Greenfylde Church of England First School.

The National Curriculum- A Guide for Parents.

Key Stages

A pupil's time spent within education is divided in to 'Key Stages'.

Foundation Stage    Ages 3-4               Pre-School and Reception

Key Stage 1            Ages 5-7               Years 1-2

Key Stage 2           Ages 7-11               Years 3-6

Key Stage 3           Ages 11-14             Years 7-9

Key Stage 4           Ages 14-16             Years 10-11

The Foundation Stage covers the two years before Year 1. In Somerset schools this incorporates the Reception Year. Children legally have to start school in the September after their 5^th birthday. Here, they start in the September after their 4^th birthday.

At Greenfylde, children leave us half way through Key Stage 2 to move to Swanmead.

The Curriculum

The Foundation Stage has its own curriculum, which dovetails in to that which follows. It has Early Learning Objectives, designed to be attained by the end of Year R. The children are assessed using the Foundation Stage Profile.

The National Curriculum has ten subjects that apply to Key stages 1 and 2.

These are:-   The Core Subjects of :-

                   English

                   Mathematics

                   Science

                   Information and Communication Technology

                   The Foundation Subjects of :-

                   History

                   Geography

                   Physical Education

                   Music

                   Design and Technology

                   Art and design

Religious Education is also a Core Subject, but does not follow a National Curriculum, the content being decided more locally.

Citizenship is also a requirement.

Attainment Targets

Each Subject is sub-divided in to Attainment Targets. Examples are:-

English-        EN1:Speaking and Listening

                   EN2:Reading

                   EN3:Writing

Maths-         MA1:Using and Applying maths

                   MA2:Number

                   MA3:Shape, Space and Measure

                   MA4:Handling Data        

Science-       SC1:Scientific Enquiry

                   SC2:Life Processes and Living Things

                   SC3:Materials and Their Properties

                   SC4:Physical Processes

Programmes of Study

The National Curriculum outlines a Programme of Study for each subject and attainment target. A brief summary of these can be found within the Curriculum Section of this website. These are not directly usable as schemes of work, but teachers will use them to form the basis of their plans.

The QCA have produced Schemes of Work attached to the National Curriculum which schools can use if they so wish.

At Greenfylde, we obviously have to liaise closely with Swanmead when planning the curriculum at Key Stage 2, to ensure that children do not repeat units of work.

Level Descriptors

A scale of level descriptors is provided to help assess children's progress through the National Curriculum. These start at Level 1 and go to 6 and beyond. Level Descriptors for Levels 1 to 5, English and Mathematics, are available within the Curriculum Section of this website.

SATs

Standard Assessment Tests are done by pupils in Years 6 and 9. These assess the child's attainment against the 'Levels'.  In Year 2, they now form part of the assessments teachers use to form a judgement on a child's progress at the end of Key Stage 1. At the end of Year 2, teachers will use their knowledge of the child, backed up by assessments such as SATs, to arrive at a Teacher Assessment for the child. This will be reported to parents.

Other Requirements of the Curriculum

Teaching and learning also has to reflect and promote the following:-

Personal, Social and Health Education, plus Citizenship.

Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural Development.

A variety of skills, e.g. working with others.

Literacy and Numeracy Strategies

These are not statutory within the National Curriculum, but are advisory. You would have to be able to strongly justify not using them when inspected by OfSTED. Their aim was to raise standards.

Curriculum Planning

Schools will usually have three levels of curriculum planning.

1. Long term. An overview of the curriculum across year groups and key stages to ensure that the National Curriculum is being met.
2. Medium Term. Plans for a term or half-term, or maybe a shorter unit of work. These will be much more detailed.
3. Short term. These will be weekly (or sometimes daily or lesson plans) and will be detailed. They will include Learning Objectives for the lesson or series of lessons.

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