At Lipson Vale we follow the National Curriculum. Below you will find some more detail about what that means in the classroom from day-to-day.
In Key Stage 1, we use a high quality, systematic, synthetic phonics programme called Read Write Inc, which has a track record of effectiveness because of its rigour and comprehensiveness. Children are taught consistently to use phonics as the route to reading unknown words.
In Key Stage 2, we run the Accelerated Reader scheme and your child will bring their AR book home with them. If you would like more information on this, please click here or speak to your child's teacher.
In addition to this, they will have their main reading scheme book, which should be read with an adult at least three times per week, though ideally on a nightly basis. Please ensure you sign your child's reading diary each time you read with them.
Click here to view our full English curriculum plan.
At LVPS we use Pie Corbett's Talk for Writing method for developing creative and fluent writers. Pie has been a leading voice in primary education for many years and the Talk for Writing scheme has been proven to work in numerous studies.
Click here to view our full English curriculum plan.
Our Maths curriculum follows the White Rose Maths Hub scheme of work. White Rose Maths Hub are the leading provider of primary maths schemes in the UK and ensure all their schemes of work follow the new curriculum closely, whilst also ensuring a wide range of Maths skills and understanding are developed in children of all ages.
Below you will find overviews of the calculation methods we use as well as progression maps for the different strands of the Maths curriculum.
If you would like further information about the teaching of Maths, please contact Mrs West, our Maths subject leader.
To view the full Maths policy, please click here to visit our School Policies page.
Science at LVPS is based around the topics set out in the National Curriculum. In their weekly Science lessons, your child will be taught how to work scientifically, conduct age-appropriate experiments and enjoy a wide variety of fascinating learning experiences. We try to plan our topics to make the most of the outdoors too, so our modules on Living Things and Their Habitats tend to be run in the Summer term, when outdoor learning and excursions are at their most enjoyable.
Inside the classroom, we display our learning through wall displays and our Science class workbooks and the children are encouraged to interact and read these when they have free time or wet breaks.
Computing and ICT
At LVPS, we aim to integrate the use of ICT across the curriculum. The children have access to Chromebooks on a daily basis to aide them with Accelerated Reader quizzes, Mathletics and Spellodrome tasks, or simply to augment the day's lessons through research or looking up word definitions.
In addition to this, the children have weekly Computing lessons. The majority of these will take place in our Learning Resources Centre, where each child will have individual access to a laptop. However, not all Computing lessons are best taught in front of a computer, so we run a variety of lessons outdoors or through practical classroom based learning.
Our KS1 curriculum is particularly focused on developing basic computer literacy skills. These include the usual task such as logging in and saving work, but also an introduction to algorithms and coding through Mouse Bots and programming their classmates!
Every child at LVPS should participate in two sessions of PE a week; one indoors, which is usually based around gymnastics, dance or multi-skills, and one outdoors, which will mostly focus on acquiring the skills for, and playing a range of, competitive team sports as well as different athletic skills, both indoor and outdoor, track and field. We currently employ a sports coach from Plymouth Argyle Community Hub to ensure that each class from Y1 – Y6 experiences consistent and quality experiences in outdoor sport. They work closely with staff to ensure appropriate coverage and progression. Over the course of the year 3 different year groups have indoor PE lessons led by PE staff from Lipson Community Academy. These sessions provide quality CPD for teachers as do the lessons which are part of the Plymouth Argyle’s Primary Stars programme which one year group of children take part in for a term at a time.
In Y3 and Y4, children attend a three week, daily, swimming course in place of their indoor PE session. We aim to provide a catch up swimming course for children who need it in Y6.
In addition to our weekly PE lessons, there are daily sports clubs run by the sports coaches, and also school staff, which provide access to a wide range of sporting activities. These also enable children to be part of teams and we take part in many competitions and tournaments run within the city. A sports coach also works during lunch time to extend the activities offered outside.
Having had curtailed outdoor sports facilities over the last 18 months, due to work being done on our school field, we are excited to have the use, from January 2020, of the added facility of a large MUGA (all weather pitch) and a little later in the year we should have a new field as well.
In the Summer Term, our Year 6's participate in a Junior Ten Tors taster walk on Dartmoor. The children can then put their names forward to join one of two teams for the main event in June, a club runs during the Summer Term to prepare the children for the event weekend.
We are proud of our PE provision and currently hold the PE Sports Bronze Kitemark for 2018 – 19 (due to the limited resources we had available last year) but hope to gain silver this year.
To see how we spent our Sports Premium funding, click here.
Music is built into the fabric of Lipson Vale Primary School. We are fortunate to have a specialist music teacher who is able to deliver regular curriculum lessons across the school. Children embrace the range of music skills available and participate positively in practical musical lessons.
Alongside our music curriculum, we run our ever-popular primary orchestra and school choir. These are both regularly attended by children in Key Stage 2, who are always enthusiastic, committed and motivated to succeed. Our musical groups are encouraged to take part in performances including our annual Carol Service, Spring Concert and our end of year leaver’s play. Our talented musical groups have also performed in the city centre, taken part in competitions and visit hospitals and care homes throughout the year.
We have many instrumental teachers leading weekly session for the violin, keyboard, piano, drums, clarinet, flute, guitar and cornet. We also have close musical links with Lipson Co-operative Academy, supporting a positive and smooth transition when children move up to secondary level.
Geography and Environmental Ed
The teaching of Geography across the school provides a means of exploring, appreciating and understanding the world in which we live and how it has evolved. Our children have opportunities to explore the relationship between Earth and its people and develop a fascination for our planet and how to look after it. The children learn about locations within the world, similarities and differences between different places, human and physical Geography, as well as geography skills and fieldwork.
Environmental education helps to foster caring, responsible attitudes and inspires young people to take action in order to live more sustainably. Our environmental education is embedded within both Geography, cross curricular work and whole school learning led by our enthusiastic Eco Club. Opportunities are provided for children to attend forest school to develop an appreciation of the outdoor environment. Assemblies and initiatives led by the Eco Club further develop an understanding of how we as individuals can try to combat global warming.
Our History curriculum is woven into our termly topics, which also inform the focus of our English modules. In addition to this, we run weekly topic lessons covering British, world and local history from the Bronze Age through to the Second World War.
We are now also preparing to celebrate Mayflower 400, in recognition of the Pilgrim Fathers who set sail from Plymouth in 1620.