At Swaffham Prior and Swaffham Bulbeck Schools, every child can grow and flourish in their learning, produce good things for their own lives and enrich the lives of others. Information, experiences, ideas and feelings are sown not just in lessons but in the whole experience of living and growing together as a community so that children recognise their own gifts and abilities and value the gifts and abilities of others.
- Children learn within a safe, caring community to develop compassion for others that celebrates the uniqueness and successes of all
- Staff provide the highest possible standards of education and inspire pupils to wonder and reverence
- Through broad and balanced experiences, we promote perseverance and endurance
- Christian values underpin our peaceful school within a culture of mutual respect, to ensure the happiness and personal growth of each individual
- By working in partnership with families we nurture the whole child and provide a basis for a hopeful future for our pupils to develop into responsible and fulfilled members of society
We take a mastery approach to teaching and learning. Our curriculum is a progressive model in which there is a large amount of knowledge and skill in subject specific domains. Each subject revisits and builds upon prior learning leading to deeper understanding of core concepts.
Our curriculum:
- has a focus on subject-specific vocabulary
- is knowledge rich
- is taught to be remembered
- is carefully sequenced
Through the curriculum our children will:
- develop independence and resilience, make mistakes and know that it is ok to do so and learn from them
- be stretched beyond their comfort zone and be taught to manage risks with confidence
- have opportunities to collaborate and reason
- share their ideas and listen to alternative viewpoints
- experience diversity of culture, faiths and nationality
- learn about contrasting localities nationally and internationally
- express curiosity and experience wonder in all areas of the curriculum
We follow a 2-year rolling programme with key areas mapped to allow for knowledge to be revisited. Learning is carefully planned, sequenced and scaffolded to ensure it is accessible to all children. Within subjects, we select recommended and validated materials to support the teaching and learning.
Long Term Overview: EYFS
EYFS Year A- Swaffham Bulbeck / EYFS Year B- Swaffham Bulbeck
EYFS Year A - Swaffham Prior / EYFS Year B - Swaffham Prior
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English English is at the heart of our curriculum; the ability to read and write is fundamental to future success. Throughout our curriculum, children are exposed to a broad range of aspirational texts and encouraged to develop a lifelong love of reading. In whole class reading lessons, pupils are taught to be fluent and confident readers through the teaching of decoding, vocabulary, prosody and comprehension skills. We use Sounds-Write, a linguistic phonics scheme, to teach early reading and spelling. Children are taught to write clearly and accurately, often using the principles of The Writing Revolution, and take pride in their writing. We use Debbie Hepplewhite's handwriting approach to teach the basic letter formations and develop a clear, joined handwriting style. We also inspire children to be confident speakers and listeners who can participate effectively in conversations and discussions. |
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Maths Our mastery approach to the teaching and learning of mathematics comes with the expectation that most pupils will move through the programme of study at broadly the same pace, and acuire a deep, long-term, secure and adaptable understanding of the subject. Teaching fluency, rapid recall and developing number sense are key to enabliing children to delve deeper and develop their reasoning skills. We promote a 'can do' attitude' to maths without a fear of making mistakes. Children are given time, support and resources to develop a depth of understanding in maths, because we believe that every child is entitled to a good mathematical education. In EYFS and KS1, teachers use the NCETM Mastering Number programme and in KSI and KS2, teachers use White Rose alongside the Ready to Progress document. |
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Science Children develop an understanding of the uses and implications of Science, today and for the future, inspiring them to take an active interest in the world around them. In science lessons, children are taught the knowledge, language and vocabulary they need to question and understand concepts and phenomena that occur in the world around them, seeking explanations for these. Through a range of practical experiences, children also acquire a range of 'working scientifically' skills, helping children to pose questions, investigate these using correct techniques, accurately measure and record their findings and analyse their results. In addition to the weekly lessons, we hold an annual Science Week which is one of the highlights of the school calendar. |
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Religious Education (RE) Through the teaching of Religious Education, all our children are educated to develop spiritually, emotionally, educationally and morally. This enables them to understand themselves and others, and to cope with the opportunities, challenges and responsibilities of living in such a diverse world. Our children are taught to learn from and about religions. Religious Education has a minimum of 5% of curriculum time; over 50% of the time is allocated to learning about Christianity and the rest is focused on other major world religions, namely, Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Sikhism and Buddhism. For our RE curriculum, we follow the highly regarded Emmanuel Project alongside Understanding Christianity teaching materials. |
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Art In Art, all pupils will be instilled with an appreciation and enjoyment of the visual arts. They learn about artists, designers, architects and their work, as well as the artistic concepts that relate to their work. Meaningful opportunities for self-expression and individual response are woven through the curriculum, giving children space to learn who they are as an artist. Units of work focus on the different elements of art (line, shape, colour, tone, form, space, visual texture and tone) and types of art, as well as how an artist combines these elements and produces art in different styles. |
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Physical Education (PE) Through our PE curriculum, children will learn the importance of keeping active and be encouraged to try a range of sports and achieve their personal best. We provide a safe and supportive environment for children to flourish in physical activities which is essential in supporting their physical, emotional, spiritual, social and moral development. Swimming is an important life skill and we aspire for all children to leave primary school having met at least the minimum requirements of the National Curriculum. Children have two PE lessons per week. In KS1 lessons are taught by the class teacher. In KS2 lessons are taught by either a class teacher or specialist coach. Each lesson is inclusive and is adapted to be inclusive and meet the individual needs of the pupils. Class teachers follow the Cambridgeshire Scheme of Work. |
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Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education (PSHE) PSHE helps children to develop the knowledge, understanding, skills and attitudes they need to live confident, healthy, independent lives, now and in the future, as individuals, citizens, workers and parents. It is embedded within wider learning to ensure that children learn to develop resilience and healthy relationship skills, which they will practise and see enacted in the school environment. For our PSHE curriculum, we follow the highly regarded Cambridgeshire PSHE Service. We also follow the 'Ten Keys for Happier Living' resources to support emotional well-being, character and resilience skills. Children in KS2 can take a Well-being Survey to idenitfy areas for development. |
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Music Our music curriculum intends to inspire creativity, self-expression as well as give pupils opportunities to develop their knowledge and understanding of composers, musical forms and how a composition is created. We hope to foster a lifelong love of music by exposing them to diverse musical experiences. Listening and responding to different musical styles, finding their voices as singers and performers and as composers, will enable them to become confident, reflective musicians. The music curriculum ensures students sing, listen, play, perform and evaluate. This is embedded in classroom activities as well as weekly singing assemblies, various performances and the learning of instruments. The elements of music are taught in classroom lessons so that children are able to use the language of music and understand how it is made, played, appreciated and analysed. Pupils learn how to play various un-tuned and tuned instruments including ukuleles, keyboards, drums and xylophones. |
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History We believe that by encouraging children to understand the importance and enjoyment of History. Through different opportunities, they will become enthused learners who are keen to develop their knowledge and understanding. We want them to have no limits to what their ambitions are and grow up wanting to be archivists, museum curators, archaeologists or research analysts. We teach children a sense of chronology as well as develop their understanding about the life of people who lived in the past. Children learn to value their own and other people’s cultures in modern multicultural Britain. Children will learn about the actions of important people in history and know about significant events whilst appreciating how things have changed over time locally, nationally and globally. Through our History lessons, children will also have opportunities to develop their skills of enquiry, investigation and analysis. |
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Geography Through the teaching of Geography we provide opportunities and experiences for children to explore, appreciate and understand the world in which we live and how it has evolved. We want to ensure that through Geography, pupils are able to learn about the relationship between the Earth and its people through the study of place, space and environment. In Geography, pupils in our school will develop their locational knowledge; how and where people fit into its overall structure. Through our Geography lessons, children will learn through experiences in practical and fieldwork activities as well as develop their vocabulary in order for them to become passionate and knowledgeable about our local community, their country and the world beyond. |
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Design and Technology Children learn about the designed and made world and how things work. They also learn about how designers make functional products for particular purposes and users. Children acquire and apply knowledge and understanding of materials and components, mechanisms and control systems, structures, existing products, quality and health and safety. It helps develop children’s skills through collaborative working and problem-solving where they are encouraged to be creative and innovative, and are actively encouraged to think about important issues such as sustainability and enterprise. The skills learned in D&T also help with learning across the curriculum particularly in applying knowledge and skills in maths, science as well as in computing and, naturally in art and design. |
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French We are determined to ensure each KS2 child receives high quality MFL teaching. We chose to teach the children French as this supports their transition into our local high schools that also teach French. Lessons teach children the foundation skills needed to begin to communicate with others in French verbally as well as be able to read and write. We follow Rachel Hawkes scheme of work across Key Stage 2. The children enjoy using the resources including songs and games. The children have the opportunity to learn French vocabulary linked to a range of topics including money, animals and school. |
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Early Years Foundation Stage 'Every child derserves the best possible start in life and the support that enables them to fulfil their potential.' EYFS Framework, 2021. Children are given an early years education which ensures they have a secure and confident start to their school life and nurtures a lifelong love of learning. The learning opportunities provided widen their knowledge and understanding of the world setting ambitious expectations for all children. Through first hand experiences, children apply the skills they have been taught into their independent learning and play. We provide a rich language environment and help them to develop new and use new vocabulary. Through high quality interactions with adults, we build up relationships with the children; we listen, identify where they are, what they are interested in and what their next steps are in order to guide them in their learning. |
