Kell Bank CE Primary School, Masham, Ripon

The Curriculum

At Kell Bank we provide a rich, thematic curriculum of activities which are creative, stimulating, rigorous and relevant. We feel that by structuring and enriching the curriculum in this way, it becomes both memorable and meaningful to the children. We place great emphasis on learning through first hand experience and where possible plan for visiting specialists or linked class visits to reinforce understanding.

A Roman Visitor

The school is committed to improving performance in the basic skills of literacy and numeracy. The School Curriculum is structured to provide for the children’s needs at all stages of their development. This enables the children to progress at the pace at which they are capable, allowing for those periods when development is rapid and when support and reinforcement is needed.



















Foundation Year

When children first enter the school they continue to be in the Foundation Stage. This is an extension of their pre-school education and their classroom and curriculum reflects this. The children work towards their Early Learning Goals in a structured play environment which provides a transition between their pre-school setting and the infant classroom. Much emphasis is placed on their social and emotional development. However, early English and maths skills will also be developed, alongside their knowledge and understanding of the world.




Years 3-6

The children continue to work on a broad and balanced curriculum, with an increasing emphasis on teaching the Foundation subjects as discrete topics in their own right, though a thematic approach is frequently used. For example, though a Victorians project may be history-based, the children may attempt rag rugging, a Victorian technology, or base their art work on William Morris’ wallpaper. They may also study geography through Victorian exploration. Because we have mixed year group classes, topics are studied on a bi-annual basis to avoid repetition.
At the end of Year 6 (in May) the children take SATs (Standardised Attainment Tests) in English, maths and science and these results are communicated to parents along with the annual reports in the appropriate year.



Learning the art of TV producing at Culture Shock

Inspection

The school has a programme of evaluation of its teaching and learning which ensures high quality provision. In this it is assisted by North Yorkshire Education Authority. The school also receives regular inspections by OFSTED, the Government’s quality assurance agency. Summaries of these reports are available to all from the school office free of charge. A full version is available at the cost of £3.00. Alternatively they can be viewed on our website.

Currently the school holds the Basic Skills Quality Mark which indicates it has met high Quality Standards in the provision of education for its pupils.

The School gives support to those children who may, from time to time, have special needs. Where required, children will be placed on the special needs register.

Parents will be consulted at this point. If further help is needed however, after discussion with parents, advice and help may be sought from the support services provided by the Local Education Authority. We seek also to provide for those children who are seen to be gifted and talented.

English

Each child is encouraged to express him/herself imaginatively and accurately in oral and written work.
A major aim is to foster a love of literature and a feeling for the richness of language that will last a lifetime. To this end, story and poetry occupy a central place in the curriculum. From the beginning children are encouraged to read ‘real books’. Initial introduction to and rapid progression in early reading is achieved through a multi-sensory, systematic synthetic phonics programme delivered at an energetic pace, supported throughout the rest of each school day through a range of cross-curricular learning opportunities. Within the national Book Band scheme, we continue to develop a very broad range of phonics and other whole word recognition books. All the children are read to every day.
A second major aim is to develop the child’s ability to produce, through high quality stimulus and the technique of drafting high-order pieces of personal writing - including poetry. The school also provides many opportunities for drama, both as a creative activity and as a vehicle for self-expression.

Neat handwriting, accurate spelling, grammar and punctuation are essential if a child's ideas are to be communicated to others. These skills are taught in a structured manner throughout the school.

Development of speaking and listening skills are given an extremely high priority in the school.

The school has adopted good practice as set down in the Renewed Literacy Framework.

The school library is supplemented by a regular exchange of books from the County Library stock. Books on specific topics are also provided.

Pupils receive a designated hour of literacy teaching each day. This may be linked to topic work or to an aspect of literacy from the Literacy Strategy.



KS1 Story Planning

Mathematics

Mathematics follows a planned course through the school in accordance with the National Curriculum guidelines. Pupils receive a designated hour of mathematics teaching each day. The school has adopted good practice as set down in the Renewed Mathematics Framework.
Care is taken to make the work challenging and suitable to each child’s aptitudes and abilities. Foundation/Key Stage 1 teaching concentrates on acquiring an understanding of number concepts and is delivered in a multi-sensory, practical ‘real-life’ way, making full use of the outdoor environment. The importance of basic computational skills is recognised and the children are encouraged to apply these to real life situations. Mental maths has a high priority and oral and mental skills are practised daily throughout the school.


Science

Science is planned to develop skills, attitudes, knowledge and understanding which will enable the child to comprehend the world in which we live. A large part of our science curriculum is practical where children are encouraged to observe, devise experiments and formulate hypotheses.
Children will have the opportunity to develop an understanding of concepts in the following areas:

• Life Processes
• Humans and Other Animals
• Green Plants
• Living Things in the Environment
• Materials and their Properties
• Electricity
• Forces and Motion
• Light and Sound
• The Earth and Beyond

Pupils will re-visit and develop understanding of these themes as they progress through the school.



Visit to the local trout farm as part of our life-cycles work in science

History and Geography

Local studies along with prescribed core elements of the National Curriculum guidelines form the programmes of work in History and Geography.
Visits to local shops, businesses, museums, historical sites, farms, rivers, seashore, etc., provide exciting starting points for children to begin to understand more about the past and the world in which we live.
Awareness of the contribution to the variety of life made by people from different cultural and ethnic backgrounds will also be included in the curriculum.



KS2 Visit the Ripon Workhouse Museum

Design and Technology

Food technology is a particular strength of the school. At KS2 all the pupils are given chance to develop their cooking skills on a regular basis.

All children are given opportunities to take part in designing and making activities; by the time they leave the primary stage, they will have experienced using a wide range of materials, tools and practised an equally wide range of skills. Activities will often relate to other subject areas such as Mathematics, Science, History and Geography. Children will learn to identify needs, to plan and evaluate their work, and to use materials and tools effectively.

Electrical toys designed by Year 5 and 6 pupils

Information, Communication Technology

ICT is taught both as a subject in its own right and through other curriculum areas. Activities will include word processing skills, data handling, simulations and language and mathematical games, etc.

At present the school has five P.C.s and five linked laptops for curriculum use. All workstations are part of a school network that enables the sharing of work and other files, and linked by a wireless network. The school has a broadband Internet connection, and this is used in conjunction with the school's guidelines to enable the children to research information and communicate using e-mail.

The school has a Smartboard in each of the three teaching areas.



Networked Laptops being used in KS1