All children follow a broad and balanced curriculum in accordance with the requirements of the National Curriculum.

We use the ‘Learning Challenge Curriculum’ (LCC) as a framework for teaching and learning. The LCC recognises the importance of deeper levels of knowledge and understanding to underpin pupils’ thinking, promoting working at greater depth. The LCC is built around deep thinking and encourages pupils to learn using a question as a starting point.

Our broad and balanced curriculum is effectively planned and delivered. Article 29 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child explains that every child’s personality talents and abilities must be developed to their full potential. Teachers recognise the need to continually reinforce English and Maths teaching across the curriculum. However, they are equally committed to ensuring that pupils’ learning is deep in subjects beyond English and Mathematics. Staff plan different aspects of the curriculum around a number of broad enquiry questions that are designed to spark pupils’ curiosity. This diverse and engaging curriculum plays a vital role in sustaining pupils’ thirst for knowledge while greatly expanding their understanding of the world.

Article 12 of the UNCRC says that all children have the right to express their views and opinions. The curriculum is interesting, exciting and engaging for pupils. Subjects are brought together in themes and questions that are interesting, relevant and engaging for pupils. Each new topic is introduced by an opportunity for pupils to consider ‘what they already know’ and ‘what they would love to find out’. Each topic ends with time to reflect. The imaginative curriculum successfully builds on pupils’ skills and knowledge as they move through the school. It meets the needs and interests of all pupils because it is effectively linked to national and local events.

The personal development of the children at Topsham School, is further enhanced by our teaching of Personal, Social and Health Education (PSHE). We use a whole-school approach to the teaching of PSHE using the Jigsaw scheme of learning. This provides a well-structured, progression of learning, with the aim of preparing our children for life. We teach them to understand and value themselves as individuals, relate to other people and understand how to stay safe and healthy, both physically and mentally.

Throughout the year, the children learn at age-appropriate levels through the study of, and reflection in, the following topic areas:

This mindful approach to PSHE also further enhances our MindUp Curriculum. More information about our MindUp curriculum, and the ways in which we support our children and families’ emotional health can be found by clicking on the link below.

Click here to view our Emotional Health page

RSE is about the emotional, social and cultural development of our pupils, and involves learning about relationships, sexual health, sexuality, healthy lifestyles, diversity and personal identity. It involves a combination of sharing information and exploring issues and values.

At Topsham School, our curriculum encompasses many aspects of the Personal, Social, Health Education (PSHE) curriculum as well as contributing to promoting the spiritual, moral, cultural, mental and physical development of our pupils. Our policy on RSE is based on the Department for Education (DfE) Relationships Education, Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) and Health Education (2019).

To deliver our RSE curriculum, we use Jigsaw, our PSHE scheme of learning. Through our Relationships and Sex Education programme, we aim to help and support young people through their physical, emotional and moral development. We believe that a successful programme, firmly embedded in PSHE, will help young people learn to respect themselves and others and move with confidence from childhood, through adolescence into adulthood.

The main focus for RSE is in the ‘Changing me’ unit taught in the second half of the Summer term – the learning deepens and broadens every year.

Our programme aims to provide the basis for an ongoing programme of RSE that begins in Reception and continues through to Year 6. The aims of relationships and sex education (RSE) in our schools:

• Is a partnership between home and school.
• To prepare pupils for puberty, and give them an understanding of sexual development and the importance of health and hygiene.
• To create a positive culture around issues of sexuality and relationships.
• To teach pupils the correct vocabulary to describe themselves and their bodies.
• Starts early and is relevant to pupils at each stage in their development and maturity.
• Includes the acquisition of knowledge, development of life skills and respectful attitudes and values.
• Has sufficient time to cover a wide range of topics with a strong emphasis on relationships, consent, rights, responsibilities to others, negotiation and communication skills, and accessing services.
• Helps pupils understand on and off-line safety, consent, violence and exploitation and how to keep themselves safe.
• Is both medically and factually correct and treats sex as a normal fact of life.
• Is inclusive of difference, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, ethnicity, culture, age, faith or belief, or other life experiences.
• Promotes equality in relationships, recognises the challenges, gender inequality and reflects girls’ and boys’ different experiences and needs.
  

Click here to view our RSE policy on our Policies page. 

Achieve4All

Achieve 4 All support the teaching of PE and the running of some of our sporting clubs at Topsham School. PE is taught by both sports specialists at Achieve for All, and by our teachers.

At Achieve 4 All, their vision is to consistently provide the highest quality coaching experience so that the potential of the student can be achieved. Coaches will provide high standards of conduct, behavioural management, fun sessions and be inclusive for all.

Achieve4All will work tirelessly to ensure that the needs of the client and student are met and that we are helping development of not only the student but the staff as well. Coaches will go the extra mile.

Phonics

The Topsham School follows the Little Wandle systematic synthetic phonics Programme. More information can be seen in our phonics policy, or on the parent information on the Little Wandle website.

Beginning the journey of reading

Learning to be a successful and fluent reader is a complex, multi-faceted process and children need to master a wide range of different skills as illustrated by Scarborough’s Reading Rope below. At first these skills are taught separately but as children move through school and these skills get practised and embedded they are woven together which makes for a strong reading rope and a fluent and successful reader.

From Nursery to the end of Year 2 there is an increased emphasis on teaching the skills on the lower half of the rope, this is delivered through daily phonics lessons. These lessons would not be successful without being complemented and underpinned by a strong foundation of the whole host of vital pre-requisite skills needed for children to become successfully literate. In the Early Years we invest time in developing these skills through songs and rhymes, poetry, talk and stories.

As you walk around our setting you will see how the activities and learning environment promote the prerequisite skills needed for reading and writing. Some of these include:

Listening and responding to spoken language. Spoken language, and the ability to listen carefully and respond, underpins all teaching and learning, including phonics.

Physical activity that supports sensory awareness and integration. Physical development is integral to learning. Children need to develop a range of physical skills to be able to engage effectively in learning, including being able to sit still and focus. This includes, balance and proprioception, crossing the midline, and sensory awareness and integration. Our children have free access to the outdoors and discrete PE sessions to promote motor skills and activities to help develop the vestibular system.

Meta-linguistic awareness. To access phonics teaching with success, children need to be able to think and talk about language. They need to become aware of language as an object that is composed of words and meanings that can be examined, discussed and manipulated. This is achieved through dissection and discussion of our ‘5 a day’ approach where every day we aim to share a song, story, poem, conversation and extend our vocabulary with new words.

Visual Perception, Visual Processing and Visual Working memory.
There are many facets to this area and it is through seemingly simple yet vitally important activities that these skills are developed.
E.g.
– doing jigsaw puzzles,
-playing card games such as Pairs and snap
-playing memory games like Kim’s game
-doing sorting and matching activities

Open Ended Play/ Deconstructed role play
We intentionally provide lots of open-ended play resources and materials that children can use in whichever way their imagination takes them. This means that language opportunities are also opened up and no ceiling or limitations are put on play and talk possibilities.

Reading at Home Reception and KS1
To support and consolidate the skills learned in school, children take home books to read with their family. We use the Collins Big Cat books which are decodable books matched to our Little Wandle Programme. Each week the children take home the book they have been reading in school to read to their adult once or twice as a ‘Celebration Read’. This is where the parents can enjoy and celebrate together the success of their child reading a book fluently and with expression and comprehension.

Alongside this ‘book for practise’ the children will bring home a ‘book for pleasure’ that they have chosen from the library and can be enjoyed for a week. This is for adults to read to them, perhaps at bedtime or snuggled on the sofa.