Sheering School Curriculum

We offer our children a broad and balanced curriculum which develops the work of individual children according to their age and ability. At Sheering school, we promote the fundamental British values of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty, and mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs. We foster the development of these British values through our curriculum, school council, Building Learning Power, Christian Terrific values, clubs, challenges and e-safety. Our curriculum reflects the values in our society that promote personal development, spirituality, equality of opportunity, economic wellbeing, a healthy and just democracy, and a sustainable future. This therefore ensures that the children at Sheering school are prepared for life in a culturally diverse modern Britain.

All our children follow the Programmes of Study in the National Curriculum for English, Mathematics, Science, Information and Communication Technology, Design and Technology, History, Geography, Music, Art and Physical Education. Religious Education, PSHCE and a Modern Foreign Language are also studied.

Most of the above subject areas are delivered in a cross-curricular, topic based format following a two year cycle. Cross-curricular themes of safety, health and environmental education are also included in the children’s studies. Through all the curriculum areas the children are encouraged to acquire clearly defined skills, concepts and values needed to develop an understanding and an interpretation of the world around them.

Where possible first-hand experience is used to initiate learning , often incorporating the benefits of the local environment, such as the school grounds, the village and the Parish Church, and the close associations and involvement of our local community. Educational visits are regularly made to stimulate children’s interests. A residential school trip to Kingswood Activity Centre in Norfolk is arranged every two years for children in Years 5 and 6.

Our children are encouraged to take an increasingly active role in the planning and preparation of their work, and in so doing are encouraged to be confident and competent independent learners.

Curriculum Statement Download

Current Curriculum Schedule for Year Groups

Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum Download

Year 1 & 2 Curriculum Cycle A Download

Year 1 & 2 Curriculum Cycle B Download

Year 3 & 4 Curriculum Cycle A Download

Year 3 & 4 Curriculum Cycle B Download

Year 5 & 6 Curriculum Cycle A Download

English
The children are taught literacy skills through; a daily Phonics lesson (Early Years, KS1 and lower KS2); Grammar, Spelling and Punctuation in KS2 and through a dedicated English lesson every day. The children are always encouraged to apply their skills across the whole curriculum.

We are becoming a ‘Talk for Writing’ school (www.talk4writing.co.uk) which means, in the early years, the children actively learn a wide variety of well known fairy tales, poems and stories which gives them a firm foundation for their writing. They are given opportunities to write for varied purposes and are encouraged to understand that writing is essential to thinking and learning, as well as being an enjoyable activity. They write for a variety of audiences and in a variety of forms, such as stories, poems, letters and factual reports.

Children are encouraged to write independently and to plan, draft and improve their work on paper and on the computer.

They have opportunities to develop their ability to punctuate their work, to accumulate a bank of words that they can spell correctly and to develop a clear and legible joined-up style of handwriting. They learn strategies for learning spellings and are given spellings to learn at home.

Children are also given opportunities to talk for a variety of purposes and to listen and respond to a range of people. They take part in drama activities, both in class and as a whole school.

Reading receives constant attention throughout the school and is taught carefully to all children in order that they develop the skills they need to become enthusiastic, independent and reflective readers.

There is a well-established and growing collection of fiction and non-fiction books available to the children in their classes and in the School Library. Children are able to borrow books from the School Library to take home, along with their reading book.

As part of their regular homework for Literacy, the children are encouraged to read to an adult on a daily basis at home. There is a Home-School Diary to support this. Our ultimate aim is to develop a life long love of books and reading in our children. To this end we welcome your support both at home and in school.

For further details please read our Phonics and Reading PolicyDownload

Mathematics

Mathematics is an essential part of the curriculum and is taught through a daily, short Number Enrichment lesson as well as a longer dedicated maths lesson. A good foundation in numeracy is essential and so the children are taught how to understand the number system and the skills needed to solve problems in a variety of mathematical and real-life situations.

The children also develop their skills, knowledge and understanding in other areas of mathematics, such as shape, space, measures and handling data. They have regular opportunities to learn and use mental maths strategies and develop a wide mathematical vocabulary.

We have a wide range of mathematical games that are used to practice and apply mathematical skills. We use computer programs to support mathematical learning and for our KS1 and KS2 pupils we subscribe to the ‘Mathletics’ online (at home and at school, www.mathletics.co.uk) learning program.

Reception Maths Curriculum Download

Maths Curriculum Year 1 & 2Download

Maths Curriculum Year 3 & 4Download

Maths Curriculum Year 5 & 6Download

Science

The children are encouraged to develop their scientific knowledge, understanding and thinking through a programme of work which focuses on the study of Life Processes and Living Things, Materials and their Properties, and Physical Processes.

Children have the opportunity to use the skills associated with scientific methods of investigation, namely observation, questioning, prediction, investigation and interpretation.

Science is a largely practical subject which enables children to develop positive attitudes. Children communicate their scientific findings through a wide range of methods, such as graphs, drawings, and written reports.

Music

The children’s enjoyment and understanding of music is developed through activities that involve listening, performing and composing. They are given opportunities to practise their musical skills of singing and playing classroom instruments and to listen to, discuss and appreciate music from a wide range of periods and cultures.

Throughout the school year many musical events are held, including Christmas performances for both Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2. Older pupils may also take part in various district Choral Festivals.

Piano, drum and guitar tutors visit the school for individual and small group lessons. Details are available from the school office.

Information and Communication Technology (ICT)

Computers are readily available to children in the purpose-built ICT suite and interactive whiteboards are installed in all four classrooms.

Children use ICT widely to support learning across all curriculum areas. This may involve using specific hardware, programs and internet sites. Children develop their ICT skills and apply their knowledge and understanding throughout the curriculum. They are taught to use a range of programs to communicate ideas including use of graphics and sound. They use simple databases and spreadsheets to organise and manage information. Using programmable ‘toys’ and software resources they learn simple control and programming skills. E-safety is an important part of our ICT curriculum, encouraging children to develop a safe responsible approach to IT.

Physical Education

The children develop the physical skills, knowledge, understanding and creativity to participate in games, gymnastics, dance, swimming, athletics and outdoor adventurous activity. They learn to use safely both large and small apparatus, indoors and outside. They plan, develop and evaluate their work, both individually and in groups, learning to develop positive attitudes to fair play and sporting behaviour. They also learn the importance of physical activity in promoting a healthy lifestyle. Older children take part in friendly inter-school games, sporting events and swimming galas. Key Stage Two children travel to Leventhorpe Swimming Pool in Sawbridgeworth for swimming lessons periodically for which a voluntary admission and transport charge is made. Almost all children leave the school able to swim at least twenty-five metres.

Design and Technology

We aim to give children the opportunity to work with a range of materials to develop their knowledge, skills and attitudes in designing and making and in evaluating their work.

They have opportunities to carry out projects, exploring the areas of food, textiles, structures and mechanisms. We encourage the children to assess real-life designs and products and to appreciate the impact of technology on everyday life.

Art

In this subject the children are taught to use a range of materials, tools, and techniques through undertaking practical projects which involve pattern, texture, colour, line and tone, shape, form and space. They are encouraged to record their observations and to express their ideas or feelings in two- or three-dimensional forms. They are introduced to the work of artists, craftspeople and designers from a variety of cultures.

History

Children are given opportunities in this subject to develop an awareness of the past and how it has influenced the present. They study different episodes and development in Britain’s history from Roman times up to the Second World War, and also some ancient civilisations in other parts of the world. The children use a variety of artefacts, pictures, stories and other sources to learn about the past and to ask questions about it. They develop a sense of chronology through their study of people, events and changes.

Modern Foreign Languages

Children in Key Stage 2 have weekly timetabled lessons in a modern foreign language. We believe that children should be introduced to another language at an early age and consequently children in Key Stage 1 will begin to experience the French and Spanish languages in the form of songs and learning simple words and phrases.

Geography

In this subject the children are encouraged to develop an understanding of the features and conditions which make up the physical environment and to appreciate how people have used that environment with positive and negative effects. They develop geographical skills, including making and interpreting maps and using globes, maps, plans and atlases of a variety of scales.

They undertake field work in different localities, and they learn to ask questions and propose solutions to environmental issues.

Religious Education

The Religious Education in our school is based on the Essex agreed syllabus, entitled ‘RE Matters for Every Child”, which aims to provide children with opportunities to learn about and to learn from religion. This includes a study of aspects of Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Sikhism and Hinduism.
As a Church school we have formed a close bond with St. Mary’s Church in Sheering, which the children are able to visit as part of their religious studies.
We help children to understand themselves as people, and we believe that the very lives we live in school, and our relationships with one another, are the foundations of religion in general.

An act of worship, whose character is explicitly Christian, is held daily, in which children are able to reflect upon moral and spiritual questions. The Reverend Dawn Jewson leads our assemblies once a week. We also welcome visitors to share their experiences. During the school year children take part in various fund-raising activities for charity.

We have special assemblies for particular occasions, such as Harvest Festival, Mothering Sunday, Christmas and Easter, to which parents are invited. Assemblies are also used to celebrate children’s achievements, both in and out of school.

Parents are entitled to withdraw children from all or part of Religious Education and Collective Worship if they so wish.