Curriculum

EYFS (Early Years Foundation Stage)
Our Curriculum

THe EYFS Seeks to provide:

• Quality and consistency in all early years settings, so that every child makes good progress and no child gets left behind.
• A secure foundation through planning for the learning and development of each individual child, and assessing and reviewing what they have learned regularly.
• Partnership working between practitioners and with parents and/or carers.
• Equality of opportunity and anti-discriminatory practice, ensuring that every child is included and supported.

Reception EYFS

Early Years Foundation Stage

Our Primary Phase offers a curriculum which is balanced and broadly based which:

Promotes the spiritual, moral, cultural, mental and physical development of pupils at the school and of society
Prepares pupils at the school for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of later life.

Characteristics of Effective Teaching and Learning

In addition to the 7 areas of Learning and development teachers and TAs are required to promote a learning environment in which children can learn most effectively.

Three characteristics of effective teaching and learning are:

  • Playing and exploring – children investigate and experience things, and ‘have a go’.
  • Active learning – children concentrate and keep on trying if they encounter difficulties, and enjoy achievements.
  • Creating and thinking critically – children have and develop their own ideas, make links between ideas, and develop strategies for doing things.

Phonics – Sounds Write

Introduced in EYFS, Sounds-Write is a quality first phonics programme. Its purpose is to provide pupils with a comprehensive system with which to learn reading, spelling and writing. It is introduced in Reception EYFS, taught in KS1 and fine-tuned throughout the rest of Key Stage 2.

At the start of the programme (Initial Code), simple, one sound/one spelling, one-syllable, CVC words only are introduced. As the programme progresses, the complexity of one-syllable words is increased to four-, five- and six-sound words of the structure CVCC, CCVC, CCVCC/CCCVCC, before introducing the most common consonant digraphs.

By the End of Reception;

ELG: Word Reading

Children at the expected level of development will: – Say a sound for each letter in the alphabet and at least 10 digraphs; – Read words consistent with their phonic knowledge by sound-blending; – Read aloud simple sentences and books that are consistent with their phonic knowledge, including some common exception words.

EYFS

Tapastry

At Cavendish we create an online journal that monitors pupils progress within the seven areas of learning, this is shared with parents and carers. This is called Tapestry, on this app you will be able to see how your child is progressing towards the ELGs and which characteristics of effective learning they prefer.

Maths Mastery

A key principle behind Maths Mastery is based on the concrete, pictorial and abstract approach. Pupils are first introduced to an idea or skill by acting it out with real objects (a hands- on approach). Pupils are then moved onto the pictorial stage, where they are encouraged to relate the concrete understanding to pictorial representations. The final abstract stage is a chance for pupils to represent problems by using mathematical notion. Whilst our intent is to apply the CPA approach to all maths learning, it is not always noted further up the year groups. However, it is expected that the CPA approach is used continuously in all new learning and calculations even when not noted.

By the End of Reception;

ELG: Number

Children at the expected level of development will:

  • Have a deep understanding of number to 10, including the composition of each number;
  • Subitise (recognise quantities without counting) up to 5;
  • Automatically recall (without reference to rhymes, counting or other aids) number bonds up to 5 (including subtraction facts) and some number bonds to 10, including double facts.

ELG: Numerical Patterns

Children at the expected level of development will:

Verbally count beyond 20, recognising the pattern of the counting system;

  • Compare quantities up to 10 in different contexts, recognising when one quantity is greater than, less than or the same as the other quantity;
  • Explore and represent patterns within numbers up to 10, including evens and odds, double facts and how quantities can be distributed equally.

Literacy

The overarching aim for English at Cavendish is to promote high standards of language and literacy by equipping pupils with a strong command of the spoken and written word, and to develop their love of literature through widespread reading for enjoyment. The national curriculum for English aims to ensure that all pupils:

  • read easily, fluently and with good understanding
  • develop the habit of reading widely and often, for both pleasure and information
  • acquire a wide vocabulary, an understanding of grammar and knowledge of linguistic conventions for reading, writing and spoken language
  • appreciate our rich and varied literary heritage
  • write clearly, accurately and coherently, adapting their language and style in and for a range of contexts, purposes and audiences
  • use discussion in order to learn; they should be able to elaborate and explain clearly their understanding and ideas

Here is our whole school text map

By the End of Reception

ELG: Listening, Attention and Understanding.

Children at the expected level of development will: – Listen attentively and respond to what they hear with relevant questions, comments and actions when being read to and during whole class discussions and small group interactions; – Make comments about what they have heard and ask questions to clarify their understanding; – Hold conversation when engaged in back-and-forth exchanges with their teacher and peers. 

ELG: Speaking 

Children at the expected level of development will: – Participate in small group, class and one-to-one discussions, offering their own ideas, using recently introduced vocabulary; – Offer explanations for why things might happen, making use of recently introduced vocabulary from stories, non-fiction, rhymes and poems when appropriate.

ELG:Comprehension 

Children at the expected level of development will: – Demonstrate understanding of what has been read to them by retelling stories and narratives using their own words and recently introduced vocabulary; – Anticipate – where appropriate – key events in stories; – Use and understand recently introduced vocabulary during discussions about stories, non-fiction, rhymes and poems and during role-play.

ELG: Fine Motor Skills 

Children at the expected level of development will: – Hold a pencil effectively in preparation for fluent writing – using the tripod grip in almost all cases; – Use a range of small tools, including scissors, paint brushes and cutlery; – Begin to show accuracy and care when drawing. 

ELG: Writing 

Children at the expected level of development will: – Write recognisable letters, most of which are correctly formed; – Spell words by identifying sounds in them and representing the sounds with a letter or letters;

%

of pupils achieved 9-4 in English.

After School programs

%

of pupils achieved 9-4 in Maths.

Years Established

Celebrating Success

The staff and governors of Cavendish wish to congratulate all of our Year 11 pupils for the fantastic GCSE grades they have achieved this year.

Headteacher, Peter Marchant said, "The grades that our pupils have achieved are a reflection of their hard work throughout their time at the school and they can rightly feel proud of what they have achieved through these  challenging times."