Wider Curriculum

Over the four years at St Laurence, our curriculum provides a broad and balanced coverage for our pupils, ensuring that the subjects and objectives in the National Curriculum are covered.  

• Core Curriculum:  English, Maths, Science
• Foundation Subjects: Art and Design, Computing, Design and Technology, Languages (French), Geography,                                    History, Music, Physical Education
• We also place importance on our Religious Education and our Personal, Social, Health and Health Education (PSHE)

 The topics in each year group have either a geographical or historical focus, with at least one extended topic in each year group. To ensure the children are fully engaged in the work to come, the unit begins with an inspiration day. This day includes exciting, fun activities to enthuse them!

As children learn in many different ways, the units provide a wide range of experiences, delivered in a variety of teaching styles, to give your child the best opportunity to learn. Our pupils experience whole class teaching, along with differentiated individual, paired and group work, which promotes a deeper understanding. There are opportunities for experimenting and investigating, exploring and problem solving, as well as researching and applying knowledge and skills that have been learnt.

Throughout the school, the integrated curriculum is supported by a range of trips and visitors to school, to help inspire and enthuse your child in their learning. In lessons, your child will be given clear expectations of what they will learn, guided by an integrated curriculum which aims to be inclusive, engaging, relevant, creative and progressive.

Art and Design

Art and design continues to be a much loved and enjoyed subject for many of our children. At St Laurence, children are given opportunities to be creative, express themselves and explore their ideas by experimenting, inventing and creating their own varied works of art using a range of materials. From joining us in Year 3 until they leave us at the end of Year 6, children learn how to draw, paint, sculpt, sew and explore a varied range of design techniques. They create personal sketchbooks to record their observations and show individual development of skills. Children also develop their knowledge of famous artists, designers and craft makers and understand how art plays an important part of culture and society.

Throughout the year, each year group focuses on different themes across each term to ensure continued interest in the subject as well as acquiring new knowledge and skills. Carefully planned activities develop children’s techniques, including their control and their use of materials. During the summer term, a celebration of children’s creative work from across the school is shared and enjoyed with our annual art exhibition event.

Computing

Technology is a rapidly changing and developing part of our lives. At St Laurence Church Junior School we aim to use this powerful tool to provide children with learning opportunities which allow them to become digitally literate, develop their computational thinking skills, approach technology positively and creatively and develop e-safety awareness. For this academic year (2022-2023) we are following the 'Entrust Computing scheme' which caters for complete coverage of the national curriculum programmes of study for computing. As knowledge and skills develop throughout Key Stage Two, children will collaborate to use a range of devices and programmes across the curriculum to support their understanding of computing. As part of our curriculum, children learn how to design, write and debug programs allowing them to use simple algorithms (instructions) to achieve specific goals. Children are taught how computer networks provide multiple services and the opportunities they offer for communication and collaboration, such as the Internet. Computing is integrated across the curriculum to support digital literacy. In maths, children will produce spreadsheets and graphs, as well as using laptops and iPads for research and recording purposes in other subjects. The teaching of e-safety runs through the core our computing curriculum and through the scheme, 'Project Evolve' we address elements of online safety. Each year children participate in activities which promote staying safe online as part of Safer Internet Day.

Design and Technology

The Design and Technology curriculum aims to be inspiring, rigorous, and practical. We want our children to use 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. We intend for all children to acquire appropriate subject knowledge, skills and understanding as set out in the National Curriculum. Our coverage includes units on: Food, Mechanical Systems, Structures, Textiles and Electrical Systems. Design and Technology should prepare our children, to give them the opportunities, responsibilities, and experiences they need to be successful in later life.

As a school, we promote Design and Technology in the wider school through a fortnightly Growing Gains session in Year Five. These sessions also link to science.  In these sessions, the children learn about where food comes from by growing their own, and the importance of a balanced, healthy and varied diet and how to prepare this. We have a school allotment where food is grown, harvested and cooked in our Growing Gains Feast at the end of the school year.

French

At St Laurence Church Junior School we believe that the learning of an additional language provides a valuable educational, social and cultural experience for pupils. It helps them to develop communication skills, including key skills of speaking and listening and extends their knowledge of how language works. Learning another language gives children an additional perspective on the world, encouraging them to understand their own cultures and those of others.

The teaching of Modern Foreign Languages is compulsory at Key Stage Two. The school’s Scheme of Work is planned to reflect the National Curriculum, encouraging the children to learn not only about the culture of France, but also allowing them to become familiar with some useful aspects of the language.

French lessons take place within class with differentiation being offered through visual and practical activities as well as peer and teacher support.

The curriculum encourages the children's engagement with the subject through practical activities including interactive songs, repetition of vocabulary, role play and much more. The aim is to allow the children to experience the culture and language on a visual and functional level in order to offer a degree of confidence as they progress through their academic and social life.

Geography

The aim of our geography curriculum is for children to understand their place in the world, locally, nationally and internationally.  We aim to establish a sense of responsibility for actions on the environment and the world. Whenever possible, the approach is to have children discovering information and making their own conclusions based on what they have witnessed. Children are encouraged to apply their geographical understanding through encouragement to think and make further conclusions, understanding a topic deeper. 

Children learn geographical skills progressively, introducing new skills in Year 3 and 5, and extending, mastering and developing them in Y4 and 6.

Children understand that environmentally and with regards to sustainability, they all have a small effect on the world and, to coin a school mantra (‘if we all do a little it adds up to a lot’), their actions can collectively have a profound effect on the world at any scale. 

History

We believe passionately in providing our children with a high-quality history education that equips our children with the skills and knowledge to understand Britain's past and that of the wider world. We aim to inspire our pupils' intellectual curiosity to learn about the history of the world in order to understand how the world has changed over time.  History teaching promotes a love of learning and develops a keen eye for noticing trends and differences throughout history. Through use of primary and secondary sources, 'Inspiration Days' and encouraging our children to think critically and ask perceptive questions, our children will understand how people's lives have shaped this nation and how Britain has influenced and been influenced by the wider world. We aim for children to have a good grasp of what it means to be a historian, with a working knowledge of chronology, and be able to apply these skills to future learning and in their lives. 

Music

At St Laurence Juniors, we love making music! We know that music is really important in helping us to be happy, confident and well-rounded learners. We know that we can all benefit from involvement in music, and that our positive experiences of studying music at a young age can lead to an interest that will last a lifetime. At St Laurence Church Junior School, the intention of our Music curriculum is to develop a lifelong love of music and the skills required to be successful in creating, appraising and performing music. Our intention is to deliver high-quality music teaching as part of a broad and balanced curriculum. We understand that Music plays a critical role in the curriculum, feeding into and complementing skills in a wide variety of subjects.

Throughout each year, all children have the opportunity to take part in whole-class instrumental learning, regular singing in class and in whole-school collective worship, improvisation and composition activities, as well as listening to and appraising music from different times, cultures, composers and performers. They all have the opportunity to represent their class in weekly whole-school performances, to join the choir and to participate in a year-group production. 

Physical Education

St Laurence Junior School provides all pupils with up to two lessons of quality and active PE lessons a week which includes an indoor and outdoor timetabled slot. The key areas of PE that are delivered at least once every academic year are: Games (including invasion, striking and fielding, and net and wall), Gymnastics, Dance and Athletics.

As part of the National Curriculum requirements for swimming, Year 3 pupils receive weekly swimming lessons where each class will visit the local swimming baths once a term. In addition, to support swimming development and water safety skills further, Year 4 pupils also receive the same weekly swimming lessons.

Our school also supports Year 3 with developing orienteering skills and we offer the opportunity for Year 4 and Year 5 to receive additional outdoor adventurous activities, through our visit to 'Aztec Adventures'. These activities cover the ‘Outdoor and Adventurous Activities’ section of the curriculum, and encourage children's personal development through individual, paired and group challenges.

All children at our school are offered the same opportunities, including the options to participate in extra-curricular activities as well as a variety of sporting events throughout the year. We have a range of before and after school clubs running throughout the week which often include: football, dance, gymnastics, table tennis, netball, basketball and tag-rugby.

In addition to this, physical activity is encouraged during break and lunch with a wide range of equipment available. Young Leaders are deployed throughout the year, delivering simple fun activities to encourage, engage and inspire a more active lunchtime.

As well as lesson time, there are several house competitions throughout the year. This encourages intra-school competition. The events are active, enjoyable and carried out in the right sporting manner.

Finally, many children, particularly those who participate in our sports clubs go on to represent the school competitively in inter-school fixtures and events. This includes a range of sports and fixtures and is a great way to develop teamwork and sportsmanship skills. 

PSHE

At St Laurence Church Junior School, we follow a PSHE scheme called Jigsaw. Jigsaw brings together Personal, Social and Health Education, emotional literacy, social skills and spiritual development along with Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) into a weekly lesson programme. All year groups work on the same theme at the same time. These themes are:

Half term 1: Being me in the World

Half term 2: Celebrating differences

Half term 3: Dreams and goals

Half term 4: Healthy me 

Half term 5: Relationships 

Half term 6: Changing me 

We aim to give children the knowledge, skills and understanding to lead confident, healthy and independent lives and to prepare them for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of later life.  The curriculum also promotes the spiritual, moral, cultural, mental and physical development of pupils. Through Sex and Relationships education, we prepare Year 5 and 6 children for puberty and teach them about conception. There is a parent workshop prior to this unit being taught.

The parents who attended the meeting appreciated the presentation and the opportunity to discuss this topic with Mrs Allen, Mr Murphy and each other. 

A Year 5 parent said that the Changing Me unit was really helpful and useful due to a lot of Sex Education content being taught at secondary school. She said that this unit provided her older child with a good foundation and she is very keen for her younger child to be involved in the learning. 

Another parent said that they are glad a lot of effort seems to be put in to organising all of this and they appreciate it. 

If you want more information about what the Year 5 and 6 children are learning in the Changing me unit go to Key Information tab - Policies and Documents - RSE Documents.

We also raise awareness of bullying through Anti Bullying Week in the autumn term and promote British Values through celebrating Parliament week and giving some Year 6 children the opportunity to visit the Houses of Parliament (summer term). British Values is also promoted through our weekly 'Picture News' worship. The Healthy Me unit works alongside what is taught in PE- children learn the importance of looking after their bodies by eating healthily and exercising and our Dreams and Goals unit supports our school Lenten Project, where children focus on fundraising, managing money and working as a team.