Our Curriculum
The Curriculum at Stisted
The curriculum is everything that we intend children to learn. This has been carefully mapped out so that children experience a coherent, well-sequenced curriculum that builds on what they have been taught, know and can do.
It has been designed to equip children with the knowledge, attitudes and dispositions they need to acquire key skills and conceptual understanding in a range of subjects.
The school curriculum is split into three key stages and has been designed in a way that new learning always builds on what has already been taught. The three stages are Early Years (Reception), Key Stage 1 (Year 1 and Year 2) and Key Stage 2 ( Years 3,4,5 and 6)
Children are taught the knowledge they need to know through inquiry, discussion and carefully sequenced activities and experiences planned by the class teacher. All the subjects we teach at this school are planned and delivered in a similar way to ensure that learning is cumulative and builds on what children have already been taught.
The aims of the Curriculum
The curriculum has been designed to achieve the following aims. We have aspirations for every child. These are:
Personal development
Every child is a principled member of society, contributing positively to the world in which they live having acquired empowering personal character qualities including respect, spiritual awareness, empathy, compassion, belonging, connection, hope and aspiration.
Learner development
Every child is a resourceful, self-motivated, inquisitive, analytical, evaluative, flexible, reflective, creative, empathetic, resilient, adaptable and confident independent learner.
Knowledge, understanding and skills
Every child is a literate and numerate and have the knowledge, knowhow and cultural capital they need to function and thrive in a dynamic and evolving world.
Key Stage 1
Our Reception Curriculum is ambitious and designed so that children have every opportunity to be ready for the Key Stage 1 curriculum. Key Stage 1 is the first key stage of primary school, a phase of education for 5-7-year-old children in England.
Key Stage 2
When children complete Key Stage 1, they embark on the Key Stage 2 curriculum (Years 3-6)
The National Curriculum
Our school curriculum includes the programmes of study outlined in the National Curriculum and forms part of our wider school curriculum.
The National Curriculum specifies what children will learn from Year 1 onwards in the following subjects:
- Literacy
- Mathematics
- Science
- Art
- Design and technology
- Computing
- Music
- History
- Geography
- Physical Education
- A Modern Foreign Language
We use an accredited Systematic Synthetic Phonics Programme to teach early reading. The programme we use at this school is Twinkl.
The School Curriculum
In addition to the National Curriculum, character development is part of our curriculum. This is because we believe it is important that our children learn to be curious, confident, self-directed learners. This underpins our vision to help children to grow healthy bodies, loving hearts and inquisitive minds.
Our Personal Development curriculum includes social, moral, spiritual and cultural education primarily through our Relationships, Sex and Health Education Programme and Religious Education. Further details on this aspect of the curriculum can be found in the Personal Development section of our website.
We also have a comprehensive Religious Education Curriculum that teaches children a range of faiths through the lenses of theology, philosophy and human social sciences . At least half of the RE curriculum is devoted to Christianity.
Our Curricular Plans
We have adapted a consistent approach to curricular planning across the school to ensure all learning is cumulative and builds on prior learning. We have included a number of links below so that you can see our curriculum and understand what children will learn as they progress through the school.
The following term by term overviews provide a summary of the content taught across the year in each subject. We are currently on Cycle 1 of a two year cycle.
We have also included links to show curricular progression. These are grouped into subjects that have progression through key inquiry questions and those through knowledge progression statements.
Reception Curriculum
eyfs-curriculum-map-sti.pdfAt the heart of our Reception Class approach to learning lie the principles that are found in a typical Montessori setting. This approach emphasises self-paced learning through play, discovery and instruction in a carefully prepared environment and dovetails seamlessly with our Reception curriculum where the Montessori philosophy and curriculum continues to build on the belief that children are naturally curious and capable of learning independently. The aim of this educational approach is designed to encourage children to become curious, confident self-directed learners and supports our vision to help children to grow healthy bodies, loving hearts and inquisitive minds.
Term by Term Overviews
Class 2
Year 1 & 2 Curricular Map Cycle 1.pdfYear 1 & 2
Class 3
Year 3 & 4 Curricular Map Cycle 1.pdfYear 3 & 4
Class 4
Year 5 & 6 Curricular Map Cycle 1.pdfYear 5 & 6
Subject Progression through Key Inquiry Questions
Science
SCI - STI 2024-25.pdfReligious Education
RE - STI 2024-25.pdfRelationships Education
RSHE - STI 2024-25.pdfGeography
GEO - STI 2024-25.pdfHistory
HIS - STI 2024-25.pdfComputing
ICT - STI 2024-25.pdfArt
ART - STI 2024-25.pdfDesign and Technology
DT - STI 2024-25.pdfMusic
MUS - STI 2024-25.pdfSubject Progression through knowledge progression statements
Reading
Reading Curriculum Knowledge Progression .pptx.pdfWriting
Writing Curriculum Knowledge Progression .pptx.pdfMathematics (Early Years)
Reception curriculum mapping.pdfMathematics (Year 1 - 6)
Maths Progression Ready to Progress.pdfSpoken English
Spoken language (oracy) Overview.pdfModern Foreign Language
Modern Foreign Language Overview.pdfPhysical Education
PE -STI 2024-25.pdf
Knowledge
All Knowledge in our curriculum has a purpose. It either contributes to conceptual understanding or a skill. Not all skills are transferable across contexts. For example, the creative skill in art requires knowledge and understanding of shape, colour, form, line and pattern whereas the creative skill in composing music requires knowledge and understanding of dynamics, timbre, melody and tempo.
Procedural knowledge is the knowledge children need in order to know how to do something or perform a skill. This knowledge needs to be carefully sequenced and applied by the child in the right order and sequence. For example, measuring an angle requires a step by step procedure.
Conceptual knowledge is the knowledge needed to help a child understand a concept. For example, understanding why it gets dark at night, children need to know that the earth receives light from the sun; they need to know the Earth is spherical and rotates and when the side of the earth faces away from the sun, the earth plunges into darkness. When this occurs we call this darkness night.
We can further break down knowledge into disciplinary knowledge. Substantive knowledge is content taught as established fact. Disciplinary knowledge is knowing how to gain knowledge in different subject disciplines e.g. Scientists gain knowledge through carrying out tests and repeated observations whereas historians look for clues to interpret what life might have been like in the past.
Skills
Skills are the application of key knowledge in the correct order and sequence. The knowledge children need to complete increasingly complex tasks are planned into our curricular framework at each phase as children get older and deepen their knowledge and understanding of key concepts.
In reading for example, children first learn the sound each letter shape makes. Next they learn that words are made by blending these sounds together. This is knowledge. The process of reading is applying this knowledge. As children become more fluent at decoding print, they are taught the knowledge they need for reading comprehension.
We have identified what children need to know to be an effective reader. For example, children need to know authors use figurative language to convey meaning beyond the literal. Without this knowledge children will find it difficult to understand phrases such as 'the shopkeeper had a heart of stone'.
Similarly, children are also taught to know an apostrophe can change the meaning of a word from plural to indicate possession e.g. girl’s as opposed to girls or that a pronoun indicates a person or object that has been previously referred to.
Likewise, children are taught to know that a word can change meaning depending on the context e.g. the cricketer hit the ball with a bat as opposed to the bat flew out of the cave. This is all essential knowledge children need to know and then apply in order to perform the process or skill of reading.
Knowledge Blocks
We have developed detailed knowledge for each subject that outlines what children should know as they progress through the school. There are different form of knowledge within our curriculum. Procedural knowledge encompasses the skills and know-how necessary for children to effectively perform tasks or activities. Much like following a recipe, this knowledge requires careful sequencing and application in the correct order. Knowledge can also be categorised into substantive and disciplinary knowledge. Substantive knowledge refers to concrete, factual information presented as established truths. For instance, understanding that tornadoes predominantly occur in the Great Plains of North America is substantive knowledge. However, in isolation, this information may lack significance, prompting further inquiries such as the nature of tornadoes, their causes, and the geographical features of the Great Plains.
To truly grasp the significance of substantive knowledge, it must be contextualised within a broader framework, necessitating additional information or prior knowledge. For instance, understanding why tornadoes are prevalent in the Great Plains of North America requires a deeper understanding of meteorological phenomena and geographical patterns.
Disciplinary knowledge, on the other hand, pertains to understanding how to approach and acquire substantive knowledge within a specific discipline. For example, in history, children must grasp the methodology of utilizing and analyzing evidence to construct interpretations of the past. They must recognise the importance of historical inquiry, such as evaluating whether Henry VIII deserves the accolade of a great king.
Below you will see two examples of how we break down knowledge children are expected to learn.
Example Knowledge Block for Science
Knowledge Block Example Science.pdfExample Knowledge Block for RE
RE Knowledge Block.pdfPhonics
Phonics is a method of teaching children early reading by correlating sounds with alphabetic symbols. The teaching programme we use is Twinkl. This is an accredited Systematic Synthetic Phonic teaching approach approved by the Department of Education.
Children learn the skill of segmentation. This means separating a whole word into corresponding units of sound called phonemes. This programme begins in the Reception and continues through to the end of Year 2. Children who have not reached the expected standard continue with the programme in Year 3 and beyond.
Reception (Level 1-5)
twinkl-phonics-overview.pdfYear 1 and Year 2 (Level 5 - 6)
twinkl-phonics-overview.pdfPersonal and Character Development
Personal Development Curricular Map STI.pdfRelationships, Sex and Health Education
Relationships, Sex and Health Education is interconnected and closely related to children’s Social, Moral, Spiritual and Cultural development (SMSC). With this in mind, our RSHE curriculum from Reception to Year 6 reflects and incorporates social, moral, spiritual and cultural development to form part of the curriculum we call personal or character development.
We feel having all these areas under one umbrella illustrates a joined up holistic approach to children’s personal development.
Personal or character development is an important part of our curriculum which also reflects our religious character and recognises the importance of the whole child.
‘So God created humankind in his image. In the image of God, He created them’. (Genesis I:27, NRSV)
The Church of England has set out a bold Vision for Education that is deeply Christian, serving the common good. This is set out in several strands.These strands include Hope, Aspiration and Courageous Advocacy (Strand 3), Community and Living Well Together (Strand 4) and Dignity and Respect (Strand 5) and all have been built into our RSHE curriculum.
We recognise that character building and character virtues underpin positive relationships and as such, ‘character’ is not exclusively developed solely through curricular opportunities, but also through interactions with other human beings.
This means all adults who work in our school are in the privileged position of shaping our children’s thoughts, values, virtues and attitudes by their own interactions.
Music Plan
The Schools' Music Plan, developed by the Department for Education (DfE) in the UK, provides a strategic framework to enhance music education in schools. While specific details may evolve or change, the core objectives of such plans generally aim to ensure that every child has access to high-quality music education, regardless of their background or abilities. The key components and goals of our music plan include:
Access and Equity
This emphasises the importance of ensuring that all children have the opportunity to engage in high quality music education.
Quality of Teaching
We are committed to focusing on improving the quality of music teaching in our school. This includes providing professional development for teachers, access to resources, and fostering partnerships with music organisations.
Curriculum Development
Our plan includes a music curriculum that is diverse, engaging, and capable of meeting the needs of all children. This includes integrating different genres of music, cultural perspectives, and interdisciplinary approaches.
Performance Opportunities
We recognise the value of performance in music education, the plan may encourage schools to provide children with opportunities to perform, whether in school concerts, services, performances or community events.
Collaboration with Local Music Services
We engage with the Essex Music hub to enhance access to music education and resources.
Extracurricular Activities
We offer a variety of extracurricular music activities, such as ensembles, choirs, and bands, may be a key point to enrich the musical experience for children.
Long-term Vision
Our plan lays out a long-term vision for the role of music in education, fostering a culture where music is valued, reviewed and improved as an essential part of the curriculum and school life.
You can download a copy of our Music Plan using the link below:
STI School music development plan summary 2024-25.docx.pdf