GARGRAVE C.E. (V.C.) PRIMARY SCHOOL

The Curriculum

_{The Curriculum Subjects}

_{Children follow the National Curriculum with the core subjects of English, Maths and  Science, and the foundation subjects of ICT, R.E. Geography, History, Art, Music, Design Technology  and PE being taught throughout the school.  French is taught to year 2 upwards.}

_{The School has adopted a “Schemes and Themes” approach to deliver the whole curriculum.  Rather than teach each subject independently relevant subjects are combined within a particular “theme".  The themes for the school year 2009/10 include “We are Gargrave”, the 50th Anniversary of the Village Hall, Space and Waterways (The Leeds-Liverpool Canal and the river Aire).  We believe that helping children make connections between subjects and transfer their learning from one subject to another is an essential part of successful curriculum}

_{planning.  Connections make learning more coherent for children and help them to see the relevance of what they do.  We have held several highly successful whole-school “theme” days this school year including an art day, a science day, and a French day where children of different ages groups worked together and we aim to repeat this idea  for the school year 2009/10.  In addition to this we offer a wide range of extra-curricular activities to further enrich the learning experience of our pupils.}

_{The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS)}

_{All schools and early years providers have to follow a structure of learning, development and care for children from birth to five years old called the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS). Reception Year children are therefore considered to be in the final year of this programme.  The EYFS is made up of six broad areas of learning, each covered by early-learning goals:}

_{The framework is characterised by a learning through play approach, and is delivered through a balance of adult-led and child-initiated activities.  Your child will have already begun to focus on these areas of learning at their Preschool or Nursery setting and will be expected to have achieved these by the end of the foundation year at school, when they will make the transition to key stage 1 of the National Curriculum.}

_{Gargrave Primary School is a “Healthy School”}

_{Gargrave Primary School is very proud to have been awarded the government's “Healthy School“ Status for our attitude towards promoting a healthier lifestyle.  The National Healthy Schools Scheme is a whole school approach that has four core themes that relate to both the school curriculum and the emotional and physical learning environment in school.  These are Personal, Social, Health and Economic  (PSHE) education, healthy eating, physical activity and emotional well being.  “It's about creating happier, healthier children who do better in learning and life.”}

_{Personal, Social, Citizenship and Health Education}

_{The Healthy Schools Standard Scheme promotes health education and informs our teaching in this area.  We follow the Social and Emotional Aspects of Learning (SEAL) curriculum, a whole-school framework for explicitly promoting social and emotional skills, which aims to develop a child's self-awareness, positive self-esteem and confidence and respect for others.} 

_{We teach sex and relationship education in the context of the school's aims and values through different aspects of the curriculum.  While we carry out the main sex education teaching as part of  our personal, social and health education (PSHE) curriculum, we also teach some sex education through other relevant subject areas, e.g. science.  In Year 6 we place a particular emphasis on health education, as many children experience puberty at this age.  We liaise with the Local Health Authority about suitable teaching material to use and are visited by the School Health Nurse.  Parents have the right to withdraw their child from all or part of the school's sex and relationship education programme.}

_{Physical Education}

_{The Healthy Schools Standard Scheme requires us to make sure our children}

• _{are provided with a range of opportunities to be physically active}
• _{understand how physical activity can help them to be more healthy, and how physical activity can improve and be a part of their every day life}

_{We have a wide range of facilities at Gargrave Primary School including an extensive sports field and hard-surfaced play area and a large hall containing a range of gymnastic equipment.  Children are given the opportunity to access up to two hours of high quality sporting activities each week.  We aim to introduce children to a wide-range of sporting activities which include football, cricket, rounders, netball, cross-county running and athletics.  All children from year 2 upwards attend swimming lessons at Craven Swimming Pool in Skipton.  We are also visited by a range of specialist instructors, for example this year children have taken part in tennis coaching with the instructors from Skipton Tennis Centre.   The School holds an annual Sports day, which families and the local community are invited to attend.  The school also participates in inter-school events and offers several sports-based after-school clubs run by staff, such as netball, as well as clubs run by outside agencies, for example football coaching run by Blackburn Football Club.}

_{The School is a Church of England School and as such R.E. plays an integral role in our school ethos.  The religious education provided in the school is carried out in accordance with North Yorkshire's Agreed Syllabus.  This syllabus is designed to cover the teaching of Christianity alongside the study of other religions and their practices.} 

_{There is a daily whole-school act of collective worship which follows a structured programme.  Rev. Rod Geddes, visits weekly and also runs the Fishes after-school club.  We also have many visits from lay members of our local community.  We maintain strong links with St. Andrews, our local church, and the children attend the Church throughout the year for educational purposes and to take part in Services, e.g. Harvest Festival, the Nativity and Carol Service, and a Mother's day Celebration. Every term each class is responsible for one of our Friday}

_{assemblies where we celebrate our children's achievements. These assemblies play an important role in promoting the ethos of the school, every child counts; every child contributes.}

_{Parents wishing to withdraw their children from collective worship or RE should contact the Head Teacher.}

_{Special Educational Needs}

_{At Gargrave Primary School we offer an inclusive curriculum to ensure the best possible progress for all our pupils whatever their needs or abilities.  The school is committed to the early identification of special educational needs and adopts a graduated response to meeting pupil need in line with the Code of Practice 2002.  If evidence suggests that a child is not making expected progress the class teacher will adapt the materials being used in the lessons to enable the pupil to access the desired learning outcomes.} 

_{If there are particular needs that can not be met within the usual differentiation the teacher will liaise with the School's Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCo) in order to decide whether additional and/or different provision is necessary.  Should further intervention be needed then the SENCo, after consultation with parents, will contact the relevant Local Authority support agency.} 

_{Our SENCo is Mrs Sarah Peel.  A full copy of our Special Education Needs policy is available from the School Office.} 

_Equality

_{The school's attitude towards equality is in line with North Yorkshire County Council's Equality policy:  “We oppose all forms of unlawful or unfair discrimination, whether because of race, colour, ethnic or national origin, sex or gender reassignment, marital status, family status, sexuality, religion or beliefs, disability, age or any other condition or requirement which places a person at a disadvantage and cannot be justified.”  A copy of our comprehensive Equality Scheme is available from the school office.}

_{Discipline/School Rules}

_{We aim to provide a positive, caring and safe learning environment for all our pupils, in which each child may fulfil his/her potential.  Our approach is based on being RESPECTFUL to others, ourselves and of our own and others' property.  To achieve this, all pupils of Gargrave Primary School are expected to be thoughtful and responsible, demonstrating courtesy for others at all times.}

_{Members of staff will make clear and reinforce what constitutes appropriate behaviour and encourage this behaviour both in and out of school.  However, where necessary, sanctions will be imposed to deter unacceptable behaviour and in instances of more serious or persistent misbehaviour parental involvement and support may be sort.}

_Bullying

_{The whole school community is clear that bullying will not be tolerated and we aim to promote, through our SEAL curriculum, a school climate where bullying and racial harassment can not flourish.  All staff are fully aware about their roles and responsibilities in preventing and responding to bullying and are aware of the importance of modelling positive relationships.}

_{Any concerns about such behaviour should be addressed initially to the class teacher, who will deal firmly with the situation.  We have a comprehensive Anti-Bullying policy, which is available to parents on request from the School Office.}

_{School Council}

_{The School Council is the main voice of the children within the school.  Each school year has two representatives on the Council, which meets half termly.  All children within school are encouraged to inform their school council representatives of ideas or concerns they may have.  Recent issues raised have included improving the school’s recycling record and a request for a compost bin.}

_{Curriculum Enrichment - After-school Activities}

_{We offer a wide range of after-school activities to enrich our pupil's learning experience, including The Fishes Club, run by Rev Rod Geddes, sports such as netball and table tennis, computers, cookery, cross-stitch  and, new for this year, a gardening club.  Specialist instructors also run after-school programmes at school, e.g. this year  there have been courses in dance and cheer-leading led by Burnley Football Club and football coaching led by Sports-s-cool.  We are always open to suggestion and do our best to meet the requests of our pupils.}

_{During the year children will make visits to other localities and events that  link to and support their study areas.  Every year the children in Y6 will visit an Outdoor Education Centre on a residential basis.  We welcome and are grateful for the support given by our parents on these visits.} 

_{Charging Policy}

_{The Education Reform Act allows us to ask for voluntary contributions towards the costs of an educational visit.  In theory a visit would have to be cancelled should insufficient contributions be forthcoming.  If contribution may cause financial difficulties please contact the Headteacher who will assist if possible. Charges may be made for education that takes place outside school hours, e.g. at the weekend or during holiday periods.}

_{All cheques for school visits, sponsored events, tickets etc. should be made payable to Gargrave C.E. (V.C.) Primary School.}