Proud to be part of the Lakeside Community » The Lakeside Curriculum
Our Curriculum Journey
We started our curriculum journey in the summer of 2019 with a detailed review of the curriculum at the time. We found that whilst the National Curriculum was being followed, the foundations for the curriculum were not based upon teaching that enabled the children to gain a deep body of knowledge through lessons and concepts that were sequenced.
We knew and felt strongly that reading had to be the 'golden thread' to learning. Our aspiration for our new approach was to therefore base our curriculum on high-quality texts. We would then use these texts and design a whole-school theme. This saw the evolution of our ‘Journeys’ theme for the summer term of 2019. Year groups considered the expectations of the National Curriculum and linked these outcomes to chosen texts. The texts were used as the basis to deepen pupil’s understanding of concepts as well as promoting a love of reading. We found that this approach captured the pupil’s imagination, created interest and forged stronger links between subjects. Rather than seeing a series of isolated lessons, we could clearly see learning which was sequential and connected.
The success of this has given rise to our new curriculum approach which is underpinned by clear sequencing of learning, the development of a rich body of knowledge and the opportunity for pupils of all ages to begin to link their learning together.
What do we want from our new curriculum?
- Our curriculum is rooted in the development of a rich body of knowledge which can be applied as the skills that pupils need in order to take advantage of opportunities in later life – creativity, curiosity, problem-solving, independence, resilience, reflection, imagination, questioning, communicating and debating
- Our curriculum will enable pupils to pose and answer ‘deep’ questions and draw links across time, place and context. They will be encouraged to consider, weigh up evidence and adapt learning to be wise, not just well-informed
- Specific end points enable all pupils an opportunity to demonstrate and apply their knowledge at the end of a planned sequence of work in a real and meaningful way
- Our curriculum enables pupils to make vertical, horizontal and diagonal links between subjects and concepts:
Over the course of the year, the children will encounter three core questions:
3. Where Am I Going? (Pupils build on their understanding of themselves, their local environment and use this to develop an understanding of next steps – both for themselves in terms of moving on to a new chapter in their lives but also in terms of exploration and the future)
Where can I find out more about the curriculum for each year group?
A detailed overview of the curriculum by year group can be found in the 'Curriculum Overviews' section below.
Information about your child's curriculum theme coverage can be found by accessing your child's year group page.
If you need more information please contact the Phase Leaders:
EYFS & Key Stage 1 - Mrs Whitmore & Miss Paddock
Key Stage 2 - Mrs Veli & Miss Twinning
English Curriculum
At Lakeside our aim is for all children to leave us with the right tools and skills ready to start their new phase of learning in secondary school. In addition, we endeavour to instil a love of reading and writing in our children which will stay with them through all phases of their lives. We do this by following the National Curriculum (NC) for English – speaking and listening, reading and writing - through a creative approach which is underpinned by experiences and purpose. For example, Year 4 wrote superhero stories linked to their theme after making their costumes (including a cape and accessories!) and learning a superhero dance.
For skills progression in reading and writing from Y1 – Y6 we follow the National Curriculum. We teach the different elements of English using year group specific objectives, and for children achieving those objectives before the end of the academic year, we follow a programme of ‘mastery’ of the curriculum. We teach writing skills as specified by the National Curriculum and follow the guidelines for age related content. Our outcomes for writing are purpose-led, linked to themes and are framed by four key principles: to entertain, to inform, to discuss and to persuade, and spelling and grammar skills are threaded through following our own year group-specific programmes of study.
Reception, Key Stage 1 and Year 3, reading is supported through the use of a structured scheme based on phonic progression which guides children through the stages of learning to read. This is supported by tailored phonic sessions based on ‘Letters and Sounds’ as set out through the DFE programme of work. We use a range of resources to plan our phonics provision, the main ones being: Phonics Play and Education City, and we use Rapid Phonics for intervention programmes. As the children’s literacy skills develop, we aim to move them away from the reading scheme to access a wider range of books with richer language and content, to become ‘free readers’. Our published reading scheme is Oxford Reading Tree and our phonic teaching is supported by Floppy Phonics, a branch of the reading scheme which links directly to the reading skills being taught. We have recently added to our scheme books to include updated versions of current texts and guided reading resources for focused group work across the school.
Links:
- www.phonicsplay.co.uk (free phonics play – parents’ resource)
- www.eduplace.com/kids/hmsv (Houghton Mifflin Spelling and Vocabulary)
- www.letters-and-sounds.com
- www.roythezebra.com (interactive games)
- www.topmarks.co.uk
Mathematics Curriculum
Our aim is to enable all of our pupils to function as competent mathematicians in the real world as well as to develop awe and a love of maths. To learn why you need maths in everyday life gives the pupils a purpose to their learning.
Pupils learn to calculate using a range of methods through explaining their thinking. The use of mathematical vocabulary is encouraged in all lessons. The children have plenty of opportunities to develop their reasoning and logic through the use of problem solving and application of maths in their theme work.
Progression in calculation methods.
We follow the new National Curriculum expectations, using these progression documents as recommended by the Gloucestershire Maths Team:
Addition and Subtraction progression with apparatus
Multiplication and Division progression with apparatus
Where possible the children apply their skills to help embed learning. Emphasis is placed on promoting the use of mathematical language to ensure that all pupils can explain mathematical processes effectively. Mastering skills and then applying them at depth underpins our mathematical curriculum.
It is vital that the children know their number bonds, number pairs and times table/division facts. These are taught at school but practising them at home helps the children to have a speedy recall of facts. We use the commutative law (if you know 6 x 3 = 18 then you know that 3 x 6 = 18) – see Kenny’s Pouch for the facts which need to be learned.
Useful resources and links.
Woodlands website http://resources.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/maths/
Maths Games http://www.learntables.co.uk/buypd.php?id=ccw
Coventry website http://www.wldps.com/gordons/
Problem Solving
We directly teach problem solving and allow the children to work individually or as a team member. There are 8 widely recognised problem solving strategies:
1. Act it out / Make a Model
2. Trial and Error
3. Trial and Improvement
4. Make a list or table
5. Look for patterns
6. Simplify the problem
7. Work backwards and eliminate
8. Solve it algebraically
Wherever possible, the children apply their maths skills within a theme to put their learning into context. This stimulates their mathematical knowledge.