Early Years Foundation Stage (for children aged 3 to 5)
This is a stage of education designed for children in the early years. It is a distinct stage and encourages children to develop skills within a play based environment. The curriculum is divided into seven areas of learning and development.
The three prime areas are: Communication and Language, Physical Development and Personal, Social and Emotional Development.
The four specific areas are Literacy, Mathematics, Understanding the world and Expressive arts and design. At Two Moors we place a great emphasis on speaking, language and listening skills when children join us, so that they have the tools to get off to a really good start.
Children in the EYFS learn by playing and exploring, being active, and through creative and critical thinking which takes place both indoors and outside.
At the end of the EYFS – in the summer term of the reception year in school – teachers complete an assessment which is known as the EYFS Profile. This assessment is carried out by the reception teachers and is based on what they, and other staff caring for your child, have observed over a period of time.
Personal, Social and Emotional Development involves helping children develop a positive sense of themselves, and others; to form positive relationships and develop respect for others; to develop social skills and learn how to manage their feelings.
Communication and language involves providing opportunities for children to experience a rich language environment; to develop their confidence and skills in expressing themselves and to speak and listen in a range of situations.
Physical development involves providing opportunities for children to be active and develop their co-ordination, control and movement. We follow the Devon Leap Into Life programme and in the summer the children go swimming. Children should be helped to understand the importance of physical activity and to make healthy choices in relation to food.
Literacy involves encouraging children to link sounds and letters and to begin to read and write. We follow a well-established and successful phonic programme.
Mathematics involves providing children with opportunities to develop and improve their skills in counting, understanding and using numbers, calculating simple addition and subtraction problems and to be able to describe shapes, spaces and measures.
Understanding the world involves guiding children to make sense of their physical world and their community through opportunities to explore, observe and find out about people, places, technology and the environment. Each week on Welly Wednesday the children have a session where they learn in the outdoor classroom through a Forest Schools Curriculum.
Expressive arts and design involves enabling children to explore and play with a wide range of media and materials. They also have opportunities to share their thoughts, ideas and feelings through art, music, movement, dance, role-play and design technology.
Our Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 Curriculum
When children go into Year 1 they begin Key Stage 1; which covers years 1 and 2, and from Years 3 to 6 they are in Key Stage 2.
As a school we work hard to devise a meaningful and challenging curriculum for the children that meet the needs of our pupils whilst using local resources and amenities. The majority of the curriculum is taught through key texts and linked work with some weeks blocked for subject enrichment. All learning involves the children building upon prior learning through first hand experience.
All children study three ‘core’ subjects: English, Mathematics and Science and nine ‘foundation’ subjects: Computing (ICT), Personal, Social and Health Education (PSHE), History, Geography, Music, Art, Design & Technology (DT), Religious Education (RE) and Physical Education (PE). There is also a requirement to teach a language in KS2 and at Two Moors the children learn French. In addition to the National Curriculum we include many other activities in our timetable to enrich and widen the children’s experiences. Over KS1 and 2 the children use the outdoor classroom and take part in Forest School activities. There are also educational visits, visitors, outdoor pursuits and residential trips.
The Core Subjects
Literacy
Pupils are taught reading, writing, spelling, grammar and handwriting. Literacy is taught using ‘The Power of Reading’ books which cover a wide range of quality texts, which support daily opportunities for writing.
We place huge emphasis on reading from the start, using ways which suit your child best to get them enjoying books. The school follows the Read Write Inc Phonics and spelling programmes and there are daily lessons. We identify children needing extra support very early on, because we monitor their progress at all times and track how they are progressing. Where needed we use a number of different interventions such as Every Child a Reader to develop early skills and help each child to gain confidence. We have recently invested in additional reading scheme books to support the reading development of our younger readers and Accelerated Reader to challenge older readers who complete quizzes online for books they have read independently. To develop their love of books we have worked closely with Devon Library Service to provide a range of literature in our library.
In class, children enjoy guided reading in small groups with their teachers each week.
Numeracy
https://whiterosemaths.com/resources/primary-resources/primary-sols/
We use White Rose Maths from Reception to Year 6 to ensure continuity and uniformity across the school.
Children learn basic skills and understanding of mathematical concepts through a combination of problem solving activities and mental calculations.
We provide our children with the basic skills and an understanding of essential mathematical processes aiming for them to become fluent in using the number system, to be able to reason and solve problems, to enjoy maths and develop the skills to use it as a tool for future life. Our children engage in a great deal of number work and problem solving through the wider application of mathematics. This includes money, time, statistics, data handling, measurement, shape and the ability to use mathematics in everyday life.
We aim, through careful teaching, to help children not only achieve the correct solutions but to be able to explain their thinking about the processes they have used. They should then be able to meet new situations and problems in a positive manner, confident in the knowledge that they have the mathematical skills to support them.
Science
Science stimulates and excites children’s natural curiosity about living things, materials and the physical world around them.
Through scientific activities we develop the children’s knowledge, skills and understanding to help them to make sense of familiar events, everyday things and their personal health. Our children are encouraged to investigate questions using a variety of approaches, such as research, exploration, observation, prediction, critical thinking, decision making and discussion. They also learn how to evaluate evidence, explain things and communicate their ideas and findings in a variety of ways.
Other Curriculum Information
History and Geography
Every term, these and other foundation subjects are taught through learning linked to the texts used in Literacy including as many practical experiences as possible. In geography, we ensure that geographical enquiry and skills are used when developing knowledge of places, environment and developmental change. Children learn to communicate using geographical language, read maps and explain issues.
In history, children learn about people, events and places, both from the recent past and the more distant past. We work hard at making the subjects real and full of practical experience. The children enjoy spending days visiting museums and living the past through role play.
Religious Education
As a Devon school we follow the Devon Agreed Syllabus 2019.
Children are taught about a range of faiths and denominations through a range of experiences. Children are provided with opportunities to share their own beliefs in school.
Under the provisions of the Education Reform Act 1988 all parents have a right to withdraw their child from the School’s daily ‘Collective Act of Worship’ or from religious education.
Computing (ICT)
We are using Purple Mash as a vehicle for computing and other subjects.
Computing assumes an important role as a key curriculum subject and as an essential tool to retrieve and present information across all curriculum areas. All children have access to a variety of technology as an integral part of their studies. Interactive whiteboards support learning across the full curriculum and are used in every classroom. Children are always supervised when using ICT. The school has rigorous safeguarding procedures in place for use of the internet. Details of internet safety are incorporated into our e-safety policy and available to view in the school office or on our website.
Music – Charanga
All children study music as part of the National Curriculum. They have opportunities for participation in and appreciation of a wide range of music and have the opportunity to sing and play a wide range of instruments. They create music from an early age and learn elements of reading music.
At KS2 Children have the opportunity to learn a range of other instruments. Peripatetic music teachers give lessons in a variety of instruments including piano, clarinet, trumpet, violin, drums and guitar as required. These are additional and optional activities for which parents have to meet the costs of tutoring and, possibly, purchase and hire of instruments. Details are sent out each year or may be obtained from the office.
Physical Education (Real PE), Outdoor Pursuits, Extra Curricular Sport
Children are taught a range of sporting activities by their class teacher or a sports coach both during and beyond the school day. In addition to the statutory PE curriculum, (striking and fielding, gymnastics, dance, athletics, net and ball games and swimming) pupils are offered additional opportunities through clubs and after school activities such as football, netball, and cricket and through local leagues and festivals. Children participate in the annual Wilcombe Wobbler (an inter-schools cross country) and the Exmoor Challenge (inter-schools sixteen mile walk).
Each class has the opportunity to swim during the summer term.
In addition to PE lessons that develop teamwork, children experience activities such as orienteering and problem solving in an outdoor setting.
Children in Years 4/5/6 have further opportunities during residential programmes.
Personal, Social and Health Education (Jigsaw)
At Two Moors Primary School, we teach Personal, Social, Health Education as a whole-school approach to underpin children’s development as people and because we believe that this also supports their learning capacity.
The Jigsaw Programme offers us a comprehensive, carefully thought-through Scheme of Work which brings consistency and progression to our children’s learning in this vital curriculum area.
This also supports the “Personal Development” and “Behaviour and Attitude” aspects required under the Ofsted Inspection Framework, as well as significantly contributing to the school’s Safeguarding and Equality Duties, the Government’s British Values agenda and the SMSC (Spiritual, Moral, Social, Cultural) development opportunities provided for our children.
Languages (Salut)
At Two Moors, children in Key Stage Two learn French to develop their language skills and explore French culture. Over the four years, pupils will encounter a range of topics through the scheme ‘Salut’. Through this, along with French stories and rhymes, pupils will develop their reading, listening, written and spoken skills in the target language including an awareness of grammar.
Forest School
The school grounds include an Outdoor Classroom and Forest School area where Forest School activities are taught by specifically qualified staff. This provides an opportunity to learn outside in a range of curriculum areas and alongside others.
Visitors and Visits
We welcome a range of visitors into School to support children in their learning. These include writers, artists, scientists and musicians etc. We also encourage the involvement of parents. We invest in as many visits as we can, so that children learn from real and exciting experiences.
Assessment
We carefully monitor and assess our children, keeping records on our planning after each lesson, so that we can plan for future lessons based on what pupils need to know next. We use a special online tracker to record end of term assessments, meeting regularly to discuss progress and ensuring that early intervention is put in place where further support is needed.
Children are assessed on entry using the Development Matters Age Banding and a Foundation Profile is completed at the end of your child’s first year in School. There are Statutory Assessment Tasks/Tests (SATs) at the end of each Key Stage (Year 2 and Year 6) and a Year 1 Phonics assessment, and year 2 phonic retest.
These assessments are shared with parents on the end of year school report. Children in other school years take nationally recognised end of term test, the results of which are shared with parents on end of year school reports and parents’ evenings.
