Merton Park Primary School

Curriculum  

Merton Park School Curriculum 

We aim to deliver an outstanding curriculum that is fun, enjoyable and memorable; is underpinned by our vision, values and mission; develops the whole child and is broad and balanced; has clear progression in subject knowledge and skills; is supported by wonderful fiction and non-fiction texts; offers purposeful experiences; is flexible and responsive to needs and interests; uses environments beyond the classroom; makes strong cross curricular links and has a local, national and international dimension.

Our curriculum has been designed using the following principles:

Our curriculum has three main aims:

  • Enabling children to know and do – building from a strong focus on knowledge acquisition, including cultural capital, teaching and learning prepares children appropriately for the next stage in their life.
  • Enabling children to question, reason and discuss – children are able to form opinions of their own; search and find out more; puzzle over ideas that might seem difficult to grasp or understand; 
  • Enabling children to create, communicate and share their ideas and knowledge - regardless of their starting point, children become confident to share what they know and can do, preparing them to make a valuable contribution to society. 

At Merton Park Primary School, some of the different National Curriculum subjects are taught through topics and these are linked to a specific fiction or non-fiction text. However, not all subjects can be linked to an over-arching topic and some subjects are taught discretely – this is particularly the case with maths, PE, RE, computing and science.

Click here to see a Parents' Guide to the National Curriculum:

A curriculum overview and information for each year group can be found under the specific year group tabs.

For more information about our subjects, please click on the buttons below. 

Please note that we are currently updating all of the curriculum pages and so some subjects may contain more detailed information than others. If you have any further questions or require further information, please contact our curriculum lead, Mr A Knox via the school office. 

 

Curriculum-Gallery (ID 1006)

 

 

 

 

 

  • Art & Design

    Art & Design

    Aims

    The national curriculum for art and design aims to ensure that all pupils:

    • produce creative work, exploring their ideas and recording their experiences
    • become proficient in drawing, painting, sculpture and other art, craft and design techniques
    • evaluate and analyse creative works using the language of art, craft and design
    • know about great artists, craft makers and designers, and understand the historical and cultural development of their art forms.

    Click here for more information about our art & design curriculum

  • Computing

    Computing

    Aims

    The national curriculum for computing aims to ensure that all pupils:

    • can understand and apply the fundamental principles and concepts of computer science, including abstraction, logic, algorithms and data representation
    • can analyse problems in computational terms, and have repeated practical experience of writing computer programs in order to solve such problems
    • can evaluate and apply information technology, including new or unfamiliar technologies, analytically to solve problems 
    • are responsible, competent, confident and creative users of information and communication technology

    Click here for more information about our computing curriculum

  • Design & Technology

    Design & Technology

    Aims

    The national curriculum for design and technology aims to ensure that all pupils:

    • develop the creative, technical and practical expertise needed to perform everyday tasks confidently and to participate successfully in an increasingly technological world 
    • build and apply a repertoire of knowledge, understanding and skills in order to design and make high-quality prototypes and products for a wide range of users 
    • critique, evaluate and test their ideas and products and the work of others
    • understand and apply the principles of nutrition and learn how to cook.

    Click here for more information about our design & technology curriculum

  • English

    English

    Aims

    The overarching aim for English in the national curriculum is to promote high standards of language and literacy by equipping pupils with a strong command of the spoken and written language, and to develop their love of literature through widespread reading for enjoyment. The national curriculum for English aims to ensure that all pupils:

    • read easily, fluently and with good understanding
    • develop the habit of reading widely and often, for both pleasure and information
    • acquire a wide vocabulary, an understanding of grammar and knowledge of linguistic conventions for reading, writing and spoken language
    • appreciate our rich and varied literary heritage
    • write clearly, accurately and coherently, adapting their language and style in and for a range of contexts, purposes and audiences
    • use discussion in order to learn; they should be able to elaborate and explain clearly their understanding and ideas
    • are competent in the arts of speaking and listening, making formal presentations, demonstrating to others and participating in debate

    Click here for more information about our English curriculum

  • French

    French

    Aims

    The national curriculum for languages aims to ensure that all pupils:

    • understand and respond to spoken and written language from a variety of authentic sources
    • speak with increasing confidence, fluency and spontaneity, finding ways of communicating what they want to say, including through discussion and asking questions, and continually improving the accuracy of their pronunciation and intonation
    • can write at varying length, for different purposes and audiences, using the variety of grammatical structures that they have learnt 
    • discover and develop an appreciation of a range of writing in the language studied.

    Click here for more information about our French curriculum

  • Geography

    Geography

    Aims

    The national curriculum for geography aims to ensure that all pupils:

    • develop contextual knowledge of the location of globally significant places – both terrestrial and marine – including their defining physical and human characteristics and how these provide a geographical context for understanding the actions of processes
    • understand the processes that give rise to key physical and human geographical features of the world, how these are interdependent and how they bring about spatial variation and change over time ? are competent in the geographical skills needed to:  collect, analyse and communicate with a range of data gathered through experiences of fieldwork that deepen their understanding of geographical processes; interpret a range of sources of geographical information, including maps, diagrams, globes, aerial photographs and Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and communicate geographical information in a variety of ways, including through maps, numerical and quantitative skills and writing at length.

    Click here for more information about our Geography curriculum

  • History

    History

    Aims

    The national curriculum for history aims to ensure that all pupils:

    • know and understand the history of these islands as a coherent, chronological narrative, from the earliest times to the present day: how people’s lives have shaped this nation and how Britain has influenced and been influenced by the wider world
    • know and understand significant aspects of the history of the wider world: the nature of ancient civilisations; the expansion and dissolution of empires; characteristic features of past non-European societies; achievements and follies of mankind
    • gain and deploy a historically grounded understanding of abstract terms such as ‘empire’, ‘civilisation’, ‘parliament’ and ‘peasantry’
    • understand historical concepts such as continuity and change, cause and consequence, similarity, difference and significance, and use them to make connections, draw contrasts, analyse trends, frame historically-valid questions and create their own structured accounts, including written narratives and analyses
    • understand the methods of historical enquiry, including how evidence is used rigorously to make historical claims, and discern how and why contrasting arguments and interpretations of the past have been constructed
    • gain historical perspective by placing their growing knowledge into different contexts, understanding the connections between local, regional, national and international history; between cultural, economic, military, political, religious and social history; and between short- and long-term timescales.
    • Click here for more information about our History curriculum

  • Maths

    Maths

    Aims

    The national curriculum for mathematics aims to ensure that all pupils:

    • become fluent in the fundamentals of mathematics, including through varied and frequent practice with increasingly complex problems over time, so that pupils develop conceptual understanding and the ability to recall and apply knowledge rapidly and accurately.
    • reason mathematically by following a line of enquiry, conjecturing relationships and generalisations, and developing an argument, justification or proof using mathematical language
    • can solve problems by applying their mathematics to a variety of routine and nonroutine problems with increasing sophistication, including breaking down problems into a series of simpler steps and persevering in seeking solutions.

    Click here for more information about our maths curriculum

  • Music

    Music

    Aims

    The national curriculum for music aims to ensure that all pupils:

    • perform, listen to, review and evaluate music across a range of historical periods, genres, styles and traditions, including the works of the great composers and musicians
    • learn to sing and to use their voices, to create and compose music on their own and with others, have the opportunity to learn a musical instrument, use technology appropriately and have the opportunity to progress to the next level of musical excellence 
    • understand and explore how music is created, produced and communicated, including through the inter-related dimensions: pitch, duration, dynamics, tempo, timbre, texture, structure and appropriate musical notations.

    Click here for more information about our music curriculum

  • Physical Education

    Physical Education

    Aims

    The national curriculum for physical education aims to ensure that all pupils:

    • develop competence to excel in a broad range of physical activities
    • are physically active for sustained periods of time
    • engage in competitive sports and activities
    • lead healthy, active lives.

    Click here for more information about our physical education curriculum

  • RHSE

    RHSE

    Click here for more information about our RHSE curriculum

  • Religious Education

    Religious Education

    Aims

    • acquire and develop a knowledge and understanding of Christianity and the other principal religions represented in Great Britain
    • develop an understanding of the influence of beliefs, values and traditions on the way people live
    • enhance their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development by: l (i) developing awareness of the fundamental questions of life raised by human experiences and how religious teachings relate to them; l (ii) responding to such questions with reference to the teachings and practices of other religions and to their own understanding and experience; l (iii) reflecting on their own beliefs, values and experiences in the light of their study
    • develop the ability to come to reasoned and informed opinions about religious and moral issues, making specific but not necessarily exclusive reference to the teachings of the principal religions represented in Great Britain
    • develop positive attitudes towards other people, respecting their right to hold different beliefs from their own, and towards living in a religiously diverse society.

    Click here for more information about our religious education curriculum

  • Science

    Science

    Aims

    The national curriculum for science aims to ensure that all pupils:

    • develop scientific knowledge and conceptual understanding through the specific disciplines of biology, chemistry and physics
    • develop understanding of the nature, processes and methods of science through different types of science enquiries that help them to answer scientific questions about the world around them
    • are equipped with the scientific knowledge required to understand the uses and implications of science, today and for the future

    Click here for more information about our science curriculum

 

 

 

 

 

Impact:

Key features of our formative assessment approach:

  • The curriculum is the progression model. Our curriculum has been designed to be coherent and progressive. Therefore progress is keeping up with the curriculum. Teachers achieve this through filling gaps, deepening understanding and overcoming barriers. 
  • Checking for understanding during lessons, so that teachers can adapt their teaching on the spot to clarify and address misconceptions. This involves the use of Show me boards to check everyone’s thinking; Cold calling to explore a sample of responses in depth and Think, Pair, Share (or Write, Pair, Share) so everyone can explore their ideas. 
  • Checking for understanding after lessons, through looking at pupils’ work, in order to plan subsequent lessons to meet pupil needs. This could involve assessing children’s work, exit tickets (e.g. Two things) and multiple choice questions at the end of lessons. As a result of these assessments, whole class or individual feedback may need to be given. 
  • End of unit assessments which assess key learning and knowledge in the subject. This will involve a short unit test which will identify what children have understood and remembered. If teachers discover gaps, these can be addressed before moving on to the next unit of work. This might also reveal what might need to be improved the next time this unit is taught. In some subjects such as computing and DT, the end of unit outcome will be assessed to ensure that children have met the intended learning e.g. in Y6 when children make a website in computing. 
  • At the end of the year, children are assessed in each subject area as either not meeting year group expectations or meeting year group expectations. Some children may be assessed as exceeding year group expectations. Progress is defined as remaining in meeting expectations or exceeding expectations.

Our curriculum is quality assured by the Senior Leadership team using the following approaches:

  • Learning walks and learning observations to quality assure the teaching and learning and behaviour
  • Book looks to quality assure the implementation of the curriculum and teacher’s expectations
  • Pupil Book study is used to assess how well children can recall the intended learning; what links they can make between learning; how well their teachers help them with their learning and to assess their attitudes to subjects. These are also useful to ensure fidelity to the intended knowledge/learning sequence.

These quality assurance activities feed into a progressive programme of CPD to target particular development needs. A supportive coaching programme is in place to target individual development goals, providing teachers with opportunities to develop their own practice with the curriculum offer in mind.

We are a Rights Respecting School and believe that, 'Every child has the right to an education. Primary education must be free and different forms of secondary education must be available to every child.  Discipline in schools must respect children's dignity and their rights. Richer countries must help poorer countries achieve this.'  (Article 28 of UN Convention on the rights of the child)

We also believe that, 'Education must develop every child's personality, talents and abilities to the full.   It must encourage the child's respect for human rights, as well as respect for their parents, their own and other cultures and the environment.'  (Article 29 of UN Convention on the rights of the child)

 

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