At Langley Mill we are passionate about providing the children with a rich, broad and balanced curriculum across every year group. We carefully plan to provide the children a wide range of exciting, first-hand experiences and ensure we expose them to good language and quality literature across school. Reading is focused on within each year group and we teach daily phonics sessions, following the Sounds-Write government approved scheme. Mathematics is also taught daily, following the White Rose scheme from reception onwards. RE follows the Derbyshire Agreed Syllabus, enhanced by the Understanding Christianity resource, with standalone lessons taught weekly in reception, year one and year two. PE is also taught discretely, following Derbyshire’s ‘Do-Think-Feel PE’ and Gymastics planning to develop physical skills. PSHE/RSHE is also taught weekly in school, following the Derbyshire ‘PSHE Matters’ scheme from reception onwards. Other subjects are taught through one main topic, to engage, excite and deepen learning. Local area learning has a large focus, capitalising on the rich heritage of Langley Mill.
Our Curriculum
Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum (EYFS)
The Early Years Foundation Stage is the framework which sets the curriculum which all schools and early years’ providers must follow from birth to five years. At Langley Mill your child will learn through play, in these seven areas of learning:
1. Personal, social and emotional development (PSED) – which focusses on self regulation, managing self and building relationships.
2. Physical development (PD) – which focuses on gross and fine motor skills.
3. Communication and language (CL) – which focuses on listening, attention, understanding and speaking.
4. Literacy (L) – which focuses on comprehension, word reading and writing.
5. Mathematics (M) – which focuses on number and numerical patterns.
6. Understanding the world (UW) – which focuses on past and present, people, culture and communities and the natural world.
7. Expressive arts and design (EAD) – which focuses on creating with materials and being imaginative and expressive.
In the Early Years Foundation Stage (nursery and reception) the children’s social skills are developed and a disposition towards learning encouraged that gives them a good start in their school life. Activities are carefully planned to encourage the children to become active learners through playing, exploring, creating and thinking. In our early years learning environments we meet the individual needs and interests of all our children by providing a balance between child-initiated learning, under the guidance of our staff, and activities that are planned and led by an adult.
The nursery and reception staff follow a thematic curriculum, providing learning opportunities across all seven areas through carefully selected topics. Our topics change each year and are highly flexible to reflect the interests and needs of the children in any given cohort. However, usually these include work on ourselves, animals, weather/seasons, food, farms and growing, pets/animals and traditional stories.
Within EYFS we are very fortunate to have large outdoor areas attached to the nursery and reception classrooms where the children can take their learning outside whatever the weather. We also have a wildlife area, growing area, large field with adventure trail and other hard play spaced to encourage physical play.
Please take a look at the overviews for our early years foundation stage curriculum given in the class information pages. For further information on the children’s learning throughout early years, please make an appointment to see your child’s class teacher or the Headteacher.
Key Stage One Curriculum (KS1)
Key stage one is the legal term for the two years of schooling in maintained schools in England and Wales normally known as year one and year two, when pupils are aged between five and seven years. This key stage normally covers pupils during infant school, although in some cases this might form part of a first or primary school.
You can find more information about the key stage one programmes of study here:
Our key stage one curriculum consists of themed topics which are mapped to the aims, skills and knowledge in the national curriculum programmes of study. English is developed daily through the topic and is integral to all subjects, giving children the opportunity to use their reading, writing and language skills across the curriculum. All lessons are also mapped to social, moral, spiritual and cultural development (SMSC), which includes aspects of the fundamental British values of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect for and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs and for those without faith.
We have designed our key stage one curriculum with enthusiasm and pride, ensuring it meets the needs of the children and gives them the best opportunities to meet the requirements of the national curriculum, through engaging and exciting lessons. The key stage one curriculum is broad and balanced and we are dedicated to ensuring that through this curriculum, all of our children are able to maximise their true potential during their valuable time at our school.
Please take a look at the overviews showing our full key stage one curriculum on the class pages. We have also provided key performance indicators for English and Maths, showing age related expectations for children in years one and two in these core areas. For further information on the children’s learning, please make an appointment to see your child’s class teacher or the Headteacher.
