Curriculum Subjects

Art

By the end of year 6 we want the children at Wharncliffe Side Primary School to be able to:

• Enjoy creating pieces of art.
• Be able to use a range of different art techniques.
• Express themselves through art.
• Express their thoughts about a particular piece of art using the language of art e.g. line, tone, form, space, texture.

 Art and Design stimulates creativity and imagination, in addition to promoting personal, social, moral and cultural understanding. It provides visual, tactile and sensory experiences and a unique way of understanding and responding to the world.  Understanding, appreciation and enjoyment of the visual arts have the power to enrich our lives.

At the centre of our art and design curriculum are the basics of painting, drawing, textiles, collage, printing and sculpture. Children in KS2 have the opportunity to complete at least 1 project in each of the six areas in LKS2 and UKS2. Children in KS1 have the opportunity to complete 1 project in painting, textiles, collage, printing and sculpture and 2 projects in drawing. Where possible, the projects are linked to the class’ current topic, but if necessary, the art and design lessons will be taught discreetly.

We give children various opportunities throughout the year to take part in art competitions such as designing Christmas cards for our local councillor and entering the Sheffield Young Artist competition. Through these events, the children have the opportunity to have their work displayed for members of the public, and attend events celebrating art at the Town Hall.

Computing

Our intent is for all our pupils to be confident users of technology. Technology is everywhere and will play a pivotal part in our pupil’s future. Therefore, we want to model and educate our pupils on how to use technology positively and creatively but most importantly responsibly and safely.

We want our pupils to be creators and our broad curriculum which encompasses computational thinking, information technology and digital literacy reflects this. We also want to educate our pupils on the importance of online safety, which is a thread that runs through both our computing curriculum and RSHE curriculum.

Our bespoke, knowledge rich curriculum, has been made in line with our mixed year group classes to be balanced, with the opportunity for pupils to apply their knowledge in a unique way year upon year.

Computing is an essential part of the school timetable, however we encourage staff to try and embed computing across the whole curriculum to make learning creative and accessible for all. We want our pupils to be fluent with a range of tools to best express their understanding and hope by Upper Key Stage 2, children have the independence and confidence to choose the best tool to fulfil the task and challenge set by teachers. We also hope this approach benefits our larger than average SEND cohorts, with provisions made evident in classrooms and the integrated resource unit.

We encourage our pupils to enjoy and value the curriculum we deliver. We want them to discuss and reflect on their learning, offering ideas and suggestions where they feel it could be expanded for their current need. This is why we have subject ambassadors and hold termly pupil voice meetings to feedback current issues or changes within technology both in the curriculum and in their personal lives.

We encourage our pupils to find the balance with technology to promote a healthy lifestyle and use technology to support well-being rather than it hinder it. We promote Safer Internet Day and share this message with both pupils and parents. Our ambassadors are always on hand to offer advice on using technology safely and sharing any concerns with staff.

We also showcase pupils learning through our social media platforms, YouTube channel and through our class scrapbooks.

Design & Tech

By the end of year 6 we want the children at Wharncliffe Side Primary School to be able to:

• Plan, make and evaluate.
• Be able to use a range of different design technology techniques.
• Use a design brief.
• Express their thoughts about a particular product, expressing what they like, and suggesting improvements.

All children at Wharncliffe Side School study design technology through practical, challenging, and safe activities. Our school is committed to the highest standards of pupil achievement based on positive attitudes where children learn to question, and seek explanations.

At the centre of our design technology curriculum are the strands of structures, mechanisms, cooking and nutrition, and electrical systems (KS2 only), programming (Oak). Children have the opportunity to complete at least 1 project in each of these areas each key stage (KS1, LKS2, UKS2). Where possible, the projects are linked to the class’ current topic, but if necessary, the design technology lessons will be taught discreetly. Progression in design technology consists of building on transferable skills such as planning, making and evaluating, as well as learning increasingly difficult techniques and working with increasingly challenging media.

English

At Wharncliffe Side, we use a Mastery approach to embed reading, writing and speaking and listening skills into everything we do. Our English curriculum aims to develop language skills in four different areas: reading, writing, speaking and listening. We aim to provide our pupils with a wide experience of literature throughout the Foundation Stage and into Key Stages 1 and 2. English is an integral part of our whole curriculum. We want all our children to learn to speak, read and write with confidence, skill, fluency and understanding, enabling them to become independent, confident and creative learners.
We teach children the mechanics of writing through transcription and SPaG (spelling, punctuation and grammar) so that the children have the knowledge to be able to write cohesively and fluently. We expose the children to a wide range of high-quality texts which the children then use as a model for their own writing. We aim to develop children’s life-long love of reading.

Each term, there is a focus on both narrative and non-fiction texts. Poetry is also a key part of our English curriculum.

Phonics and Early Reading
We teach phonics and early reading using Little Wandle Letters and Sounds. Please follow this link to see the ‘Support for Parents’ area of their website.

https://www.littlewandlelettersandsounds.org.uk/resources/for-parents/ 

When children have competed the Little Wandle Letters and Sounds programme they join our Spelling Programme (usually in Year 2).

EYFS

Our EYFS setting is made up of a nursery class and a reception/Y1 class. We also have a nursery Integrated Resource provision.

We pride ourselves on our core values ‘Inclusivity, Independence, Nurturing, Resilience and Collaboration’. Some examples of what we do include:

• Parent partnerships – such as parent workshops in both the settings for you to come and join in the children’s learning, an online observation tool (Tapestry) to keep parents informed of children’s targets with photos and evidence of what we have been doing in the EYFS and regular parents meetings.
• School readiness – with nursery as part of the main school we have a progressive curriculum and strong transitional links to prepare children for starting reception at Wharncliffe Side and other settings.
• Yearly trips and visitors including trips to the seaside and animal encounters.
• Forest schools – outdoor sessions learning about and exploring our wonderful woodland grounds.
• Little Wandle phonics – as early reading and phonics are at the heart of our learning to prepare our children to become readers by the end of reception!
• Dedicated group time sessions in literacy, maths and cross curricular activities covering a wide range of exciting topics.

We have also carefully designed broad and balanced nursery and reception curriculums which incorporate the 7 areas of learning to encourage independent, inquisitive and happy learners. We recognise children’s prior learning and various starting points, to build on from and lead to the next stage in their development.  We have created a holistic approach that maximises cross-curricular links and builds strong foundations for their future.

There is a balance of child initiated and adult directed activities throughout the day to support learning and development. In addition to this each child has their own set of targets for each term that are tracked and supported by their key workers and evidenced through Tapestry.

We follow children’s interests and ideas to foster a lifelong love of learning both in and outside of school.

Our inclusive approach means that all children learn together, including those from our integrated resource units. We also use a range of additional interventions to support, enhance and scaffold children who may not be reaching their potential.

Visits to our beautiful setting are encouraged!

Please see: ‘All about Nursery’ page on our ‘About us’ tab on the website for more information on applying for our nursery. 

All early years funding accepted.

Geography

At Wharncliffe Side Primary School, our Geography curriculum aims to inspire curiosity, wonder and respect in relation to our local, national and international environments.  We provide opportunities for all children to expand and deepen their knowledge, understanding and interest in Geography through inspirational teaching in a safe, supportive and nurturing environment.

Within the teaching of Geography, children will gain comprehensive knowledge, skills and understanding about our locality, our city, our country and our world, helping to provoke and provide answers to questions about natural and human aspects of the world. Our intent is to:

• Inspire a curiosity and fascination about the world and people within it
• Promote the children’s interest and understanding of diverse places, people, resources and natural and human environments
• Develop a deep understanding of the Earth’s key physical and human processes.

Through our Geography teaching, children are encouraged to develop a greater understanding and knowledge of the world, as well as their place in it. They gain knowledge and skills that are transferrable to other curriculum areas and can be used to promote their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. As pupils progress through Wharncliffe Side Primary School, their growing knowledge about the world helps them to deepen their understanding of the interaction between physical and human processes, and of the formation and use of landscapes and environments. Geography is taught as part of our cross curricular topics. The sessions build on previous knowledge and also enable children to revisit our key concepts listed below and also build upon these.

Children will develop an understanding of the physical and natural process that shape our landscapes and how humans’ impact on the land and environment. They will develop an understanding of how to use maps and build knowledge of significant locations and places so they better understand the world in which they live. They will learn how to compare where they live to other places in the world by widening their knowledge of different regions of our planet.

History

We are a school of historians. We aim to develop a passion for history as it explains the society and the world around us. It challenges and promotes the social, spiritual, moral and cultural understanding of the world around us and how our society has developed. Our units of study are based on historical eras and concepts such as significant events such the Battle of Britain or the Romans. We focus on the local areas to encourage children’s curiosity about the community they live in both through the local community, the city, country and continent we live in and the wider world.

Our children explore the past, developing a historical curiosity and understanding of why the past can be interpreted in different ways. We strive to encourage questioning and investigating different eras of the past and the links between them. The children learn to challenge their own ideas and others through historical enquiry using a range of sources including high quality teaching, trips and visits, looking at primary and secondary sources and themed days. Our curriculum encourages children to explore topics and themes through methods such as thoughtful discussion, questioning and analysis.

We develop and build on the key areas and concepts of history and linking them through the different topics taught by different classes. All the children will cover all the areas and concepts, regardless of the route they follow through the school, by comparing and contrasting different historical topics.

By the time children leave our school they will be able to:

• Have an understanding of the world and society around them and how it has developed.
• Have developed their understanding of how the past can be interpreted.
• Have developed their conceptual understanding of links between historical themes.
• Become increasingly critical and analytical within their thinking.
• Have a further understanding of History on a local level and on a wider scale.
• Make connections between what they have learned and what they are currently learning.
• Be increasingly curious and reflect on their own lines of enquiry and areas of interest.

Maths

At Wharncliffe Side we recognise that Maths is a creative and highly interconnected discipline that is essential to everyday life. We value Maths and wish our children to appreciate, enjoy and be curious about this subject.

We aim for children to:
– become fluent in the fundamentals of maths and be able to rapidly apply their knowledge
– use their mathematical knowledge to reason and solve problems
– develop arguments and justifications using mathematical language

Our teachers follow the White Rose Maths scheme to inform and plan lessons. The White Rose website also offers advice to parents in supporting your child. https://whiteroseeducation.com/parent-pupil-resources/maths 
Children’s journey in Maths is mapped using a progression document. This outlines the steps in learning in each year group and how each step is built upon.

Our school works with the National Centre for Excellence in Mathematics (NCETM) Maths Hub to develop our mastery approach in this subject.

We believe that children’s chances of success are maximised if they develop deep and lasting understanding of mathematical procedures and concepts.

We believe in these underpinning principles of mastery:

• Mathematics teaching for mastery assumes everyone can learn and enjoy mathematics.
• Mathematical learning behaviours are developed such that pupils focus and engage fully as learners who reason and seek to make connections.
• Teachers continually develop their specialist knowledge for teaching mathematics, working collaboratively to refine and improve their teaching.
• Curriculum design ensures a coherent and detailed sequence of essential content to support sustained progression over time.
(Source: NCETM.org.uk)

MFL

At Wharncliffe Side Primary School we aspire for all children to develop a love of languages and to expand their horizons to other countries, cultures and people. Ultimately it is our desire to help children grow into enthusiastic, confident, resilient and reflective language learners and to provide them with a foundation that will equip them for further language studies.

To do this we offer weekly Spanish lessons, incorporate Spanish into routines and transitions throughout the day and have a whole school celebration day for European Languages Day.

Our carefully chosen scheme of work builds on prior learning and allows opportunities for revision of language and grammar before introducing new skills. Essentially it incorporates the 3 pillars of language learning: Phonics, vocabulary and grammar and provides themes that give children practical introductions to the culture of Spanish-speaking countries and communities with regular opportunities to listen to native speakers. The aim is to ensure that children have the opportunities to broaden and deepen their linguistic knowledge and to improve retention and embed learning in long-term memory.

By the time children leave Wharncliffe Side they will be able to:

• Listen attentively & show understanding by joining in & responding in conversations, using questioning and seeking clarification and help
• Explore the patterns & sounds of language through songs & rhymes & link the spelling, sound & meaning of words;
• Speak in sentences, using familiar vocabulary, phrases and basic language structures;
• Develop accurate pronunciation and intonation so that others understand when they are reading aloud or using familiar words and phrases;
• Present ideas and information orally to a range of audiences;
• Read carefully and show understanding of words, phrases and simple writing;
• Appreciate stories, songs, poems and rhymes in the language;
• Broaden their vocabulary and develop their ability to understand new words that are introduced into familiar written material, including through using a dictionary;
• Write phrases from memory, and adapt these to create new sentences, to express ideas clearly;
• Describe people, places, things and actions orally and in writing;
• Understand basic Spanish grammar, how to apply it and how it differs from or is similar to English.
• Feel confident and excited to continue their Spanish learning in KS3.

Music

At Wharncliffe Side we highly value the importance of music and we ensure that we provide opportunities for every child to experience singing and playing instruments together. Music is powerful in evoking and expressing feelings. Enjoying music together is our key aim. We are a musical school.

At the basis of our music is our love of singing. Children sing with enthusiasm, whether this be solos, as part of a small group, class or entire school. KS2 children have weekly singing sessions led by a specialist singing tutor. Children in Foundation stage and KS1 sing as part of their music sessions and as a class or Key Stage in readiness for performances.

We believe that every child should have the opportunity to learn an instrument and that this is best taught as a class or year group where all the children can learn and perform together. Every class learns an instrument together (taught by each class teacher). This ranges from percussion instruments in Ash class, to ukuleles in Oak class. In Sycamore class, the children learn violins (taught by a peripatetic music specialist).

We celebrate our musical talents each year with and end of year summer concert for parents.

RE

Religious education has an important place in the curriculum at Wharncliffe Side. The 1988 Education Act states that ‘Religious Education has equal standing in relation to core subjects of the National Curriculum in that it is compulsory for all registered pupils’.

As a school we have adopted the Sheffield Agreed Syllabus for RE 2024-2029 which also incorporates the curriculum ‘Understanding Christianity’.

The principal aim of religious education is to explore what people believe and what difference this makes to how they live, so that pupils can gain the knowledge, understanding and skills needed to handle questions raised by religion and belief, reflecting on their own ideas and ways of living.

RE teaching and learning should enable pupils to …

1. make sense of a range of religious and nonreligious beliefs
2. understand the impact and significance of religious and nonreligious beliefs
3. make connections between religious and non-religious beliefs, concepts, practices and ideas studied

Through our Religious Education curriculum at Wharncliffe Side we:

• Engage pupils in enquiring into and exploring questions arising from the study of religion and belief, so as to promote their personal, spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.
• Provide learners with knowledge and understanding of Christianity and other principal religious such as Islam, Judaism and Hinduism.
• Develop their understanding of the ways in which beliefs influence people in their behaviour, practices and outlook.
• Enable learners to become aware of their own beliefs and values.
• Encourage learners to develop a positive attitude towards other people who hold religious beliefs different from their own.

At Wharncliffe Side we have close connections with Brightholmlee Methodist Church and visit each Christmas as a school We also have regular visits from religious leaders to deliver assemblies.

RSHE

Our school follows the Sheffield RSHE (Relationships, Sex & Health Education) scheme. This was written in 2020 following new guidance that was released at the time.

There are 3 key themes in the scheme which are rotated on a half-termly basis (with a different focus each time). These are:

• Health & Wellbeing
• Relationships
• Living in the Wider World

Topics cover a range of content; such as what makes a good friend, how to prevent bullying, online safety, family dynamics and more (see overview below for more information). Sex education is covered in Y6 and parents do have the right to withdraw their children from this if required.

Although there is no strict structure of the lessons in this curriculum, there are recurring pedagogical themes that are used throughout:

High quality stimuli

Most lessons are built on an engaging ‘hook’, such as a picture book, video or image. By using narrative or visual catalysts, the chance of all children taking part in the lesson is increased.

Discussion

Each lesson is designed to promote discussion around a key question. Because of the nature of RSHE, children should come away with a deep and nuanced understanding of the topics discussed, rather than a list of rules to be followed. Children are encouraged to question why such rules might exist, in order that they will become adults, who feel empowered to make their own decisions around issues of interpersonal relationships, morality, health and wellbeing.

Flexibility

Teachers are encouraged to be flexible in their approach to these RSHE lessons. Wherever appropriate, tangents should be followed and children given opportunities to share their own thoughts and hear those of others. RSHE lessons should be exploratory and allow children to test their own opinions in a safe environment, where they feel listened to.

Diversity and inclusion

At the foundation of RSHE teaching should be the celebration of diversity and the promotion of inclusion. School staff should be mindful that their own opinions and faith may not be the same as those in the communities that they serve. It is important to balance the right of people to their own beliefs with the right of people to be free from discrimination.

Links to PSHE and Citizenship

This curriculum covers all objectives for RSHE, PSHE and Citizenship covered in the following documents:

RSHE Statutory guidance (DfE – 2019)

PSHE Programme of Study (PSHE Association 2020)

Citizenship Non-Statutory Guidance (DfE – 2015)