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 committed, hardworking and talented staff plan lessons that are creative and imaginative, whilst nurturing and developing a love of learning. We place a big emphasis on the teaching of key skills in reading, writing and maths to ensure that children reach high standards 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. 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.

The National Curriculum in England

The National Curriculum provides our pupils with the essential knowledge that they need to be educated citizens. It provides an outline of core knowledge from which we develop exciting and stimulating lessons to promote the development of pupils’ knowledge, understanding and skills of the wider school curriculum. It is just one element in the education of every child and we endeavour to provide rich and varied learning experiences for our children that go beyond the classroom.

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.

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.

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. develop the 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.

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.