Foundation Subjects

Art

At Willowdown Primary, we follow the Futura Learning Partnership Art and Design Curriculum.

Intent

AThe Futura Learning Partnership intent for Art and Design is that learners will explore a diverse range of traditional and contemporary artists, crafts people and designers, fostering their curiosity and understanding of the world around them. Learners’ experiences will enable them to develop an appreciation of their own and other cultures and how artistic styles have been influenced over time.

Through high quality art lessons learners will become reflective critical thinkers with the abilities to express themselves creatively. They will learn to evaluate their own work and the work of others. A well-sequenced art curriculum will allow learners to make continued progression through the refinement of skills and building on prior knowledge.

Learners will have the opportunity to apply their skills and knowledge in a range of contexts. Learners will be exposed to art in the local community, galleries and museums to inspire and inform their creative practice.

Computing

At Willowdown Primary, we follow the Futura Learning Partnership Computing Curriculum.

Intent

The Futura Learning Partnership intent for Computing is that an exciting and rigorous Computing education will ensure children are immersed in engaging, technology-rich learning experiences which allow them to learn deeply and embed core computing skills, think independently and problem solve in an ever evolving digital world. Regardless of changes within technology and the world we live in, our children will possess the core skills and behaviours required to safely and confidently access new technology to enhance their wider learning, access the curriculum throughout their school journey and inspire a future where technology is used to innovate and make positive change. We believe that learning about Computing provides an important context for the development of pupils’ key learning skills, particularly problem-solving, creative and critical thinking and resourcefulness. Futura recognise that social context plays a vital role in children’s education and as such we aim to provide opportunities for children to experience Computing in ways that are unique to their local and wider community

Design and Technology

At Willowdown Primary, we follow the Futura Learning Partnership Design and Technology Curriculum.

Our DT curriculum aims to equip students with the knowledge, skills and attitudes they need to become successful, innovative young designers and makers. By building on prior experience, students progressively develop technical skills and practical expertise. They are encouraged to think creatively, imaginatively and be ambitious in their design ideas. They are given opportunities to solve real and relevant problems within a variety of contexts, considering their own and others’ needs, wants and values. They learn to recognise the importance of design and technology in the real world and its relevance in everyday life. They are given opportunities to learn about and be inspired by designs and designers past and present who have impacted on life across the world.

Through the design, make, evaluate process, students are guided to develop skills of team work, communication, resilience and reflectiveness through problem solving. They learn to use knowledge and understanding from other curriculum areas including mathematical, scientific, computing and art skills, applying them in relevant and practical contexts. In this way, we aspire for our students to become articulate, dynamic thinkers able to approaching new challenges with confidence and enthusiasm

Geography

At Willowdown Primary, we follow the Futura Learning Partnership Geography Curriculum.

The purpose of the Futura Learning Partnership geography intent is to provide a framework for high quality geography education across phases to inspire in pupils a curiosity and fascination about the world and its people that will remain with them for the rest of their lives. The aim is to ensure that pupils are equipped with knowledge about a diverse range of places, people, resources and natural and human environments, together with a deep understanding of the earth’s key physical and human processes. Pupils should make sense of the complex world around them, understand and be confident to investigate some of the major issues, challenges and opportunities that the world faces today. The aim is to ensure that pupils will develop greater competence in using geographical knowledge, approaches, concepts and skills in analysing and interpreting a wide range of different geographical information. In that way pupils will enrich their locational knowledge and spatial and environmental understanding as well as acquire the geographical cultural capital needed to be confident and successful global citizens.

Numeracy (number and measurement) solving numerical problems, the ways in which numerical information is gathered by counting and measuring, and how it is presented in graphs, charts and tables. There are many opportunities within geography for students to develop their numeracy skills.

History

At Willowdown Primary, we follow the Futura Learning Partnership History Curriculum.

The Futura Learning Partnership intent for history is that a high-quality history education will inspire children to have a curiosity and fascination about the local area and Britain’s past and that of the wider world as well.

Children will be able to think critically, weigh evidence, sift arguments, and develop perspective and judgement. The children’s deep learning of history and its related information gathering skills will enable them to have an understanding of where we have come from and how this has been influenced by the wider world and different cultural heritages. This in turn will enable us to learn from the past, model the future and understand society and the child’s place within it. Furthermore, it gives us a view of other cultures and their development through time.

We believe that learning about historical events provides an important context for the development of pupils’ key learning skills, particularly communication, working with others, problem solving and critical thinking skills and that this will be done not just through experiences in the classroom but also through the use of field work and educational visits.

Music

At Willowdown Primary, we follow the Futura Learning Partnership Music Curriculum.

In the Futura Learning Partnership, our intention is that children develop a life-long love of music. Through the musical experiences and opportunities offered to them throughout their education, each child will develop a musical identity which is personal to them, this may be in the form of a performer, composer and/or as an active listener who, in the future, will become a participator in the cultural life of the UK. In EYFS, KS1 and KS2 music acts as an integral part of the school day, be that singing whilst packing up, or listening to a new piece of music whilst walking into assembly. Our music curriculum plan, guided by the EYFS framework and National Curriculum, ensures that all children from EYFS and Year 9 experience a stimulating, practical and holistic curriculum which explores music through singing, performing, composing and listening. Every student in the Futura Trust will have been taught the substantive and disciplinary knowledge required for GCSE Music, and therefore possibly A-Level, should they wish to study Music at KS4 and KS5.

Alongside this we encourage all students to develop their musicianship in a variety of extra-curricular activities both in and outside school. Inevitably, the cultural capital of each student will be developed throughout their musical education within the trust yet each individual school also aims to meet the cultural interests, and needs, of the community in which our schools are based - all musical cultures and welcomed and embraced. We strive to ensure all students find Music an engaging and fulfilling subject in which they embrace the discipline of practice, the challenge of analysis and the excitement of creating and finding their own musical voice.

French

At Willowdown Primary, we encourage our children to learn a foreign language and learn about countries of the world. We have adopted the programme of study from Language Angels who have helped us design a bespoke, layered teaching programme for Key Stage 2. A high-quality languages education should foster pupils’ curiosity and deepen their understanding of the world. The teaching should enable pupils to express their ideas and thoughts in another language and to understand and respond to its speakers, both in speech and in writing.

The four key language learning skills; listening, speaking, reading and writing will be taught and all necessary grammar will be covered in an age-appropriate way across the primary phase. This will enable pupils to use and apply their learning in a variety of contexts, laying down solid foundations for future language learning and also helping the children improve overall attainment in other subject areas. In addition, the children will be taught how to look up and research language they are unsure of and they will have a bank of reference materials to help them with their spoken and written tasks going forward. This bank of reference materials will develop into a reference library to help pupils recall and build on previous knowledge throughout their primary school language learning journey. The intent is that all pupils will develop a genuine interest and positive curiosity about foreign languages, finding them enjoyable and stimulating. Learning a second language will also offer pupils the opportunity to explore relationships between language and identity, develop a deeper understanding of other cultures and the world around them with a better awareness of self, others and cultural differences. The intention is that they will be working towards becoming life-long language learners.

Religious Education

At Willowdown Primary, we follow the Futura Learning Partnership Religious Education Curriculum.

The Futura intent for Religious Education is that all children develop an awareness of major world religions and world views, including their impact on society and culture. Our pupils should be able to appreciate and respect faiths and beliefs which may be different to their own, which will equip them for their adult life, employment as well as lifelong learning. Through RE lessons, children will be able to engage with challenging questions of meaning and purpose, which will equip them to continue their studies of RE in secondary school where they will deepen their understanding of different world faiths as well as more general philosophical and ethical questions.

Our pupils will be given the opportunity to develop their own religious, spiritual and philosophical beliefs in a safe environment. Children will be able to reflect, consider, analyse, interpret and evaluate different issues which are prevalent in our society, whilst also promoting mutual respect and tolerance in line with British Values. Our curriculum is ambitious for all and strives to address inclusion and disadvantage in its intent and implementation.

Physical Education

As a school, it is our intention to produce sportspeople ready to excel in sport and life in and beyond our school. By the time pupils leave Year 6, we want them to be able to confidently do the following:

Sporting confidence
Determined and enthusiastic
Good team player
Able to lose and win with grace
Has good coordination, core strength and overall strength
Has a preferred sport practised out of school
Takes part with confidence
Passionate about sport
Uses skills and grit during sports
Passionate sportsperson, but able to control emotion
Good at dynamic risk assessment when partaking
Resilient – physically and mentally Understands sporting rules and boundaries

Personal, Social, Health Education (PSHE) and Relationships, Sex Education (RSE)

At Willowdown, we intend that our pupils will be socially and emotionally healthy by the time they leave Y6, demonstrating the following behaviours:

Have a strong sense of self and a strong, confident voice to communicate
Well-rounded individual
Has the ability to function well in everyday life
Interacts with confidence around other children and adults
Recognises and shares emotions & expresses them
Resilience in any given environment and when faced with any challenge
Respectful to others and themselves
Adaptable to situations and challenges
Able to deal with failure, challenge and success
High self-esteem
Has strategies to keep themselves mentally well Enjoys good friendships Ability to deal with conflict positively Well-developed social skills