All Saints' Church of England Primary School

Maud Street        Rochdale        OL12 0EL

      email: office@allsaintsce.rochdale.sch.uk

           tel: 01706 640728

           fax: 01706 860620

All Saints’ Church of England

Primary School

Curriculum

Core subjects

English

We use English to communicate. We use it in both written and spoken form. We use language to develop our view and opinion of the community and world which we live in. We continue to learn, develop and enhance our knowledge and understanding of English throughout our lives. At All Saints’ English is taught based on the Renewed Primary Framework and Literacy Strategy. It is taught daily with work appropriately differentiated to match all abilities.

We want our children to:

• speak clearly and confidently in different situations.

• listen and respond appropriately,developing their knowledge and opinion.

• read fluently for both enjoyments and information.

• write clearly and with confidence.

• use and understand spelling rules, phonics and grammar accurately.

• be able to read their own work and make amendments and improvements.

Mathematics

We use Maths every day! Maths is a life skill.  We check our change when out shopping, estimate the cost of a new bathroom or decide what time we need to leave the house to get a bus. We aim to provide our children with a wide mathematical education taught in a fun, enjoyable and relevant way.  We use ‘real life’

experiences so children begin to understand the importance of applying maths skills in order to solve problems.

Maths is taught daily, based on the Renewed National Numeracy Strategy. Children move through the Key Stage building on existing skills and developing their knowledge and understanding. Pupils explore all four number operations. Children are encouraged to try different strategies that suit their learning styles. Pupils learn about shape and space and develop their measuring skills.

They are given lots of opportunity to discuss their methods and are encouraged to use the appropriate mathematical vocabulary. Children are sometimes taught maths in ability groups and also have experience of mixed ability lessons. Our aim is for our children to know and understand mathematical concepts, skills, facts, relationships and strategies and be able to apply and explain  these in a confident way.

Science

Every child has a natural curiosity about the way the world works. Science at All Saints’ will help your child to find out how they can get answers to questions such as, why do fir cones open and close, or why do clouds seems to move across the sky or can a plant  grow in the dark?

Science is a logical  investigation of the physical, chemical and biological aspects of the world, which uses  first hand

experiences and other sources of information.

The scientific process and problem solving activities will be used to deepen your child’s understanding of the concepts

involved. We aim to develop pupils’ enjoyment and interest in science and develop an appreciation of its contribution to all

aspects of everyday life.

At All Saints’ we aim to use the outdoors wherever possible. We wish to build on pupils’ curiosity and sense of awe of the

natural world through the use of investigations and practical activities. At the same time, the children will be able to develop

their ability to plan fair tests, make predictions, record results using ICT, diagrams, graphs, tables and charts and to make statements and draw conclusions from their learning. We also value the use of speaking and listening and encourage our children to use scientific language when explaining their scientific thinking.

Information and Communication Technology

Modern technology is changing at an amazing rate and we need to prepare our pupils for a world which we do not yet know.

You can email through your TV, surf the internet on your mobile phone, and even do the weekly shop from the comfort of your own home via your PC. Our children need to learn how to manage it all – to get hold of information, evaluate its suitability, store it, share it with others and shape it to meet their own needs.

That’s where their information and communication technology (ICT) lessons come in! We hope to develop a culture where the use of ICT becomes second nature to our pupils, thus ensuring they are ready and able to embrace the technological advances in their futures.

In our newly-equipped computer suite (Summer 2009) the children learn how to safely navigate the internet and communicate through emails, develop digital photography skills, use sound and video recording equipment and access a wide variety of software.

We have also invested in state of the art Interactive whiteboards throughout the school. We have digital microscopes, sensor equipment, digital cameras and voice recorders, to name but a few available resources.

Our aim is that ICT can be used as a learning tool throughout the curriculum as well as being taught as a discrete lesson. We are also fortunate enough to be able to use the CLC facilities (City Learning Centre) based at Falinge High School.

We aspire for our children to confidently and independently use and apply information technology skills to support and extend their learning.

Foundation subjects

Geography

We want the children at All Saints’ to develop their knowledge of people and places and to understand the physical, social and economic forces which shape those places and the lifestyles of the people who live there.

Our geographical studies cover local areas / issues and extend on to the wider world. The children                                                  learn to use maps to locate cities, countries, mountain ranges, rivers, seas and oceans. They use atlases, photos and the                                                        internet to explore the environment and economics of those countries. They then use the skills they have developed in                                                      literacy,numeracy and ICT to report and record their findings.

History

We don’t view History as simply facts and dates. At All Saints’ we see it as a chance to become a detective and explore the past in an exciting way. History is taught mainly through a topic based approach and gives the children a chance to explore a wide range of sources from which the past may come alive.

History allows our children to compare and contrast, to examine how and why things have changed, to learn about historical characters and expand their research skills. We want our children to be open minded and enquiring thinkers understanding cause and effect.

We want them to understand how people have lived in the past and begin to make their own  links between the past and modern times. We encourage first hand experience wherever possible.

At All Saints’ we offer a rich variety of field work visits and in-school workshops. These play an important role in all year groups and really motivate and engage learning amongst the children.

Music

Music has a special place at All Saints’. We have long been respected as a school which enriches the children’s learning with many musical and choral opportunities. Music at All Saints’ is rich and varied. It is creative and exciting. All class music lessons give pupils the chance to explore and actively engage in performing, composing, listening and analysing.

Singing is at the heart of our music making, both in class lessons and during whole school assemblies. Children have the opportunity to join the school choirs KS1 or KS2 depending on their age.

Other music lessons including drum, flute, guitar, violin and recorder which are available, for a fee, provided by members of the Local Authority Peripatetic Staff. We encourage our children to take part in local events outside of school and also invite professional singers and musicians from a variety of cultures to perform and work with the children.

Religious Education

All Saints’ is a Voluntary Aided school, and therefore we do not have to follow the local agreed syllabus as the Governing body is responsible for the RE curriculum.

At the present time the school uses a Scheme of Work devised by Manchester Diocesan. Each unit of work details learning objectives, suggested activities and resources. We base our teaching and learning in RE on the key principle that good teaching in RE allows children to learn about religious traditions and to reflect on what the religious ideas and concepts mean to them.

We encourage children to think about their own views                                                            and values in relation to the themes and topics studied in the RE curriculum.

In order to promote understanding of the multi-cultural                                                            and multi-faith society in which we live, in Key Stage 2, in addition to Christianity, children undertake study of                                                                'focused religions' Judaism and Islam. The content will be based on the idea of developing an awareness of other                                                             faiths and cultures in the community in which we live and encouraging interfaith dialogue.

Design Technology

Design technology helps children to become problem solvers through practical tasks, using creativity and imagination. Children take everyday or familiar objects and investigate how they actually work and who they are really aimed at.

Working with a varietyof materials and through the new skills they learn, children get to design, make and evaluate a range

of products from picture frames to hats, chairs, torches to musical instruments.

Design technology is a subject all children can enjoy individually or as part of a team and gives them the opportunity to

become innovators.

Art

Art, craft and design stimulates creativity and imagination. We provide a rich environment in which we encourage our children to communicate through the use of colour, texture, form, pattern and materials.

                                                 Art, at All Saints’, gives children a lot to look forward to! Investigating lines, shapes, colours and textures help our children                

                                                with the basics and enable other work such as 3D and printing to happen. We try to inspire our children in art by using the

                                                skills and talents  of professional artists to work alongside us.

Modern foreign languages

Learning a foreign language provides a valuable educational, social and cultural experience in preparation for future life. At All Saints’, we aim to introduce our pupils to other languages, specifically French, in a fun and enjoyable way.

Interesting and relevant topics are chosen in order to engage and stimulate learning and develop children’s curiosity of language.

Personal, Social, Health and Citizenship Education (P.S.H.C.E.)

At All Saints’, we aim to promote healthy, independent and responsible members of society. We encourage our pupils to play a positive role in contributing to school

life and the wider community in accordance with ‘Every Child Matters’ government guidelines. Our children are given

opportunities in P.S.H.C.E. lessons to develop confidence, self-motivation and an understanding of their rights and

responsibilities within our diverse society.

The P.S.H.C.E. curriculum is taught in a variety of ways: through other subjects such as literacy or history, as part of

RE, through ‘circle times’, through science topics and through outdoor educational visits and activities. We have also

developed links with another Rochdale school. We visit each others schools, to encourage our children to experience

life through other children’s eyes.

Sex and Relationship Education

Our children are given opportunities to consider and reflect the wide variety of different relationships they have with others. Across the school, children build on their relationship and social skills through the delivery and teaching of the S.E.A.L. (Social and Emotional Aspects of Learning) units of work.

Aspects of sex education are taught in accordance with the government guidelines as an integral part of their class curriculum.

In Year 5, the science ‘Lifecycles’ and ‘Hygiene’ topics are taught. Programmes of work are followed by sensitive discussion with the children. Parents are notified by letter and are welcome to  view the content of the taught materials, prior to its commencement, in order that (if needs be), they may advise the school should they wish to withdraw their child from any aspects of the programme according to government guidelines.