Locking Stumps Community Primary School

These booklets are provided to our parents every year and at parents' evening. They show an overview of core learning for these subjects. 

At Locking Stumps we follow a “mastery approach” within lessons in Maths, which explores:

• a range of mathematical concepts
• a variety of contexts
• an array of representations
• the use of practical equipment to support
• Mathematical discussion using key vocabulary
• collaborative and independent ways of working
• sharing ideas, reasoning and solving problems together

This ensures that our children hold a variety of skills to support their learning and that their knowledge and understanding is deepened within each unit. White rose materials are used to support the planning and small step progression throughout each year group. Below is an example of planning documents used from Year 1 to Year 6. The full set of planning documents can be downloaded by visiting:  The White Rose Website and Resources section (click the link).  The document list also includes information to show how our maths curriculum is progressive. 

English is taught through a combination of spellings,reading, writing, speaking and listening. It is an integral part of our curriculum. 

Reading for pleasure is of high importance at Locking Stumps and we aim to ensure a rich and varied reading diet is provided. Teachers place a high value on books and reading by ensuring their classrooms and departmental areas are engaged with reading. Children read independently, teachers and assistants read aloud and model good practice, promote the use of accessing books that are challenging, provide opportunities to read individually to and select high quality texts to engage children in their discussions, reading and writing.

As a school we provide additional events and activities to widen the scope of reading and to ensure that our environment fully promotes its importance. We do this through annual book weeks, book sales, after school clubs, implementation of reading buddies, author visits, library visits, sponsored activities, utilisation of the Education Library Service to supplement our Topic Resources and class reading sets we also highly promote the love of reading through an engaging World Book Day. 

The profile and importance of reading is delivered to all parents and prospective parents at parent meetings, presentations, newsletters and during regular correspondence.

A programme of Phonics is delivered daily across EYFS and KS1 through discrete lessons and integrated into the curriculum through whole class sessions and guided reading. Children are regularly assessed, grouped and targeted according to their needs and additional intervention is provided to accelerate progress.

Reading is primarily taught through whole-class reading in KS2 although it is integrated into all of our curriculum. We believe that teaching the whole class allows the teacher to develop a shared love for reading, raise expectations and experiences for all children and better prepare children to meet age related expectations. Some children receive additional intervention outside of the whole class reading sessions to enable them to make accelerated progress.

Reading efficiency is further developed in Year 5 and 6 through the implementation of ‘Reading Plus’. This a piece of software is designed to bridge the gap between functional literacy skills and reading for meaning.  Research suggests that students reading more efficiently (i.e. at a speed proportionate to chronological age) are more confident and motivated: the more confident and motivated a student is, the more capable they are at understanding text.

We teach and revisit reading skills and strategies linked to the ability to decode, retrieve, infer, deduce and summarise. Teachers do not limit the teaching of reading strategies and comprehension to the utilisation of class books. Teachers implement the modelling of reading from peer reading or choral reading, using pictures or short films, mystery boxes/or bags, investigating different scenes and ‘hook’ activities.

Children are provided with a home reading book appropriate to their reading ability. These reading books are challenging and regularly monitored to ensure children are reading progressively more challenging and stimulating books. A variety of assessments including a benchmarking tool is used to support the level of book a child is reading. Children who are not reading as frequently at home are identified for further support within school / home.

Across school, children receive spelling homework based on the sounds and spelling rules they have been learning in school. In EYFS and KS1, when relevant, ‘Key words’ are also sent home to read and be assessed each half term.

Vocabulary and language acquisition are a high priority throughout school and every class implement a range of strategies in order to amplify and learn some of the new words that have been visited through whole class and guided reading sessions.

Teachers and teaching assistants have a clear understanding of how children learn to read throughout our school and are provided with regular training.

At Locking Stumps, Writing is taught using the ‘Talk for Writing’ approach from EYFS to Year 6. This approach enables children to imitate orally the language they need for a particular topic, before reading and analysing it before writing their own version. The approach moves from dependence towards independence with the teacher using shared and guided teaching to develop the ability in children to write creatively and powerfully.

The Talk for Writing approach emphasises the importance of the following structure and elements to writing:

Imitation – Creative hook and context

• Internalise model text –text map
• Read as a reader: vocabulary/comprehension
• Read as a writer: Box up text to establish structure

                                       Analyse features

                                       Construct toolkit

Innovation – Box up new version

                       Shared writing

Independent Application - Hot write

A programme of Letters and Sounds and Phonics is delivered daily across EYFS and KS1 through discrete lessons and integrated into the curriculum through whole class and group sessions. When children are confident with phonics they move towards learning spellings taken from the National Curriculum. Discrete spelling lessons are held weekly in KS2. Children are regularly assessed, grouped and targeted according to their needs and additional intervention is provided to accelerate Writing progress. Across school, children are expected to complete Phonics/Spelling homework (dependent on age or ability) to practise the sounds/spelling patterns which have been taught in school. SPaG teaching is incorporated in to daily English lessons and is an integral part of the Talk for Writing teaching sequence.

Vocabulary and language acquisition are a high priority throughout school and every class implements a range of strategies and discrete teaching in order to amplify and learn some of the new words that have been introduced through Talk for Writing and whole class and guided reading sessions. Children are encouraged to use these within their writing.

Science and foundation subjects are taught within carefully planned and progressive topics or where this is not possible they are taught discretely. Below is an overview of our school topics and medium term plans for each year group. Modern Foreign Language lessons are taught by Janet Lloyd Primary Languages Network alongside the class teacher and our Music is supported through Accent Music and UpBeat Music. PE is delivered predominantly by class teachers although they are supported by a very knowledgable teaching assistant. The planning overview is subject to change deoending on the needs of the children/school.

See curriculum overview beow: