We are delighted to be teaching your children and we love working in Years 3 and 4 as the children are so full of enthusiasm, awe and wonder and have a real love of learning.
We follow a two-year curriculum programme so that the children encounter all of the National Curriculum strands for Years 3 and 4 during their time with us. The curriculum plans are detailed below.
The children are taught in their class for all English lessons. Our English lessons consist of Active Read sessions, English writing sessions and discrete grammar and spelling sessions.
We use books as stimuli for our reading and writing sessions and they cover a range of genres from historical fiction to modern fiction and many genres in-between!
Throughout the two years, the children develop their skills in order to write in a variety of styles (e.g. writing to inform, writing to entertain and writing to persuade) and are taught different reading skills (explain, retrieve, infer and choice). For more information about our reading and writing coverage, please see our progression maps for English.
The children are taught in ability sets for all Maths lessons. We follow the White Rose Small Steps scheme. All lessons begin with a number starter and this is to enable the children to continually rehearse their number knowledge and methods.
The children are exposed to fluency, reasoning and problem-solving tasks throughout the lessons to allow them to embed and practise their learning.
The children cover a variety of subjects throughout their afternoon lessons. These lessons consist of the subjects; History, Geography, Science, Design and Technology, Art and Computing.
We seek to cover both subject specific skills and knowledge in these sessions and we aim to encourage the children to ask further questions about the areas they are learning and to inspire them to study these subjects further in the future.
The children in LKS2 take part in weekly Religious Education lessons. Our curriculum is comprised of 60% Christianity and 40% World Faiths. During their time at Prestbury, the children will have encountered Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism and Humanism.
We follow the Questful R.E syllabus where the children begin with an enquiry question. For example, ‘Which rules should we follow?’ The children then embark on a journey of answering this question through learning about what a Christian would believe, what someone of another faith might believe and finally, what they believe for themselves.
R.E lessons allow the children to be creative, to think deeply, to appreciate the different beliefs of others, to develop their listening and understanding, and to grow as individuals into all God made them to be.
The children have a weekly Computing lesson in the dedicated Computing suite. There is a strong emphasis on E-safety with every year starting with a unit of work on this important topic. Children are encouraged to use technology safely, respectfully and responsibly. The children are able to recognise acceptable and unacceptable behaviour and identify a range of ways to report concerns about content and contact.
The children develop a wide range of fundamental skills, knowledge and understanding. The topics covered include:
Word Processing – The children are taught the fundamental basics of using computer technology.
They are taught to type, edit and amend using different software such as Microsoft Word, PowerPoint and Excel.
Coding and Programming – The children are taught to design, write and debug (finding and correcting programs). They learn that a computer needs an input to achieve a goal (output).
Multi Media – The children are taught the skills of formatting using keyboard commands and how to organise their work to demonstrate effect. The children have the opportunity to express themselves more through digital technology, art, PowerPoint and posters.
Handling Data – The children create and use a range of programs, systems and content that accomplish given goals, including collecting, analysing, evaluating and presenting data and information.
Technology in their lives – Children refer to online safety rules when discussing technology in their lives. They learn to navigate between websites and use trusted search engines. They become more confident in using email for communication, including attaching and saving files from emails.
Where possible the children are encouraged to utilise the knowledge learnt in other subjects, particularly Topic to forge links with their overall learning.
We deliver our PSHE lessons through the My Happy Mind Programme and supplement them with our Skills for Life lessons. Additionally, the PSHE themes around internet safety and accessing information online safely are covered in our computing curriculum, ensuring that children learn the importance of being safe online.
During the My Happy Mind Programme, the children will work through five engaging modules:
Meet the Brain
Children will learn about their minds and how we can train and focus them. They’ll discover the three parts of the brain and how they work together. The children will learn about Neurons and Neural Pathways and their vital role in learning, as well as how to look after their brains to help them be at their best.
Celebrate
In this module, children will explore what character is and where it comes from. They will learn that, just like their brains, their character can grow and change. The focus will be on five different groups of Character Strengths, helping them recognise their own strengths and understand how this awareness can positively influence their feelings.
Appreciate
Children will learn about the meaning of appreciation and brainstorm their ideas on how to show it. They will complete Happy Breathing exercises to help them remember to appreciate the good things around them. Introducing the Wheel of Gratitude, they will learn to develop an ‘Attitude of Gratitude.’
Relate
In this module, children will reflect on their top strengths, noticing how everyone’s strengths differ. They will learn how these strengths can be used in many ways to help them get along with others and accept differences. Understanding these can change the way they relate to one another.
Engage
Finally, we will explore goal-setting. Children will consider the activities that consume their time at home and school. They will learn about engagement and how it can aid their achievements. They will recap the different ways to feel good and do good, remembering which habits support their well-being.
Our Skills for Life lessons are designed to reflect the three core themes of the PSHE curriculum: Health and Well-being, Relationships, and Living in the Wider World. Through topics such as Healthy Lifestyles, Online Safety, and Money Management, we help students understand the importance of these skills in their daily lives. Our lessons encourage pupils to value their differences, build safe relationships, and prepare for their futures with confidence. Ultimately, we aim to equip children with practical knowledge and the skills they need to thrive in contemporary society.
In Lower Key Stage Two the children follow units of work which build on the skills introduced in EYFS and KS1. Emphasis is made on hand eye co-ordination and teaching different interchangeable skills which can be transferred through many sports.
We teach; athletics, orienteering, basketball, netball, hockey, cricket, rounders, rugby, football, dance and gymnastics.
Basic rules are introduced to further enhance their learning. As well as learning skills, the children, linked to their PSHE lessons, learn the importance of keeping fit for both a healthy body and mind. We look at how a healthy diet can improve physical fitness and well-being.
The children also learn about the importance of teamwork and sportsmanship when playing sport and the importance of safety particularly when different apparatus and equipment is used.
Each unit is completed with a competition which enables the children to partake in sport of a competitive nature.
The children also undertake a series of swimming lessons at Bollington Leisure where they are taught the fun and skill of swimming as well as water safety.
“They were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they began to talk in other languages, as the Spirit enabled them to speak.” Acts 2:4
Learning a language opens the mind to other cultures and liberates from insularity. Our language curriculum is designed to foster curiosity, deepen and broaden understanding of the world and to provide a foundation for learning further languages: paving the way to study/work in other countries. It enables our children to express their ideas and thoughts in another language and to understand and respond to its speakers, both in speech and writing. It also provides opportunities to communicate for practical purposes, learn new ways of thinking and to read great literature in the original language.
The most common holiday destinations visited, by our children, are to Spanish speaking countries. Therefore, having Spanish as our chosen language provides our children with a powerful purpose.
Our language curriculum is ambitious – it exceeds statutory requirements. Although the National Curriculum Programme of Study begins in Key Stage 2, we have designed our curriculum to ensure that our children begin to develop an understanding of Spain and basic language phrases before they reach KS2. Also, links to Spain and Spanish are built into our curriculum to support children with a deeper understanding before being introduced to the language of Spanish. An example being in KS1 Geography, the children learn about the Mexican town, Tulum.
The three main areas in which our curriculum focuses are: Phonics, Vocabulary and Grammar. Each Spanish lesson begins with a phonics focus. There is a clear, logic plan for the progression in phonics, which includes teaching the difference between the language and English. The learning and practice of phonics allows for the range, complexity and accuracy of sounds, words and understanding, and the application of the rules of the language.
In LKS2, the units that children will learn about are:
Animals, Me and You, Fruits, Presenting Myself, At the Café, Shapes, Musical Instruments, In Class, Habitats.
In these units the children will learn to:
We can provide paper copies of any information free of charge upon request.
Prestbury CE Primary School
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