Subject vision

At Goose Green, we believe that children are naturally creative, and we seek to nurture this instinct through our teaching of Art, Craft and Design. Through our engaging and diverse curriculum, children are given the opportunity to think, respond and create, and to develop their own voice, inspired by a wide range of artists, craftspeople and architects from all eras and backgrounds. 

We give our children the opportunity to experience a huge variety of exciting materials and processes through hands-on exploration. They are encouraged to experiment, to test and to make choices, reflecting continuously on their experience as they develop their skills to create high quality pieces of art.

We aim to equip our children with the knowledge and skills to explore, make, invent and take risks in their creative journey. Through learning art, craft and design, our pupils learn to respect their own and others’ creative decisions and to become curious about the wider world around them. Above all, we want our children to enjoy the subject, and develop a positive, life-long relationship with it. They will understand and appreciate the inclusivity of Art in all its forms and recognise its (and their own) potential to change their world.

How do children learn Art & Design at Goose Green?

Art, Craft and Design is taught discretely every week by a specialist Art Teacher. It is also embedded in classroom practice, with opportunities to revisit and develop knowledge, skills and processes.

We teach a creative and skills-based curriculum, including (but not limited to) the disciplines of Drawing, Painting, Printmaking, 3D Making, Collage and Textiles. The progression of skills and knowledge has been carefully sequenced by our specialist teacher. We teach and develop vocabulary, enabling the children to talk confidently about their personal creative journey, as well as of their own and others’ Art, Craft and Design work.

We revisit disciplines and skills to deepen children’s understanding and build on previous learning. We encourage an open-ended, discovery approach to the exploration of materials and creation of artwork to develop our pupils as creative and free-thinking individuals.

We appreciate that each child’s creative journey will be unique to them and we want them to feel ownership of this. We use sketchbooks to help develop and record this personal journey, teaching them the skills to explore, reflect, create and learn from their experiences with increasing independence. 

We expose our children to a diverse range of artists, craftspeople, architects and designers from all time periods and cultures, fostering an appreciation of the inclusivity of Art, Craft and Design and its potential as a force for change.

We celebrate children’s effort, progress and achievement through school displays, social media posts, entry and display in local competitions and at our annual Arts Exhibition.

We enrich children’s cultural capital (their breadth of knowledge and experience of art, craft and design) through the inclusion of immersive activities, trips to galleries and museums, workshops, whole school projects, and visitors to the school.

How do we know what children have learned?

• Questioning

• Pupil Learning Reviews 

• Talking to teachers

• Learning walks

• Quizzing and retrieval practice

• Feedback and marking

• Progress in sketchbooks matches the curriculum intent

Curriculum documents

Art Curriculum Progression

Art Vocabulary

Subject vision

We want our children to be enthusiastic, confident digital citizens, showing curiosity and ambition in their learning through discovering new ways to be creative with technology. We give our pupils opportunities to gain experience using a wide range of computing technology and to develop skills that will equip them for life in an increasingly digital world. 

Online safety and digital citizenship are important aspects of our curriculum. We aim to provide our pupils with the knowledge and skills that they will need to identify and manage risks in their online practices and also to think about how they can ensure kindness in their own usage. 

How do children learn Computing at Goose Green?

Our curriculum is built around the Teach Computing Curriculum based on the National Centre for Computing Education’s computing taxonomy to ensure comprehensive coverage of the subject, with knowledge, skills and vocabulary progression links all through Early Years Foundation Stage, Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2. This also provides a pathway through to the skills that children will continue to develop in Key Stage 3 and 4.

Our units for Early Years, Key Stages 1 and 2 are based on a spiral curriculum built around four themes: Computing Systems and Networks; Creative Media; Data and Information, and Programming.

Pupils revisit themes through units that consolidate and build on prior learning, as well as providing opportunities to apply the skills that they are gaining and to problem solve.

The children learn about online safety through the Teach Computing Curriculum units, alongside opportunities for discussion around these areas through our PSHE curriculum.

How do we know what children have learned?

• Questioning

• Pupil Learning Reviews

• Talking to teachers

• Learning walks

• Quizzing and retrieval practice

• Feedback and marking

Curriculum documents

Computing Curriculum Progression

Online Safety Curriculum Progression

Computing Vocabulary

Subject vision

Our curriculum supports pupils to be innovative and creative thinkers, who have an appreciation for the product design cycle of ideation, creation and evaluation. We encourage pupils to be ambitious in their drafting of design concepts, and to understand that creating great products can involve taking risks. Our curriculum supports pupils to be confident, reflective learners by modelling, testing and evaluating their own and others' work.

We aim to provide pupils with skills that are useful and applicable to their futures, alongside developing an awareness of Design and Technology's role in our lives. Our curriculum supports pupils to become resourceful and enterprising citizens, who will have the skills to contribute to pioneering design advancements. 

By the time our pupils reach Year 6, they will have a refined understanding of how real life design structures work, as well as an established confidence in using a range of materials. 

How do children learn DT at Goose Green?

The children learn about the three main stages of the design process: design, make and evaluate. They do this through a spiral curriculum, where children revisit six key areas throughout their time at Goose Green, allowing them to revisit and build on their previous learning.

The six areas are:

• Cooking and Nutrition
• Mechanisms/ Mechanical Systems
• Structures
• Textiles
• Electrical Systems (Key Stage 2 only)
• Digital World (Key Stage 2 only)

Each stage of the design process is underpinned by technical knowledge, which encompasses the contextual, historical and technical understanding required for each area.  In Cooking and Nutrition, we have a focus on specific principles, skills and techniques in food, including where food comes from, diet and seasonality.

Our DT curriculum is built around the Kapow scheme, which we have tailored to support the learning of Goose Green’s broader curriculum. Projects in each year group relate to the topics being studied, allowing pupils to extend their knowledge, as well as build their practical and evaluative skills. By linking the projects to the studied topics, creativity is valued and pupils are encouraged to be critical thinkers. There is an in-depth immersion of learning that facilitates excitement and curiosity. 

The progression of skills, knowledge and vocabulary has been carefully sequenced, aligning with attainment targets in the National Curriculum, as well as providing learning opportunities that correspond to the Development Matters statements and Early Learning Goals. Whilst developing their planning, making and evaluative skills, pupils will also develop their technical vocabulary, which further enhances their understanding of design processes. 

How do we know what children have learned?

• Questioning

• Pupil Learning Reviews 

• Learning walks

• Quizzing and retrieval practice

• Feedback and marking

• Progress in books matches the curriculum intent

Curriculum documents

DT Curriculum Progression

DT Vocabulary

Subject vision

We want all children to leave us with the knowledge and skills they will need to be able to explore and find out about the world around them. Through our Geography curriculum, our children are able to discover the wonders of our diverse planet and make links from our local community to the wider world.

Geographers at Goose Green are encouraged to be curious about the world they live in, as we examine a wide range of different places and peoples.  We have developed a geography curriculum that is ambitious in its breadth and depth, where our children gain a rich understanding of both human and physical geography and the different disciplines of this fascinating subject.

How do children learn Geography at Goose Green?

Our Geography curriculum has been designed so that children begin by learning about our school and the local community and area, before working their way outwards to the rest of the UK and the world. Geographical skills such as map and atlas work and locational knowledge are woven throughout each Geography topic and the knowledge for each topic has been mapped in detail to ensure there is a consistent learning journey from EYFS to Year 6. As well as using the National Curriculum to inform our planning, Goose Green is also a member of the Geographical Association and we draw on this subject expertise. 

Children learn two discrete Geography topics each year from Year 1 upwards, and these topics have been carefully chosen to promote a progression of skills, knowledge and understanding that is then developed over time. The topics have also been chosen to reflect the interests and demographics of our children, and we use enquiry questions to structure each lesson, as we encourage the children to work critically and with curiosity. 

We use relevant case studies to develop and inform the children’s understanding and carry out practical fieldwork, an essential part of geographical practice. By the time the children reach Year 6, they are expected to utilise the skills and knowledge they have acquired in order to develop their own local enquiry and they are ready to continue their learning at secondary school.

How do we know what children have learned?

• Questioning

• Pupil Learning Reviews 

• Learning walks

• Quizzing and retrieval practice

• Feedback and marking

• Progress in books matches the curriculum intent

Curriculum documents

Geography Curriculum Progression

Geography Vocabulary

Subject vision 

At Goose Green, every child is given the opportunity to become a historian. Through a carefully sequenced series of engaging topics, children gain a coherent knowledge of the chronology of both Britain and the wider world.

They are encouraged to ask questions about the past and make meaningful links between time periods and places using themes such as empire, migration and trade. Children learn how to use the different disciplines of history, and will gain a deep understanding of processes of change, as well as some of the different ways the past has been constructed. Goose Green historians will learn that our understanding of the past is based on different perspectives and evidence, and they are encouraged to formulate their own opinions and questions in response to this.

How do children learn History at Goose Green?

At Goose Green, children begin to develop their historical understanding in the EYFS by learning about changes within themselves and their environment, as well as asking questions about their families and grandparents.

From Year 1 to Year 6, children participate in a carefully sequenced series of topics which have been developed to allow them to explore the wonders of the past. Every new topic begins with a study of chronology, to ensure that children are able to build upon their understanding of the past as they encounter new cultures or time periods. Children examine timelines and eventually construct their own. Throughout their history lessons, children encounter enquiry questions which have been designed to help them build upon their skills and knowledge and make meaningful connections and links.

By the time children reach Year 6, they will be able to engage in complex discussions and debate about history, as they will have gained the ability to question the past and see how it is still relevant to their lives today.

How do we know what children have learned?

• Questioning

• Pupil Learning Reviews

• Learning walks

• Quizzing and retrieval practice

• Feedback and marking

• Progress in books matches the curriculum intent

Curriculum documents

History Curriculum Progression

History Vocabulary

Subject vision

We recognise maths as a fundamental subject that has a profound influence on success in life. We aim to instil a love for mathematics and nurture a spirit of curiosity to understand how maths can describe our diverse world. Guided by our values of curiosity, ambition, and resilience, our mathematics curriculum is crafted with the understanding that these principles are central to each student's development.

We want our children to be observant of maths in real-world contexts, which not only captivates but also resonates with all pupils. Rooted in the principles of mastery, we aim to empower students with a resilient, versatile mathematical outlook. This is done by embedding concepts and empowering pupils with specific mathematical vocabulary to lay a resilient foundation for every child’s future.

How do children learn Maths at Goose Green?

We follow a curriculum based on the development of reasoning skills and concepts, prioritising the use of manipulatives to provide concrete examples of enquiry, relationships, and mathematical proof. This gives pupils hands-on experience of processes and steps, leading to a deeper understanding of mathematical concepts. Once grasped, pupils then move to represent maths pictorially and in a variety of ways before finally describing them with abstract representations. To achieve this, we use a blended, small steps, sequenced curriculum based on the White Rose scheme of learning and NCETM principles, along with ready-to-progress criteria.

We recognise that it is important to return to number and calculation skills to embed long-term learning, including mastery of times tables. To accomplish this, we use Times Table Rock Stars to inspire children to learn their times tables accurately, fluently, and at speed in a fun and dynamic way both at school and at home. To return to concepts, lessons begin with a ‘flashback’ to prior learning, which enables pupils to practice and embed fluency and concepts.

How do we know what children have learned?

• Questioning 

• Pupil Learning Reviews

• Learning walks

• Quizzing and retrieval practice

• Immediate feedback and marking

• Progress in books matches the curriculum intent

• Summative and Formative Assessment

• Internal and external moderation

Curriculum documents

Addition and Subtraction Progression

Algebra Progression

Fractions, Decimals and Percentages Progression

Geometry, Position, Direction and Movement Progression

Multiplication and Division Progression

Place Value Progression

Statistics and Measure Progression

Subject vision

Our ambitious music curriculum ensures that all children see themselves as musicians at Goose Green. By the end of Year 6, our pupils have developed the skills required to listen to, perform and compose music, fostering a love for music and developing the potential for life-long musical enjoyment or study.  

Making music supports our pupils’ moral resiliency, and by developing their talents as musicians, children are also able to build their self-confidence, creativity, a sense of achievement and self-reflection.

Our diverse and inclusive curriculum provides opportunities to listen to, and learn about, high quality music from around the world, raising multicultural awareness and developing the children's understanding and appreciation of the history and origins of music.

The children experience a range of opportunities to listen to and perform live music at prestigious venues, providing them with knowledge and cultural capital, no matter their starting point.

How do children learn Music at Goose Green?

At Goose Green, all classes from Nursery to Year 6 receive a weekly music lesson from a specialist teacher. The curriculum has been devised by the specialist, to meet the requirements of the Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage (Expressive Arts), the National Curriculum and suggested approaches from The National Plan for Music and The Model Music Curriculum, with the aim to deliver high-quality music for all. 

The music curriculum is taught progressively, beginning in EYFS, where music is an integral part of children’s learning journey. Singing and music-making opportunities are used frequently to embed learning, develop musical awareness, express feelings, support their imaginations and develop creativity.

Music lessons comprise of performing, listening, composing/ improvisation and musicianship, with knowledge built upon through the years. Children learn to recognise and name the interrelated dimensions of music: pitch, duration, tempo, timbre, structure, texture and dynamics.

In addition to the weekly music lessons, KS1 and KS2 have weekly singing assemblies, where children develop the skills to sing as an ensemble, develop expression and control and prepare for performances. This is another opportunity to celebrate diversity by learning new songs in other languages, from other cultures, using Makaton and British Sign Language, as well as learning and revisiting key vocabulary. 

In KS2, during Whole Class Instrumental lessons, all children learn to play musical instruments such as the ocarina, ukulele, steel pans, keyboards, African drums and Samba instruments. The children's instrumental learning builds up to ensemble performances, where every child has learned and practised their part, ensuring everyone is included and all have been challenged in their learning.

All children have regular opportunities to perform at Goose Green. This may be during lesson time, at the end of a unit of work, in special recitals and performance assemblies, and during more ambitious performances at key times of the year such as Christmas, International Evening, Black History Month, Artsweek and our annual end of year Carnival.

We have regular visitors from specialist musicians, who work with our pupils and offer further performance opportunities and we have created pathways for musical progression beyond Goose Green.

As well as the specialist music teacher, we have a team of peripatetic music teachers who visit the school each week. These lessons are paid for by parents and carers or subsidised by the school through Pupil Premium funding. We have music teachers for choir, guitar, drum kit, piano, violin, steel pans and Rock Band.

How do we know what children have learned?

• Questioning 

• Pupil Learning Reviews

• Learning walks

• Quizzing and retrieval practice

• Feedback 

• Performances

• Progress matches the curriculum intent

Curriculum Documents

Music Curriculum Progression

Music Vocabulary

Subject vision

Our Physical Education (PE) curriculum is driven to create a long-lasting desire to keep physically, mentally, emotionally and socially active and healthy. At Goose Green, we know the importance of physical exercise, both for mind and body. We aim to provide a PE curriculum which will also inspire a love of sport and a healthy attitude to fitness.

High quality PE lessons, delivered by staff and professional coaches, ensure that pupils leave our school with fundamental movement skills, the ability to develop competence in a wide range of physical activities, an understanding of how to keep up a healthy lifestyle through both diet and fitness, as well as accessing a wide range of sports and activities.  As our pupils progress through school, previous knowledge and skills are consistently developed to instil confidence and personal achievement. By participating in PE at Goose Green, our children are exposed to and discover a variety of sports that they can develop throughout their time in secondary school.

How do children learn PE at Goose Green?

Our PE curriculum ensures we cover all essential sports ranging from striking and fielding, invasion games, net games, athletics, dance, gymnastics and swimming. The progression of knowledge, skills and vocabulary has been carefully sequenced in our curriculum, alongside providing opportunities to develop leadership, teamwork and confidence.

Through carefully planned weekly lessons, children develop skills needed to play a variety of sports, understanding the rules and reasons for the skills taught. Throughout the curriculum, pupils are taught to self-evaluate their own and peer performance and how to build upon what they can already do, allowing them to take measured risks and challenge themselves to achieve their goals. 

How do we know what children have learned?

• Questioning

• Pupil Learning Reviews

• Learning walks

• Demonstrations of skill by children

• Progress matches the curriculum intent

Curriculum documents

PE Curriculum Progression

PE Vocabulary

Subject vision

At Goose Green, we understand that spoken language is fundamental to developing knowledge and understanding. In order to produce confident, eloquent speakers, children need ample opportunity to express themselves verbally. Our main focus within speaking and listening here at Goose Green is to equip our children with the skills required and confidence to be successful, well-rounded citizens.

How do children learn this at Goose Green?

We place strong emphasis on a child’s ability to listen and participate in discussions. We teach children to give well-structured descriptions, explanations and narratives for different purposes, including for expressing feelings. Through poetry lessons, debates, performance, role-play and presentations, the children develop oracy, which in turn nurtures social interaction and develops empathy and understanding amongst our pupils.

How do we know what children have learned?

• Questioning

• Learning walks

• Performances and presentations

Subject vision

Our Relationship & Sex Education (RSE) and Personal Social Health & Economic (PSHE) curriculum aims to give children the knowledge, skills and attitudes that they need to effectively navigate the complexities of life in the 21st Century. The curriculum covers key areas which will support children to make informed choices now and in the future around their health, safety, wellbeing, relationships, and financial matters. 

When children face challenges, we want them to have the skills and understanding of who they can turn to and the tools to keep safe in our ever-changing world. As well as the ability to make informed decisions to develop caring and respectful relationships, by learning these skills, children will have belief in themselves, be ambitious in their goals and know that anything is possible if they put their mind to it. When children leave Goose Green, they will do so with knowledge and skills to help them be an active, positive and successful member of society. 

 

How do children learn RSE & PSHE at Goose Green?

Our curriculum begins in Nursery, where objectives are taught from Personal, Social and Emotional Development (PSED) statements from Birth to Five Matters and the PSED Early Learning Goals. From Reception to Year 6, we follow the Kapow Primary RSE & PSHE scheme.

The Kapow scheme consists of three areas of learning (to match the EYFS PSED prime area) and five areas of learning across Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2.

Reception:

• Self-regulation
• Building relationships
• Managing self

Key Stage 1 and 2:

• Families and reltionships
• Health and wellbeing
• Safety and the changing body
• Citizenship
• Economic wellbeing

Each area is revisited to allow children to build on prior learning. The lessons also provide a progressive programme.

The lessons are based upon the statutory requirements for Relationships and Health education, but where our lessons go beyond these requirements (primarily in the Citizenship and Economic wellbeing areas) they refer to the PSHE Association Programme of Study, which is recommended by the DfE. Sex education has been included in line with the DfE recommendations and is covered in Year 6.  

Our curriculum supports the requirements of the Equality Act through direct teaching, for example learning about different families, the negative effects of stereotypes and celebrating differences, in addition to the inclusion of diverse teaching resources throughout the lessons. 

A range of teaching and learning activities are used to ensure all children can access learning and make progress. In Key Stage 1 and 2, there is an introductory lesson at the stat of each year group which provides the opportunity for children and teachers to negotiate ground rules for the lessons, which can then be referred to throughout the year to create a safe environment. The use of stories, scenarios and video clips provide opportunities for children to engage in real life and current topics in a safe and structured way. Role-play activities are also included to help children play out scenarios that they may find themselves in. There are meaningful opportunities for cross-curricular learning, in particular with Computing for online safety and Science for growing, nutrition, teeth, diet and lifestyle. Lastly, our curriculum provides consistent messages throughout the age ranges, including how and where to access help. 

 

How do we know what children have learned?

• Questioning

• Pupil Learning Reviews

• Learning walks

• Quizzing and retrieval practice

• Feedback 

• Half-termly Draw and Write assessments

• Progress matches the curriculum intents

Curriculum documents

PSHE Curriculum Progression

PSHE Vocabulary

Subject vision

At Goose Green, we believe that reading is a fundamental skill that enables all pupils to explore the many paths and opportunities that will be presented to them throughout their lives; it is the gateway to all learning. All members of staff aim to take our children on a journey through reading, from Nursery to Year 6, equipping them with the necessary skills and knowledge required to excel in school and in later life.

Our reading curriculum is designed to instil a life-long love for reading, with the aim that all children will immerse themselves in books regularly, throughout their lives. We believe that reading enables children to explore and understand beyond their immediate experiences and appreciate the world around them. Reading enables pupils to engage with diverse cultures, develop the vocabulary necessary for self-expression and access the wider curriculum. 

Our aspirations for our pupils:

• To become lifelong readers

• To read with fluency, accuracy and comprehension across the curriculum

• To read with expression, clarity and confidence

• To engage with and respond to a diverse range of text types 

• To develop a broad, complex vocabulary bank

How do children learn Reading at Goose Green?

Phonics 

We teach phonics through Essential Letters and Sounds (ELS). It is designed to be used as part of an early learning environment that is rich in talk and story, where children experience the joy of books and language, whilst rapidly acquiring the skills to become fluent independent readers and writers. ELS teaches children to decode by identifying each sound within a word and blending them together to read fluently and to encode by segmenting each sound to write words accurately.

ELS whole-class, daily phonics teaching begins from the first days of Reception. Through the rigorous ELS teaching programme, children build an immediate understanding of the relationship between the sounds they can hear and say (phonemes) and the written sounds (graphemes). Children are regularly assessed and gaps in children’s phonics knowledge is addressed quickly through structured ELS interventions. Children take home a decodable book matched to their phonics knowledge in line with ELS guidance. 

VIPERS

From Year 2, pupils are explicitly taught the necessary skills required to comprehend what they read. Through exploration of a range of genres, teachers equip children with the skills to explore and understand authorial intent, focusing on a range of literary devices. To support our multi-faceted approach, we use the ‘VIPERS’ framework, originally developed by Rob Smith of ‘The Literacy Shed’. Our approach teaches the following reading skills:

V - Vocabulary

I - Inference

P - Prediction

E - Explain 

R - Retrieval

S - Sequence (Early Years and Key Stage 1) or Summarise (Key Stage 2)

We understand that an extensive and rich vocabulary bank enables our pupils to comprehend a range of texts. We provide many opportunities for children to broaden their vocabulary, through explicit vocabulary instruction across all areas of the curriculum.  

To ensure children keep up with the expectations of their year group, we have implemented the ELS Progress programme. This is designed to plug gaps in children's Grapheme Phoneme Correspondence awareness, with a focus on comprehension. The children are exposed to high quality texts that are closely matched to their reading level and are guided through questions that are linked to the key VIPERS reading skills.

Prosody 

Whilst learning to decode words is a fundamental reading skill that develops fluency, it is only one element of reading. Therefore, having phonological awareness and an understanding of spoken language is crucial to developing life-long readers at Goose Green. We want all of our pupils to be able to express themselves confidently and coherently, to voice their opinions and to understand and rationalise other people’s points of view.

One approach to developing prosody within our learners is through ‘echo reading’. Teachers demonstrate through intonation, fluency and expression, how books can come to life through readers and how words can evoke vivid imagery.

Reading for pleasure

Reading for pleasure is at the heart of our reading curriculum. We believe that igniting children's enjoyment and passion for reading, enables them to read a range of texts across the curriculum and within other contexts.

Research shows that reading for pleasure is important for a child’s emotional and social development, provides comfort and a ‘safe place’ for a child and develops their confidence. Children at Goose Green have access to a wide range of high quality texts and are encouraged by all staff to discuss their book preferences e.g. in weekly book recommendation assemblies. 

At Goose Green, we believe that reading for pleasure should be promoted at home. Children should read regularly, whether that be reading aloud to themselves, reading to an adult/older sibling, or listening to someone else read. Research tells us that there is a positive relationship between the frequency of reading and improved fluency and stamina, which in turn increases a child’s enjoyment of reading. We encourage all adults to be reading role models. 

How do we know what children have learned?

• Questioning

• Pupil Learning Reviews

• Learning walks

• Quizzing and retrieval practice

• Feedback and marking

• Progress in books matches the curriculum intent

• Summative and Formative Assessment

• Internal and external moderation

Curriculum documents

Reading Curriculum Progression - EY and KS1

Reading Curriculum Progression - KS2

Reading Vocabulary

Supporting Phonics at Home - Information for Parents

We believe our Religious Education (RE) curriculum should reflect the rich and diverse community of our local community here in Southwark, in London, across the UK and across the world. We study six world religions: Buddhism, Sikhism, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism and Christianity, and we conduct in-depth studies into the beliefs, practices, ethics and social action of Christianity and Islam.

Across their time with us, students will have the opportunity to examine the claims made by religion, to enjoy and understand the powerful stories behind religions, to gain an understanding of the diverse range of religious practices that takes place here in our city and to begin to see how religious beliefs influence social justice, community action and personal choices. As well as examining the theological, historical and sociological elements of religion, we have a focus on the visual culture behind world faiths. 

How do children learn RE at Goose Green?

In the Early Years, children begin to engage with world religions and different cultures through stories and discussions of their own experiences. They explore the traditions and foods linked to religious festivals and celebrations. 

In Key Stage 1, we introduce children to the basics of Christianity and Islam and encourage them to think about what it means for someone to believe in a God and how someone might be influenced by their religious beliefs. We have a big focus on storytelling with topics looking in-depth at the stories behind Easter, Christmas, the life of Muhammad and figures from the Old Testament.

In Key Stage 2, we build on those foundations to explore some of the ethical issues around religion, including religious responses to climate change, war, wealth and poverty. We look at the art and culture around religions, including the architecture and art history, as well as taking a deeper dive into the diversity and meaning at the heart of religious practices. In each year, we take a term to introduce students to a new religion: Judaism in Year 3, Sikhism in Year 4, Hinduism in Year 5 and Buddhism in Year 6. The RE curriculum culminates in a virtual trip at the end of Year 6 to explore Jerusalem and its important position in Judaism, Christianity and Islam.

Lessons are structured to build upon prior knowledge. Questioning is used to scaffold and guide whole class discussions around the learning questions enabling students to gain a deeper understanding. In KS1 the focus is on discussion and in KS2 children have RE booklets in which to record their learning.

How do we know what children have learned?

• Questioning

• Pupil Learning Reviews 

• Learning walks

• Quizzing and retrieval practice

• Feedback and marking

• Progress matches the curriculum intent

Curriculum documents

RE Curriculum Progression

RE Vocabulary

Subject vision

At Goose Green, we aim to ignite curiosity in every child and create a passion for science that goes beyond the classroom.  Through scientific enquiry and practical, hands-on exploration, children learn the skills to investigate, research and make sense of the world around them.  Learning should spark children's wonder in the world around them, as well as providing the knowledge and resilience to become critical thinkers.  

How do children learn Science at Goose Green?

We follow the Kapow science scheme, built around the following key strands:

• Scientific knowledge and understanding of:
  • Biology - living organisms and vital processes
  • Chemistry - matter and its properties
  • Physics - how the world we live in 'works'
• Working scientifically - processes and methods of science to answer questions about the world around us
• Science in action - uses and implications of science in the past, present and for the future

Theoretical and practical lessons are at the heart of our curriculum, where children are involved in investigations, experiments, and observations, and they ask questions, make predictions, analyse data, and draw conclusions. We guide children to learn and use scientific terms and vocabulary accurately and confidently, empowering them to clearly articulate their discoveries and understanding.  

The objectives taught in the Early Years are from The World statements from Birth to Five Matters and the Understanding the World Early Learning Goals. Science lessons in EYFS, may take part as a group lesson or may be found as opportunities to independently explore and investigate in the provision.

Our curriculum in KS1 and KS2 aligns with the National Curriculum.  Specific disciplines of Biology, Chemistry and Physics are broken down further into half termly topics, for example, Animals Including Humans, Everyday Materials and Sound.  Our Science curriculum develops with increasing depth and challenge as children move through the school. Our lessons are sequential, providing children the opportunities to make connections between prior knowledge and experience.  Pupils are taught to understand how science can be used to explain what is occurring, predict how things will behave, and analyse causes and trends grounded in knowledge. 

How do we know what children have learned?

• Questioning

• Pupil Learning Reviews

• Learning walks

• Quizzing and retrieval practice

• Feedback and marking

• Progress in books matches the curriculum intent

Curriculum Documents

Science Curriculum Progression

Science Vocabulary

Subject vision

We want the children at Goose Green to foster the enthusiasm and enjoyment of learning a new language.

Children have the opportunity to understand Spanish language and Hispanic culture, as well as to develop an international outlook in a fun and inclusive learning setting. Learning Spanish helps our children to develop communication skills and extends their knowledge of how language works, helping them to develop their grammar skills, and preparing them for the challenges of the secondary school curriculum.

Spanish is intended as a gateway to cultivate children’s attention to study a foreign language and develop their interest in the culture of other nations.

How do children learn Spanish at Goose Green?

Spanish is taught by a specialist native teacher, Eva Rodriguez-Moya, and the curriculum has been designed to fulfil the National Curriculum attainment targets for Languages.

In EYFS and KS1, the children explore the languages of our community through songs, games and stories which promote an understanding of some of the differences in our world. Our children begin their journey in learning Spanish from Year 2 onwards. 

Our curriculum has been carefully sequenced to encourage children’s understanding and knowledge of the Spanish language to deepen and progress over time. Inclusion is a big part of the learning spirit behind the lessons, both introducing the Spanish language and culture to non-Spanish speakers, while reinforcing and building the skills of those with a pre-existing knowledge of the language.

The curriculum is designed to progressively develop children’s skills in languages, through weekly taught lessons.

Learning objectives comprise the full spectrum of Spanish, with Oracy, Literacy and Intercultural Understanding. This results in a holistic approach to the target language, with distinct emphasis on the Oracy component (i.e. listening, speaking and spoken interaction). Our focus on Oracy serves as an effective introduction to language and culture through listening, speaking and interacting orally to songs and rhymes, to each other and to native speakers, as well as recorded and online speech and songs.

Phonics is extremely important in the curriculum and learning the sounds of the alphabet in Spanish is one of the most important things we can do to give our children a strong foundation for learning to read and write. Children also progressively acquire, use and apply a growing bank of vocabulary and grammar organised around topics.

Our curriculum covers:

In Year 3 - Learning basic greetings and talking about feelings. Counting to 31 and making simple calculations. Singing and dancing songs about colours, body parts and simple instructions.

In Year 4 - Learning the alphabet and the sound of the letters, focusing on phonics, in order to have a strong foundation for learning to read and write in Spanish. Saying the date and describing colours, size and shapes. Counting to 100.

In Year 5 - Talking about the weather and making weekly forecasts using connectives and opinions.  Learning about school: objects, equipment and subjects. Give opinions and use adjectives to describe things. 

In Year 6 - Describing personal appearances, family and pets. Having simple conversations, reading simple texts and writing short paragraphs. Developing an understanding of Spanish verbs and adjectives.

How do we know what children have learned?

• Questioning

• Pupil Learning Reviews

• Learning walks

• Quizzing and retrieval practice

• Feedback and marking

• Progress in books matches the curriculum intent

Subject vision 

At Goose Green, we believe that all children are writers. Our primary objective is to equip children with the fundamental, transferable writing skills that will allow them to express themselves with the written word. We place great emphasis on the link between reading and writing and believe that, if we encourage children to immerse themselves in high quality texts across the curriculum, they will adopt authorial voice within their own writing. 

How do children learn Writing at Goose Green?

Teachers captivate pupils’ imaginations through a range of strategies and ‘hooks’ to learning, to infuse excitement and joy when writing. We firmly believe that writing for a purpose enables children to develop their enthusiasm and commitment to the subject. One of the most valued steps within our writing curriculum is that the children are presented with ample opportunity to plan, draft, review and edit their learning, making their own suggestions and those to support their peers.

Our writing curriculum is meticulously planned so that each year group is exposed to a range of genres and key writing skills, which progressively become more challenging as their writing journey continues through Goose Green. 

We believe that children should be equipped with a vast vocabulary bank. Teachers carefully plan for children to learn ambitious words across the curriculum, with a particular focus on Tier 2 vocabulary (words that are useful across multiple topic and subject areas). Children are presented with a range of opportunities to apply taught vocabulary, through oral rehearsal, retrieval quizzes and written outcomes.

The explicit teaching of handwriting, spelling, and grammar forms an integral part of our approach to ensure that children grasp the conventions of effective writing. We firmly believe that every child should take pride in the presentation of their learning, fostering a sense of ownership and responsibility.

At the start of a child’s writing journey in Early Years, we recognise that children develop at different rates and in a non-linear fashion. Alongside our focused writing sequences and in order to underpin our writing curriculum, children are given daily opportunities to develop their fine and gross motor skills, develop their communication and language through engaging play environments and high quality interactions with staff. Thoughtful consideration about exciting real life experiences is given so that children are inspired to write. 

Throughout their writing journey, pupils who require additional support, particularly children with SEND, are provided with a range of devices to support them in accessing the writing curriculum, such as writing frames, sentence stems, vocabulary banks and software to aid transcription.

By the end of a child’s writing journey in Year 6, children will be skilled enough to sustain writing at speed and with stamina. They will be deliberate and conscious writers, who will have developed their own style of writing, finding joy in their ability to manipulate grammatical features, vocabulary and punctuation, to achieve desired effects.

Handwriting

At Goose Green, in order to develop a fluent and legible handwriting style, we use the Nelson Handwriting programme. It ensures careful progression from pre-writing patterns to the development of an individual style across Years 3 to 6. The programme provides a clearly structured approach to the technical aspects of writing (letter formation, basic joins, printing, speedwriting and slant).

Spelling

Learning to spell begins in the Early Years and Year 1 through the teaching of phonics using Essential Letters and Sounds (ELS). You can find out more information about our approach to phonics in the Reading section above.

When teaching spelling in Year 2, children continue to apply the phonetic knowledge taught in EYFS and Year 1, through a programme called ELS Essential Spelling, which is a continuation of ELS. ELS Essential Spelling provides children with the opportunity to revise the code they already know (from Reception and Year 1) by looking at grapheme–phoneme correspondences (GPCs). We understand the importance of reading to underpin spelling and that is why ELS Essential Spelling continues to provide children opportunities to read within each spelling lesson. The language mapping skills acquired by reading support and underpin encoding. Exposure and repetition are key to enabling children to become successful spellers. 

In Years 3 to 6, spelling is taught using the Nelson Spelling programme, which provides consistent practise of teaching children strategies to spell, through looking at sound patterns (phonics), suffixes, prefixes and memorising words. The programme closely links to the National Curriculum's expectations of the words children should learn to spell by the end of Key Stage 2.

How do we know what children have learned?

• Questioning

• Pupil Learning Reviews

• Learning walks

• Feedback and marking

• Summative and formative assessment

• Internal and external moderation

• Progress in books matches the curriculum intent

Curriculum documents

Writing Curriculum Progression

Writing Vocabulary