Our whole school curriculum is carefully planned to ensure progression of skills and knowledge acquired in the previous year group. Reading is at the heart of the termly topics, with a class novel being the main driver of the learning within each year group. Cross-curricular links are well thought out to provide further purpose and understanding of main themes explored around the class novel. The children investigate ‘big questions’ that extend their thinking, allowing for application of a variety of skills across all curriculum areas. These whole school questions for exploration are

• Who shaped the world we live in today?
• Where could we go?
• Has our world always looked this way?

When looking at the ‘big question’ for the Autumn term, we believe that there are many modern day individuals and people from the past who have shaped the world we live in today. These people are taken from all areas of the curriculum, including the authors of our class novels, characters from these stories, key scientists or historians and famous artists and musicians. The children learn about what these influential people have done, the impact their work has had and the possible legacies they have left behind. This question provides the children with the opportunity to think about possible future careers and encourages high aspirations for both now and later in life. 

In the Spring term, our ‘big question’ turns to thinking about where we could go both in our home country and beyond in the wider world. Each year group has at least one area of the world that becomes their focus of study, which has close links to the story settings within their class novel. Areas of study include Kenya, Australia, The Antarctic Circle and Syria, which provide the children with an opportunity to make comparisons between our home country and other contrasting places in the world. These focus geographical areas provide the children with opportunities to explore creativity, with Art projects focussing on their place’s landscape and Music lessons centring around listening to a range of music from different places around the world. 

Our final ‘big question’ allows the children to explore whether the world we live in today, has always looked this way. The curriculum within each year group allows the children to look at both physical and human characteristics, and consider how these may have possibly changed over time. This question provides opportunity for thinking about the impact a variety of changes have had on our everyday world as well as communicating thoughts and reasons for personal opinions regarding certain developments. The children are asked to think about a variety of whole world developments such as a world before The Internet and ICT as well as comparing how specific geographical areas have changed due to various historical groups of people taking charge of land.

For more information regarding what each class / year group will be covering, please click on the relevant link.