At Sholing Infant School we believe that Art & Design is inclusive and encourages creativity and curiosity for all children. We believe that Art & Design should be a stimulating and enjoyable experience for all children, allowing them to express themselves through their own, and others art, which they are able to discuss.  

 

We want our children to have the confidence and freedom to experiment with their own ideas, through different mediums.  It is our intent to provide all children with the knowledge and techniques needed to independently create their own unique drawings, paintings, sculptures.  We also aim for all children to have a natural sense of wonder and curiosity when studying a wide variety of artwork. We empower them to discover great artists that will enable them to explore their own and other’s cultural heritages. 

The teaching and implementation of the Art and Design curriculum at Sholing Infant School is based on the National Curriculum in KS1 and Development Matters in EYFS to ensure a well-structured approach. We teach a knowledge-based Art & Design curriculum, which allows the children to express their creative imagination and experiences as well as providing them with the opportunities to practise and develop mastery in the key processes of Art and Design.

In the Early Years Foundation Stage, children are given opportunities to explore, use and refine a variety of artistic effects to express their ideas and feelings through their own curiosity, exploration and play. Children will also develop their ability to use a range of tools to different effect and purpose.  The foundations of Key Stage 1 knowledge are also laid as children explore and rehearse painting, drawing and sculpting.   

In Key Stage 1 the curriculum has been designed to ensure children build upon the knowledge they have learnt previously and have opportunities to apply widely. Vocabulary is at the core of our Art and Design curriculum, as this allows children to fully grasp new concepts and make connections to move their thinking forward. The elements of art are also clearly progressed throughout the curriculum, and these interlink with the different techniques to ensure children experience these elements in an array of mediums. End outcome is not assigned, as we value the process and knowledge children gain over the final product.  The children also become familiar with a wide range of artists and craftspeople as they consider the cultural and historical impact of art.

 

We strive to ensure that our children’s attainment is in line with or exceeds expectations even when we consider the varied starting points of all our children. Through rigorous assessment, scrutiny and CPD we ensure that the teaching and learning of Art & Design at Sholing Infant School enables our children to become creative and expressive artists. 

The intent of computing education at Sholing Infant School is to equip all of our children, whatever their abilities or needs, with the computational skills and thinking they will need for the ever-changing world in which they are living.

By following the National Curriculum our aim is to ensure that all our children leave Sholing Infant School digitally literate with the skills and thinking they need for the next stage of their education.  They will learn about, and how to safely use and create digital systems, as well as how to express themselves and share their ideas through information and communication technology.

Through the computational opportunities that children are presented with we also aim to develop life-long learning characteristics within our children, which they can use both within school and beyond.

 

At Sholing Infant School computing is taught as part of our Foundation topics and is therefore taught within familiar, relevant, inspiring and engaging contexts.  With all of our learning we start with what the children already know and through practical and relevant experiences develop their skills and understanding further.  Teachers secure subject knowledge and awareness of the required skills progression ensures that children retain knowledge, develop skills and link learning into new contexts.

 

All staff work together to ensure that children meet expectations in Computing and are ready for the next stage of their education. Assessment is done in a timely manner which enables teachers to form an accurate assessment of the needs of the children going forward.

 

 

 

Design and Technology at Sholing Infant School is an inspiring, rigorous, creative and practical subject. Design technology encourages children to learn to think and intervene creatively to solve problems both as individuals and as members of a team. We encourage children to use their creativity and imagination, to design and make products that solve real and relevant problems within a variety of contexts, considering their own and others’ needs, wants and values. At Sholing Infant School we aim to, wherever possible, link work to other disciplines such as mathematics, science, engineering, computing and art. The children are also given opportunities to reflect upon and evaluate past and present design technology, its uses and its effectiveness and are encouraged to become innovators and risk-takers. In persisting, they develop problem solving skills such as trial and error in order to create their prototypes, before making their final product. These skills equip them for future learning in other subject areas, and participate successfully in a developing technological world.

 

Through a variety of creative and practical activities, we teach the knowledge, understanding and skills needed to engage in an iterative process of designing and making. The children work in a range of relevant contexts (for example home, school, leisure, culture, enterprise, industry and the wider environment).

When designing and making, the children are taught to:

Design

• use research and develop design criteria to inform the design of innovative, functional, appealing products that are fit for purpose, aimed at particular individuals or groups

• generate, develop, model and communicate their ideas through discussion, annotated sketches, prototypes, pattern pieces and computer-aided design

Make

• select from and use a wider range of tools and equipment to perform practical tasks (for example, cutting, shaping, joining and finishing) accurately

• select from and use a wider range of materials and components, including construction materials, textiles and ingredients, according to their functional properties and qualities

Evaluate

• investigate and analyse a range of existing products

• evaluate their ideas and products against their own design criteria and consider the views of others to improve their work

• understand how key events and individuals in design and technology have helped shape the world

Technical knowledge

• apply their understanding of how to strengthen, stiffen and reinforce more complex structures

• understand and use mechanical systems in their products

• apply their understanding of computing to program, monitor and control their products

 

Key skills and key knowledge for Design Technology have been carefully mapped across the school to ensure progression between year groups. This also ensures that there is a context for the children’s work in Design and Technology; that they learn about real life structures and the purpose of specific examples, as well as developing their skills throughout the programme of study.

 

We will ensure that all children:

• 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 and 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. Children will design and make a range of products. A good quality finish will be expected in all design and activities made appropriate to the age and ability of the child

 

Through the teaching of Design Technology at Sholing Infant School children learn how to take risks, becoming resourceful, innovative, enterprising and capable citizens. Through the evaluation of past and present design and technology, they develop a critical understanding of its impact on daily life and the wider world. High-quality design and technology education makes an essential contribution to the creativity, culture, wealth and well-being of the nation.

At Sholing Infant School our English curriculum follows the National Curriculum and intends to provide pupils with an introduction to the essential knowledge that they need. We aim to develop pupils' oracy, reading and writing in all subjects to support their acquisition of spoken and written English. Our pupils are taught to read fluently, understand extended prose (both fiction and non-fiction) and are encouraged to read for pleasure. Reading has a high profile and at Sholing Infant School children are exposed to a wide range of quality reading texts which promote wider reading, by providing all children with library and sharing books as well as phonically graded reading books, setting ambitious expectations for reading at home.  In writing, our pupils develop the stamina and skills to write at length, with accurate spelling, grammar and punctuation. At Sholing Infant School, we recognise that spoken language underpins the development of reading and writing and that the quality and variety of language that pupils hear and speak are vital for developing their vocabulary and grammar and their understanding for reading and writing.  We believe that providing pupils with a well-balanced, enriching and engaging English curriculum will aid them in developing into self-assured communicators.

The overarching aim for our English curriculum is to promote high standards of language and literacy by equipping pupils with a strong command of the spoken and written word, and to develop their love of literature through reading for pleasure. A high-quality education in English will teach pupils to speak, and write fluently so that they can communicate their ideas and emotions to others and through their reading and listening, others can communicate with them. Through reading in particular, pupils have a chance to develop culturally, emotionally, intellectually, socially and spiritually. Reading also enables pupils to acquire knowledge and to build on what they already know. All the skills of language are essential to participating fully as a member of society.

Underpinning both reading and writing is the understanding that the letters on the page represent the sounds in spoken word.  We teach phonics using Little Wandle Letters and Sounds which is a validated systematic synthetic phonics programme. Good comprehension draws from linguistic knowledge and on knowledge of the world. At Sholing Infant School, we develop reading comprehension through high-quality discussions with the class teacher, as well as from reading and discussing a range of stories, poems and non-fiction. All pupils are encouraged to read widely across both fiction and non-fiction to develop their knowledge of themselves and the world in which they live, to establish an appreciation and love of reading, and to gain knowledge across the curriculum.

Our teachers set high expectations for every pupil in English. We plan stretching work for pupils whose attainment is significantly above the expected standard and plan lessons which scaffold and support pupils who have lower prior attainment.  Pupils' prior knowledge and attainment is used to set targets which are deliberately ambitious.

Across our curriculum we develop pupils’ spoken language, reading, writing and vocabulary as integral aspects of the teaching of every subject. Understanding the language provides access to the whole curriculum and we know that fluency in the English language is an essential foundation for success in all subjects.

Spoken Language

Spoken language underpins the development of reading and writing at Sholing Infant School. The quality and variety of language that pupils hear and speak are vital for developing their vocabulary and grammar and their understanding for reading and writing. Teachers therefore develop pupils’ confidence and competence in spoken language and listening skills by expanding their vocabulary through modelling and direct teaching of new words (Vocab Vicki based on Ninja Vocab)

This is reflected and contextualised within all subjects.  Pupils therefore learn to explain their understanding of books and other reading, and to prepare their ideas before they write. They are supported to make their thinking clear to themselves as well as to others and teachers ensure that pupils build secure foundations by using discussion to address any misconceptions. 

 

Reading

Our reading curriculum consists of three dimensions: word reading, prosody and comprehension. It is essential that teaching focuses on developing pupils’ competence in all dimensions; different kinds of teaching are needed for each.

Currently Sholing Infant School uses Little Wandle Phonics as a synthetic systematic phonics programme to teach children on their reading journey.  This programme incorporates the seven features of effective phonics practice. These are:

•  direct teaching in frequent, short bursts 
• consistency of approach
•  secure, systematic progression in phonics learning 
• maintaining pace of learning 
• providing repeated practice
•  application of phonics using matched decodable books
•  early identification of children at risk of falling behind, linked to the provision of effective keep-up support. 

 Using the Collins Big Cat decodable books gives children the vital opportunity to practise the phonic skills they are learning without the distraction of words they have not yet learned to decode. These decodable books:

• are exactly matched to the phonics progression of the programme used
• present only words made up of GPCs learned to that point
• include tricky words only as they are introduced in the programme
• are used exclusively when children are practising reading and not mixed in with books that are not fully decodable at the child’s level.

Teachers supplement the reading of these books, and read and share a wide range of non-decodable quality children’s books with their class. 

Pupils’ acquisition and command of vocabulary are key to their learning and progress across the whole curriculum. Teachers should therefore develop vocabulary actively, building systematically on pupils’ current knowledge. They should increase pupils’ store of words in general, and they should also make links between known and new vocabulary and discuss the shades of meaning in similar words. This is supported by practise in reading books consistent with pupils’ developing phonic knowledge and skill and their knowledge of common exception words.

Pupils are encouraged to apply their developing reading skills by reading a range of high quality texts frequently, including library books and ‘we love to read’ sharing books which are self selected by the children.

 

Writing

 

Writing provision

The programme of study for writing at key stage 1 is constructed similarly to that for reading:

• transcription (spelling and handwriting)
• composition (articulating ideas and structuring them in speech and writing)

It is essential that teaching develops pupils’ competence in these two areas, alongside how to plan, revise and evaluate their writing. Each unit of writing should follow the agreed ‘reading into writing’ model across the school, showing a clear independent outcome. Learning will be progressive and ensure the children are taught the skills, knowledge and understanding needed to complete the independent outcome and evidence good progress within and between units of work.

 

Reading into Writing

At Sholing Infant School, we follow a ‘reading into writing’ model to teach writing. Teachers begin this journey by mapping ‘text potential’ prior to planning a unit of work. This ensures that the chosen text is fit for purpose, is high quality and the teaching of vocabulary can be planned for. Purpose, audience and form are key drivers in each unit of writing. These are shared with the children at the start of a unit and can been seen on the working wall and learning journey overviews within children’s English books.

The principles of the reading into writing model are:

 

Text Immersion

During this stage, tier 2 and 3 vocabulary from the text are discussed and displayed.

A model text is used to demonstrate to the children a clear expectation of what their final outcomes will include. This model text contains exemplification of the key skills to be taught in the unit. This becomes a writer’s ‘toolkit’ and is used at many different reference points throughout the learning journey. 

We explore text or film stimuli, at the start of a unit, in a variety of ways: book talks, drama techniques, debates and text discussions are a few examples. This stage of writing is heavily discussion based and will link explicitly to our whole class guided reading sessions. The two interlink. The working walls in classrooms are showcases for rich vocabulary that has been ‘magpied’ from various sources.

 

Skills Building Stage

This is a heavily guided, taught and marked stage in the reading into writing journey. Key unit skills are broken down for children. This is a practise stage whereby teachers would use ‘I do/you do’ sessions, sentence doctor workshops or skills building sessions to teach National Curriculum objectives from the appropriate programme of study. Children write sentences or short burst paragraphs in their books to practise and master this skill. The English working wall is used to gather examples and provide support for this stage of writing.

 

Teacher Modelling Stage

This is a guided, taught and marked stage in the reading into writing journey. In lessons, teachers model writing sentences, paragraphs or whole texts to the children, verbalising explicitly the choices they are making as writers, alongside their reasoning. 

Outcomes from any skills sessions, short burst writes or teacher models are different to the independent outcome expected by the children.

 

Independent application stage

Independent writing will be easily identified in children’s books. Each independent piece is labelled as ‘Final Outcome’.. There will be no success criteria stuck in books for an independent write. The school teaches editing as part of the writing process. Children are taught to be aware of the purpose and audience of pieces and choose vocabulary and structures accordingly. There is less teacher marking for independent writes. 

 

The English curriculum aims to develop pupil’s knowledge and skills with language quickly, enabling them to innovate and create with words as their medium. 

At Sholing Infant School we see the impact of a rigorous early reading programme and progressive writing system through the strong end of foundation stage and end of KS1 outcomes for all pupils. Most importantly we hope that our curriculum sets pupils up with a firm language base which they can apply in their next phase of education and wider life.

 

 

 

 

At Sholing Infant School, we have designed our geography curriculum with the intent that it will inspire our children with a curiosity, fascination and appreciation of the world around them. It will equip them with a diverse knowledge and understanding of people, places, natural, human and physical geography The curriculum will engage our children and facilitate and inspire them to become inquisitive, resilient, independent, challenging thinkers and active global citizens with the confidence to use, and build on, their cultural capital, learning and experiences - both inside and outside of the classroom. 

 

In the Early Years, children begin to understand their place within known spaces and their immediate environment, but are also exposed to a wealth of other worldwide people, cultures and traditions. Children in Early Years begin to make comparisons between places in their world.

During KS1 pupils develop knowledge about their locality expanding wider into the United Kingdom and continents of the world. They develop an understanding of basic subject-specific vocabulary relating to human and physical geography and begin to use geographical skills, including first-hand observation, to enhance their locational awareness. They compare their local area to places in both the United Kingdom and beyond.

Geography at Sholing Infant School is taught in blocks throughout the year, so that children can achieve depth in their learning. Each unit of work has identified the key concepts and knowledge that children need to know, and consideration has been given to ensure progression across units throughout each year group and across the school. 

The curriculum progression ensures children gain both substantive and disciplinary knowledge that helps them to form a greater understanding of the world around them. At Sholing we have identified key concepts as:

• Place
• Location
• Human and physical features
• Settlement and land use
• Mapping
• Directional knowledge
• Fieldwork
• Weather

These key concepts run through and across year groups and will continually be revisited and explored across the academic journey of a child at Sholing Infant School.

Each is underpinned by key vocabulary and ‘sticky’ knowledge that will be explicitly taught in Geography.

 

We will ensure that all children develop an understanding of our ever-changing world and how human and physical interaction can influence these changes. We want all children through their growing geographical knowledge to gain a deeper understanding of the world and their place in it. 

 

 

 

History at Sholing Infant School follows the EYFS Development Matters and the National Curriculum aims and objectives in supporting all pupils, regardless of their background or ability, to develop an awareness of the past. At Sholing Infant School, we are historians! We want our children to love history. Our aim is that, through the teaching of History, we stimulate all children’s interest and understanding about the life of people who lived in the past. We teach children a sense of chronology, in order to develop a sense of identity and a cultural understanding based on their historical heritage. This enables our children to learn to value their own and other people’s cultures in modern multicultural Britain. We aim to make all children aware of the actions of important people in history and enable children to know about significant events in British history, whilst appreciating how things have changed over time. History will also ensure our children understand how Britain developed as a society, contributing to their understanding of their country of residence. Furthermore, our children will learn about aspects of local, British history. This wider awareness leads to the children having some knowledge of historical development in the wider world. We believe that by allowing the children to understand the importance and enjoyment of History through different opportunities, they will become enthused learners about the world around them. Through the teaching of History, we endeavour to teach pupils to understand the complexity of people’s lives, including those of the present, the process of change, the diversity of societies and beliefs, whilst celebrating these differences. History at Sholing Infant School will inspire pupil’s curiosity, giving all children opportunities to ask questions, to think critically and develop an understanding of how evidence can be used to examine how life today compares to that in the past.

  

History is taught through carefully sequenced lessons, allowing children to gain a coherent knowledge of the past, in terms of both significant people and chronology. History at Sholing Infant school will inspire pupil’s curiosity, giving all children opportunities to ask questions, to think critically and develop an understanding of how evidence can be used to examine how life today compares to that in the past.

History is taught regularly throughout the year, so that children develop a deeper understanding and depth to their learning. Teachers understand the key disciplinary and substantive knowledge for each topic and consideration has been given to ensure progression throughout each year group across the school. All learning starts by revisiting prior knowledge. This will be scaffolded to support children to recall previous learning and make connections. Staff will model explicitly the subject-specific vocabulary, knowledge and skills relevant to the learning to allow them to integrate new knowledge into larger concepts. 

We ensure that we allow children to develop understanding of ‘fingertip’ and ‘residue’ knowledge, where children gain knowledge for the now through learning about different time periods but also for their long-term memory in regard to concepts. Many of these concepts feature regularly throughout our curriculum within a range of contexts. As a result, they are particularly important to pupils’ understanding of new material, allowing our children to be able to draw on their secure knowledge of these repeatedly in a number of different contexts. We feel this is highly important, as this encompasses children enquiring historically, allowing them to delve into the role of a historian.

 

In History pupils are introduced to historical periods that they will study more fully in key stage 2. They are taught about changes in living memory e.g. the changes in their own lives  toys  over theirs and their grandparents' lifetime, will learn about events beyond living memory that are significant nationally or globally, for example the Great Fire of London and The first moon landing. Children will also learn about the lives of significant individuals who have contributed to national and international achievements, for example in comparing the lives of Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth 11 and are taught about significant historical events and people in their own locality e.g. the sailing of The Titanic from Southampton docks, or the impact of RJ Mitchell in the context of WW2.

 As historians children will learn lessons from history to influence the decisions they make in their lives in the future.

 

Mathematics is a creative, interconnected subject that enables pupils to develop rich links between the core skills of mathematics whilst developing an understanding of the world, the ability to reason mathematically, and a sense of enjoyment and curiosity about the subject. Mathematics is essential to every-day life, providing the knowledge and skills needed for every stage of learning and beyond, underpinning financial responsibility and independence, employment, science and technology.

At Sholing Infant School the Mathematics curriculum will equip our pupils with the skills necessary to succeed in the core areas of fluency, reasoning and problem-solving. Our curriculum is designed in order for all pupils to develop their independence and fluency in the subject, building on their learning every year by retrieving previous knowledge, and strengthening their range of newly taught skills in order to develop conceptual understanding. Pupils will develop their confidence and mental fluency when working with numbers, and will be able to effectively carry out and apply a range of calculation strategies. They will have access to a range of practical resources, and will develop their use of mathematical language which they can apply to the wider curriculum and beyond. They will be able to reason mathematically, and to solve problems through applying their mathematics to a variety of routine and non-routine problems.

 

Through a variety of practical, explorative and challenging activities, Mathematics teaching at Sholing Infant School is designed in order for children to build on their mathematical skills whilst progressing through the curriculum and developing their confidence in a range of mathematical areas, such as number and calculating, shape, space, measure and statistics. A rich learning environment and practical resources support pupils to underpin the core learning objectives across all areas of Mathematics.  Mathematics is taught daily across the school, with additional opportunities for mental-oral rehearsal outside of the main mathematics lessons. Pupils within the EYFS take part in two focused mathematics morning per week, along with daily mental maths sessions to ensure that they are prepared for their future time in Key Stage 1 and beyond.

 The subject leader and senior leadership team work to ensure that all teachers are equipped with the necessary skills to deliver clearly presented lessons and learning opportunities with confidence and competence, demonstrating sound subject knowledge. Teachers are supported to understand progression in all areas of the subject, building upon the children’s learning in prior year groups, and knowing what the subsequent steps in mathematics learning are. At Sholing Infant School Mathematics is taught using an adaptation of the ‘Loopy maths’ model. Class teachers produce unit plans which list the specific learning objective for the unit, suggestions of teaching and learning sequences following the ‘I do-You do’ approach, additional practise tasks for pupils to complete with support, and pieces of work that will provide evidence of pupils mastering working at Age Related Expectations (ARE). At the beginning of each unit of work, pupils are supported to retrieve their knowledge from previous related learning, and this is used as a base for the further building blocks of subject specific learning. Opportunities to deepen and apply their learning allows pupils to embed what they have been taught and to remember this learning in the future.

Our fully inclusive curriculum and teaching approach ensures that the needs of all learners are met, with pupils who have Special Educational Needs or are Working Towards the Expected Standard receiving the necessary support needed to access their learning at their current level of understanding. Opportunities for pupils to demonstrate that they are mastering AREs at Greater Depth are also provided, ensuring that pupils of all abilities are challenged. Systematic assessment enables Teachers to identify the level of pupil understanding and application of skills in each area, and allows errors and misconceptions to be addressed to ensure that pupils are confident when moving to the next stage of learning. This ensures that pupils can achieve our core aims of developing fluency, being able to problem-solve, and being able to reason mathematically.

 

At Sholing Infant School all learners are supported to develop their mathematical knowledge and skills to ensure that they are ready for the next stage of their education. With principal aims of our curriculum being to develop fluency, the ability to reason and to solve problems, pupils are provided with rich and varied learning experiences to ensure that they develop confidence and mental fluency with whole numbers, counting and place value. This in turn underpins the other core curriculum areas of Mathematics, such as calculation, fractions, statistics, measure and geometry. Pupils are equipped with the competence and confidence to solve increasingly sophisticated problems. This enables them to apply their mathematical knowledge to science and other subjects such as Design Technology and Computing. Children achieve high outcomes at the end of the Early Years Foundation Stage and at the end of Key Stage 1, demonstrating that they have mastered the curriculum and have embedded key mathematical skills that will equip them in later life and beyond.

 

A copy of our latest Maths information for parents can be downloaded below

Music is taught through the integrated activities of performing, singing, composing and listening. Pupils are given opportunities to respond creativity to music from a variety of different styles and genres.

Pupils will be inspired through live musical experiences and practical music making, empowering them to be confident, resilient and culturally aware.

The National Curriculum for music aims to ensure that all pupils:

• Perform, listen to, review and evaluate music across a range of historical periods, including music in Victorian time, Fire of London, and Medieval times, along with a range of composers throughout all musical periods, genres, styles and traditions, including the works of great composers and musicians, such as Vaughan-Williams, Walton, Beethoven, and Whitacre, to name a few.
• Learn to sing and to use their voices every week with a variety of songs to fit with topics, including learning British Sign Language to fit with the appropriate words.
• Create and compose music on their own and with others.
• 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.

Attainments:

By the end of key stage 1, pupils should be able to:

• Listen to performances, with an appropriate level of understanding and concentration.  They should be able to recognise the majority of Orchestral instruments and understand how instruments are used for different sounds and effects.  They should be able to recognise different genres, key features and their impact.
• Sing expressively, and with increasing accuracy through a range of songs, including rounds and chants.
• Create short sequences of sound and simple soundscape from a starting point, using simple symbols and the elements of music.  They should also be able to compose through using specific musical notation and have an understanding of a whole note, half note and quarter note.

 

Our pupils will be fully immersed in the great power that music can have, to encourage creativity, teamwork, attention, self-expression, resilience and most importantly enjoyment in through, listening, performing, singing and composing.  Pupils will be given the opportunities to hear live performances and perform their own music through learning and composing on various tuned and untuned instruments.

Music lessons will encourage children to develop a love of music, offering them many different styles and genres to explore and experiment with and to understand the way music is created. Pupils will also have the opportunity to take part in extra-curricular music groups and to learn tuned instruments in class and privately.

 

Our music lessons will provide every child with an all-round basic knowledge of a variety of different cultures, traditions and genres that will leave them with a love of music which they can go on and explore throughout their lives. The will develop skills to enable them to enjoy music as a listener, performer and composer.

 

 

 

At Sholing Infant School, our high quality physical education curriculum inspires all children to develop a love of physical activity and sport. We aim to have a child-centered approach that gives every child the physical literacy, emotional and thinking skills to achieve in PE, sport and life. We aim to nurture confident, resilient children who will strive for their personal best. We listen to our children's wants and needs and provide them with a range of active experiences and extra-curricular clubs.

When delivering PE, we ensure all children are engaged whilst developing their fundamental skills of agility, balance and coordination. Our lessons are taught by inspired teachers who challenge and support every child in every lesson, whether this be PE, yoga, gymnastics or dance. We want to aid our children in obtaining the values and skills to celebrate and respect the success of others, as well as modestly celebrating their own successes within lessons, after school clubs and competitions.

The use of assessment, questionnaires, surveys (staff) and pupil conferences the quality of lessons and the confidence in the teaching of PE improves and as a result the enjoyment and positive outcomes increases.

We educate both our children and families to develop a greater understanding on how to live healthy lifestyles and make healthy choices throughout the curriculum and offer lots of opportunities throughout the year to explore this further. We are dedicated to ensuring healthy minds, as well as bodies and will continue to support our children's well-being.

When children leave Sholing Infant School, they are confident in mastering basic movements, applying these in a range of different activities and can work collaboratively in small groups.

 

At Sholing Infant School, Personal, Social and Health education (PSHE), aims to give all children the opportunity  to grow into responsible and healthy members of society. It aims to help children to understand how they are developing socially and personally, and giving them the tools to tackle any moral, cultural and social issues that they may encounter while growing up. We encourage children to 

• reflect on the rights and responsibilities they have as a member of both our school and wider community. 
• develop their independence and self-worth by ensuring that all children have the opportunity to positively contribute to both their school and a wider community. 
• establish life-long learning skills such as resilience, curiosity, fascination and perseverance that they will apply to their learning both in our school and beyond. 
• develop the key skills needed to better understand themselves, and to build good relationships with their peers 

This will ultimately allow them to have positive future relationships in life. 

 

High-quality PSHE is taught regularly by teachers who have secure and up-to-date subject knowledge. PSHE values run through all other areas of school life with all members of staff setting a model that underpins our school ethos. PSHE is taught within a context that is relevant to experiences that our children may encounter to ensure that all children are able to access the learning. We allow children time to explore, reflect and build their own views and ideas about key concepts in the world around them. 

At Sholing Infant School, we teach children the skills and strategies they need in order to live healthy, safe, fulfilling and responsible lives.

PSHE is taught through a series of planned sequenced lessons to ensure that children are building on prior learning as they progress through our school. We draw our guidance from the PSHE Association and Relationships Education for primary pupils and Relationships and Sex Education (RSE), however we review and adapt it to meet the needs of our pupils each year. 

 

In order to deliver a high-quality PSHE education the subject is taught weekly in Key Stage 1 at Sholing Infant School by teachers that have secure subject knowledge. PSHE lessons are planned carefully based on the RSE guidance and PSHE Association curriculum so that they are coherently sequenced to enable children to build upon what they already know. The teaching of PSHE across KS1 is split into 6 core areas: me and my family, positive relationships, physical activity, mental wellbeing, keeping safe and the wider world. These topics are explored both in year 1 and 2 each year so that children can build on prior knowledge and have a deeper understanding of each concept. Every child in KS1 has a PSHE book that is updated weekly and travels with them from year 1 through to year 2 to demonstrate their progression of learning. In EYFS, these core areas are explored through the teaching of Personal Social Emotional Development (PSED) and content is covered in line with children’s individual needs and interests.

At Sholing Infant school, we are committed to ensuring that children are taught how to keep themselves safe in a range of contexts.  Safety is therefore taught alongside PSHE in KS1 and every half-term in EYFS. Our safety progression guide has been developed using the RSE statutory guidance and PSHE association curriculum, as well as taking into account the needs of our children and the local area. Sholing Infant School is near a railway and Southampton is a port/maritime city, so rail safety and water safety are key areas within our safety curriculum. Each year group has their own safety sticky knowledge that builds on prior learning and safeguarding is explored continuously throughout the year to ensure children have a secure awareness of how school keeps them safe. All safety teaching in KS1 is evidenced in PSHE books and examples of high quality evidence is captured in learning journeys within EYFS.

At Sholing Infant school children are also provided with opportunities to contribute to the school’s values and policies. Pupil voice is a valuable tool used to support the culture of our school and children are aware that their views are respected and listened to. Every child has the opportunity to represent their classes' views and ideas through the School council. The School council members are elected by their own peers and have fortnightly meetings with the School council lead, which focus on a range of agendas e.g. attendance, behaviour policy, school values. 

Year 2 children are also given the opportunity to complete the Civic Award. This award involves starting a new physical and non-physical hobby, contributing to the school and contributing to the local community. This award supports children’s personal, moral and social development and their awareness of their role within the wider world. Children who take part in the Civic Award are given trophies and certificates to celebrate their achievements and these have previously been awarded by our local Mayor.

 

From EYFS through the KS1, children’s personal and social development is prioritised by our teachers and PSHE is a highly valued subject within Sholing Infant School. Our children are well-behaved, respectful and have a secure understanding of their own development and their role within the school community. We strive to ensure that all our children are represented equally at Sholing Infant School and that our children are aware that even though we are all different we are all equally valued. As a result of this all children in our school, from EYFS through to KS1, are confident talking about their own lives and families and are encouraged to celebrate the similarities and differences they have with their peers. PSHE is taught in a range of exciting ways across our school, and it is evident that children enjoy their PSHE lessons and take pride in the learning they present in their books.

Since implementing the safety curriculum pupil conferencing has demonstrated that children are aware of how they are kept safe in school and know how to keep themselves safe in a range of familiar and unfamiliar environments. All members of staff at Sholing Infant School are aware of the importance of safeguarding children and have regular training that ensures that the messages about safeguarding are passed on and the children are kept safe. Children also know who our safeguarding leads are and their role in keeping them safe. Children also have good awareness of how to keep themselves safe and know that they can talk to any trusted member of staff within school if they are worried. 

Both PSHE and Safety are valued highly by the staff and children at Sholing Infant School and this is reflected within the culture and ethos of our school. 

 

At Sholing Infant School we follow Hampshire's agreed syllabus for Religious Education (RE), 'Living Difference IV'.  In the Foundation Stage, RE is taught through topics based upon the children’s own lives and their experiences. Within Key stage 1 and 2, RE is aimed to support pupils own spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.

Children are taught how to discuss, debate and disagree in a respectful way. They explore some of the big questions about life, as well as exploring religious artefacts, festivals and rituals. The teaching of RE is enhanced by visits to religious buildings, visits from different community members and the celebration of different faiths in assemblies and class.

Living Difference IV, purpose statement

Children are taught to understand and respect the importance of religious beliefs in the world around them. We aim to ensure that the RE curriculum is challenging, dynamic and relevant to pupils of all ages. We will focus on Christian and Hindu festivals throughout EYFS and KS1 but can explore other religions and religious festivals should we feel it necessary to our children and community (known as Pondering Time). 

As part the Living Difference IV states, there are four golden thread concepts/words that are studied across EYFS and KS1. These are: community, belonging, special and love. As well as these, the children explore a range of A concepts (which are words/concepts shared within as well as outside of religions and religious traditions) and B concepts (which are words/concepts that are shared across many religions and religious traditions). The words/concepts that we, at Sholing Infant School, have chosen to explore are outlined in the Long Term Plan.

The Living Difference IV follows an approach to teaching RE whereby begins with the teacher finding interesting ways to bring the concept/word to live for children. This is achieved through a journey known as the ‘Enquiry Wheel’. This cycle holds 5 key steps are Communicate, Apply, Enquire & Contextualise and Evaluate. While all the steps of the cycle are important, it is stated that in EYFS and KS1 should have more emphasis on the Communicate and Apply steps meaning there is more focus on the children’s experiences.

Our Science teaching at Sholing Infant School stems from the idea that having a good scientific understanding is fundamental for children to understand the world that they live in. We therefore strive to provide children with a high-quality Science education that teaches them the knowledge, skills and applications of Science needed for them to understand their surroundings. We believe that Science lessons should foster an excitement and curiosity in children about what they are learning and teach them about how they can use Science to help them explain their experiences of the world. We also want to teach children different types of scientific enquiries that will encourage them to ask questions about the world, as we believe that children should be active in their learning. Our goal is for children to have ample opportunity to have lots of first-hand practical experiences to look at scientific phenomena, observe changes over time, notice patterns and begin to use scientific language to describe what they have found out and link this to what they already know.

We aim to create an ambitious Science curriculum that will foster a love of learning for all children, will build on what they already know and will provide them with the scientific knowledge they will need for when they move into Key Stage 2, as well as giving them the knowledge and experiences they need to succeed in life. Our Science curriculum is very inclusive and is intended to inspire all children to develop their scientific knowledge, regardless of their background and ability, and ensures that all children make progress.

 

In order to deliver a high-quality Science education, Science is taught regularly in Key Stage 1 at Sholing Infant School by teachers that have secure subject knowledge that will motivate children to become passionate, knowledgeable and skilled scientists.  Science lessons are planned carefully based on the National Curriculum objectives so that they are coherently sequenced to enable children to build upon what they already know. We view scientific knowledge as being divided into substantive knowledge (the scientific knowledge) and disciplinary knowledge (how scientific knowledge is obtained, and this is covered in the Working Scientifically aspect of the curriculum). We are of the view that these two types of knowledge go hand in hand, and children not only need to learn scientific knowledge, but need to have an understanding of how scientists come to reach this knowledge.

Every Science lesson starts with retrieval practise, specifically designed for children to think back to what they have already earned so their knowledge becomes more embedded in memory. Through this cumulative approach and reference back to prior learning, we enable children to make links and retain more scientific knowledge. Additionally, we aim for our Science learning to be as collaborative as possible, and lessons are planned to provide children with the opportunity to work with others and to discuss their ideas. Planned Science lessons are always purposeful, exciting and sufficiently challenging to keep pupils engaged in their learning.

In EYFS, scientific phenomena is explored primarily through the Understanding the World area of learning. From the start of their school journey at Sholing Infant School, children are encouraged to explore the natural world around them and the provision always ensures children have lots of interesting things to observe and get actively involved with.

At our school, we want children to be as active as possible in their Science lessons in Key Stage One, and their provision in Early Years. We therefore ensure that they have plenty of opportunity to use hands-on science equipment such as microscopes, magnifying glasses and stopwatches, as well as doing practical activities such as planting seeds and tracking how plants grow over time and observing the life cycle of different animals like ducklings and caterpillars. Children are taught a variety of topics during Key Stage One Science such as learning about plants, animals (including humans) and their habitats, materials and seasonal changes, and these topics are supported by investigations where children can apply their scientific knowledge and Working Scientifically skills. In Early Years, children are encouraged to constantly make observations of what they see, including that of animals, plants, the weather (and how this changes throughout the seasons) and changing states of matter.

 

From the very start of their school journey in the Early Years setting, we encourage children to take a keen interest in the world around them, make observations of what they see and ask questions about things they would like to know more about. Through our high-quality approach to the teaching of Science throughout Key Stage One, we hope that all children will enjoy lessons and will have made good progress in their knowledge of a range of different scientific phenomena that they would have learnt in an engaging way. To be a scientist is to be inquisitive and apply what you have learnt to aid your understanding of the world. By the time children leave Sholing Infant School, we hope to have instilled these qualities in them and have taught them the necessary knowledge that will equip them to be successful scientists in the next Key Stage, as well as for their futures.