Key Stage 1 Curriculum Policy
In KS1 we recognise that the curriculum comprises all the learning and experiences that we plan for our children. Many of the values we hold as a department are articulated in that curriculum, through the priorities and emphases we choose, and the time we allocate to particular aspects.
Our overarching aims are to provide a curriculum that will appropriately:
- Foster and promote children's physical, intellectual, cultural, social and emotional development, allowing them to establish the skills and attitudes to become independent life-long learners.
- Prepare children to operate effectively as citizens.
- Maximise achievement, make learning an enjoyable experience and encourage a sense of personal fulfilment and well-being.
To meet such multidimensional aims and ensure that our curriculum is accessible to all learners, it is our intention that it should:
- Provide breadth both in the range of subjects it offers, and in the style of learning: children will learn in many different ways; out of doors, through play, by doing, by watching and by listening, formally and informally, in small groups, in class groups, from each other, from adults (teachers and others), before and after school.
- Be appropriate for the developmental stage of the children.
- Provide continuity and progression; build upon previous learning revisiting skills, knowledge and experiences, and move onwards to the next stages.
At KS1 the curriculum is designed and planned to equip the pupils with the knowledge, skills and experiences they need to give them access to, and allow them to operate within the range of contexts for learning identified above. The Programmes of Study from The National Curriculum for England provide the framework for our curriculum. From this, teachers then devise the schemes of work for their year groups. As part of this process, teachers refer to published materials including QCA schemes. Topic areas are selected in consultation with subject heads of department and teachers of other year groups. Some subjects in KS1 are planned and delivered by Prep school staff:- ICT, French, Music, P.E./Games, Art (Year 2).
Much of the learning is delivered through topics or themes. Cross-curricular approaches, where children revisit learning in a range of contexts, encourage pupils to:
- Sustain and build their learning.
- Apply their knowledge and skills across subject areas.
Where a wide range of subjects are delivered, the time allocated to any individual subject is necessarily reduced; however, by carefully combining the overlapping aspects of disciplines through our topics we are in effect able to increase the time children spend on learning in particular subjects.
Our curriculum is kept under constant review by teachers. In 2009/10 there is particular emphasis on curriculum development in Year One driven by the changing learning experiences of our Early Years children, and the national debate about primary education reported in the Cambridge Primary Review. See Curriculum Review paper 2009, Appendix 8.
January 2010