At Lockington Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School we offer a curriculum which is broad and balanced and which builds on the knowledge, understanding and skills of all children, whatever their starting points, as they progress through each Key Stage. Our curriculum incorporates the statutory requirements of the National Curriculum 2014 and Personal Social and Health Education (PSHE) plus a wealth of experiences and opportunities to best meet the learning and developmental needs or our pupils.  Our curriculum ensures learning is meaningful and benefits from a specific focus on the core areas of English and Mathematics.  It aims to inspire children to nurture a passion for learning, providing pupils with the requisite skills to be successful, independent and motivated learners in readiness for their next stage of education.

Our comprehensive curriculum framework meets the requirements of the latest National Curriculum and requirements for PSHE.  Our long-term plans ensure coverage and progression.  Progression Maps for each subject ensure learning is sequential and learning expectations at pupils move through the school are explicit.  Sonar Tracker Assessment Frameworks help us ensure children are meeting age-related expectations in their learning. The more able are challenged further and children who find aspects of their learning more difficult are appropriately supported so that they too are enabled to experience success. National requirements and school requirements are mapped out as a whole school.  Individual teachers plan the curriculum for their pupils accordingly.

The curriculum is underpinned by the school’s Christian Values and Vision, which are taught on their own and through other areas of the curriculum, including collective worship. The spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of our pupils and their understanding of the core values of our society are woven through the curriculum.  These values underpin everything we do and include values such as compassion, creativity, perseverance, thankfulness and respect.  

The English curriculum and the mathematics curriculum are supported through curriculum frameworks including: White Rose for mathematics; Hamilton Trust for English; structured reading schemes for phonics and reading; ‘Lexia’; the ‘Nelson Spelling’ scheme and the ‘Penpals’ handwriting scheme.  Children develop their phonic knowledge through the Essential Letters and Sounds Programme and develop their fluency and comprehension in reading through our structured reading programmes.

In all year groups there are small group interventions in order to support pupils in gaining the key skills to become successful readers, writers and mathematicians.  These include ‘Power of 1, Power of 2 and Toe By Toe.  Pupils also have access to a range of targeted resources and interventions.  

Specialist teachers and instructors support music and physical education. Subject leaders are given training and opportunity to keep developing their own subject knowledge, skills and understanding so they can support curriculum development and their colleagues throughout the school. Theme weeks, whole school activities, residential visits and opportunities within and outside school all enrich and develop the children’s learning. After school clubs and events extend these opportunities further. Additional whole school programmes and approaches support quality first teaching and learning and the school is well resourced in terms of learning materials, books and technology.  Sporting opportunities have a high profile.  We are also proud of our links with the International School in Geneva and the Polish School, based in Hull.  

The outdoor environment and the local community are considered an opportunity for active learning for all our pupils. The school grounds have been developed so they can enrich different curriculum areas.  

Pupils have opportunities to share their learning with each other, their parents and carers and other learners through school-based and external exhibitions, performances, competitions and events involving other schools and homework. Developing their independence and motivation as learners and their sense of responsibility as future citizens is at the heart of all our teaching and learning. 

Organisation

Pupils are taught in two Classes.  Class 1 is made up of pupils aged 4-7 (Reception and Key Stage 1) plus part time nursery pupils.  Class 2 is made up of pupils aged 7-11 (Key Stage 2).  Class 2 is split into two distinct teaching groups for Mathematics and English lessons (Y3/4 and Y5/6).

The school uses ‘Essential Letters and Sounds’ to underpin synthetic phonics teaching and reading within Reception, Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 (when appropriate).   

The school uses a wide range of reading materials, including a lot of ‘real’ books.  The basic reading scheme used is the ‘Oxford Treetops’ scheme.  However, many children will read other books through guided and whole class reading.  Twinkl and Hamilton Trust materials support planning throughout the school (https://www.hamilton-trust.org.uk).

You can find out more about our curriculum by contacting the school, by viewing our curriculum plans and our progression maps, by reading the curriculum letters published termly on this site or by visiting the Government National Curriculum website (https://www/gov.uk/governement/collections/national-curriculum). 

The school works closely with parents to support children with Special Educational Needs and Disabiltites to ensure pupils have full access to the curriculum.  We work closely with outside agencies to support pupils where necessary.  Early identification and appropriate intervention is used to support children throughout the school. The schools Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Co-ordinator, Mrs Cattle, is contactable through the school office.

We have developed our own long term plans from the National Curriculum (2014).  All subjects, including English and Mathematics, are taught following the National Curriculum Guidance (2014).

RE & Worship

The school follows the East Riding Locally Agreed Syllabus (2022), for Religious Education and the Church of England Statement of Entitlement for Religious Education.

Young people are growing up in a world where there is increasing awareness of the diversity of religious and other worldviews and the impact this diversity can have on individuals and society. Learning about religion and worldviews contributes dynamically to young people’s education by provoking challenging questions about meaning and purpose in life, beliefs about God, issues of right and wrong and what it means to be human.

In RE, young people learn about religion and worldviews in local, national and global contexts, to discover, explore, consider and interpret different responses to life’s big questions. Studying religion and worldviews gives opportunity to develop knowledge and understanding of important aspects of human experience.

The curriculum for RE aims to ensure that all pupils develop religious literacy through:

  • Knowing about and understanding a range of religions and worldviews, learning to see these through the disciplines of Theology, Philosophy and Social Sciences
  • Expressing ideas and insights about the nature, significance and impact of religion and worldviews through a multidisciplinary approach whilst engaging critically with them
  • Gaining and deploying skills taken from the disciplines of Theology, Philosophy and Social Sciences to enhance learning about religions and different worldviews.

As stated in the Church of England Statement of Entitlement for Religious Education, our school aims for all pupils:

  • To know about and understand Christianity as a diverse global living faith through the exploration of core beliefs using an approach that critically engages with biblical text.
  • To gain knowledge and understanding of a range of religions and worldviews appreciating diversity, continuity and change within the religions and worldviews being studied.
  • To engage with challenging questions of meaning and purpose of life, beliefs, the self, issues of right and wrong, and what it means to be human. To develop pupils’ knowledge and understanding of Christianity, other principal religions, and religious traditions that examine these questions, fostering personal reflection on spiritual and philosophical ways of living, believing and thinking.
  • To enable pupils to build their sense of identity and belonging which helps them flourish within their communities and as citizens in a diverse society. To consider their responsibilities to themselves and others, and to explore how they might contribute to their communities and to wider society.
  • To teach pupils to develop respect for others including people with different faiths and beliefs and help to challenge prejudice.
  • To recognise the concept of religion and its continuing influence on Britain’s cultural heritage and in the lives of individuals and societies in different times, cultures and places.

The time allocated to RE is as follows:

EYFS – Planned within the EYFS framework and taught weekly.

KS1 – 1-hour lesson weekly during three half terms (or equivalent)

KS2 – 1-hour and 15 minutes lesson during three half terms (or equivalent)

Units may be blocked.

Withdrawal

 We note the Human Right of parents to withdraw their children from RE. The school must comply with any request from a parent to withdraw their child and parents are not required to give their reasons for wanting to do so. However, in view of the importance placed on RE as a core subject in a church school, we would hope that all children admitted will participate fully in RE. We aim to provide an open curriculum which can be taught to all pupils, by all staff. Teachers are asked to refer to the head teacher any questions from parents about withdrawals. We ask that and that anyone wishing to withdraw their child would discuss this with the Headteacher before making this decision. Requests for full or partial withdrawal from RE should be made in writing to the head teacher and a record kept of them.

Collective Worship

At Lockington Collective Worship is highly valued and all children attend daily acts of collective worship. Our aims are:

  • Foster a greater sense of community and global perspective
  • Express adoration, praise and thanksgiving
  • Affirm Christian Values and attitudes
  • Develop self-awareness
  • Acknowledge diversity and difference
  • Appreciate the importance of other religious faiths
  • Be still and reflect
  • Celebrate personal and collective achievement

Collective Worship is organised on a whole school basis, and is led by staff, visitors and the pupils themselves. We foster close links with St Mary’s Church in Lockington and have regular services there.
The spiritual, social, cultural and moral welfare of our pupils, whatever their background, is of prime concern to us as a school. However, Christian values are definitely built into our ethos and teaching, and are reflected in the cycle of themes on which our daily acts of worship are based.
Parents do have the right to withdraw their children on religious grounds from acts

of collective worship and if any parents wish to exercise their right, they are asked to discuss this matter with the Headteacher, and alternative arrangements will be made.