At ‘The Federation of Thomas Wall Nursery and Robin Hood Infants' we follow a creative curriculum in both the Early Years Foundation Stage and KS1. Children enjoy learning through an exciting and engaging curriculum that is enriched through school trips, extra-curricular activities, themed weeks and special days.
How to find our more about the curriculum we are following
The information below is intended to give you an overview of the curriculum. To find out more, there are workshops on offer throughout the year and curriculum maps are given out each half term.
The Early Years Foundation Stage
Children in our Nursery and Reception classes follow the Early Years Foundation Stage curriculum. The EYFS curriculum consists of 7 areas of learning.
A love for learning is developed through an exciting play based curriculum that children access through both independent play and focus activities with adults.
Children are encouraged to make connections in their learning through a creative topic based approach led by the children’s interests. Children are able to engage with their learning through an imaginatively resourced free -flow learning environment that enables exploratory and child-initiated play both indoors and outdoors.
The three prime areas are:
Personal Social and Emotional Development
Physical Development
Communication and Language
The four specific areas are:
Literacy
Mathematics
Understanding the World
Expressive Arts and Design
Key Stage 1
We believe it is important that children develop as lively, independent and inquisitive thinkers. Children learn through a topic based creative curriculum that encourages independent learning, critical thinking skills and a healthy lifestyle.
Children are taught a rich, broad and balanced curriculum largely through the Cornerstones curriculum program that follows the Key Stage 1 National Curriculum in years 1 and 2. Each class follows a structured timetable that ensures the core subjects of Maths and English are taught on a daily basis and Science is taught weekly. The remaining foundation subjects: Art and Design; Computing; Geography; History; PSHE (Relationship Health Education); RE; Physical Education and Music are covered throughout the week.
Teachers consistently observe and assess children’s learning to ensure all children make progress across the curriculum.
We develop children’s skills, knowledge and understanding through four stages of learning that are integral to all the topics taught using the Cornerstones Curriculum philosophy of ‘Embed, Engage, Excite, Express’.
Engage
At the ‘Engage’ stage, children:
- gain memorable first-hand experiences, such as going on a visit or inviting a special visitor into school
- enjoy ‘WOW’ experiences
- get an exciting introduction to a topic or theme
- begin researching and setting enquiry questions
- get lots of opportunities to make observations
- develop spoken language skills
- take part in sensory activities
- have lots of fun to fully 'engage' with their new topic.
Develop
At the ‘Develop’ stage, children:
- improve their knowledge and understanding of the topic
- develop and practice their new skills
- compose, make, do, build, investigate, explore, write for different purposes and read across the curriculum
- research their own questions and those set by others
- follow new pathways of enquiry based on their interests
- complete homework activities that support their learning.
Innovate
At the ‘Innovate’ stage, children:
- apply skills, knowledge and understanding in real-life contexts
- solve real or imagined problems using everything they’ve learnt
- get inspired by imaginative and creative opportunities
- re-visit anything not fully grasped at the ‘Develop’ stage.
Express
At the ‘Express’ stage, children:
- become the performers, experts and informers
- share their achievements with parents, classmates and the community
- evaluate finished products and processes
- link what they have learnt to where they started
- celebrate their achievement
Year One Cornerstones Topic Map
Autumn 1 | Superheroes |
Autumn 2 | Bright Lights, Big City |
Spring 1 | Rio de Vida |
Spring 2 | Dinosaur Planets |
Summer 1 | Moon Zoom |
Summer 2 | Enchanted Woodland |
Year Two Cornerstones Topic Map |
Autumn 1 | Street Detectives |
Autumn 2 | Muck, Mess and Mixtures |
Spring 1 | Towers, Tunnels and Turrets |
Spring 2 | Scented Garden |
Summer 1 | Wriggle and Crawl |
Summer 2 | Land Ahoy |
English |
Reading: - Word Reading – phonics, high frequency words, common exception words
- Comprehension
- Guided Reading – fiction, non-fiction, poetry
- Reading for pleasure - fiction, non-fiction, poetry
Writing: - Transcription – spelling, handwriting
- Composition – Punctuation, vocabulary, grammar and punctuation
Spoken language: - Listen and respond appropriately
- Ask relevant questions
- Speculate, hypothesise and explore ideas
- Articulate and justify own ideas
- Describe, explain and narrate for different purposes
- Express feelings
- Take part in discussions, presentations, performances, role-play, improvisations and debates
- Explore different viewpoints
- Speak clearly and fluently in Standard English
|
Mathematics |
Number: - Number and place value
- Addition and subtraction
- Multiplication and division
- Fractions
Measurement: - Length and height
- Weight or mass
- Capacity and volume
- Time
- Money
Geometry: - Properties of shapes
- Position and direction
Statistics: |
Science |
Working scientifically: - Ask simple questions
- Suggest answers to questions
- Observe closely using simple equipment
- Perform simple tests
- Identify and classify
- Suggest answers to questions
- Gather and record data
Year One: - Plants
- Animals, including humans
- Everyday Materials
- Seasonal changes
Year Two: - Living things and their habitats
- Plants
- Animals, including humans
- Everyday Materials
|
Art and Design |
- Design and make products using a range of materials
- To develop and share ideas, imagination and experiences through drawing, painting and sculpting
- Develop a wide range of art and design techniques
- Learn about the work of a range of artists, craft makers and designers
|
Design and Technology |
- Design, make and evaluate products
- Develop technical knowledge through building structures and exploring and using mechanisms
- Cooking and nutrition
|
Computing |
- Understand what algorithms are and how they are implemented as programs executed by instructions
- Create and debug simple programs
- Use technology purposefully
- Recognise common uses of ICT
- Use technology safely and respectfully
|
Geography |
- Locational knowledge
- Place knowledge
- Human and physical geography
- Geographical skills and fieldwork
|
History |
- Changes within living memory
- Events beyond living memory
- The lives of significant individuals in the past who have contributed to national and international achievements (some paired to compare same aspect of life in different periods)
- Significant historical events, people and places in their own locality
|
Music |
- Use their voice expressively and creatively
- Play tuned and untuned instruments musically
- Listen to a range of live and recorded music
- Explore the interrelated dimensions of music
|
Physical Education |
- Master basic movements and develop balance, agility and co-ordination and apply these in a range of activities
- Participate in team games
- Perform dances
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