Curriculum
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The school covers all the statutory programmes of study outlined by the government. We teach English and Mathematics in dedicated lessons every day but are always looking for opportunities for pupils to draw their developing learning and understanding together in cross curriculuar topics and themes. We believe this not only makes learning more interesting and fun, but also enables pupils to demonstrate and consolidate what they have learnt in new contexts.
More information on our curriculum is in our Long Term Curriculum Plans and is available from the Theme Plans tab from school either from class teachers of from the school office.
Click here to see our showcase of some of our recent work.
Back in 2012 we developed the following Curriculum Vision statement by working with parents, children, staff and governors. We revisited it this year and agreed that it still represents our vision for the quality of education chidlren receive here. It drives all that we teach:
The children who come to Burley St Matthias C of E Primary School are diverse, energetic, open-minded and welcoming. They appreciate opportunities to boost their self esteem and to encounter a wide range of experiences. They need clear, consistent and fairly applied boundaries. They deserve teaching which is at least good or even outstanding.
The world into which they will live and grow is changing rapidly and driven by technology. The jobs they will do as adults may not yet exist. They will face the challenges of living in multicultural communities and in a way that protects and preserves the environment.
Our parents want them to grow up to be curious and self confident, to embrace difference and to show and be shown respect. They want them to have a good grounding in the ‘3Rs’ as well as being able to use technology. They want them to have a good knowledge of different cultures.
Our governors are keen for children to be connected with the local community and to have lots of first hand experiences.
Our children tell us they like learning practically and enjoy role playing and discussion. They like getting stuck into topics for substantial periods of time.
As professionals, we believe that learning and teaching are exciting. We will nurture the instinct to learn by offering quality first hand experiences and lots of opportunities for children to succeed. We will concentrate on teaching them the skills they need to learn how to learn.
THEREFORE
We need to teach our children:
- The skills to become independent, confident learners;
- To recognise and value their unique skills and talents;
- To believe that everything is possible and to appreciate and embrace the opportunities they have;
- To be literate, numerate and effective communicators in a variety of media;
- What is means that ‘Everyone is Special’ and to understand, respect and learn from other lifestyles, cultures, beliefs and backgrounds;
So our curriculum will:
- Be full of exciting, first hand experiences;
- Have a sense of awe and wonder;
- Build skills deliberately and rigorously, meeting all the legal requirements;
- Provide opportunities for children to apply these skills in meaningful ways;
- Draw on learning opportunities from a wide variety of sources including the learning environment, the community, the wider world, adults and other children;
- Continue to evolve to meet the needs and aspirations of pupils, parents, governors, the wider community and ourselves as professionals.
In Reception Class pupils follow the Early Years Foundation Stage and are regularly assessed using 'Development Matters'. Learning is planned in areas of provision (e.g. the construction area or the role play area) which respond to children's interests and needs and which change regularly (often every couple of weeks). High staffing levels means that pupils have continual access to our outdoors area which is very well resourced. Towards the end of the year, pupils are taught in longer sessions in preparation for Year 1. Phonics teaching takes place every day, following the DfE validated 'Sounds-Write' programme. This is a new approach in our school in Early Years and KS1, which will also be phased into our approach to teaching spelling in KS2. Children learn to read through the Phonics Books: Dandelion Readers, which are phonetically decodeable and are primarily used for children to rehearse the sounds and reading skills they are taught in class. We also use some supplementary books enabling them to take home a range of different kinds of books at a suitable reading level.
In Key Stage 1 and 2 pupils are taught the majority of subjects by their class teacher who has overall responsiblity for their achievement and progress. Subjects are organised into themes and strong links are made between areas of the curriculum wherever possible. In KS2 pupils begin to learn French. Other subjects taught are: English, Mathematics, Science, ICT, History, Geography, Design and Technology, Art, Music, Religious Education (The RE syllabus, ‘Believing and Belonging’, is the statutory curriculum for maintained schools in Leeds, Kirklees and Calderdale from September 2019.) and Pesonal Social, Health and Citizenship Education.
Further details for Literacy, Mathematics and our Theme plans can be found in the submenus off this page, as well as a statement on how we teach British Values to our pupils. There is also a lot more information for parents who can log in to our members only Learning Platform and visit their child's class pages. Please call into school for your username and password.
PE and the primary school sports funding
The school was allocated £17,780 in 2019-20 as part of this government initiative to improve the provision of PE and sport. The largest part of this is spent on a contribution to the cost of commissioning Premier Sports who cover teachers PPA at a specialist level, provide after school clubs and help make lunchtime active and fun. The linked documents give a detailed breakdown of the spending and its impact. All classes take part in at least 2 hours PE each week and our Year 4 class go swimming throughout the year.
Homework
In line with government guidance, the governors at Burley St Matthias School believe that:
A good, well-managed homework programme helps children and young people to develop the skills and attitudes they will need, for successful lifelong learning. Homework also supports the development of independent learning skills, and provides parents with an opportunity to take part in their children’s education.”
Our homework policy is avialable below.
Relationships and Sex Education
At Burley St Matthias we believe it is essential that children understand and are well equipped to deal with relationships in the real world. Our RSE policy is based on the good practice model recommended by Leeds City Council as in line with the stuatutory duty on schools to deliver teaching and learning in this area. It was formulated in consultation with parents, staff and governors, who all gave their opinions on what they felt should and should not be included at different ages and stages. Parents do have the right to withdraw their children from SOME aspects of this curriculum but in order to do so you will need to ensure you have thoroughly read and understood the policy, are clear about which bits your child can/cannot be withdrawn from and have completed the withdrawal form contained in the document.
We do understand that some parents are concerned about what children will be taught and so we encourage all parents to read the policy and the detail of the teaching units (contained in the appendix) so they can support their children if and when these topics come up at home.
The policy can be found here.