Please click on the arrows below to access further information about each of our curriculum subjects.
Our children begin to develop their skills and understanding of art within the Early Years Foundation Stage (Reception Class). Through exploring imaginatively, our children make choices, develop self-expression and engage with a wide range of art, craft and design learning experiences. As children move through the different age phases, we continue to apply these principles to provide a high quality art curriculum that enables all pupils to develop secure knowledge, understanding and skills linked to a wide range of artists and designers and the techniques they use.
Each year group focuses on a range of projects where they explore different ways in which their ideas and imaginings can be realised and communicated. Children develop an appreciation of the importance of experimentation, trial and error, original thought and self-expression. As children move through school, they find connections between the different projects and make links between the work of significant artists, craftspeople and designers.
Our curriculum aims to develop children’s understanding of the big ideas of art and their ability to work artistically.
We use the Cornerstones Curriculum to enhance our art offer.
Our computing curriculum aims to equip our children to become digitally literate with the knowledge, skills and understanding they need to thrive in the digital world of today and the future. At Unsworth, we use Purple Mash to enhance our curriculum offer for Computing. Through our curriculum, children will gain the ability to express themselves and develop their ideas through the use of information and communication technology. Our children have the opportunity to independently use and apply the taught skills throughout the curriculum. This enables our children to confidently make decisions about which technology can best match their needs.
Computing is taught throughout all areas and subjects from Reception to Year 6, with an emphasis on children learning how to choose the technology that will enhance their learning. The computing curriculum is broken down into 3 strands: computer science, information technology and digital literacy.
Through our curriculum pupils will begin to:
· Understand and apply the fundamental principles and concepts of computer science, including abstraction, logic, algorithms and data representation (computer science).
· Analyse problems in computational terms and have repeated practical experience of writing computer programs in order to solve such problems (computer science).
· Evaluate and apply information technology, including new or unfamiliar technologies, analytically to solve problems (information technology).
· Demonstrate they are responsible, competent, confident and creative users of information and communication technology (digital literacy).
We use Purple Mash to enhance our Computing offer.
Design and Technology prepares children to take part in the development of tomorrow’s rapidly changing world. Creative thinking encourages children to make positive changes to their quality of life. Our design and technology curriculum include a range of projects, which are well sequenced and provide a clear progression enabling children to develop their designing, planning, making and evaluating skills.
From EYFS to Year 6, our Design and Technology projects encourage children to:
· Select from and use a wide range of materials and components, including construction materials, textiles and ingredients, according to their characteristics.
· Identify needs and opportunities and respond to developing ideas, creating their own innovative products and systems.
· Be creative problem solvers, both as individuals and as part of a team.
· Combine practical skills with an understanding of aesthetic, social and environmental issues, as well as functions and industrial practices.
· Reflect on and evaluate present and past design and technology, its uses and its impacts.
· Become informed consumers and potential innovators.
Our inspiring and progressive curriculum allows children to apply their technical knowledge through their creative journey allowing them to design, make and evaluate their own products.
We use the Cornerstones Curriculum to enhance our Design and Technology offer.
Our EYFS curriculum at Unsworth ensures that children have opportunities to learn during their play, as well as teacher led learning. We identify the key knowledge and vocabulary that children will learn and ensure they are exposed to this through a variety of experiences and opportunities.
Our EYFS staff are highly skilled at supporting children’s early development, creating a language rich environment and ensuring progress and success for all children. The EYFS offer combines the EYFS framework, as well as preparing children to access the National Curriculum when they move into Year 1.
The subject areas within EYFS do not always match the traditional subjects taught through the National Curriculum, but links are made where possible to ensure that there is clear progression for children to be able to build on their knowledge as they move through school. We believe that this EYFS curriculum offers a strong foundation for this to happen.
Our pupils begin their learning in geography within the Early Years Foundation Stage (Reception Class) by developing their understanding of their own environment and their place within it through exploration and play. This enables them to develop key knowledge and vocabulary through themes within ‘understanding the world’ which prepares them to access the geography content as they progress through school. At each age phase, we continue to apply these principles to provide a high quality geography curriculum to inspire our pupils to be curious about the world and its people. Through our curriculum, pupils develop their knowledge of the local area and more distant places and people; the natural and human environments and the Earth’s key physical and human processes. As pupils progress through school, their growing knowledge about the world helps them to deepen their understanding of the interaction between physical and human processes, including how landscapes and environments are used. Pupils also develop a range of geographical skills which enable them to understand how the Earth’s features at different scales are shaped, interconnected and change over time.
Through each of the geography themes, pupils study various places and processes, from the rivers in the local area and coastlines in Liverpool, to the cities and mountain ranges in different countries around the world. Each year group focuses on two units of work, which include learning key geographical knowledge (the big ideas) and developing disciplinary ideas (use of geographical tools) to investigate the ever-changing world. The development of spoken language (including key vocabulary) and the application of reading and writing, which are important aspects of the geography curriculum, support all learners to articulate the big ideas clearly and precisely.
Our curriculum aims to develop pupils’ understanding of the 10 big ideas of geography. Through using their knowledge, the evidence gathered through exciting fieldwork and exploring and analysing a variety of sources (including maps, diagrams, globes, aerial photographs) pupils develop an understanding of distant places and the diversity in its people, beyond their own immediate environment and experiences.
We use the Cornerstones Curriculum to enhance our offer.
Our pupils begin their learning in history in the Early Years Foundation Stage (Reception Class) through playing, exploring and thinking critically. This enables them to develop key knowledge and vocabulary through themes within ‘understanding the world’ which prepares them to access the history content as they progress through school. At each age phase, we continue to apply these principles to provide a high quality history curriculum that makes pupils curious about life in the past. Through our curriculum, pupils develop secure historical knowledge of significant events and individuals, representing a rich and diverse account of British and world history. As pupils progress through school, they develop their understanding of key historical concepts, such as chronology, cause and effect, similarity and difference, significance and hierarchy.
Through our history curriculum, pupils have the opportunity to explore significant historical events, people (including those from our local area such as Robert Peel) and places (Liverpool’s slaving port). In each year, pupils focus on two units of work, which include concepts of historical knowledge (the big ideas) and the key disciplinary ideas of how historians work to investigate the past. The development of spoken language (including key vocabulary) and the application of reading and writing, which are an important aspect of the history curriculum, are developed to support all learners to articulate the big ideas clearly and precisely.
Our curriculum aims to develop pupils’ understanding of our 10 big ideas of history. Through using their historical knowledge, exploring how archaeologists gather evidence through using a range of historical sources and artefacts (including interviews, diaries, letters, journals, speeches, autobiographies, artefacts, photographs and witness statements) and asking perceptive questions to evaluate, pupils develop their skills in interpreting the past and building a picture of why historical events and people are deemed significant.
We use the Cornerstones Curriculum to enhance our offer.
Mathematics plays a key role in a child’s development. Very young children are naturally curious, noticing differences in quantity and the shape of objects, and use early mathematical concepts when they play. Mathematical understanding helps children make sense of the world around them, interpret situations, and solve problems in everyday life, whether that’s understanding time, sharing objects with their peers, or counting in play.
Our children begin their maths journey within the Early Years Foundation Stage (Reception) and as they move through the different age phases, we continue to apply these principles to provide a high quality maths curriculum that enables all pupils to attain a sound understanding of mathematics. The skills the children learn at school help them with everyday life.
Each year group focuses on various units of work which includes key concepts of maths knowledge. The aims are to ensure that all children:
- become fluent in the fundamentals of mathematics, including through varied and frequent practice with increasingly complex problems over time, so that pupils develop conceptual understanding and the ability to recall and apply knowledge rapidly and accurately.
- reason mathematically by following a line of enquiry, conjecturing relationships and generalisations and developing an argument, justification or proof using mathematical language.
- can solve problems by applying their mathematics to a variety of routine and nonroutine problems with increasing
sophistication, including breaking down problems into a series of simpler steps and persevering in seeking solutions.
Dedicated time is timetabled to focus on mathematics each day. Teachers use the White Rose Maths in daily lessons and also to set pre-quizzes and post quizzes. These assessments provide teachers with information about what pupils do and do not know to build upon pupils’ existing knowledge and understanding, inform the planning of future lessons and is the focus of targeted support. White Rose is supplemented with Power Maths, which is aligned to the White Rose Maths progressions and schemes of learning. Power Maths is available for teachers to use whenever required; for example, for a starter to a particular lesson or for introducing a new concept, or to set games and activities for home learning.
In lessons, manipulatives (physical objects) and representations (such as number lines and graphs) are used to encourage discussions and teach a specific concept. These manipulatives act as a ‘scaffold’, and support the concrete-pictorial-abstract approach towards independence.
From our Early Year Foundation Stage (Reception) to Year 6, we want all our children to love music and know how it can enhance their life. We want them to experience a high-quality music curriculum that allows them to develop this understanding and realise their talents as musicians.
We believe that music can boost self-confidence. Our children will have the opportunity to engage with a wide range of musical styles and to have experience of composing and performing their own music arrangements. We want our children to engage critically with musical activities.
Our children will have the chance to compose and listen to a wide range of music from a range of historical periods, genres, styles and traditions, including the works of the great composers and musicians. They will learn to play a range of instruments from rhythm notation cards and music scores, including those created themselves. We will support them to develop the confidence to learn to sing and to use their voices, to create and compose music on their own and with others, to have the opportunity to learn a musical instrument, to use technology appropriately and have the opportunity to progress to the next level of musical excellence.
They will learn about pitch, duration, dynamics, tempo, timbre, texture, structure and appropriate musical notations and how to discuss music using accurate vocabulary and knowledge. In learning about a diverse range of musicians, they will develop their opinions about aspects of music culture.
We use Sing Up to enhance our Music offer.
At Unsworth Primary School we believe in giving pupils the opportunity to discover and develop their physical potential through a balanced and progressive programme of activities.
We do so in the belief that physical education, in a safe, supportive and challenging environment is a vital component in the development of children’s physical and emotional health and wellbeing. This includes qualities such as enjoyment, co-operation and development of expertise in different physical areas, which, in turn, allows children to apply skills, celebrating achievement and progression.
Through our PE curriculum our intent is:
- To develop attitudes of fair play, respect, enjoyment, participation, enthusiasm and competitiveness in physical activities within a safe and supportive environment.
- To provide a broad and coordinated programme of physical education across EYFS, KS1 and KS2 in order to help children to lead healthy active lives now and in the future.
- To provide the means for children to realise their full physical potential and to develop movements, coordination, confidence and body awareness in a range of contexts.
- To promote an appreciation of physical movement as a spectator and critic in order to learn new skills of self-judgement and appraisal during individual and team routines.
- To promote responsible attitudes towards safety of self and others in movement, in the use of equipment and to promote an understanding of the relationship between physical activity and health.
- To develop the confidence and knowledge of our staff through the sharing of expertise within the school and through the advice and support of external providers such as ‘Funtime Sports’, particularly through CPD opportunities.
- To provide regular opportunities across each week for pupils to be physically active for sustained periods of time through taking part in traditional disciplines such as gymnastics, dance, invasion games, athletics as well as swimming and forest school.
We currently work with Key PE who visit school each week to teach PE with each of our class teachers.
We currently use the curriculum framework from Coram life, called SCARF. SCARF provides the framework for a whole-school approach to improving children’s wellbeing and progress, based on five values:
Safety
Caring
Achievement
Resilience
Friendship
SCARF provides a whole-school teaching framework centred on the ‘Growth Mindset’ approach – promoting positive behaviour, mental health, wellbeing, resilience and achievement. The SCARF values are brought to life through stories of Harold the giraffe and his friends, songs, films and thought-provoking and fun activities. As children get older, while they still cherish Harold, themes about wellbeing and relationships are explored in greater depth and resources are tailored to their age group.
SCARF provides a strong foundation for children’s spiritual, moral, social and cultural education (SMSC) and development; it is at the heart of the SCARF curriculum. SCARF provides a robust framework for promoting a positive ethos and values across the school community, contributing significantly to British Values education, both explicitly and implicitly.
The focus across the three themes of:
- Health and Wellbeing
- Relationships
- Living in the Wider World
These themes help foster and develop children’s responsibility for their own actions; respect for the actions and beliefs of others; an understanding of how each individual is protected by the rule of law; and how everyone can make a positive contribution to society through the democratic process.
Throughout the course of the year the PHSE curriculum is enhanced through participation in:
- Whole school awareness days/weeks, e.g. Anti-Bullying Week, Children’s Mental Health Week etc.
- Trips and visits such as Guide Dogs, Al Sylvester, Kiera Byland, BRAKE – Road Safety.
Reading is a priority at Unsworth Primary School and as such, we have a dedicated reading section on our website, please click here to visit the page.
At Unsworth Primary School we follow the Bury Agreed Syllabus for Religious Education, 2021-2026. This makes a distinctive contribution to the personal development of pupils. RE is not simply about gaining knowledge about religions and beliefs, it also helps pupils to develop their own world views – their own understanding of the world and how to live, in light of their learning, developing understanding, skills and attitudes. RE makes a significant contribution to pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development, as well as creating important opportunities to explore British Values.
Pupils begin their learning within the Early Years Foundation Stage (Reception Class) where they encounter Christianity and other faiths, as part of their growing sense of self, their own community and their place within it, through playing, exploring, actively learning, creating and thinking critically. This enables them to develop key knowledge and vocabulary through themes within ‘understanding the world’ which prepares them to access the RE content as they progress through school. At each age phase, we continue to apply these principles to provide a high quality RE curriculum that focuses on Christians, Jews and Muslims. As pupils progress to key stage 2, these religions are explored further, alongside Hinduism. In addition to the religions studied at each key stage, non-religious world views are also explored across all years, in an age appropriate manner.
Through each of the RE themes, pupils gain a deeper understanding of self, as well as a growing knowledge of those with different faiths, beliefs and views. Through this open and reflective dialogue, we can ensure that our pupils develop mutual respect and tolerance, and are equipped to cope with the challenges and responsibilities of living in a rapidly changing, multicultural world.
Our RE curriculum aims to deepen pupils’ knowledge about religions and to build on learning by comparing the religions, beliefs and practices studied. Pupils develop an understanding of the following three core elements which prepare them for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of later life through enabling them to:
· ‘make sense’ of the religions and non-religious world views studied,
· ‘understand the impact’ of these beliefs in people’s lives, and
· ‘make connections’ in their own learning and with their wider experience of the world.
Our children begin their science journey within the Early Years Foundation Stage (Reception Class) through playing, exploring and thinking critically. This enables them to develop knowledge and understanding of both the world and themselves. As they move through the different age phases, we continue to apply these principles to provide a high quality science curriculum that enables all pupils to develop a secure understanding of scientific knowledge and skills.
Each year group focuses on a range of units of work which include key concepts of science knowledge (the big ideas) and the key ideas of how we work scientifically. The development of spoken language, including technical vocabulary and the application of mathematical knowledge to collect, present and interpret data are also an important aspect of the science curriculum helping learners to articulate the big ideas clearly and precisely.
Our curriculum aims to develop our children’s understanding of the 10 big ideas of science and the ability to work scientifically.
This involves asking simple questions and investigating, observing over time, pattern seeking, identifying,
classifying and grouping as well as researching using secondary sources.
We have identified a number of scientists from different aspects of science, different times and different parts of the
world in order to educate our pupils about the important work scientists do and how it affects their lives today.
We use the Cornerstones Curriculum to enhance our offer.
At Unsworth Primary School, we believe learning a foreign language is a necessary part of being a member of a multi-cultural society and provides an opening to other cultures. Our Spanish curriculum will enable children to develop an interest in learning other languages in a way that is enjoyable. Through careful planning, we aim to deliver a high-quality Spanish curriculum which introduces the children to the Spanish language through a variety ways.
Our intent is to inspire pupils’ curiosity about languages and deepen their understanding of the world. Through building children’s confidence, we strive to stimulate and encourage the essential skills of speaking and listening, reading and writing in tandem with key phonetic and grammatical knowledge.
Though our engaging Spanish curriculum we aim to build the children’s ‘culture capital’ so that they have a growing awareness of cultural similarities and differences in other countries. We hope to develop children’s interests in learning languages, whilst laying the foundations for future learning, as well as equipping them with the possibility of studying and working in other countries.
A typical Spanish lesson includes learning new vocabulary and its correct pronunciation through learning Spanish phonic sounds. This is introduced along with appropriate grammar rules, which are then applied to conversations or short writing skills, providing further opportunities for children to use and apply their growing knowledge of the Spanish vocabulary. As children’s confidence and skills grow, they will:
·Participate in practical activities.
·Learn songs.
·Play games to help improve memory and recall.
·Record their work through pictures, captions and sentences.
·See visual prompts to support children in translating new vocabulary.
·Access word mats/ knowledge organisers to support their learning and recap previous learning.
·Develop their speaking and listening skills further through conversational work.
We use the Language Angels resources to enhance our Spanish offer.
Writing at Unsworth links closely with our phonics, spelling and reading curriculums, so that children can develop ideas and skills in a cohesive manner. We have a clear progression that children follow from EYFS through to Year 6, so that text types are revisited and learning is built on in a cyclical manner. Writing is linked to class novels and foundation subject projects where appropriate to extend learning, providing children with a context to understand and apply challenging vocabulary.