Lakeside Primary School

What do we want our curriculum to be?
At Lakeside Primary School we believe that children learn best when lessons are stimulating, exciting and engaging.

We deliver the requirements of the 2014 National Curriculum through cross-curricular themes which foster the following skills in every child so that they have a life-long love of learning:

• creativity
• curiosity 
• problem-solving 
• independence
• resilience
• the ability to use knowledge, understanding and skills across the curriculum 

First-hand experiences are at the heart of learning at Lakeside, whether it is a trip, a local walk, a visitor, or a ‘theme’ day, all of which provide excitement and a purpose to the children’s learning.

At the beginning of each term the children start school with a ‘buzz’ as their theme is revealed when they enter the classroom; they are excited to see what the term ahead will bring. The theme may be a surprise or they may have been involved in the choice, whichever way the children know they will be instantly hooked into the learning.  At the start of each term the pupils experience a ‘Launch’: an event which introduces the theme. To continue to hook the children in and inspire them, throughout the term we have ‘WOW’ events which also give the children a purpose for their learning. We conclude with a ‘Landing’ event where the children will celebrate their achievements over the term.
 

The curriculum comes to life in our classrooms. Displays are powerful representations of the creative curriculum and are varied across the school to provide opportunities for learning and a celebration of pupils’ work.
 

Throughout the curriculum, we endeavour to use and support the wealth of local resources and businesses we have on our doorstep. We want our children to learn about and experience the local geography and history of their town, Cheltenham in the beautiful county of Gloucestershire. Some of our recent trips include visits to Nature in Art, Gloucester Docks, Gloucester Cathedral, Staverton Airport, The Holst Museum and the Cheltenham Festivals of Literature and Science.

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 Leader:

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

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.

Link to Kenny’s Pouch

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.

• Year 1 Curriculum Overview 2018-19
• Year 2 Curriculum Overview 2018-19
• Year 3 Curriculum Overview 2018-19
• Year 4 Curriculum Overview 2018-19
• Year 5 Curriculum Overview 2018-19
• Year 6 Curriculum Overview 2018-19