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St Mark's CE Primary School

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Curriculum

History

At St Mark's we believe learning about history is an opportunity for children to find out how their lives now have been shaped and helps them to make predictions and decisions about the future. It will help them to understand how other cultures affect their own through the study of global, national and regional historical change and influence. Having the opportunity to learn from the past will enable children to question, debate, discuss and respond thoughtfully.

Our aims in history are:

To inspire a fascination and curiosity about the past and bring historical learning to life.
To offer opportunities for investigation of a variety of sources, artefacts and places of historical interest.
For children to develop an understanding of similarities and differences between periods of history and make connections backed up by evidence.
To develop an understanding of chronology in relation to Britain’s past and that of the wider world.
For children to gain a broad and useful vocabulary relating to the passing of time and key historical terms.
To develop opinions and interpretations of history.

Geography

At St Mark’s we believe that children’s natural curiosity about the world around them should be nurtured to develop inquisitive, questioning learners who look closely at the world around them. The world: its people, places and environments are evolving and understanding the interactions between them is essential for children so they can work towards their preferred future.

Our aims in geography are:

To motivate children to have a thirst for a knowledge and understanding of the world around them.
To guide children to make links between people, places and environments.
For children to develop an understanding of both physical and human geography; how and why it has and is changing.
For children to build secure locational knowledge of the United Kingdom, the world’s countries, continents, oceans and key global features.
To develop key geographic skills such as mapping, compass work and use of keys and symbols.
For children to gain a broad and useful vocabulary relating to physical and human geography.
For children to develop their opinions, responses and predictions using evidence and ask and answer questions about the world around them.
To provide outdoor, practical activities and learning that will focus on children applying themselves.
To instil in children a sense of environmental responsibility and encourage them to understand environmental issues at a local and global level.

Art

“Every child is an artist.” Pablo Picasso

“The world of reality has its limits; the world of imagination is boundless.” Jean-Jacques Rousseau

The teaching and learning of art at St Mark’s provides children with the opportunities and skills to respond freely to inspiration, experiences and knowledge of the world around them. Through this, the children learn to make informed judgements and aesthetic decisions. We recognise art as a fundamental means of personal expression and encourage children to value their own and others’ creative contributions and achievements. We believe that the impact of an arts rich curriculum will make a positive contribution to the quality of life for St Mark’s pupils, both within and beyond school.

Our aims in art:

To foster an understanding and enjoyment of art, craft and design.
For all children to value their individual responses and development, and be able to develop confidence, self-esteem and compassion through participation in the arts.
To give all children the opportunities to develop specific art skills and reinforce established skills through progression within and across both Key Stages.
To offer all children opportunities to design and complete artworks in a range of art forms and media.
To experience a broad and balanced range of inspiration from famous artists and diverse cultures, to the natural world around them.
To link activities to other areas of the curriculum where appropriate and enrich other subjects.
To record the development of their ideas and their own skills through the use of a sketchbook.
To encourage all pupils to share and celebrate their artwork within the community.

We are currently taking part in an exciting Art Project, led by 'Schools without Walls'

Modern Foreign Languages

Learning a foreign language is a liberation from insularity and provides an opening to other cultures. It also gives our pupils a better understanding of where many English words originally came from. We teach French in Cocoons, then French, Spanish and German in Red Ads. The language taught links into each learning journey where possible. For example the Mayans (Spanish), WW2 (German). The focus is on learning basic vocabulary and simple phrases which can be used in real life situations. There is an emphasis on games, songs and role plays in order to stimulate children's interest.

Spain1

Religious Education

As a Voluntarily Aided Church of England school, St Mark’s places a great emphasis on the importance of RE as contributing to the development of the whole person by:

helping pupils consider important questions about the meaning and purpose of existence;
considering the range and depth of human experiences;
considering what is ultimately worthwhile and valuable in life.
These questions are important for all people, whether they adhere to a particular religion or not.

RE is a subject that aids the development of individual pupils. We have decided to base our schemes predominantly on the key elements of the East Sussex Agreed Syllabus for Religious Education and ‘Understanding Christianity’.

At KS1 the core religions to be studied will be: Christianity and Judaism.

At KS2 the core religions to be studied will be: Christianity, Hinduism, Islam and Judaism.

RE should encompass a wide range of teaching (Visual Auditory Kinaesthetic) and learning experiences, which might include:

sharing feelings, ideas, experiences and opinions;
opportunities for reflection;
discussing, debating and shaping an argument;
first hand contact with members of faith communities;
exploration of a range of stories/ literature;
responding to other people’s imaginative expressions and expressing their own through different art forms;
using their senses to explore aspects of religious belief and practice;
stimulating resources e.g. books, pictures, visits, ICT, film/video;
making connections between their learning in RE and other subject areas, and with experiences, questions and issues in life.

Computing

Computing contributes to the school curriculum by preparing all young people to participate in a rapidly changing society in which work and other forms of activity are increasingly dependent on computing. Computing has deep links with mathematics, science, and design and technology, and provides insights into both natural and artificial systems. The core of computing is computer science, in which pupils are taught the principles of information and computation, how digital systems work, and how to put this knowledge to use through programming. Pupils will use a wide range of software and hardware, including robotic systems, as they move through the school, helping to prepare them for our ever-changing world.

Programming in Kodu

Access database

Robotics

App creation

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