Non-Core Subjects
Long Term Curriculum Overview
Computing
At Grove Vale, computing and technology are evident throughout children’s daily learning and are embedded throughout the curriculum. It is not limited to discrete lessons but compliments children’s learning throughout the wider subject areas. Teachers and pupils use a range of technology in all lessons, for example through the use of interactive whiteboards and ipads. Our children, from KS1 to KS2 have a dedicated lesson of computing every week. Classrooms are equipped with a digital assistant to enhance and support teaching and learning throughout all lessons. Our computing curriculum allows children to explore and compare devices and software while also transferring and further developing knowledge and skills. Encouraging them and providing a wide range of opportunities to apply digital literacy skills. The art of “computational thinking” is taught and refined while complimenting our wider curriculum and growing children’s subject knowledge in all areas, including their role as active, safe digital citizens of the world.
History
The children at GV study a range of significant people, periods and events that occurred in British and international history. These include: Stone Age to Iron Age, the Roman Empire, Anglo-Saxons and Vikings, Ancient Egypt, Ancient Greeks and significant events of national importance including WW2. The youngest children at Grove Vale learn about historical events that happened closest to the present year. As the children progress through the years, their History learning delves deeper and further into the past.
Throughout each key stage the learning will always use the children as a starting point and links and comparisons to our lives, in the present day, will be explored.
Geography
Throughout their time at GV, the children learn a variety of skills to deepen their understanding of primarily, their own environment. As children progress through the school, they are able to use their understanding to investigate the wider world. As a result, children gain an awareness of our responsibilities with regards to looking after and maintaining our environment. Alongside their learning, children develop the subject-specific vocabulary relating to the human and physical aspects of geography. They are also able to use a variety of maps and plans to aid their understanding
Art and Design
Art encourages self-expression and creativity, as well as building confidence by allowing children to form a sense of individual identity. It helps children to problem-solve and builds memory skills, as well as allowing children to develop their intuition, reasoning and imagination. At Grove Vale, Art is taught using ‘Plan Bee.' This is a progressive programme of study which covers all aspects of the Art national curriculum. All art topics begin with reflection and appreciation of the work created by a famous artist allowing the children to develop an understanding of different art forms from both past and present as well as build an understanding of the important part art plays in different countries’ cultures. The fundamentals of art are built upon each term and children are given the opportunity to explore a variety of different mediums of art including sculpting, printing and collaging.
Design Technology
Design Technology is a practical and valuable subject at Grove Vale. We believe it is a fundamental part of a child’s creativity and development of problem-solving skills. It enables children to think critically about important issues and teaches children how to take risks and therefore become more resourceful, innovative, enterprising and capable. At Grove Vale, DT is taught using ‘Plan Bee.' This is a progressive programme of study which covers all aspects of the DT national curriculum. All children follow the process of ‘design, make, evaluate’ and children are given a range of opportunities throughout their time at school to focus on the different areas of technology – electronics, construction, mechanisms, textiles and food & nutrition.
Religious Education
At Grove Vale we follow the Sandwell Agreed Syllabus and this is the legal statutory requirement for teaching RE in schools. The teaching of RE is an essential part of our curriculum and is it enables the growth of religious literacy which is essential for life in modern Britain and the wider world. We enhance our curriculum by encouraging the children to ask questions. Children across the school are regularly presented with important conceptual challenges. Links to School Life - our core values underpin the values taught by different religions. Our assemblies aim to celebrate a variety of major religious festivals and we visit a variety of places of worship in all year groups throughout the year.
Music
Music is taught as part of our cross curricular topics in all year groups. Children listen to a variety of music genres in assembly which accompanying information to help to enhance their musical, historical and geographical knowledge. Through the use of Charanga, children are able to appraise, rehearse, perform and compose a wide variety of genres of music. Year 3 children are also lucky enough to have weekly cornet lessons which enables them to deepen their understanding of notation as well as grow in confidence when performing to an audience.
MFL - Spanish
At Grove Vale Primary, children learn through practical and interactive activities, which develop their language skills and encourage them to find out more about the culture.
Spanish oral is taught fortnightly with a follow-up writing task to complete in between lessons. It is taught with the support of an interactive programme, which allows the children to listen, repeat and practise. The children learn grammar through a wide range of topics.
PSHE
At Grove Vale we ensure that our pupils are fully prepared for life both in and outside of school. We aim to prepare the children for the opportunities, experiences and responsibilities of life. Our PSHE curriculum ensures that we give the children the skills and the attributes they need to manage their lives now and in the future. These skills and attributes help pupils to stay healthy, safe and prepare them for life and work in modern Britain. PSHE helps pupils to achieve their academic potential, and leave school equipped with skills they will need throughout later life.
SMSC
At Grove Vale we ensure that our pupils are fully prepared for life both in and outside of school.We aim to prepare the children for the opportunities, experiences and responsibilities of life. We have a broad and balanced school curriculum underpinned by spiritual, moral, social and cultural understanding and values. Our children develop as self-confident, independent thinkers who recognise values, understand people’s beliefs and distinguish between right and wrong. We prepare children in school for life in modern Britain by developing an age related, appropriate awareness of the four fundamental British Values of: Democracy, Rule of Law, Individual Liberty and Mutual Respect and Tolerance of different faiths and beliefs.
PE
Every child participates in at least two physical education lessons per week. Through science lessons, children are taught the effects that exercise has on the body. A dedicated PE teacher works with different classes throughout the year, teaching a range of specific sporting skills. Every year, all children participate in sports day. The emphasis is on enjoyment, participation and team building, with elements of competitiveness. We have strong links with a wide variety of outside clubs. We take part in a range of sporting competitions with other local schools
EYFS
At Grove Vale, children encounter opportunities to be creative, to be curious, to try things out and to develop their independence and confidence in a safe, fun, engaging environment. We believe that children learn best through practical, hands-on experiences and interactions with their environment and that play provides children with the opportunities to consolidate and extend skills and concepts learnt. Our curriculum involves a mixture of child initiated and teacher led tasks. Our staff are skilled play partners, teaching the children their next steps and reinforcing and supporting them in their learning. We provide a rich, stimulating and varied environment in which our children develop their own learning, interests and play. Children have constant access to different provision areas and we value the importance of our outdoor environment, believing that it offers children the opportunity to develop thinking and problem solving skills.
Outdoor Learning
At Grove Vale we have a creative and ambitious approach to learning and teaching that engages our children. Our Outdoor Learning aims to support, develop and extend the learning within the classrooms by using our outdoor environment. It provides endless opportunities for challenge both physically, and intellectuality. Our children become active learners as they develop and use their skills to discover, explore, experiment, observe and problem solve. Outdoor learning has a positive effect on our children’s confidence, self-esteem and imagination. Standard and expectations of learning outdoors are as high as indoors. We take our learning outside the classroom into our curriculum learning zones, we use Forest School, gardening areas and our extensive grassed areas when we are working outside.
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