Curriculum

The Curriculum at Lily Lane

The curriculum that we provide at Lily Lane is designed to be inclusive of all children and cater for all learning styles. Our passionate, hardworking and driven staff plan lessons that are creative and imaginative, whilst nurturing and developing a love of learning. Our curriculum encompasses the social and emotional aspects of learning and the well-being of children is seen as the foundation of academic success.

Our curriculum aims to inspire all children at Lily Lane. We endeavour to capture the interests of each pupil, providing exciting and enriching learning experiences, and use relevant high quality texts where appropriate. We encourage children to become independent learners, to ask and answer questions about the world around them to create a love of learning.

We offer a curriculum which is balanced and broadly based and which promotes the spiritual, moral, cultural, mental and physical development of pupils at school and society. We aim to prepare pupils for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of later life.

Our curriculum emphasises the importance of developing the depth of children’s learning. In essence, this means providing children with increased cognitive challenge, allowing them to apply the skills which they have learnt independently in a range of contexts rather than moving them onto the next skill needlessly when they have not truly mastered it. At Lily lane, we want to challenge our children to become independent, well-round individuals who take ownership of their learning and become deep thinkers. Moreover, we want our children to be able to apply their knowledge and skill set in a range of contexts within school and real life.

Planning the curriculum

A long term plan has been drawn up by staff, with the expertise of a Literacy advisor, to create a curriculum that is text-based and meets the needs of our children. This plan works alongside the New Primary Framework to provide a full coverage of subjects and has been planned to facilitate a creative curriculum.

Medium term plans are produced by the staff teaching in each year group with advice from subject leaders. They show which topics/themes will be taught based on the Chris Quigley model of Basic, Advanced and Deep understanding.

Short term plans are produced by class teachers to enable them to deliver what is in the medium term plan. Short term plans will include differentiation, showing how the lower attaining children will learn and how the higher attaining will be challenged. Short term planning will include consideration of how other adults in the room are to be utilised. KAGAN activities will also be identified on planning.

Different resources, learning objectives, levels of support or expected outcomes are means of providing differentiation, as are enabling questions, individual target setting and giving prior knowledge or help about topics to be covered.

Teaching Methods

At Lily Lane we use a variety of teaching styles depending on the work undertaken and the age of the children. We use KAGAN structures across the school to promote cooperative learning and engagement of all children. These structures have proven themselves effective teaching and learning tools for cooperative learning, multiple intelligences, character education, language learning and emotional intelligence.

The National Curriculum

Figure 1 – Structure of the national curriculum

	Key stage 1	Key stage 2	Key stage 3	Key stage 4
Age	5 – 7	7 – 11	11 – 14	14 – 16
Year groups	1 – 2	3 – 6	7 – 9	10 – 11
Core subjects
English	Y	Y	Y	Y
Mathematics	Y	Y	Y	Y
Science	Y	Y	Y	Y
Foundation subjects
Art and design	Y	Y	Y
Citizenship			Y	Y
Computing	Y	Y	Y	Y
Design and technology	Y	Y	Y
Languages^{^[1]}		Y	Y
Geography	Y	Y	Y
History	Y	Y	Y
Music	Y	Y	Y
Physical education	Y	Y	Y	Y

All schools are also required to teach religious education at all key stages. Secondary schools must provide sex and relationship education.

Figure 2 – Statutory teaching of religious education and sex and relationship education

	Key stage 1	Key stage 2	Key stage 3	Key stage 4
Age	5 – 7	7 – 11	11 – 14	14 – 16
Year groups	1 – 2	3 – 6	7 – 9	10 – 11
Religious education	Y	Y	Y	Y
Sex and relationship education			Y	Y

English

Aims

The overarching aim for English in the national curriculum is to promote high standards of literacy by equipping pupils with a strong command of the written and spoken word, 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.

Mathematics

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 have conceptual understanding and are able to recall and apply their knowledge rapidly and accurately to problems
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 non-routine problems with increasing sophistication, including breaking down problems into a series of simpler steps and persevering in seeking solutions

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.

Art and 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.

Citizenship and British Values

Aims
The national curriculum for citizenship aims to ensure that all pupils:

acquire a sound knowledge and understanding of how the United Kingdom is governed, its political system and how citizens participate actively in its democratic systems of government
develop a sound knowledge and understanding of the role of law and the justice system in our society and how laws are shaped and enforced
develop an interest in, and commitment to, volunteering that they will take with them into adulthood
are equipped with the financial skills to enable them to manage their money on a day-to-day basis, and plan for future financial needs.

British Values

In a school, teaching British values means providing a curriculum which ‘actively promote(s) the fundamental British values of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty, and mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs’.

What are the fundamental British values?

The fundamental British values of democracy, rule of law, individual liberty, mutual respect and tolerance for those with different faiths and beliefs.
What are the five British values?
The five British Values are:
The rule of law.
Individual liberty.
Mutual respect.
Tolerance of those of different faiths and beliefs.

What must be taught?

enable students to develop their self-knowledge, self-esteem and self-confidence
enable students to distinguish right from wrong and to respect the civil and criminal law of England
encourage students to accept responsibility for their behaviour, show initiative, and to understand how they can contribute positively to the lives of those living and working in the locality of the school and to society more widely
enable students to acquire a broad general knowledge of and respect for public institutions and services in England
further tolerance and harmony between different cultural traditions by enabling students to acquire an appreciation for and respect for their own and other cultures
encourage respect for other people, and encourage respect for democracy and support for participation in the democratic processes, including respect for the basis on which the law is made and applied in England.

PSHE

The school uses the SEAL resources to develop the underpinning qualities and skills that help promote positive behaviour and effective learning. We focus on five aspects of learning:

Self-awareness
Managing feelings
Motivation
Empathy
Social skills

We aim to help children develop skills such as understanding another’s point of view, working in a group, sticking at things when they get difficult, resolving conflict and managing worries. The SEAL resources form the basis of PSHE lessons and are split into seven themes:

New Beginnings
Getting On And Falling Out
Say No To Bullying
Going For Goals
Good To be Me
Relationships
Changes

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.

Design and 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.

Geography

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

develop contextual knowledge of the location of places, seas and oceans,
including their defining physical and human characteristics
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)
communicate geographical information in a variety of ways, including through maps and writing at length

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.

Languages

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

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.

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.

Religious Education

All state schools are required to make provision for a daily act of collective worship and must teach religious education to pupils at every key stage. At Lily Lane we meet daily for collective worship, in different key stages, and class assemblies are also held once a week. We have a half-termly overview that follows the SEAL themes and we also celebrate significant religious celebrations. There is also a section on the overview to plan for opportunities relating to British Values.

Relationship Education

At Lily Lane we believe that Relationship Education is important to our children and we follow the Manchester Healthy Schools ‘Growing and Changing’ scheme of work. We use expertise from the Healthy School Team and our school nurse is involved in the delivery of some of these sessions. Parents are informed about the content of lessons prior to teaching.

[1] At key stage 2 the subject title is ‘foreign language’; at key stage 3 it is ‘modern foreign language’.