At Meanwood, we strive to deliver a broad, balanced and exciting curriculum. We do this by offering relevant and appropriately challenging learning activities which stimulate children's creativity, curiosity and engagement in their learning.
Early Years Foundation Stage
Nursery and Reception children follow the national Early Years Foundation Stage curriculum. This covers 7 areas of learning. All areas of learning and development are important and inter-connected. Three areas are particularly crucial for igniting children’s curiosity and enthusiasm for learning, and for building their capacity to learn, form relationships and thrive. These three areas, the prime areas, are:
- communication and language
- physical development
- personal, social and emotional development.
There are also four specific areas, through which the three prime areas are strengthened and applied. The specific areas are:
• understanding the world
• expressive arts and design.
Communication and language development involves giving children opportunities to experience a rich language environment; to develop their confidence and skills in expressing themselves; and to speak and listen in a range of situations.
Physical development involves providing opportunities for young children to be active and interactive; and to develop their co-ordination, control, and movement. Children must also be helped to understand the importance of physical activity, and to make healthy choices in relation to food.
Personal, social and emotional development involves helping children to develop a positive sense of themselves, and others; to form positive relationships and develop respect for others; to develop social skills and learn how to manage their feelings; to understand appropriate behaviour in groups; and to have confidence in their own abilities.
Literacy development involves encouraging children to link sounds and letters and to begin to read and write. Children must be given access to a wide range of reading materials (books, poems, and other written materials) to ignite their interest.
Mathematics involves providing children with opportunities to develop and improve their skills in counting, understanding and using numbers, calculating simple addition and subtraction problems; and to describe shapes, spaces, and measures.
Understanding the world involves guiding children to make sense of their physical world and their community through opportunities to explore, observe and find out about people, places, technology and the environment.
Expressive arts and design involves enabling children to explore and play with a wide range of media and materials, as well as providing opportunities and encouragement for sharing their thoughts, ideas and feelings through a variety of activities in art, music, movement, dance, role-play, and design and technology.
Key Stage 1 and 2
Teachers follow the national curriculum for maths. We emphasise the importance of developing good mental maths skills alongside ensuring our maths curriculum is broad and enables children to apply skills through problem solving activities. Children from Reception onwards have a daily maths lesson.
Children have a daily Literacy lesson which addresses children's development in speaking and listening, reading and writing. From Reception onwards, we use teach phonics through the progression outlined in Letters and Sounds. We have a whole school scheme of work which sets out different genres of writing and in which year groups they are taught.
National Curriculum coverage
Each Curriculum document shows the overall coverage of each National Curriculum subject in each year group from Year 1 to Year 6. Teachers then plan topics which group together aspects of each subject under a cross curricular theme or topic heading. This topic based approach links subject areas clearly and allows children to access worthwhile learning experiences throughout their time at Meanwood. Click the links below to see the National Curriculum coverage.
Year Group Annual Topic Plans:
If you would like any further information about our school curriculum, please ask your child's class teacher or contact the headteacher.