Our curriculum and assessment
16 Feb 2024
Our Curriculum
We pride ourselves in the high standards of achievement, for our pupils. We believe in offering a broad and balanced curriculum that meets the individual learning styles of all.
We firmly believe that without enjoyment you cannot have excellence; so we strive to deliver a curriculum that allows for natural creativity and innovation.
Organisation
We use the Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum and the National Curriculum to plan for a broad and balanced curriculum for all of our pupils.
Our curriculum provides a cross-curricular, thematic, rigorous teaching structure designed to engage children of all abilities in today’s world. With Reading at the core of our learning, we seek to ensure that our curriculum develops a passion for reading alongside the development of knowledge and skills across a range of subjects.
Each half term, the children in Years 1 - 6 have a reading text linked to their topic. This cross-curricular approach ensures children’s learning is contextualised and relevant to them, whilst covering all the necessary subject requirements of Geography, History, Design & Technology, Art, Music, Science, PE and PSHE. French is taught in Years 1 - 6.
In line with the Equality Act 2010 and the SEND Regulations 2014, we ensure that our curriculum is matched to meet the needs of all learners. Children with identified learning difficulties, whether as an individual or as part of a group, are given extra support within the classroom and may occasionally be withdrawn for specialist intervention.
Curriculum intent.pdf
Our Golden Threads.pdf
For information on what is studied in each year group please click on the links below:
Year 1 Curriculum Map.pdf
Year 2 Curriculum Map.pdf
Year 3 Curriculum Map.pdf
Year 4 Curriculum Map.pdf
Year 5 Curriculum Map.pdf
Year 6 Curriculum Map.pdf
EYFS - https://www.downsellprimary.org/SAP.aspx?pid=EYFS_en-GB
Assessment
We have developed an assessment system that takes into account the criteria of the National Curriculum, whilst providing a greater focus on deepening children's understanding and learning. Assessment recognises children's strengths as well as areas that need support. We believe that effective assessment helps our children embed skills and knowldge to use it fleuntly across a range of areas, assisting us to produce clear next steps for our children. We do this by finding out what our children already know, so we can build on this, unpicking misconceptions, assessing throughout lessons and providing effective feedback to progress and move learning forward.
Assessments are carried out both formally and informally at different points of the year.
The following are statutory tests that carried out in primary schools:
Year 1 Phonics Screening Check
All children in Year 1 will participate in a phonics screening check. This assessment will be administered by the Year 1 teachers.
Year 2 Phonics Screening Check
Those children who did not pass the phonics screening check at the end of Year 1 will retake the check in Year 2. This will be administered by the teachers.
Further information
Parent Factsheet Phonics Screening Check.pdf
Year 4 Times Table Check
The times table check is administered as per Government guidelines, by the Year 4 teachers. It is administered in June, within a 2 week period.
SATs
Children in Year 6 are assessed during May. Teacher assessment and summative assessments are used. The results of these assessments are shared with the families. Families will be informed if their child has met age related expectations at the assessment points at the end of Year 6.
For more information about our curriculum please contact the school office who will put you in touch with one of our Senior Leaders.