Curriculum
Phonics
Annecy Catholic Primary School was part of a Teaching and Leadership Innovation Fund project from October 2018 until March 2020. This programme, in partnership with Ruth Miskin Training, enabled us to deliver high quality professional development training to support the teaching of phonics across our school. Following this programme, we have been able to take what we have learnt from Ruth Miskin training and further adapt it to meet the needs of our children.
Read Write Inc. Phonics teaches children to read accurately and fluently with good comprehension. They learn to form each letter, spell correctly, and compose their ideas step-by-step.
Reading
Children learn the English alphabetic code: first they learn one way to read the 40+ sounds and blend these sounds into words, then learn to read the same sounds with alternative graphemes.
They experience success from the very beginning. Lively phonic books are closely matched to their increasing knowledge of phonics and ‘tricky’ words and, as children re-read the stories, their fluency increases.
Along with a thought-provoking introduction, prompts for thinking out loud and discussion, children are helped to read with a storyteller’s voice.
A love of reading is engendered through the key quality texts we choose to support our curriculum. Dedicated time is set aside to allow every child to hear a story being read to them.
We recognise the importance of reading in developing vocabulary and allowing children to access learning across all areas of the curriculum and beyond. We have invested in our new library space – creating a “Reading Tower” and spending thousands of pounds on purchasing high quality texts that represent the diversity of our school community.
For further information on reading for pleasure, please click on the links below:
Writing
The children write every day, rehearsing out loud what they want to say, before spelling the words using the graphemes and ‘tricky’ words they know.
They practise handwriting every day: sitting at a table comfortably, they learn correct letter formation and how to join letters speedily and legibly.
Children’s composition (ideas, vocabulary and grammar) is developed by drawing on their own experiences and talking about the stories they read.
Teachers use planning, resources and ideas from Centre for Literacy in Primary Education to help scaffold their planning and ensure high quality learning happens within the classroom.
Year Group Overviews
Please find in the downloads section the curriculum overviews for each year group here at Annecy Catholic Primary School. These are working documents as the learning is led by our learners – however, it does give you an overview as to the breadth of curriculum we offer here at our school.
RSE
We are committed to the education of the whole child through a broad and balanced curriculum. This includes the teaching of RSE (Relationships and Sex Education) and PSHE (Personal, Social and Health Education) at a level which is appropriate to the age and stage of development of our children.
We aim to:
- Help them develop confidence and responsibility in themselves, and to help them to make the most of their abilities.
- Help them prepare to play an active role as good citizens.
- Help them to develop a safe & healthy lifestyle.
- Help them to develop happy relationships and to be aware of and respect the differences between people.
Much is taught through the Religious Education programme of “Come & See”and specific links with topics are identified.
Further aspects are covered through other areas of the curriculum.
Relationships and Sex Education is taught to all ages throughout the school, at an age appropriate level. It includes health education, sex education, moral and social interaction; equipping all children with the clear and scientific information they need to maintain successful and happy relationships and healthy minds and bodies.
Relationship and Sex Education is part of the mission of Catholic schools to educate the whole person. It should be carried out as part of the holistic education which seeks to form as well as inform young people in preparation for adult life. (Catholic Education Service)
Click here to access the Annecy RSE Appendices
At Annecy, we deliver our Relationship and Education Curriculum through Ten:Ten’s programme in Relationship Education for Catholic primary schools, Life to the Full. Ten:Ten Resources are used widely across many Catholic schools in England and is the recommended resource within the Diocese of Arundel and Brighton. The Catholic Education Service have approved Ten:Ten curriculum content and standard of resources to ensure schools undertake their statutory duty.
Ten:Ten have based the structure of Life to the Full on ‘A Model Catholic RSE Curriculum’ by the Catholic Education Service, which was highlighted as a work of good practice by the Department of Education. Therefore, Life to the Full has a good foundation for a programme that is fit for purpose.
RSE Parent Portal
Parents are invited to review the programme’s content by accessing the Online Parent Portal:
This resource is be available to view for parents/carers via an online parent portal
You will need the Annecy login credentials for our school in order to explore these resources. Please contact the school office for the log in details.
RSE FAQ Section
Can I withdraw my child from Relationship and Sex Education?
Relationship Education is a statutory part of the school’s curriculum and all pupils will be expected to take part and engage in the curriculum content delivered at Annecy.
However, some elements of our curriculum is not statutory. These elements are outlined in our RSE policy in the section: Key Decisions. Parents will always be informed that these sessions are upcoming and parents who would prefer to teach these sessions themselves are able to withdraw their child from the session. Please inform the school by contacting office@annecy.org.uk if you wish for your child to be withdrawn for those particular sessions of the programme or contact your child’s class teacher.
You can find out more information in the parent guide in the RSE Resource Bank above.
How does the Programme deal with sensitive issues around family and relationships?
The following notes should help you to understand and articulate the position that the programme takes on this subject:
- Life to the Full is inclusive of all children, families and teaching staff;
- From the very start, the programme acknowledges that families are made up differently (including single-parent families, blended families, step-parents, carers, etc) and it celebrates the family unit in whatever form it takes;
- The school will build on this teaching, depending on the cohort, to ensure that every child is assured, and their family background is affirmed;
- In Upper Key Stage Two, the presenters on film say that some children have ‘two mums and two dads’ as part of a list of different family set-ups – this is the only explicit reference to same-sex relationships in the programme;
- The programme does not explicitly refer to transgenderism;
- The programme emphasises very strongly the dignity of every person as being created and loved by God – it examines difference and bullying;
- The only reference to sexual intimacy is in the optional UKS2 session ‘Making Babies: Part 2’, as discussed in the section of this document, ‘Key Decisions’. In this session, sexual intimacy is discussed within the context of a heterosexual marriage, and the Catholic-Christian point of view is clearly stated.
The teaching is in line with the statutory guidance from the Department of Education.
Subject Support Sites
We teach Read Write Inc. phonics – this has helped us to initially achieve an increase in learners passing the phonics screening check (from 53% to 85%). In 2020, the percentage of pupils passing the Year 1 phonics screening check was 92% – 14% above the National average.
To support the teaching of maths, we use the “Power Maths” scheme. Working as part of the Sussex Maths Hub teacher research group meant that we were able to access matched funding. The introduction of this scheme should lessen teacher workload and enable to them to plan and resource engaging lessons for our learners.
To support the teaching of PE, we use the “Real PE” scheme of work. This is fully aligned to the National Curriculum and focuses on the development of agility, balance and coordination, healthy competition and cooperative learning through high quality PE teaching.
