Curriculum

Personal Development

At Chilmark and Fonthill Bishop we believe in educating the whole child.

At the start of each child’s learning journey, we follow the National Early Years Foundation Curriculum, which is based on the principle that each child is unique. Alongside this is the recognition that establishing positive relationships and providing an enabling environment for children to learn and develop are essential.

We deliver a broad and balanced Curriculum, with emphasis on the National Curriculum Core Subjects.
We believe in developing creativity and independence.
Together with our Christian values, we work very hard to link together common themes creatively each term, in order to allow cross-curricular links to be used to reinforce learning and understanding.We believe that learning happens both in and beyond the classroom.
We offer an active and practical approach to learning and, where possible, provide a variety of experiences both within and outside the school environment. Such experiences can take the form of educational trips, dance workshops, Science Days, theatre trips, visiting theatre groups and story tellers, Book Weeks, visiting speakers, charity days and whole-school theme days. We also offer a number of after-school activity clubs.
Phonics

Phonics is a key ingredient in the teaching of early readers at our school. It enables children to understand that the letters on the page represent the sounds in spoken words and this underpins the key skill of word reading. Through a rigorous and systematic programme, we aim for children to achieve mastery of speedily working out the pronunciation of unfamiliar printed words (decoding) and the speedy recognition of familiar printed words.

To ensure continuity in progression of skills across the Foundation Stage and the Key Stages, the school follows the National Curriculum (2014) programmes of study. “Letters and Sounds” forms the core of our phonics programme and this is supplemented with activities from other schemes.

In Reception and Year 1 we teach discreet phonics daily.
Children who do not reach the expected standard in the Year 1 phonics check will have a phonics intervention programme in Year 2
Children at Key Stage 2 will have differentiated phonic support if still required.
Phonics will also be reinforced throughout topic work and other areas of the curriculum.

If you would like to develop your own understanding of phonics please speak with your child’s class teacher. We also offer opportunities to attend Parent Phonic Workshops at our school. If you would like further information on phonic and spelling activities then visit this site:

https://www.littlewandlelettersandsounds.org.uk/resources/for-parents/.

National Curriculum Programmes of Study

For information regarding the national curriculum please visit this site: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/national-curriculum.

This document includes information on:

Programmes of Study for Reading
Writing and Maths (All years)
National Curriculum Spelling Appendix (Years 1 & 2)

Curriculum information for subjects (KS1 and KS2):

Science
History
Geography
Computing
Art and Design
Music
Physical Education

Personal, Social and Health Education

At Chilmark and Fonthill Bishop School the personal development of each child is considered key to them becoming successful learners and well-rounded individuals. Our PSHE contributes to the promotion of the Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural development (SMSC) of each and every pupil and also to their wider personal development and well-being.

Our PSHE & RSE programme is delivered within the cross curricular topics we explore each term. We also have a dedicated ELSA (emotional aspects of learning) practitioner who works with individuals and small groups to help ensure that our pupils are happy and able to cope with their emotions appropriately.

Our School Council runs throughout the year and children have the opportunity to be elected by their peers. Elections for the School Council are used as an opportunity to highlight the importance of democracy and other key British values such as diversity, tolerance, self-belief and individual liberty.

Updated: Spring 2021