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CURRICULUM
Children at Westover Green are encouraged to communicate and express themselves through speaking, listening, reading and writing.
Speaking and Listening
Talking is fundamental to a pupil’s learning. Pupils are encouraged and helped to talk clearly, confidently and with expression in order to communicate ideas and feelings. Similarly, and just as importantly, is the need to listen to others and respond appropriately. All children are provided with opportunities in all areas of the curriculum to develop skills in speaking and listening.
Reading
One of the greatest gifts we can give a child is the ability to read. We believe that reading should be an enjoyable activity, and our approach to reading is based on this.
At Key Stage 1 there is great emphasis on the teaching of phonics and reading. At Key Stage 2 we extend and develop each child’s reading skills.
Writing
Writing is best learned if children are encouraged to do it for real reasons – cards, lists, letters etc. We encourage pupils to read, check and improve their work, alone or in a group, building up a sense of purpose, confidence, pride and ownership in what they do. Handwriting, spelling, punctuation and grammar all play an important part in this process.
At Westover Green we follow the National Numeracy Strategy. We maintain consistency within each year group and provide practical experiences that we believe are very important throughout the school.
Parents have an important role to play in the mathematical education of their children. Children need to be included in everyday mathematical activities such as weighing, sorting and shopping. At all stages it is very important for children to talk about their maths and understand what they are doing. Pages of sums look good, but they are no substitute for practical problems involving mathematical skills, e.g. pocket money, budgeting, timetables and playing games.
Science plays a major role within our school and all  children from reception to year six will be involved in scientific activities and investigations.
Science at Westover Green allows children to observe, investigate and learn through exploration. Often activities will involve close observations of their local environment and work with everyday objects. This is because primary science topics often arise from the questions that children ask eg. “Where does the water in the puddle go?”, “Why do leaves fall off trees?” Exploring and finding out allows them to put to good use all the skills they have learned in other areas of the curriculum. We encourage close observation, classification, prediction, experimentation and analysis.
 We have a special area equipped with a suite of computers and children are able to access the internet. Classroom computers are networked across the school, and laptops and interactive whiteboards are used.
Throughout the school the computers are used in a number of ways; for word processing, data storage and retrieval, computer control as well as introducing and reinforcing work in many other subject areas of the National Curriculum.
We aim to give all children equal access to a range of activities on the computers so that the children become confident. In addition to this, children will also use tape and video recorders when possible to assist them in their work. All classes are resourced for this.
Religious Education and Collective Worship are compulsory for all pupils except where parents request otherwise. Such pupils may be withdrawn from the school to receive R.E. and Collective Worship elsewhere, so long as the LA is satisfied that this will not interfere with his/her attendance at school, other than at the beginning or the end of any school session.
We follow Somerset’s Agreed Syllabus for R.E. Christianity is taught in every year group and three other world faiths are taught throughout the school – Hinduism, Islam and Judaism. The children are taught to understand and respect the religious and cultural beliefs of others.
At Westover Green we plan to hold Collective Worship each day, gathering as a whole school or in smaller groups. It is an important part of our school day. Parents are invited to our assembly on Mondays, and Friday’s assembly is special because we celebrate achievements.
The school has no affiliations to any specific religious order but does have regular contact with Westfield Church.
Geography provokes and answers questions about the natural and human worlds. It develops knowledge of places and environments throughout the world, an understanding of maps and a range of investigative and problem solving skills, both inside and outside the classroom.
Geography is a focus within the curriculum for understanding and resolving issues about the environment and sustainable developments. As pupils study geography, they encounter different societies and cultures which helps them to think about their own place in the world, their rights and responsibilities to other people and the environment.
Children are encouraged to take part in field studies and to use resources such as maps, atlases, globes, aerial photographs and ICT (information communication technology).
At Westover Green pupils are given opportunities to develop an awareness of the past and of the ways it was different from the present. They are helped to set the study of the past in a chronological framework and to understand some of the ways in which we find out about the past. Children are actively involved in the study of the past, using a range of sources of information such as artefacts, photographs and ICT.
At Key Stage 1 children are encouraged to develop a sense of their personal history. Children will begin to examine changes in the ways of life of the people of Britain and the more distant past is explored through stories about famous people.
At Key Stage 2 the children’s historical awareness is extended through study units. These include episodes in Britain’s past, such as invasions and settlements by Romans and life in Tudor and Victorian times.
Music is essentially a practical subject. Pupils are encouraged to sing, compose and use percussion instruments in order to develop their creative skills. Through active listening, pupils’ awareness and understanding of different periods, styles and genres are developed.
The school makes every effort to provide pupils with the opportunity to learn to play a recorder and/or sing in a choir.
It is our hope that the children will develop an interest in music, which they will continue to enjoy for the rest of their lives.
Design Technology is much more than just making models. At Westover Green all the children will be involved in the complete design process, from initial ideas, plans and designs, to construction, final evaluation and re-designing their products. The children will be working with a wide range of materials including food and textiles. They will be learning how to use various tools in a safe and accurate manner.
Children at Westover Green will be given
the opportunity to express themselves
through art. We encourage pupils to
develop their creative and imaginative
talents through learning skills and
techniques and using a variety of materials
and tools.
We also aim to allow the children a
chance to understand and appreciate art,
both past and present, in a variety of styles
and from a variety of cultures.
At Westover Green children are expected to take part in all aspects of physical education. We have a varied and balanced programme of work, which allows children to work alone, with partners or in teams. It includes gymnastics, dance, games, swimming and athletics. We value the role that Physical Education plays in the development of health and fitness of our children and of the role it has in the National Curriculum. Children are expected to plan and perform safely a range of activities in the areas listed above.
 Your child should be provided with a change of clothes for reasons of health and hygiene when taking part in these lessons (shorts and T-shirt). No jewellery must be worn and a change of footwear is advised for outdoor games (daps or trainers).
French is now part of the curriculum for all KS2 pupils. We begin in Year 3 by introducing the children to the country and culture of France and spend most of the first year concentrating on spoken language. Talking then leads on to reading simple French words and phrases. By Year 6, children are expected to be reading and writing basic French. All of this learning is undertaken in an enjoyable way, with lots of reinforcement to help children grow in confidence.
PSHCE helps to give pupils the knowledge, skills and understanding they need to lead confident, healthy, independent lives and to become informed, active and responsible citizens.
Pupils are encouraged to take part in a wide range of activities and experiences across and beyond the curriculum, including circle time, contributing fully to the life of their school and communities. In doing so they recognise their own worth, work well with others and become increasingly responsible for their own learning. They reflect on their experiences and understand how they are developing personally and socially, tackling many of the spiritual, moral, social and cultural issues.
At Westover Green we also follow the Social and Emotional Aspects of Learning (SEAL) Programme which is an explicit, structured whole-curriculum framework and resource for teaching social, emotional and behavioural skills to all pupils.
The need for a multi-cultural element in education was highlighted in the 1988 Education Act. It should be present right across the curriculum. We encourage children to examine and appreciate, different cultures through looking at such things as religions, world art, games, literature, drama and so on. Activities have included visits from story tellers from other cultures and a Bollywood Dancer!
Our history shows us that we have always been a multi-cultural society and today, modern communications and the ease of movement around the world, means that more than ever we remain a multi-cultural society.
Many aspects of looking after ourselves are covered in the school’s curriculum as well as the programmes of study in the Science National Curriculum Framework.
We aim to give pupils a greater understanding of themselves by covering aspects of diet, hygiene and exercise.
Children are taught to respect their environment, both town and country. They have experience of studying aspects of the environment in depth and learn about pollution and conservation.
The children are encouraged to look after their immediate environment and are encouraged to maintain a litter free playground. We recycle our waste paper and cardboard.
We have an Eco School Committee. We hold the Bronze and Silver Eco Awards and are currently working towards the Gold Award.
A child may have Special Educational Needs (SEN) if he or she has difficulty coping in the ordinary classroom. This could be for lots of different reasons, such as problems with learning, behaviour or communication, or because of some physical, visual or hearing difficulty. The school has a Special Needs Co-ordinator (SENCO) who can provide extra help and advice for teachers and parents.
A child who is having difficulties can get help in different ways. The class teacher can make everyday tasks a little easier or put the child in a small group for some extra help with a TA (Teaching Assistant). Those children requiring more support are given an Individual Education Plan and receive support from an LSA (Learning Support Assistant) under the guidance of the class teacher.
Early identification of special needs is important and we encourage you to tell us if you feel your child may need extra help, or has a social, emotional or medical problem. This will be kept confidential to those who teach and help your child. Every effort will be taken to provide additional help and support where necessary, so that your child has a happy, enjoyable time at school.
It is important to understand what we mean by Gifted and Talented children. Gifted children are those that show high ability in academic subjects such as literacy, numeracy or science. Talented children are those that show high ability in art, drama, music, or sporting activities.
The school’s Gifted and Talented provision is aimed broadly at the top 10% of our school community, although it is fair to say that all children benefit from most activities. The provision includes a range of activities. Work in all classes is set to challenge and stretch the most able children. Gifted and talented children regularly receive additional teaching in a small group from a specialist teacher. We also join up with other schools in Bridgwater and the surrounding area to provide a programme of enrichment activities. |
