The core subjects are:

Maths and English

The foundation subjects are:

Science, Geography, History, PE, Music, RE, Art, Design & Technology, ICT, Foreign Language (French), PSHE (Personal, Social and Health Education)

Whole school topic overview:

Please click here to see our whole school topic overview.  For the academic year 2020 - 2021, we are following Cycle 2.

Educational Visits

Taking children on trips adds an extra dynamic to learning in a social as well as academic sense. Trips for different age ranges includes: museum visits, the zoo, the seaside, the cathedral as well as using the village as a resource for local study.

Outdoor Learning

We consider opportunities to learn outside as an essential element of the curriculum. We have dedicated outdoor areas for all classes and are in the process of enhancing them further. In addition to the school areas we have an allotment and constant access to Rowley Wood, which is a 5 minute walk through the fields.  We are in the process of setting up a Forest School.

Supporting Learning (Please click on the heading)

If you have any questions about our curriculum, please contact your child's class teacher or our Headteacher - Mrs Sarah Smith

The key skills of reading, writing, speaking and listening open up a world of learning in school and in the wider lives of our children. We believe children who are read to and then read them themselves develop a richer vocabulary and understanding of language which, in turn allows them to become effective writers in a range of styles.  Most importantly, we want to engender a love of and enthusiasm for language and develop the natural talents and inclinations our children have.

Click HERE to see an overview of our English provision. 

Our English teaching is based on a range of approaches that we adapt to suit the needs of our children. Below are examples of some of the programmes we use at different ages and stages:

 No Nonsense Spelling

 Letters and Sounds, Jolly Phonics, Phonics Play (phonics schemes & materials)

 Oxford Reading Tree (reading scheme)

 Jelly and Bean (reading scheme)

 Project X (reading scheme)

 Read Theory (computer-based reading programme)

At Stoke by Nayland we aim to develop mathematicians who have the skills to cope in the real world.  Children will be fluent in rapid recall of number facts and methods to enable them to solve real life problems, and they will be flexible in transferring these skills when required.

We aim to develop a love and curiosity of number and mathematical concepts.  We believe that all children are mathematicians and all children should have the confidence to experiment and play with number to solve problems.  The children at Stoke by Nayland are exposed to a range of methods and strategies, and are encouraged to adopt strategies that work for them.

Our maths lessons are based around the mastery approach to teaching maths, which develops 3 key elements: Fluency in number, reasoning skills and problem solving.  Our lessons are purposeful, engaging and cater for different learning styles.  We recognise the importance of verbalising our learning and we encourage our children to 'think out loud'.

Here is an overview of our Maths provision:

Click HERE for Early Years and Year 1

Click HERE for Years 2, 3 & 4

Click HERE for Years 5 & 6

To see our Mastery Strategy - please click here

To see our calculations policy - please click here

Through science we aim to engender a sense of awe and wonder about the world we are part of and our interaction with it.  We do this by learning about key aspects of biology, chemistry and physics in a thematic way and through topics that children can relate to. Wherever possible we make science a ‘hands on’ experience where children learn by investigation and questioning. 

The 'big ideas' we revisit in each Science topic are:

'Purpose' - What is this for? What does this do?  How does this work?

'Result' - What happened?  Why did this happen?  How did this happen?

'Evidence' - How do we know something happened?  How can we prove it? 

'Characteristics' - What is this like?  Why is it like this?  How is it similar to other things?.  A snap short of our Science curriculum can be viewed on our main curriculum overview.

Please click here to view our Science flight path, which breaks down the learning a child will encounter depending on which cycle they join the school.

Our Geography curriculum aims to inspire a curiosity and fascination about the world and its people, that will remain with our children for the rest of their lives.  We equip pupils with knowledge about diverse places, people, resources and natural and human environments, together with an understanding of the Earth’s key physical and human processes. 

The 'big ideas' we revisit as part of our Geography topics are:

'Location' - Where in the world are we visiting?  Which continent?  Which hemisphere?  Which country?

'Characteristics' - What is significant or unique about this area? 

'Civilisation' - What are/were civilisations like in this area?  What comparisons and contrasts can be drawn? 

A snap shot of our Geography curriculum summary can be viewed on our main curriculum overview.

Please click here to view our Geography flight path, which breaks down the learning a child will encounter depending on which cycle they join the school.

In History, we aim to inspire curiosity and fascination about the world's past.  Through our teaching of History, we aim for our pupils to gain a coherent knowledge and understanding of Britain’s past and that of the wider world.  We want to inspire pupils’ curiosity about the past and to know more about the past.  Our intention is to enable children to ask perceptive questions and think critically, weigh evidence, sift arguments, and develop perspective and judgement.  Through the teaching of History we endeavour to teach children to understand the complexity of people’s lives, the process of change, the diversity of societies and relationships between different groups, as well as their own identity and challenges of time.  Through our topics we develop children’s understanding of chronology and the impact of a range of events on todays society.  

The 'big ideas' we revisit as part of our history topics are:

'Chronology' - How does this period of history fits into the bigger world picture?

'Result' - What did we learn from this time in history?  What impact did this have for the United Kingdom?

'Evidence' - How do we know about this time in history?

'Civilisation' - What was the civilisation like and how does this civilisation compare and contrast to others? 

A snap shot of our History curriculum can be viewed on our main curriculum overview.

Please click here to view our History flight path, which breaks down the learning a child will encounter depending on which cycle they join the school.

In Physical Education we aim to develop a sense of physical confidence, health awareness and personal achievement, both individually and as part of a team.  Over the time at our school, we give opportunities to develop specific skills, teamwork, develop an understanding of strategy, welcome competition and learn how physical activity contributes to a healthy mind and body.

Through regular lessons children learn a wide range of specific skills and have the opportunity to take some of these further in extra-curricular activities and events organised in the area such as tournaments and competitions. Children are encouraged to celebrate all successes and support each other in being the ‘best they can be’ from their starting point. 

The 'big ideas' revisited in PE are:

'Co-operation' - How do we work together to achieve a common goal?

'Technique' - Which skills do we need to use to improve?  How can these be refined?

'Evaluation' - What went well and what could be improved?

Please click here to see an overview of our PE curriculum.  In addition to this, the children in Chestnut Class and Oak Class have a block of swimming lessons each year.  

In music we aim to give our children a range of creative experiences that allow them to explore and appreciate music from different cultures, traditions and eras.  Through listening, singing, composing and performing we hope children will enjoy sharing the skills they develop and begin to understand the impact that music can have emotionally and spiritually.

At our school, music is a key element, both through the curriculum lessons and in the wider opportunities we offer (we were given recognition for this through the Music Mark award). These can include listening to professional musicians, singing in a choir or learning an instrument, performing in school and further afield such as in local events in the village and wider community-for example the cathedral or concert hall. 

The 'big ideas' revisited in music are:

'Chronology' - How does this music fit into the wider world chronology?

'Technique' - Which skills are required to do this?  How can we refine them?

'Notation' - What does music look like?  How can we record music so that we can repeat what we have done?

'Composition' - What sound do we want to create?  What picture do we want to evoke?  What story do we want to tell?

Please click here to see an overview of our Music curriculum.

Our Art and Design curriculum is designed to engage, inspire and challenge pupils, equipping them with knowledge and skills to create and experiment with a range of media in their art work.  We feel that all our children should explore and discuss art work from different periods and cultures and in a range of styles. 

The 'big ideas' revisited throughout the art and design curriculum are:

'Chronology' - Where does this period of art fit into the wider world chronology? What were the influences behind this?

'Appreciation' - What do we like/dislike?

'Technique' - Which skills are needed to create the desired effect? How can we refine these?

'Expression' - How could we produce our own interpretation of a masterpiece or style?

Twice a year art drives our curriculum and where appropriate, it is linked to another curriculum area.  In the past we have  linked art to our animal topic, and being human topic, focussing on a specific artist or painting in each class and following the National Curriculum objectives.  Each year we also 'Take one Picture' from the National Gallery and base learning completely around this to build a knowledge of artists, periods in history and techniques.  

Our Design and Technology curriculum aims to give the children the freedom to express their creativity through exploring, designing and making with a range of materials and techniques.  In doing this, the children look at the work of a variety of designers, past and present.  We will encourage them to be creative problem-solvers and to apply their skills and also become critical thinkers through evaluating their designs and products and those of others. 

The 'big ideas' revisited are:

'Purpose' - Why are we doing this?  What problem do we want to solve?

'Criteria' - What do we need to make sure we include in our design?

'Construction' - How will the design be constructed? 

'Evaluation' - What went well and what could be improved another time?

In each year we have a 'material' focussed project and a 'food' focussed project with objectives for each year group taken from the National Curriculum.  Projects have included: Designing and constructing a house/specific room for one of the Three Little Pigs, Building a tower for Rapunzel following specific design criteria, designing and making a Shakespearian puppet, designing and making soup, designing and making a boat for the Light House Keeper, designing and sewing a shoe for the elves and the shoe maker, constructing a bridge to cross a specific area.  

Modern Foreign Languages and Cultural Learning is a key strength of our school.  The Governors are committed to supporting the headteacher and other staff to maintain our current Linguarmarque status and seek opportunities for our pupils to continue to develop their language skills and develop a wider and deeper understanding of a range of cultures from around the world.  We start exposing children to French from Nursery age as we believe early learning through songs and games helps to build confidence and begin to develop an ear for language.  The children follow a four year cycle of whole school themes. 

These include the 'big ideas' of:

'Construction' - How are the sentences put together?  How does this compare to English? 

'Communication' - What message do we want to convey?

'Understanding' - What do we understand?  What can we deduce?  

Please click here to see an overview of our MFL curriculum.

In PSHE we aim to develop the knowledge, skills and attributes needed for our children keep themselves healthy and safe, and prepare for life and work in a modern world.  We believe that a well-delivered PSHE programme has an impact on both academic and non-academic outcomes for pupils, particularly the most vulnerable and disadvantaged. 

Our 'big ideas' in PSHE are:

'Respect' - we may have different opinions or ideas about something, but we talk about these

'Communication' - What do we need to do to do this clearly and effectively?  What impact can communication have on others? 

'Understanding' - we look at ideas from different perspectives.

Our PSHE curriculum includes the development of key skills and personal qualities such as resilience, self-esteem, risk-management, team-working and critical thinking. These are set in the context of learning grouped into three core themes:

    · Relationships
    · Living in the Wider World (including economic well being and aspects of careers education)
    · Health and well being

Alongside this, we also use the PSHE scheme the 'Zones of Regulation', which teaches the children about their emotions and how their emotions can impact on their own and other people's behaviour.  We use this scheme throughout the year to support our approach towards dealing with behaviour.  

Please click here to see an overview of our PSHE curriculum.

We follow the Emmanuel project for RE. As a Church of England school, Religious Education carries a high status within our curriculum.   Our Religious Education curriculum provides opportunities for our children to explore the significant theological concepts within Christianity and different world religions, developing their thinking and their understanding of the world and their experiences within it. We develop our pupils thinking through a wide range of opportunities including visits to the Cathedral, visits to local places of worship and a wide range of opportunities including leading worship for our pupils.  

The 'big ideas' that we revisit are:

'Belief' - What are the beliefs of each religion?  How do these compare to others?

'Respect' - we may have different ideas or opinions to others and can talk about this 

'Characteristics' - What is unique about this particular religion?  What comparisons and contrasts can be made?

Please click here to see an overview of our RE curriculum.

In Computing we aim to we equip children to participate in a rapidly changing world, where work and leisure activities are increasingly transformed by technology.  It is our intention to enable children to find, explore, analyse, exchange and present information to support their learning whilst developing the knowledge and skills to be discriminating and remain safe whilst online. 

The 'big ideas' that children will revisit are:

'Purpose' - an opportunity to consider the different purposes of technology and how they can be used in the wider world

'Respect' - the importance of using technology with respect and being respectful on-line

'Communication' - doing this through different programmes for different results. 

Please click here to see an overview of our Computing curriculum.