English literacy is at the heart of our learning and teaching and essential to every area of the curriculum. It is through literacy that concepts are formed and we are able to make sense of the world and our place in it. Children are taught to read in a variety of ways. Each week children read individually and in groups during guided reading lessons.. Guided reading focuses on the skills of comprehension and critical appreciation. Teachers read a huge variety of written material regularly with the children, fiction and non-fiction, stories, reports, diaries, poems etc.  

We place a strong emphasis on phonics (letter sounds) in the early years of learning to read because we believe this lays the foundations for successful reading. At The Laurels, we use Little Wandle Letters and Sounds guidance to teach the children in their classes. Some children may have additional phonics sessions to support them to keep up. In addition to phonics, pupils learn sight words by repetition and retrieval. Find out more at the Little Wandle website

Writing skills underpin many elements of the school curriculum and is an essential life-skill. Writing is taught through inspiring texts, films and pictures to engage and immerse children in the genre they are learning. Grammar is taught within each unit to support the final outcome.

We teach maths using the White Rose Maths scheme which has been influenced, inspired and informed by the work of leading maths researchers and practitioners across the world and is based on the latest pedagogical research.   This program is not just about teaching maths, it is about developing mathematical thinking skills and making rich connections across mathematical ideas to ensure that students are able to develop fluency and solve problems with confidence.

From the earliest years, we encourage children to ‘have a go,’ to have children notice numbers, patterns, shapes, and connections and to be able to discuss their findings with others.  It is important to instil a love of learning from an early age and to teach children that we learn from making mistakes.

Each classroom environment is set up to enable children to build independence in learning maths, from up-to-date working walls, carefully chosen scaffolds and accessible resources.

We believe all children can achieve highly in maths. For some children, this demands a great deal of perseverance and resilience, and we talk explicitly about this in lessons and link it to other areas of curriculum learning, such as ‘Learning for Life’. We encourage children to support one another to build a classroom climate of endeavour. In virtually every lesson, children have the opportunity to apply mathematical reasoning to solve problems, which deepens their understanding and supports making connections across the curriculum.

We promote a healthy lifestyle and are interested in the physical well-being of each child.
As part of the complete development of the children in The Laurels Primary we aim to provide every child with a range of physical activities. Each class is allocated two P.E. sessions during the week. Gymnastics, Games, Athletics, Dance and Swimming are all taught. In Key Stage 1 all of the fundamental movement skills are explicitly taught. These skills are then used in a range of contexts in Key Stage 2.

A wide range of sporting after school activities are provided for pupils so that they are able to develop their physical and team skills in a more meaningful way. During the summer term a Sports Day is held for all children and family members are invited to attend. We also hold our Key Stage 2 indoor athletics competition at Durrington High School and enter Time to Dance at The Pavilion theatre. The main emphasis is on fun but each child is encouraged to participate to the best of their ability.

Our Art and design scheme of work aims to inspire pupils and develop their confidence to experiment and invent their own works of art.  Our scheme is written by experts in their field for Kapow and designed to give pupils every opportunity to develop their ability, nurture their talent and interests, express their ideas and thoughts about the world, as well as learning about the rich heritage and culture of the British isles and beyond.

Our curriculum develops pupil’s knowledge and understanding of key artists and art movements through the ‘Every picture tells a story’ units and links to artists through practical work. Lessons are always practical in nature and encourage experimental and exploratory learning with pupils using sketchbooks to document their ideas.

The intention of the music scheme is first and foremost to help children to feel that they are musical and to develop a lifelong love of music. We focus on developing the skills, knowledge and understanding that children need in order to become confident performers, composers, and listeners. Our curriculum introduces children to music from all around the world and across generations, teaching children to respect and appreciate the music of all traditions and communities.

Children will develop the musical skills of singing, playing tuned and untuned instruments, improvising and composing music, and listening and responding to music. They will develop an understanding of the history and cultural context of the music that they listen to and learn how music can be written down. Through music, our curriculum helps children develop transferable skills such as team-working, leadership, creative thinking, problem-solving, decision-making and presentation and performance skills. These skills are vital to children’s development as learners and have a wider application in their general lives outside and beyond school.

Our history scheme of work aims to inspire pupils to be curious and creative thinkers who develop a complex knowledge of local and national history and the history of the wider world. We want pupils to develop the confidence to think critically, ask questions, and be able to explain and analyse historical evidence. Through our scheme of work, we aim to build an awareness of significant events and individuals in global, British and local history and recognise how things have changed over time. History will support children to appreciate the complexity of people’s lives, the diversity of societies and the relationships between different groups. Studying History allows children to appreciate the many reasons why people may behave in the way they do, supporting children to develop empathy for others while providing an opportunity to learn from mankind’s past mistakes. Our scheme aims to support pupils in building their understanding of chronology in each year group, making connections over periods of time and developing a chronologically-secure knowledge of History. We hope to develop pupils’ understanding of how historians study the past and construct accounts and the skills to carry out their own historical enquiries. In order to prepare pupils for their future learning in History, our scheme aims to introduce them to key substantive concepts including power, invasion, settlement and migration, empire, civilisation, religion, trade, achievements of humankind, society and culture.

We aim to make all children excited and curious about the world around them and learn about the scientific careers available to them. Pupils gain competence in the skills of scientific inquiry and become critical thinkers and problem solvers.

Pupils learn about digital literacy, online safety, computational thinking, computers and hardware and coding in our whole class IT suite.  We also have laptop trolleys so laptops can be used in classrooms.

The French scheme of work aims to instil a love of language learning and an awareness of other cultures. We want pupils to develop the confidence to communicate in French for practical purposes, using both written and spoken French.  Pupils are given opportunities to communicate for practical purposes around familiar subjects and routines.

Our ‘Learning for Life’ 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 and will support them in becoming confident individuals and active members of society. 

Our scheme is a whole school approach that consists of three areas of learning in EYFS: Reception (to match the EYFS Personal, social and emotional development prime area) and five areas of learning across Key stages 1 and 2. 

The Design and technology scheme of work aims to inspire pupils to be innovative and creative thinkers who have an appreciation for the product design cycle through ideation, creation, and evaluation. We want pupils to develop the confidence to take risks, through drafting design concepts, modelling, and testing and to be reflective learners who evaluate their work and the work of others. Through our scheme of work, we aim to build an awareness of the impact of design and technology on our lives and encourage pupils to become resourceful, enterprising citizens who will have the skills to contribute to future design advancements.  we have six key areas which pupils revisit throughout their time here

• Cooking and nutrition
• Mechanisms
• Structures
• Textiles
• Electrical systems (KS2)
• Digital world (KS2)

Our geography scheme of work aims to inspire pupils to become curious and explorative thinkers with a diverse knowledge of the world; in other words, to think like a geographer. We want pupils to develop the confidence to question and observe places, measure and record necessary data in various ways, and analyse and present their findings. Through our scheme of work, we aim to build an awareness of how Geography shapes our lives at multiple scales and over time. We hope to encourage pupils to become resourceful, active citizens who will have the skills to contribute to and improve the world around them. Our scheme encourages: 

• A strong focus on developing both geographical skills and knowledge. 
• Critical thinking, with the ability to ask perceptive questions and explain and analyse evidence. • The development of fieldwork skills across each year group. 
• A deep interest and knowledge of pupils’ locality and how it differs from other areas of the world. 
• A growing understanding of geographical concepts, terms and vocabulary.

Fieldwork includes smaller opportunities on the school grounds to larger-scale visits to investigate physical and human features. Developing fieldwork skills within the school environment and revisiting them in multiple units enables pupils to consolidate their understanding of various methods.