Our School Curriculum
Our School curriculum in Years 1 - 6 follows the National Curriculum. From September 2020 we have also included the Personal, Social and Health Education Curriculum (PSHE) in our curriculum.
It includes the following subjects:
- English
- Mathematics
- Science
- Computing
- History
- Geography
- Art & Design
- Design & Technology
- Languages – at Loudwater School we teach Spanish at Key Stage 2
- Music
- Physical Education
- PSHE
We also teach Religious Education, which follows the Locally Agreed Syllabus for Bucks.
The organisation of our school timetable means that the pupils in Years 1-6 spend time in the morning learning English and Maths.
In the afternoon the other subjects are taught. Subjects such as Science, History, Geography, Art & Design, Design & Technology are taught using a topic approach. We have developed our own schemes of learning to ensure that through the topics we have chosen the pupils cover all the learning they need to by the end of each Key Stage. This means that over the course of a year there is coverage of all the subjects, but that they children do not learn all of the topic subjects all of the time.
The curriculum map for each class can be found on the class pages.
In Foundation Stage we follow the Statutory Framework for the Foundation Stage and assess children at the end of Foundation Stage using the Early Learning Goals.
The Early Learning Goals include the following areas of learning:
Prime areas:
- Communication and Language
- Physical Development
- Personal, Social and Emotional Development
Specific areas:
- Literacy: Reading & Writing
- Mathematics: Numbers & Shape, Space and Measures
- Understanding the World
- Expressive Arts
Learning in the Foundation Stage is organised into topics and areas of learning are linked by a theme. The curriculum map can be found on the Foundation Stage class page.
Teaching Reading & Spelling
Children in Foundation Stage, Year 1 and Year 2 have a daily phonics lesson, we use the Rocket Phonics scheme to teach phonics.
In Key Stage 2 spelling is taught daily and follows the National Curriculum. From this each class has specific areas of focus for each week. More information about the spelling rules the children will be focusing on can be found by logging on to the relevant class pages.
The Reading Scheme used to teach early reading is based around the Rocket Phonics scheme and ensures that children are able to decode words because they have learned these sounds in their phonics lessons.
Often children are ready to move away from the reading scheme when they reach Years 3 and 4. To support their reading of novels we have a stock of books that the children can choose from to ensure that they continue to choose increasingly challenging reading material.
The Oxford Owls website has 250 free ebooks you can access with your child, just by registering at the site. Visit the Words for Life website for recommended reads for children aged up to 11 years. This site also has suggestions of activities your children may enjoy at home.
Teaching Grammar
Grammar is taught throughout the school as part of English and writing. We believe that children will learn best if grammar is integrated into the writing the children are focusing on, so they have immediate opportunities to apply what they have been taught.
We recognise that it is very important to ensure that children learn the correct terminology for grammatical forms and devices. The document below provides information about what the children will be taught.