Curriculum Statement
Curriculum Statement
We use exciting and engaging topics as the basis for rigorous development of key knowledge and skills in a range of curriculum areas.
CURRICULUM STATEMENT
At Jubilee, we use exciting and engaging topics as the basis for rigorous development of key knowledge and skills in a range of curriculum areas.
Teachers plan carefully sequenced lessons with clear success criteria which are modelled to succinctly so that children understand how to meet the learning intention. They are given many opportunities to rehearse and develop their skills and employ them creatively in new contexts. Over time, this process deepens pupils’ understanding of themselves and the world around them.
Statutory National Curriculum requirements are embedded within a Jubilee Curriculum which brings learning to life by making the most of the incredible opportunities on our doorstep through the choice of topics and enrichment opportunities: learning in the meadow, pond, vegetable garden, performance hall and Creativity Centre onsite; engaging with the many different religions and cultures in Hackney by connecting with our local community; and exploring London more widely with regular cultural trips and visits.
We use a range of high quality schemes of work in some subjects. In many other curriculum areas we use Chris Quigley’s ‘Essentials’ Curriculum as a framework. This allows for clear sequencing of learning objectives and using ‘milestones’ expectations of standards for different phases.
CORE SUBJECTS
Reading
We follow the Read, Write Inc. phonics programme closely from Reception through Key Stage 1 until children are assessed as being secure enough to move onto Destination Reader, a programme developed in Hackney to support reading comprehension and reading for enjoyment. Reading is taught using DR throughout Key Stage 2.
Topic English
Most English learning uses the main half-termly topic as a stimulus, often with a high quality linked text as a basis. A range of text types are taught, matched to the topic and children’s needs, with appropriate writing skills planned in carefully to support this.
Grammar, Spelling and Punctuation
Spelling is taught as part of Read, Write, Inc. phonics in KS1. In KS2 we use the Read, Write, Inc. spelling programme. Handwriting is taught using the Nelson scheme throughout the school. All of these elements of writing are also addressed in context during Topic English lessons and where children apply what they have learned discretely.
Oracy
Children’s speaking is promoted throughout the curriculum with the use of language stems, structured partner talk and discussion guidelines. Opportunities for discussion, debate, questioning and performance are built into lesson structures across curriculum areas and including Topic English and Reading.
The school has adopted the White Rose Schemes of Learning which sequence learning carefully across the year and block key concepts for several weeks to ensure children have time to rehearse and apply key knowledge and skills. We have developed our own compatible calculation policy which ensures consistent progression in calculation fluency across year groups using concrete, pictorial and abstract modelling.
We follow the National Curriculum closely and a different topic is covered each half-term. Links to other curriculum areas are exploited where relevant to deepen children’s understanding. The school has developed eight working scientifically skills which are covered across a year’s topics from Year 1 onwards and returned to each year as children move through the school.
FOUNDATION SUBJECTS
Computing: Children develop their knowledge and skills in coding, internet safety, connecting and communicating. Beebots, Code.org and Discovery coding provide clear progression in coding skills, and elements of the Switched On Computing scheme are used to deliver other National Curriculum objectives.
Art: Children develop their skills with materials, painting, sculpting and drawing through a range of topic-linked projects in weekly art lessons. Drawing skills are further developed through ‘sketch book’ activities in the warm up of lessons. Half-termly projects often have an artist focus as a stimulus, and during one half-term ‘Authors and Artists’ are the main topic focus with other curriculum areas linking closely.
DT: Each year group completes a topic-linked Design Technology project, with additional DT skills woven through the curriculum, for example food technology promoted through our gardening project each half-term and book-making as part of a whole school creating writing project.
PSHE: The school follows the Jigsaw Scheme of work, a mindful approach to Personal, Social and Health Education which has a different theme each half-term but is the same across the whole school. The Headteacher leads linked assemblies and certificates are given out to children demonstrating the qualities promoted in lessons. The scheme also includes a unit on Relationships and Sex Education which is delivered in the summer term.
Spanish: All children in Key Stage 2 have a weekly Spanish lesson, which is delivered using Le Jolie Ronde’s high quality Scheme of Work and related workbooks. The lessons are fun and interactive, with games, songs and a range of speaking, listening, reading and writing activities as well as projects to develop children’s cultural awareness. Systematic revision and rehearsal are built into the scheme.
PE: Weekly PE lessons have a focus on careful progression in coordination and key skills, developing children’s understanding of team games as they grow older as well as issues around keeping healthy and how sport impacts on their body. Children in Year 3 and Year 5 also spend half a year going swimming at a local pool, and in Year 6 pupils have a course of sailing sessions at the West Reservoir.
Music: Every child has a weekly music lesson, with children’s skills and knowledge being nurtured carefully using topic-linked projects developed by the school including class ukulele collectives and composition using Chrome Music Labs. All children in Year 3 learn the recorder before being given the chance to learn other instruments from Year 4 upwards, and weekly singing assemblies take place from Year 1 to Year 6.
RE: The school’s RE programme of study covers all the major religions several times, with units of work exploring different aspects and marking important festivals at different times of year. Visits to places of worship which deepen children’s understanding are built into the curriculum.
History & Geography: Our History and Geography topics are drawn from the National Curriculum and tailored to our school context and community. Our School, Istanbul, Canal Life, The Romans in London, the Islamic Golden Age and Immigration through time are all learned about as children move through the school. The subjects are alternated each half-term and taught distinctly. A Key Learning Question is posed at the start of a topic which is discussed as knowledge is accumulated, and children respond to the question in writing at the end to demonstrate what they have learned.
SMSC: We promote the children’s Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural development through a huge array of curricular and extra-curricular activities in the school. These include, but are not limited to, elements of the RE, PSHE and wider curriculum, assemblies, visitors from the local community, trips, current affairs discussions, celebrations of significant events, our school values and other school systems such as playground friends, peer mentors, school council and the Green Team eco group.