Curriculum
Our Curriculum Vision
Fiddlers Lane Community Primary School is a collaborative school community where: every child belongs, achieves and succeeds; every child receives a first-class education and every child is prepared for a future of possibilities. Our curriculum is designed to achieve our school vision by being ambitious for all.
Curriculum Intent
Our school is in a small town called Irlam, which is located within the city of Salford. Salford has very high levels of deprivation and a large majority of our families live within Irlam or the neighbouring towns of Cadishead and Eccles. A number of our pupils come from homes where the challenges of low income and social deprivation have a significant impact on their personal and educational development. At Fiddlers Lane, our goal is to provide a ‘First Class Education’ for all our pupils and deliver a range of enriching experiences to ensure they are culturally literate. As a community primary school, our curriculum aims to utilise what the local community offers our pupils and create a sense of belonging within it. All staff and leaders set the expectation for a positive, caring attitude through the school so all our pupils know that they are valued.
After speaking to our pupils, staff and leaders, we aim to make our curriculum inclusive, fun and exciting, resulting in every child’s day being full of wonder, happiness and curiosity. Our curriculum aims to support our children to gain essential skills enabling them to achieve their dreams and be prepared for a life in modern Britain.
In addition to this, we want our pupils to:
- Have a strong foundation in reading, writing and maths.
- Have access to a language-rich environment.
- Learn how to be resilient members of our community who have high self-esteem and good mental well-being.
- Have pride in themselves and their work and have the confidence to articulate this to others.
- Learn how to be respectful to all members of society, showing honesty and celebrating the diversity of different cultures.
- Develop independence, self-discipline and responsibility.
Curriculum Subjects
Mathematics
Big dreams, bright futures!
Maths Vision
Everything around you is mathematics. Everything around you is numbers.”
– Shakuntala Devi.
At Fiddlers Lane Primary School, we want every child to achieve their full potential and have clear aspirations for their future mathematical adventures. We believe that every child has one chance at primary mathematic and should leave us well prepared for the next stage of their education and future life in modern Britain. Our Maths curriculum aims for every child’s maths journey to be full of wonder, happiness and curiosity.
Maths Intent
Our pupils are flexible thinkers who relish a challenge!
At Fiddlers Lane Primary School, we strive for Maths to be achievable for all; therefore, our curriculum builds on skills, knowledge and vocabulary in a step-by-step progressive way allowing pupils to experience success in the subject. This aspiration is for all pupils including disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND. We ensure our pupils build confidence and resilience within the subject and therefore they access learning and work in a collaborative environment, where misconception are teaching tools and all pupils follow ‘I do, we do, you do’ approach. This exciting journey begins in Reception – and earlier if they attend our nursery class.
Throughout our Maths curriculum, we aim for our children to be successful and proficient mathematicians and therefore we embrace the Mastery approach to teaching mathematic where pupils are required to make connections, explore maths in depth, use mathematical vocabulary to reason and explain their workings. A wide variety of mathematical resources are used and pupils are taught to show their workings in concrete, pictorial and abstract forms whenever suitable. They are taught to explain their choice of methods and develop their mathematic reasoning skills. Our teachers will ensure that mathematical skills, as well as the aims of the National Curriculum, are taught every day. In addition to daily mathematics lessons, we have daily number fluency work timetabled across KS1 and KS2, to ensure all children are confident and competent in core mathematical knowledge and skills.
At Fiddlers Lane Community Primary School, in conjunction with the aims of the National Curriculum and EYFS’s Development Matters, our key concepts and ideas are that all pupil should:
- Have a well-developed sense of the size of number and where it fits into the number system.
- Be taught through the concrete→ pictorial (representational) → abstract sequence to ensure they gain a thorough understanding of the mathematical concept/skill they are learning.
- Be fluent with key number facts such as numbers bonds, multiplication tables, double and halves.
- Recall and apply number facts to answer calculation accurately (mental and written).
- Be able to choose appropriate strategies
- Gain an ability to solve problems, to reason, to think logically and to work systematically and accurately.
- Make sense of number problems, including non-routine problems and identify the operations needed to solve them.
- Explain their methods and reasoning using correct mathematical terminology.
- Have the ability to connect key vocabulary with mathematical operations and concepts.
- Develop an argument, justification or proof of their answers by responding to questions such as ‘prove it ‘or ‘convince me’ and answering using statements such as ‘I know that…’
- Estimate whether their answers are reasonable by having strategies to check and good number sense.
- Explain and make predictions
- Develop spatial awareness and an understanding of the properties of 2D and 3D shapes.
- Gain a positive attitude and confidence towards mathematics.
- Have the ability to work independently and cooperatively with a partner or group.
English
Speaking and Listening
At Fiddlers Lane, we recognise that language provides the foundation of thinking and learning and underpins the development of reading and writing. We aim for children to be able to speak clearly, fluently and coherently, to be able to listen attentively with understanding, pleasure and empathy and contribute to group discussions effectively. From Nursery, right through to Year 6, we place a great emphasis on creating a language rich environment, using stories and conversations to develop vocabulary and understanding. ‘Book talk’ is woven into our curriculum in order to develop the quality of children’s spoken language – expanding their vocabulary and their understanding of both the spoken and written word.
Phonics
At Fiddlers Lane Primary School we strive to ensure that ‘every child is literate’ by the time they leave us. We aim to get all children high school ready and to equip them with the skills to access the world around them as members of society in modern Britain. All children have the right to high quality teaching and learning opportunities that help them develop these essential literacy skills, providing them with the opportunity to reach their potential whilst at school and after they leave. We place reading at the core of learning, and this is reflected through timetabling and the enjoyment created around reading based activities within our curriculum. Throughout the school week, our youngest children will engage in high quality phonics and begin to use phonetic approaches in reading, alongside a range of other reading strategies. As we progress through the year groups, children will engage in whole-class and independent reading activities which will develop their fluency skills and their comprehension skills. Reading feeds pupils’ imagination and can open a treasure-trove of wonder and joy for curious young minds. It is our aim that, by the end of their primary education, all pupils at Fiddlers Lane Primary School can read fluently, with confidence and be able to use these skills in the wider curriculum and beyond.
Phonics Intent:
Early Reading vision statement:
“At Fiddlers Lane Community Primary School, we strive to ensure that all children become successful, fluent readers by the end of Key Stage One and believe this is achievable through a combination of strong, high quality, discrete phonics teaching combined with opportunities for children to listen to a range of books read by an adult to promote fluency and language comprehension through a whole language approach that ensures a ‘Reading for Pleasure’ culture.
‘Phonics provides pupils with the building blocks they need to read fluently and confidently, as well as aiding future learning and giving them the tools they need to express themselves.’ (Nick Gibb, Schools Standards Minister 2018)
Intent
‘The ability to read is the key to educational achievement. Without a basic foundation in literacy, children cannot gain access to a rich and diverse curriculum. Poor literacy limits opportunities not only at school, but throughout life, both economically and in terms of a wider enjoyment and appreciation of the written word’. (Education and Skills Committee)
Therefore, in Fiddlers Lane we belief that all children should get the best teaching possible in this crucial area so we will deliver the important skills and knowledge of phonics through a combination of strong, high quality, discrete phonics teaching combined with a whole language approach which will ensure all children achieve and succeed to their highest potential.
Fiddlers Lane Primary School aims to reinforce a consistent, high quality approach to the teaching of phonics across the Early Years Foundation Stage, (EYFS,) Key Stage One and on into Key Stage Two for children who still need this further support.
Our main aims are:
- To teach children aural discrimination, phonemic awareness and rhyme to aid reading, writing and spelling development.
- To encourage the use of segmenting and blending so that decoding skills provide a sound foundation for reading, writing and spelling.
- To ensure the teaching of phonics is lively, interactive and investigative.
- To enable children to use phonic awareness across the curriculum.
- To ensure that children know the 44 phonemes within the English language.
- To teach children to recognise the graphemes within words and associate them with the appropriate phoneme when reading.
- To provide children with strategies to identify and decode ‘tricky words.’
Writing
The Fiddlers Lane writing curriculum is designed to provide a broad and balanced education that meets the needs of all children. It provides opportunities for children to develop as independent, confident and successful writers, with high aspirations, who know how to make a positive contribution to their community and the wider society.
Our intent is for all pupils – irrespective of their needs, abilities or background – to learn to write fluently, developing their own writer’s voice. We aim to meet, and where possible exceed, the expectations laid out in the Early Learning Goals and National Curriculum, with pupils progressing appropriately across school. We recognise that spoken language underpins the development of Writing. The quality of language that pupils hear and speak is vital for developing their vocabulary and grammar and their understanding Writing. We believe that children need to develop a secure knowledge-base in Literacy, which follows a clear pathway of progression as they advance through the primary curriculum. We believe that a secure basis in literacy skills is crucial to a high quality education and will give our children the tools they need to participate fully as a member of society.
We cultivate a love of Writing and communicating through vocabulary rich and high quality literature, using Ready Steady Write by Literacy Counts. By inspiring and developing an appreciation of our rich and varied literary heritage and providing meaningful and exciting provocations to write, we develop a habit of writing widely and often. We recognise the importance of nurturing a culture where children take pride in their Writing; can write clearly and accurately and adapt their language and style for a range of contexts.
Science
Science vision statement:
“At Fiddlers Lane Community Primary School, all of our children have a passion for science, a love for exploration and a thirst for knowledge that they carry with them out into the wider world.”
Intent
Because of our rapidly evolving world, at Fiddlers Lane Community Primary School, science is a vital part of our curriculum intention. We aim to provide a high quality science education, which provides the foundations for understanding of the world through the specific disciplines of biology, chemistry and physics. Science is concerned with increasing pupils’ knowledge of our world, and with developing skills associated with science as a process of enquiry.
Through teaching, we build up a body of key foundational knowledge and concepts. Our pupils are encouraged to recognise the power of rational explanation and develop a sense of excitement and curiosity about natural phenomena. They are encouraged to understand how science can develop an enquiring mind and analytical thinking skills through an enquiry based science curriculum. We recognise how science affects our lives, and is vital to the world’s future prosperity.
As one of the core subjects taught at primary level, we give the teaching and learning of science the prominence it deserves and our Our ambition is to ensure high achievement for all pupils, including disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND.
Geography
The Geography education at Fiddlers Lane aims to inspire in pupils a curiosity and fascination about our world and its people that will remain with them for the rest of their lives. From EYFS to year 6 we encourage enquiring minds and developing responsible attitudes are encouraged through making learning fun and engaging.
Our grounds give pupils opportunity to learn about mapping first hand including the use of our orienteering course.
Digital resources such as Digi Map enable pupils to compare different maps including historical maps of the local area.
We have drama visits from Freshwater Theatre company, Virtual Reality headset experience days and trips into the local area are used to supplement and further enhance the children’s learning of the wider world.
All our class libraries contain a wide range of quality fiction and non-fiction books linked to learning in geography, which encourage further reading and research.
History
At Fiddlers Lane we strive to provide a high-quality history education will help pupils gain a coherent knowledge and understanding of Britain’s past and that of the wider world. We aim to inspire pupils’ curiosity to know more about the past. Teaching equips pupils to ask perceptive questions, think critically, weigh evidence, sift arguments, and develop perspective and judgement. History helps pupils to understand the complexity of people’s lives, the process of change, the diversity of societies and relationships between different groups, as well as their own identity and the challenges of their time.
Some of the trips and visitors include Virtual Reality sessions; a visit to Chester for a Roman Day and handling ancient Egyptian artefacts at Manchester Museum. Artefacts help bring the history curriculum to life across all year groups.
PE
In our PE lessons, we aim to ensure pupils are confident, safe and enjoy a wide range of physical activities. The objective of this breadth of opportunity is to enable pupils to discover their own aptitudes and preferences for different physical activities and sports – through an equal balance of dance, games and gymnastic activities.
During physical activities children should develop skill, knowledge and understanding and positive attitudes towards physical activity. They can also develop ideas in a creative way, selecting and applying skills and tactics. By setting targets for themselves; competing – individually and in team situations – opportunities can also be exploited to raise self-esteem and a sense of fair play and sportsmanship.
P.E. offers chances for children to understand what it takes to persevere, succeed and acknowledge others’ successes. We believe that enjoyment should be central to physical education so that positive attitudes to participation can be nurtured whilst developing the skills of balance, coordination and agility, along with strength and stamina.
Music
At Fiddlers Lane Primary School, we value music as a powerful and unique form of communication that can impact upon the way pupils feel, think and act. It increases self-discipline, creativity, aesthetic sensitivity and helps people connect with history, culture and the wider world. Participating in music connects people and creates a sense of achievement which is essential to raising self-esteem.
In the early years’ pupils enjoy singing a range of well-known nursery rhymes and songs. Pupils perform songs, rhymes, poems and stories with others, and enjoy moving in time with music.
For year1 1-6 we use the ‘Charanga’ Musical School Scheme to deliver the National Curriculum. We use ‘Charanga’s’ vast library of songs, resources and listening activities to celebrate the world’s greatest music. In ks2 children have the opportunity to work with MAPAS (Music and Performing Arts Salford) They provide weekly whole class instrumental tuition and the children’s work culminates in a live performance at the Lowry Theatre.
Skills they have learnt during music lessons in year 4 are built on in years 5 and 6 as pupils continue to develop their performance skills using glockenspiels.
During KS music assemblies, children get opportunities to sing and listen to a broad range of music from different times and cultures.
Computing
At Fiddlers Lane we believe that every child should have the right to a computing curriculum that champions excellence; supporting pupils in achieving to the very best of their abilities. From nursery to year 6, we understand the immense value technology plays not only in supporting the Computing and whole school curriculum but overall in the day-to-day life of our school. We believe that technology can provide: enhanced collaborative learning opportunities; better engagement of pupils; easier access to rich content; support conceptual understanding of new concepts and can support the needs of all our pupils. To deliver this we use a scheme called Purple Mash.
The scheme of work supports our teachers in delivering fun and engaging lessons which help to raise standards and allow all pupils to achieve to their full potential. We are confident that the scheme of work more than adequately meets the national vision for Computing.
Online safety also has a high profile in our school. We ensure that we have a relevant up-to-date online safety curriculum from EYFS to Y6 and an online safety policy which clearly states how monitoring of online safety is undertaken and how any incidents are dealt with.
Art
At Fiddlers Lane Primary School, our children are artists!
We encourage our children to love art, craft and design by providing an Art curriculum that is designed to engage, inspire and challenge pupils, whilst equipping them with the knowledge and skills to be able to experiment, invent and create their own works of art. Our curriculum is accessible to all abilities, enabling children to grow in confidence in their own skills and develop and express themselves as individual artists.
In EYFS pupils use and explore a variety of materials, tools and techniques, experimenting with colour, design, texture, form and function.
As pupils progress, they should gain a deeper understanding of how Art and Design reflects and shapes our history, and how it contributes to the culture, creativity and wealth of our world. We want our children to use the local area as inspiration, to learn from other cultures and to respect diversity. Therefore, we have carefully selected a wide range of unique and diverse artists, craft makers and designers for children to study and have planned opportunities for children to visit the Art galleries and museums of our surrounding areas such as ‘The Lowry’ and ‘Salford Museum’.
Religious Education
R.E teaching at Fiddlers Lane contributes dynamically to children’s education by provoking challenging questions about meaning and purpose in life, beliefs about God, ultimate reality, issues of right and wrong and what it means to be human. In nursery and reception, pupils begin their journey by discussing exploring different religious, using their own experiences and stories shared in class.
Through KS1 and KS2 in R.E, children learn about and from religions and worldviews in local, national and global contexts, to discover, explore and consider different answers to these questions. They learn to weigh up the value of wisdom from different sources, to develop and express their insights in response, and to agree or disagree respectfully. Our teaching therefore equips pupils with systematic knowledge and understanding of a range of religions and worldviews, enabling them to develop their ideas, values and identities. It develops in pupils an aptitude for dialogue so that they can participate positively in our society, with its diverse religions and worldviews.
At Fiddlers Lane Primary School, we follow the Salford Agreed Syllabus through which children learn to articulate clearly and coherently their personal beliefs, ideas, values and experiences while respecting the right of others to differ. To develop the children’s understanding of different places of worship, such as local churches and synagogues. We also hold our Christmas Carol Service at St. Paul’s Church in Irlam.
PHSE
PSHE underpins life at Fiddlers Lane Primary School. We believe that nurturing happy and heathy children is central to all aspects of their learning and development. We believe that children should acquire the ability to make informed, healthy and moral choices in their lives and it is our view that children should feel empowered to play a positive role in the school and the wider environment.
The school has a powerful combination of a planned thematic PSHE program which is designed to:
- Know and understand what constitutes a healthy lifestyle
- Develop confidence and self esteem
- Develop healthy relationships with other member of the school and wider community and understand what constitutes a good relationship
- Have the knowledge, skills and attitudes to make informed choices
- Be aware of safety issues
- Have respect for others
- Be an independent and responsible member of the community
At Fiddlers Lane, PSHE is taught in a variety of ways. In Early years, from their first day at school, we focus on developing pupils’ understanding of their own feelings and those of others, building up their confidence and rising to challenges. We encourage all pupils to work co-operatively, take turns and show sensitivity to the needs of others.
In KS1 and KS2 some of the PSHE curriculum is delivered though other subjects such as literacy, science; or P.E. We also have weekly PSHE lessons where high quality, evidence-based and age-appropriate teaching helps prepare pupils for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of adult life.
PSHE is also developed through school events such as assemblies, visitors and themed weeks. Our residential visits focus on developing pupil’s self-esteem and giving the opportunities to develop leadership and co-operative skills. We also appreciate that many aspects of PSHE learning occur unplanned, such as, incidents arising in class and current world events.
PSHE at Fiddlers Lane Primary helps enable children to become confident, independent members of society with an awareness of their rights and responsibilities as individuals and as part of a diverse society.