'Lighting the Sparks'
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Subjects and Intent

Belthorn Academy Primary School

Subjects and Intent

An introduction to each of our subject areas.

PSHE, RSE and PE

Subject

Information

PSHE and RSE

PE

PSHE and RSE

We believe PSHE is a fundamental part of every child’s education in order for them to become confident and happy citizens.

We aim to promote personal development in a structured and developmentally appropriate way in order to give children the knowledge, understanding, attitudes and practical skills to improve their life chances.

We enable children to develop their sense of self-worth by encouraging them to play a positive role in contributing to school life and the wider community. Our curriculum covers a wide range of topics relating to physical and mental health, wellbeing, safeguarding and healthy relationships.

We feel that learning about the emotional and social aspects of growing up will give children and the information, skills and positive values to empower them to have safe and fulfilling relationships and to become independent, responsible members of society. Having introduced children to a wide range of concepts and having exposed them to a variety of experiences, we hope that they will have a strong understanding of the diverse world around them; be well equipped to take responsibility for their own wellbeing and to stay safe in our ever-changing society.

PE

To develop a vision that recognises that by the time each child leaves Belthorn they will have become positive in their approach to physical activity, achieved personal success and developed a sense of pride that provides them with the confidence to try new experiences through the next stages of their life.

Children understand the importance of physical activity and living a healthy lifestyle.

DT, Music and Art

Subject

Information

DT

Music

Art

DT

The intention of the DT curriculum at Belthorn Academy is to nurture and promote creative thinkers who are equipped with the necessary knowledge and skills needed to solve the designing needs of the world in which they live.

Through well-planned sessions, which expose learners to working with a range of materials in a variety of relevant contexts, teachers aim to develop children’s confidence to tackle larger projects in a systematic and planned way. Children will be able to take calculated risks.

By designing and making quality products based on the needs of others, children will become confident in their abilities, take ownership of their learning and be confident in the knowledge that success comes from mistakes. They will develop a sense of achievement and pride and discover areas of interest that may contribute to their futures.

Music

We aim to use Music within our curriculum as a way of enabling children to develop culturally. Through a broad curriculum, teachers hope to nurture a deep sense of appreciation for music from a range of cultures and traditions within all learners and encourage them to become critical thinkers.

As children learn to appraise music from different genres, they are supported in sharing their opinions. As children leave Key Stage 2, they should have the skills and knowledge necessary to show their understanding of music and understand that it can be a significant outlet for expression.

Art

We want our children to have lots of creative opportunities. We want them to have no limits on their ambitions and to grow up wanting to be illustrators, graphic designers, architects, fashion designers, the possibilities are endless.

Our art curriculum is designed to engage, inspire and challenge our children whilst equipping them with the knowledge and skills to be able to experiment, invent and create their own works of art. We want to equip our children with not just the minimum statutory requirements of the art and design national curriculum but to prepare them for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of later life.

English

Subject

Information

Writing

Reading

Writing

We believe that a quality Literacy (English) curriculum should develop children’s love of reading, writing and discussion.

One of our priorities is helping children read and develop their all-important comprehension skills. We recognise the importance of nurturing a culture where children take pride in their writing, can write clearly and accurately and adapt their language and style for a range of contexts.

We want to inspire children to be confident in the art of speaking and listening and who can use discussion to communicate and further their learning.

Reading

Reading lies at the heart of the curriculum at Belthorn Academy Primary School. We are dedicated to enabling our pupils to become lifelong readers and we believe reading is key for academic success.

Science, Computing and Maths

Subject

Information

Science

Computing

Maths

Science

Children are exposed to a creative curriculum and are given opportunities to develop their investigation skills inside and outside the classroom.

Through their time at Belthorn, children will be exposed to science in the wider world, enhancing their science capital. Lessons will link with jobs in the wider world providing a wider knowledge on careers relating to STEM. Teachers are consistent in their approach to teaching science.

Progression through the five areas of inquiry and knowledge is apparent through school. When children reach year 6 they are able to ask their own questions and start to answer their own inquiries using scientific enquiry.

Computing

Our pupils will be provided with a range of fundamental skills and knowledge that will equip them for the rest of their life. They will be exposed to the essential, robust computing curriculum that will enable them to embrace new technology in a safe way.

We believe that computing is an essential part of the curriculum and that it is an integral part of learning and should be woven throughout other subjects. We aim for our children to be digitally literate and able to join in to the world’s digital platform.

One of the biggest impacts we want to have on our children is that they understand how to stay safe online and understand the consequences of using the internet. We want to encourage their confidence and independence in using key life skills within computing whilst introducing careers and life opportunities.

Maths

Maths is crucial and we are dedicated to enabling our pupils to become equipped with the mathematical skills for everyday life. Maths is a skill that we use on a daily basis and therefore our aim is to provide a broad and balanced curriculum in order to encourage enjoyment and enthusiasm for the subject throughout their lives and empower them in future life.

Unlocking mathematical fluency is a pre-requisite to being able to reason and solve problems mathematically.  As a school, we recognise that the key to unlocking the potential in our children is through the development of basic mathematical skills and the understanding of mathematical concepts. We therefore place great emphasis on the use of concrete resources and pictorial representations at all ages, to enable children to fully understand the concepts and principals, when presented with abstract calculations and questions.

We want our children to be able to make connections in their learning and solve problems confidently. By the time our children leave our school they should be resilient in order to be life-long learners and apply their maths skills in everyday life. We want to light that mathematical spark.

History and Geography

Subject

Information

History

Geography

History

It is our aim to create and foster a love of history in each of our pupils. We aim to give our children the necessary skills to ask relevant questions about historical artefacts, to use sources to make their own hypothesis about aspects of historical eras and significant events and to learn and cultivate a knowledge of their own local history.

We will do this by creating a curriculum based around particular concepts, such as: justice, change, sacrifice, fairness and equality. These concepts will allow the children to make links through the past during their time at our school.

Geography

We aim to ‘light the spark’ in all children to make excellent Geographers by teaching Geography in an exciting and engaging way which will inspire and excite children to gain knowledge about the world around them. Through our concept curriculum we will teach about locational and place knowledge, human and physical geography, geographical skills and fieldwork.

We are committed to providing children with opportunities to investigate and make enquiries about their local area of Belthorn and the wider local area so that they can develop of real sense of who they are, their heritage and what makes our local area unique and special.

Wellbeing and Behaviour

Subject

Information

Wellbeing

Behaviour

Wellbeing

At Belthorn we strongly believe in putting the whole child first. We understand the importance of children feeling safe and happy. We have put a lot of emphasis into Wellbeing and Mental Health, training our own staff to ensure we are equipped to deal with issues that arise or can help children and families with outside support where needed. We have three trained mental health first aiders in school to support staff and children.

Behaviour

To promote moral and social values where children respect themselves and others. Children develop their own morals and learn the difference between right and wrong and uphold our school values, which in turn leads to positive behaviour for learning and helps pupils to fulfil their potential – socially, emotionally and academically. At Belthorn we aim to develop positive values through a caring environment which will equip pupils for the wider world, and life beyond school. Children are encouraged intrinsically to make the right choices in and out of school.

 

RE

Subject

Information

RE

RE

It is our aim to ensure that our children have a good understanding and knowledge of all faiths and non-faiths. We also strive to ensure that children can relate new learning to their own lives and show empathy towards other beliefs.

Our staff will have a range of knowledge of all faiths and non-faiths in order for them to teach a high quality Religious Education. Our Religious Education teaching at Belthorn is incorporated into our concept based curriculum. Our RE focus questions are of a high importance in class and it is referred to throughout all teaching to ensure children can relate this to times in their lives.

Modern Foreign Languages

Subject

Information

Modern Foreign Languages

Modern Foreign Languages

Our intent is that all pupils will develop a genuine interest and positive curiosity about foreign languages, finding them enjoyable and stimulating. Learning a second language will also offer pupils the opportunity to explore relationships between language and identity, develop a deeper understanding of other cultures and the world around them with a better awareness of self, others and cultural differences. The intention is that they will be working towards becoming life-long language learners.