also ensure our children understand how Britain developed as a society, contributing to their understanding of their country. Furthermore, our children will learn about aspects of local, British as well as the Ancient histories of their world.

Maths

The National Curriculum for Maths aims to ensure that all children:

• Become fluent in the fundamentals of mathematics
• Are able to reason mathematically 
• Can solve problems by applying their mathematics

At Newbold Verdon, these skills are embedded within hands-on Maths lessons and developed over time. We believe all children can achieve in mathematics and become mathematical thinkers.

We use the Numicon approach to Mathematics. Children in Pre-school and EYFS begin with Firm Foundations, where they are immersed in Mathematics through practical experiences. Year 1 begin with Securing Foundations before starting the Year 1 curriculum. Children are supported in their learning of mathematics through the CPA approach (concrete, pictorial, abstract) through to Year 6, Language and communication is an integral part of our Mathematics curriculum and the lessons are planned and taught to promote children’s development of Oracy. Please see the attached Maths policy for further information and guidance on the planning and teaching of Mathematics.

We ensure that children can use methods to calculate and have the ability to check whether their chosen methods are appropriate, reliable and efficient. A detailed  calculation policy is used throughout the school to ensure progression of number and calculation skills. Please see the Calculation Policies attached for further information and guidance on the four written methods from Year 1 – Year 6.

In KS2, TT Rockstars is used in class and as part of homework expectations to support the learning of Times Tables. Every child in KS2 has their own TT Rockstars username and password. Please speak to your class teacher if your child does not have one.

Intent

To build an MFL curriculum, which develops learning and results in the acquisition of knowledge and skills thus enabling children to access the wider curriculum, and to prepare children to be a global citizen, now and in their future roles, within a global community.  Children will know more, remember more, and understand more.  To design a curriculum with appropriate subject knowledge, skills and understanding, to fulfil the duties of the National Curriculum, whereby schools must provide a "balanced and broadly-based curriculum which promotes the spiritual, moral, cultural, mental and physical development of pupils, and prepares them for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences for later life".

To build an MFL curriculum that incorporates the understanding of French so that children know more, remember more, and understand more.  As a result, children will develop the knowledge to be able to communicate in another language other than English.  To design, and resource, a French programme to work within the MFL curriculum, which enables pupils to explore the cultural capital of another country through its language and traditions.

Music Curriculum Intent

The National Curriculum for music aims to ensure that all pupils:

• Perform, listen to, review and evaluate music

•Be taught to sing, create and compose music

• Understand and explore how music is created, produced and communicated

At Newbold Verdon Primary School, the intention is that children gain a firm understanding of what music is through listening, singing, playing, evaluating, analysing and composing across a wide variety of historical periods, styles, traditions and musical genres.

Our objective is to develop a curiosity for the subject, as well as an understanding and acceptance of the validity and importance of all types of music; experiencing aspirational musicians and being introduced to different genres and celebrating differences.

We are committed to ensuring children understand the value and importance of music in the wider community.

With the support from the Leicestershire Music service and our visiting music teachers, we want our children to have the courage to try new instruments and the perseverance to continue when learning an instrument can be difficult and frustrating at times.

We will then celebrate these skills with an end of year performance.

PE Intent

At Newbold Verdon Primary School, we recognise the importance of PE and the role it has to play in promoting long term, healthy lifestyles. The intent of our PE curriculum is to provide all children with high quality PE and sport provision. It is our vision for every pupil to succeed and achieve their potential, as well as to lead physically active lifestyles. We strive to inspire our pupils through fun and engaging PE lessons that are enjoyable, challenging and accessible to all. We want our pupils to appreciate the benefits of a healthy and physically active lifestyle. Through our teaching of PE, we will provide opportunities for pupils to develop values and transferable life skills such as fairness and respect, as well as providing them with opportunities to take part in competitive sport.
 
Aims
It is our aim at Newbold Verdon Primary School to develop and encourage:

• Competence to excel in a broad range of physical activities
• Children who are physically active for sustained periods of time
• Engagement in competitive sports and activities
• Children to lead healthy, active lives 

PSHE Intent

The intent of our PSHE curriculum is to deliver a curriculum which is accessible to all and that will maximise the outcomes for every child so that they know more, remember more, and understand more.  At Newbold Verdon Primary School, personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education enables our children to become healthy, independent and responsible members of society. It aims to help them understand how they are developing personally and socially, and tackles many of the moral, social and cultural issues that are part of growing up.

We provide our children with opportunities for them to learn about rights and responsibilities, and appreciate what it means to be a member of a diverse society. Our children are encouraged to develop their sense of self-worth by playing a positive role in contributing to school life and the wider community.

RE

At Newbold Verdon Primary School, we follow the Leicestershire Agreed syllabus 2021 for Religious Education, which “asserts the importance and value of religious education (RE) for all pupils, with ongoing benefits for an open, articulate and understanding society.” It defines the principal aim of religious education as:

“… to explore what people believe and what difference this makes to how they live, so that pupils can gain the knowledge, understanding and skills needed to handle questions raised by religion and belief, reflecting on their own ideas and ways of living.”

As a school, we aim to embed this principle into all aspects of teaching and learning in RE, ensuring that children study a range of religious and non-religious beliefs, and are offered the opportunities to explore these through immersive, empathetic experiences. Our curriculum reflects the children’s local experience whilst at the same time acknowledging that RE is plural. All religious and non-religious beliefs are accorded equal respect. 

The Leicestershire Agreed syllabus centres around three main aims; making sense, understanding impact and significance, and making connections, and these are embedded into our curriculum long term plan. As such, the education that we provide is intended to challenge children’s thinking, give them the skills and knowledge to articulate their own beliefs whilst also showing understanding and respect for those of others, and to make connections between their own lives and communities and those of others in both a national and global context.  This is achieved through planning lessons based around key questions, which in turn ensures continuity, progression and retrieval of key information and concepts across the school. We strive to foster understanding, respect, tolerance and open mindedness; to support children as they develop a sense of self identity and belonging; and to teach children to develop an enquiring, understanding mind. Teaching and Learning in RE is designed to build upon our whole school ethos and intent and instil the values of curiosity, empathy and equality. 

Science Intent

Science teaching at Newbold Verdon Primary School aims to give all children a strong understanding of the world around them whilst acquiring specific skills and knowledge to help them to think scientifically; to gain an understanding of scientific processes; and also an understanding of the uses and implications of science, today and for the future. At Newbold Verdon Primary School, scientific enquiry skills are embedded in each topic the children study, and these topics are revisited and developed throughout their time at school.

Topics, such as Plants, are taught in Key Stage One and studied again in further detail throughout Key Stage Two. This model allows children to build upon their prior knowledge and increases their enthusiasm for the topics whilst embedding this procedural knowledge into the long-term memory.

All children are encouraged to develop and use a range of skills including observations, planning and investigations, as well as being encouraged to question the world around them and become independent learners in exploring possible answers for their scientific-based questions. Specialist vocabulary for topics is taught and built upon, and effective questioning to communicate ideas is encouraged. Concepts taught should be reinforced by focusing on the key features of scientific enquiry, so that pupils learn to use a variety of approaches to answer relevant scientific questions.