Curriculum Overview

Curriculum

At Barnsbury Primary School we use the Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum, National Curriculum for English, Maths and Science and incorporate the Foundation Subjects (Art and Design, Computing, Design Technology, Geography, History, Languages, Music, PSHE and Physical Education) alongside Values Education and Growth Mindset.

This broad and balanced curriculum ensures our children, with the co-operation of their parents, become independent successful learners.

This is achieved through…

 

Curriculum Design and Review

Barnsbury’s curriculum, provides a cross-curricular, thematic, rigorous teaching structure designed to engage children of all abilities in today’s world. We focus on a combination of academic, personal and international learning for children combined with innovative and exciting ways to learn. This encompasses not only knowledge and skills teaching, but develops children’s thinking skills so that they can approach any problem in life, equipped with the thought processes and higher thinking skills enabling them resolve the problem. 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.

 

Core Skills

English, Maths and Science are a priority at Barnsbury Primary School. The new National Curriculum has been followed since September 2013 which has raised expectations enabling us to support our children further, ensuring they achieve their full potential.

In English children are taught:

  • To speak clearly and convey ideas confidently through justifying their ideas with reasons, asking questions and developing their vocabulary,

  • To read fluently, understand extended prose and are encouraged to read for pleasure,

  • To write at length, with accurate spelling punctuation and grammar.

In Maths children are taught:

  • Mathematical reasoning throughout subjects,

  • To apply arithmetic fluently to problems,

  • To understand and use measure, make estimates and check their work,

  • To apply geometric and algebraic understanding,

  • To relate their understanding of probability to the notion of risk and uncertainty,

  • The cycle of collecting, presenting and analysing data. 

In addition to daily English and Maths lessons the school has many interventions to further support core skills including: Phonics interventions, reading buddies, and Numicon. 

Science is taught through topics which ensure children make links with other areas of the curriculum.

Throughout the topic approach to Science we ensure children are taught:

  • Scientific knowledge and conceptual understanding through the specific disciplines of biology, chemistry and physics,

  • An understanding of the nature, process and methods of science through a range of science enquiries that help them to answer scientific questions about the world around them,

  • Scientific knowledge required to understand the uses and implications of science, today and for the future.

 

Curriculum Enhancement

We aim to use the local, national and global community resources wisely to enhance our curriculum. Visitors and trips are employed to enhance learning opportunities and give first-hand experience wherever necessary as a stimulus for topics. We are aware of economic constraints on parents/carers and look annually at cost effectiveness of such activities in relation to pupil progress. With this in mind, we try to use local resources or in-house workshops wherever relevant, reducing trip costs relating to transport and reducing the school’s carbon footprint. Outdoor Learning opportunities are used wherever possible. 

 

Themed Weeks

Each term, the whole school shares a themed week which focuses on particular subjects. These weeks also emphasise and increase opportunities for community involvement, including the development of parents’ learning and skills too. This model, for parental engagement, meets community needs and sets clear expectations of parental involvement and the support available for them to support their children’s learning. It does not rely on regular weekly attendance by parents, thus breaking down barriers and building home-school relationships further. 

 

Values

Our Values Education Programme underpins everything we do at BPS. It provides the strong foundations for all future development and learning.  It is delivered through a half termly, whole school Value chosen from a two year cycle. At the centre of this is the United Nations, Rights and Responsibilities philosophy. We aim for our Values to show through everything that is said and done in school by all members of our school community. 

 

Growth Mindset

Our children are active participants in their own learning. They are taught to develop skills of self-evaluation and understand the importance of taking responsibility for their own learning and for their actions. Our children are part of a learning community where the individual is important but that the needs of the individual are best met within a nurturing and mutually supportive community which we all have a responsibility towards. Respect for others and for themselves is developed through understanding and awareness of similarities and differences which we learn from and celebrate. Children are taught about local, national and international communities so that they leave us ready to engage with the next stage of their education and ultimately into the wider world as rounded citizens.

 

Subject Overviews