Curriculum Overview
Intent:
At Eastfield Primary Academy our curriculum offer gives children the opportunity to understand the world around them through the acquisition of declarative knowledge (a rich and deep subject knowledge), alongside procedural knowledge (learning new skills) by way of a variety of interesting contexts, whilst experiencing the challenge and enjoyment of learning.
Our curriculum is taught through a pedagogy that offers all children a memorable experience within each topic, at an appropriate point, which then leads the children into problem solving, being creative and communicating their thinking in a variety of different ways, sustaining the children’s interests. Woven within this, is a focus on the acquisition of basic skills: reading, writing and maths and providing a curriculum that is language rich ensuring our children can articulate their learning and thinking through both verbal and written communication.
Our children learn about respecting themselves and others through working collaboratively and are given time to reflect and think mindfully about their learning. They are encouraged to take part in democratic activities across the curriculum, expressing their opinions on a range of different topics and issues so that they can make a positive contribution to Eastfield, the local and global communities.
Curriculum enrichment is important to us and we ensure that our children have access to high quality resources, both in and out of the classroom; promoting a sense of pride in all that we do. Trips out and visitors in, ensure that our curriculum is exciting, memorable and we provide experiences that our children do not always have access to; deepening their understanding of the world around them. We welcome parents and carers in at every available opportunity to take part in their children’s learning experiences. Our out of school provision allows children to further develop their skills in sport, music, art, DT, computing and forest schools. Links are made with local comprehensive schools and local businesses to ensure that children, particularly across KS2, have an opportunity to think about long term goals, aspirations and career development.
Implementation:
Our curriculum implementation is underpinned by our 3 main drivers:
- Pride – we take pride in ourselves, our environment and in all we do.
- Collaboration – we use Kagan structures to support us working collaboratively; what we can do in a team today, we can achieve on our own tomorrow.
- Understanding – we use a bespoke curriculum, designed by our subject leaders to provide a vehicle for learning about and understanding the world around us, and this is supported by our Reading and Writing Strategies.
We have a clear long-term plan that identifies each unit plan to be taught on a half termly basis. Units are taught according to the main subject focus; in each half term from Early years to Year 6 the same subject focus is taught, for example in Autumn 1 a geography focused unit is taught and so on. Across the year:
- 2 x History units
- 2 x Geography units
- 1 x DT unit
- 1 x Art Unit
There is also an art or DT based week long unit at the end of each geography and history unit.
Each year group follows its own unit plans, ensuring that prior learning is built upon, revisited and progression is clear. Our Writing Strategy is driven by a text, and this is chosen to support and enrich the unit plans, to provide opportunities for our children to use and build upon their declarative and procedural knowledge. Whilst our Reading Strategy’s main aims are to develop our children’s love of reading, and literal and inference skills using a wide range of texts, it too, provides opportunities for our children to use and build upon their declarative and procedural knowledge as and where appropriate.
Subject Coverage:
Geography, History, Art and Design & Technology are taught through unit plans that have been designed by our subject leaders. Music, PSHE/RSE, RE, Science and Spanish are taught discreetly. Planning for these subject areas is delivered by paid experts and discreet schemes.
Maths - children secure their fluency skills by completing 'Strive for Five', before moving on to more complex mathematics. Children apply their knowledge in reasoning tasks, where children describe, explain, convince, justify and prove. They also apply their knowledge to a range of problems: logic, rules and patterns, word, finding all possibilities and visual. Fluency, reasoning and problem-solving skills are embedded within mathematics lessons and are developed consistently over time.
Computing - we teach a bespoke curriculum designed by our academy trust in order to cover the three key areas of: Computer Science, Information Technology and Digital Literacy. We teach the curriculum to ensure all children are taught a range of key skills to help prepare them for the fast-changing technological world that we live in. We teach all children to use the internet in a safe and responsible way. They are taught how to deal with inappropriate content that they may come across in their school and home life, and how to report any concerns. However, some unit plans for other subject areas do provide opportunities for children to use their computing knowledge for a range of different audiences/contexts.
R.E – The RE leader has designed a bespoke curriculum based on the requirements of the Lincolnshire Agreed Syllabus. The approach is an enquiry-based approach to teaching and learning. Christianity is taught in every year group, with Christmas and Easter given new treatment each year, developing the acquisition of declarative knowledge in a progressive way. Hinduism, Islam and Judaism are also covered. Our belief is that if an enquiry-based model is used well, children’s critical thinking skills can be developed, their motivation to learn increased, and their knowledge and understanding of, and empathy towards people and their beliefs, religious or otherwise, will be enhanced.
This approach takes very seriously the philosophy that children are free to make their own choices and decisions concerning religion and belief. RE does not try to persuade but rather to inform and develop the skills with which evaluation can take place.
Across the Early Years the children study Christianity, Judaism and Hinduism. In Key Stage 1 the children study Christianity, Judaism and Islam. In Key Stage 2 the children study Christianity, Islam and Hinduism.
P.E. - we use the 'Beyond the Physical' programme to deliver a comprehensive whole-school approach to P.E. We aim to inspire children to develop competence to excel in a broad range of physical activities, to be physically active for sustained periods of time, to provide opportunities for children to engage in competitive sports and activities, and ultimately for our children to lead healthy, active lives.
PSHCE – we use the ‘Jigsaw’ programme to deliver a comprehensive whole-school approach from Nursery to Year 6 that includes PSHE, emotional literacy, social skills and spiritual development.
Music – we currently use a music specialist form our local authority to deliver music tuition across all year groups.
Spanish – we use the ‘Primary Languages Network’ scheme of work to deliver a comprehensive approach to Spanish across KS2. It uses Kagan structures to enhance teaching and learning, and support collaboration.
Science – The science leader has developed a bespoke curriculum based on the National Curriculum and the needs of our children. This is delivered via the use of unit plans that again, allow for the development of both procedural and declarative knowledge to develop progressively over time.
Impact:
We measure the impact of our curriculum in a variety of ways:
- Evidence of children’s learning journey’s in their books.
- Children and staff assess against clearly identified outcomes for each unit plan. This is recorded in children’s Curriculum books. It is a visible record for both children and staff, demonstrating what the children have achieved and what they need to do next.
- Marking, feedback and children correcting and/or editing their work demonstrates progress within a learning sequence.
- Children’s voice is sought regarding their learning; enjoyment, engagement, pride, opportunities for collaboration, what would make their learning even better etc.
- Photographs capture hands-on opportunities.
- Displays within classrooms and across Eastfield showcase children’s learning, the experiences and opportunities they have had; progression within a sequence of learning, and across a Phase and/or Eastfield.
- Summative assessments provide a baseline, mid-year and end of year benchmark of attainment and progress for Reading, Spelling and Grammar from Y1 to Y6. Statutory tests also provide a benchmark for attainment and progress.
- Monitoring behaviour through incidents recorded in CPOMs.
- Monitoring attendance; over the past three years our attendance has been above 95%.
- Subject monitoring – we have a clear cycle of monitoring for staff to share good practice, identify CPD needs and enhance staff practice.
- Gaps in learning are quickly identified via the use of a ten key questions quiz which allows staff to assess the need for any pre-teaching prior to commencing with any new learning.
Learning Showcase
Curriculum newsletters are updated half-termly and provide information to parents about what is being taught in that half term.
Curriculum Newsletters
Early Years at Eastfield Primary Academy
As part of our Ofsted inspection in November 2023 our EYFS was graded as ‘outstanding’!
‘Children in the Nursery and Reception classes benefit from provision of an exceptional quality. The most is made of every opportunity to support children in these classes.’ Ofsted Nov, 2023.
In EYFS, we ensure that our children enjoy a rich, immersive and engaging learning environment where they can explore, experiment and investigate both indoors and outdoors. The quality of a child’s early experience is vital for their future success. We provide high-quality early education where all of our children take part in a wide range of hands on and practical learning experiences on a 1-1 basis, in small groups and in large groups.
Continuous provision allows our children to choose where they want to learn through play. During this time, activities are set up both indoors and outdoors for the children to access, both independently and with an adult. All activities are based upon our children’s next steps in learning ensuring that our children are challenged, and their learning is moved forward. We ensure that there are high quality interactions with our children during planned and child-initiated play activities. Practitioner’s model language, show, explain, demonstrate, question, encourage, facilitate, and stimulate our children throughout the day.
Our children are assessed throughout the Foundation Stage using the Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum. through on-going observations and sampling of their work. Observation and work sampling are used to identify children’s interests and next steps, which are then used for planning daily, weekly and informing our topics.
At the end of the Early Years, our children are assessed against the 17 Early Learning Goals. If they have met the goals they achieve ‘Expected’. Children who achieve expected in the first 12 goals are said to have achieved a ‘Good Level of Development’.
We work hard to ensure that our children enjoy their time in our EYFS provision, but that we also put the building blocks in place to ensure that they are ready for their transition into Year 1 and the next steps on their learning journey!
EYFS Guidance
Nursery Progression
Reception Progression
Learning Showcase
Our Reading Curriculum
At Eastfield Primary Academy, we believe that reading is fundamental to children's success. Our ambition is for every child to become a confident, fluent and enthusiastic reader who can understand, discuss and enjoy a wide range of texts.
Reading provides children with access to the whole curriculum. Through carefully selected texts, explicit teaching, purposeful discussion and regular opportunities to read, children develop the fluency, vocabulary, comprehension and critical thinking they need to become increasingly independent readers and learners.
Why is Reading important at Eastfield?
Reading opens doors to knowledge, imagination and opportunity. We want children to read successfully for different purposes, develop a genuine enjoyment of books and use reading to deepen their understanding of themselves, other people and the wider world.
Our approach reflects Eastfield's curriculum drivers of Pride, Collaboration and Understanding:
Pride – children develop confidence and fluency as readers, recognise their progress and develop positive attitudes towards reading.
Collaboration – children listen, discuss, question and respond to texts together, learning to articulate their own interpretations while considering the ideas and perspectives of others.
Understanding – reading enables children to acquire knowledge, encounter different experiences and perspectives, develop empathy and make sense of the world around them.
What does Reading look like at Eastfield?
Reading is taught explicitly and is also woven throughout our wider curriculum. Children learn the knowledge and strategies they need to decode accurately, develop fluency, understand vocabulary, retrieve information, make inferences, summarise, predict, make connections and respond thoughtfully to texts.
Children encounter a rich and varied range of high-quality fiction, non-fiction and poetry. Texts are carefully selected to develop reading knowledge and skills while broadening children's vocabulary, experiences and understanding of the world.
Oracy is integral to our Reading curriculum. Children are given regular opportunities to hear high-quality language, discuss texts, ask and answer questions, rehearse ideas and explain and justify their responses. Teachers explicitly model vocabulary and sentence structures, enabling children to increasingly articulate their interpretations using precise language.
Reading is also central to learning across the curriculum. Children encounter increasingly sophisticated subject-specific texts and vocabulary in subjects such as science, history and geography, developing the reading knowledge and disciplinary language needed to access the full curriculum.
Reading Plus in Key Stage 2
In Key Stage 2, we use Reading Plus to complement and enhance our teacher-led Reading curriculum.
Reading Plus is an adaptive online reading programme that provides personalised reading experiences, developing silent reading fluency, comprehension, vocabulary and reading stamina. The programme adapts to pupils' developing reading ability and provides teachers with information about individual pupils' reading strengths and areas for development.
At Eastfield, Reading Plus provides additional opportunities for purposeful independent reading, consolidation and challenge. The range of texts also supports wider curriculum knowledge and exposes children to increasingly ambitious vocabulary.
Reading Plus is a supporting resource rather than a replacement for high-quality teacher-led Reading instruction, discussion and engagement with books.
How does learning develop?
Reading begins in Early Years, where children develop important foundations through communication and language, stories, rhymes, songs, vocabulary development, listening and the systematic teaching of the knowledge needed to begin decoding print.
Children are immersed in books and storytelling and develop an understanding that reading is both meaningful and enjoyable. Adults model expressive reading, talk about texts and introduce children to vocabulary they may not encounter in everyday conversation.
As children move through Key Stage 1, they develop increasingly secure decoding and fluency, enabling them to read with greater accuracy, automaticity and expression. Alongside this, children develop comprehension through discussion, explicit vocabulary teaching and increasingly independent responses to texts.
As decoding becomes increasingly secure, children learn to focus more deeply on meaning. They retrieve and connect information, make inferences, predict, summarise ideas and begin to justify their interpretations using evidence from the text.
Throughout Key Stage 2, children encounter increasingly complex texts, vocabulary, sentence structures, themes and ideas. They learn to read flexibly for different purposes, distinguish important information, make connections within and between texts, infer meaning and justify increasingly sophisticated interpretations.
Reading Plus provides additional personalised opportunities in KS2 to develop silent reading fluency, stamina, vocabulary and comprehension alongside this teacher-led curriculum.
Metacognition is developed throughout our Reading curriculum. Children are encouraged to think about themselves as readers, recognise when understanding has broken down and know what they can do about it.
Teachers explicitly model how effective readers:
• activate relevant prior knowledge;
• predict and ask questions;
• identify and explore unfamiliar vocabulary;
• reread when meaning is unclear;
• use context and other clues to clarify meaning;
• make connections within and between texts;
• check whether their interpretation makes sense;
• select appropriate strategies for different texts and purposes; and
• reflect on which strategies helped them understand.
As children progress, adult modelling and scaffolding are gradually reduced so that children select and apply these strategies with increasing confidence and independence.
How do we support all learners?
We are ambitious for every child and recognise that children develop as readers at different rates and may experience different barriers to reading.
Teachers use ongoing assessment to identify children's strengths, misconceptions and next steps. Teaching is adapted appropriately while maintaining access to an ambitious Reading curriculum.
Support may include:
• additional explicit teaching and modelling;
• pre-teaching and revisiting vocabulary;
• additional phonics or decoding support where required;
• repeated reading to develop fluency;
• reading alongside a skilled adult;
• carefully selected and accessible texts;
• visual support;
• targeted questioning;
• sentence stems to support discussion and comprehension;
• additional processing, rehearsal and practice time; and
• targeted intervention where further teaching is required.
For children with SEND, adaptations and reasonable adjustments are made according to individual need while maintaining high expectations.
Children who are disadvantaged or who have gaps in decoding, language, vocabulary, fluency, comprehension or wider background knowledge are identified promptly. Additional teaching, reading practice, vocabulary development and access to high-quality texts are used to reduce barriers.
In Key Stage 2, information from Reading Plus can provide an additional source of assessment information about pupils' silent reading fluency, comprehension and vocabulary, helping staff identify areas where further support or challenge may be appropriate.
Our ultimate aim is for every child to leave Eastfield able to read confidently, understand deeply, discuss thoughtfully and use reading independently to learn.
Learning Showcase
Our Writing Curriculum
At Eastfield Primary Academy, we believe that writing gives children a powerful way to communicate their ideas, knowledge, imagination and understanding.
Our ambition is for every child to become a confident, purposeful and increasingly independent writer. Children develop the vocabulary, grammatical knowledge, transcription skills and understanding of different forms of writing they need to communicate effectively for a range of audiences and purposes.
Writing is taught explicitly within English and applied meaningfully across the wider curriculum, enabling children to use writing to communicate and demonstrate their learning.
Why is Writing important at Eastfield?
Writing enables children to communicate, create, explain, inform, persuade and entertain. It also helps children organise their thinking and demonstrate what they know and understand across the curriculum.
Our approach reflects Eastfield's curriculum drivers of Pride, Collaboration and Understanding:
Pride – children develop confidence as writers, recognise their progress and take pride in producing writing that communicates effectively.
Collaboration – children talk about ideas, rehearse language, share writing, discuss choices and learn from feedback.
Understanding – children learn how language changes according to audience, purpose and context and use writing to communicate their understanding across the curriculum.
This complements Eastfield's wider commitment to a language-rich curriculum in which children articulate their thinking through both verbal and written communication.
What does Writing look like at Eastfield?
Writing is taught through a carefully structured approach in which children develop composition and transcription alongside one another.
High-quality texts and meaningful contexts provide models for writing and expose children to rich vocabulary, varied sentence structures and different ways of communicating with a reader.
Teachers explicitly model how writers:
• generate and organise ideas;
• select precise and increasingly ambitious vocabulary;
• construct and combine sentences;
• apply grammar and punctuation;
• organise writing for a particular purpose and audience;
• apply spelling knowledge;
• develop fluent and legible handwriting;
• reread and evaluate their work; and
• edit and improve their writing.
Oracy is integral to writing at Eastfield. Children talk before they write, rehearsing ideas and sentences aloud, exploring vocabulary and listening to models of effective language. Discussion, storytelling, drama and purposeful partner talk help children develop the language structures they need to communicate effectively in writing.
Spelling and handwriting are taught systematically alongside composition. We use SCODE to support the progressive teaching of spelling and Letter-join to support the development of letter formation, handwriting fluency and increasingly efficient transcription.
Children also write purposefully across the wider curriculum, applying their growing knowledge of writing when communicating ideas in subjects such as science, history and geography.
How does learning develop?
Writing begins in Early Years, where communication and language provide essential foundations. Through stories, rhymes, role play, purposeful conversation and high-quality adult interaction, children develop vocabulary and learn to organise and communicate their ideas.
Mark-making develops into increasingly purposeful writing. Children develop the physical control required for handwriting and begin to use their growing phonic knowledge to communicate meaning through print.
In Key Stage 1, children become increasingly confident in constructing and recording sentences. Transcription develops through systematic teaching of spelling and handwriting alongside vocabulary, grammar, punctuation and composition. Oral rehearsal and teacher modelling help children move from spoken language towards increasingly independent written communication.
Throughout Key Stage 2, children develop greater control over their writing. They encounter an increasingly ambitious range of texts and learn to make deliberate choices about audience, purpose, vocabulary, grammar, sentence structure, cohesion and organisation.
Children increasingly draw upon their reading when making choices as writers and apply their writing knowledge independently across different subjects and contexts.
Metacognition is embedded throughout the writing process. Children are taught to think about themselves as writers and increasingly plan, monitor and evaluate their own work.
Teachers model questions such as:
• What am I trying to communicate?
• Who am I writing for?
• Which vocabulary communicates my meaning precisely?
• Does this sentence say what I intended?
• Does my writing make sense and flow?
• Have I achieved the purpose of the writing?
• What could I improve?
As children become more confident, adult modelling and scaffolding are gradually reduced so that they make these decisions with increasing independence.
How do we support all learners?
We have high expectations for every child while recognising that pupils may experience different barriers to writing.
Teachers use ongoing assessment to identify what children already know, what they can apply independently and where further teaching or support is required. Adaptive teaching may include:
• explicit teacher modelling and worked examples;
• oral rehearsal before writing;
• pre-teaching and revisiting vocabulary;
• images and visual prompts;
• sentence stems and writing frames;
• vocabulary banks;
• breaking writing into manageable steps;
• additional phonics and spelling support;
• handwriting and transcription support;
• additional opportunities to practise and revisit learning; and
• targeted adult feedback and questioning.
Scaffolds are used purposefully and reduced as children's knowledge, confidence and independence increase.
For pupils with SEND, appropriate adaptations and reasonable adjustments are made while maintaining access to an ambitious Writing curriculum. Children who are disadvantaged, or who have gaps in language, vocabulary, transcription or prior knowledge, are identified promptly and receive additional teaching and opportunities to develop the knowledge and language they need to succeed.
Our aim is that every child leaves Eastfield able to write confidently, communicate clearly and make thoughtful, independent choices as a writer.
Learning Showcase
Our Phonics Curriculum
At Eastfield Primary Academy, we believe that learning to read begins long before children encounter their first written phonemes. From Nursery onwards, we develop children's listening, communication and phonological awareness so that they have strong foundations for learning to read.
We use Little Wandle Foundations in Nursery and Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised from Reception to provide a carefully sequenced approach to early language, phonics and reading. Little Wandle Foundations is specifically designed to develop children's language, communication, phonological awareness and love of books before formal phonics teaching begins.
Why is Phonics important at Eastfield?
Phonics provides children with the knowledge they need to understand the relationship between spoken sounds and written letters. Secure phonological and phonic knowledge enables children to decode unfamiliar words, develop reading fluency and ultimately concentrate more fully on understanding and enjoying what they read.
Our ambition is for children to develop strong foundations from Nursery and learn to read as quickly and successfully as possible, so that they can move from learning to read to reading to learn.
Our curriculum drivers are reflected throughout early reading:
Pride – children develop confidence in themselves as readers and recognise the progress they make.
Collaboration – children listen carefully, join in with rhymes and oral activities, practise together and develop learning through shared language and reading.
Understanding – children develop an understanding of sounds, words and language before increasingly recognising how sounds and letters work together and applying this knowledge independently.
What does Phonics look like at Eastfield?
Phonics begins in Nursery through our foundations for phonics provision, historically often referred to as Phase 1.
The emphasis at this stage is on developing children's phonological and phonemic awareness, language, listening and confidence. Children experience regular, playful opportunities to:
• listen carefully to and identify environmental sounds;
• recognise and produce rhyme;
• hear and identify alliteration and initial sounds;
• identify and explore syllables within words;
• develop oral blending and segmenting;
• listen to, join in with and learn nursery rhymes;
• explore sounds through songs, stories and play; and
• develop vocabulary and confidence in speaking and listening.
These closely reflect the skills identified within Little Wandle Foundations for Phonics, which includes rhyme, syllables, initial sounds, alliteration and oral blending and segmenting.
Alongside this, children experience a rich range of stories, rhymes, songs and conversations to develop their language, vocabulary and love of reading. The current Little Wandle Foundations programme deliberately brings together Foundations for Phonics, Foundations for Language and Foundations for a Love of Reading.
From Reception, formal systematic synthetic phonics is taught explicitly through Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised. Children learn grapheme-phoneme correspondences (GPCs), blending for reading, segmenting for spelling and tricky words through a carefully structured sequence.
Children regularly retrieve and revisit previously taught learning so that their knowledge becomes increasingly secure and automatic.
Oracy is integral throughout. Children listen carefully, articulate sounds, blend orally, rehearse words and sentences and encounter new vocabulary through purposeful talk, creating a strong connection between phonics and Eastfield's wider focus on communication and language.
How does learning develop?
In Nursery, children develop the foundations needed for successful phonics through environmental sound discrimination, rhyme, alliteration, syllables, initial sounds, oral segmenting and blending, nursery rhymes, stories and rich language experiences.
These foundations prepare children for formal phonics teaching in Reception, where they begin Phase 2 and systematically learn their first GPCs. Children learn to blend sounds to read words and apply their developing phonic knowledge when reading and writing.
During Reception, children progress through Phases 2, 3 and 4, with increasing complexity and regular opportunities to revisit and consolidate previous learning. This progression is set out in Eastfield's Phonic Overview for Reception and Year 1.
In Year 1, children revisit prior learning before progressing through Phase 5. They learn that phonemes may be represented by different graphemes and become increasingly flexible and automatic in applying their understanding of the alphabetic code.
Throughout Reception and Year 1, children apply their secure phonic knowledge through fully decodable books that are closely matched to the sounds and words they have been taught. This enables them to practise accurate decoding without relying on guessing strategies.
As decoding becomes increasingly automatic, children are able to devote greater attention to fluency, vocabulary, comprehension and enjoyment of reading.
How do we support all learners?
We are ambitious for every child and monitor progress closely from the earliest stages.
In Nursery, practitioners identify children who need additional opportunities to develop listening, language, vocabulary, phonological awareness or oral blending and build these experiences into adult interaction, small-group learning and continuous provision.
From Reception onwards, children who are not keeping pace with the Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised progression receive immediate additional practice and targeted keep-up support, closely matched to the content being taught.
Support may include:
• additional oral blending and segmenting;
• more frequent repetition and retrieval;
• additional practice of specific GPCs;
• repeated practice of words and tricky words;
• additional opportunities to read appropriately matched decodable texts;
• visual prompts and carefully structured scaffolding; and
• targeted individual or small-group teaching.
For children with SEND, provision is adapted to individual need while maintaining ambitious expectations. Children who are disadvantaged or enter Eastfield with gaps in language and early literacy experiences are identified promptly and receive additional high-quality interaction, teaching and practice.
Our aim is that the journey from Nursery foundations → Reception formal phonics → Year 1 increasingly secure decoding → fluent and independent reading is coherent, progressive and successful for every child.
Our Spelling Curriculum
At Eastfield Primary Academy, we recognise that accurate and increasingly automatic spelling is essential for children to become confident and effective writers. Our Spelling curriculum develops children's knowledge of how words work so that they can make connections, recognise patterns and apply appropriate strategies independently.
Why is Spelling important at Eastfield?
Secure spelling knowledge enables children to communicate their ideas clearly and concentrate more fully on composition when writing. We want children to become curious about words, develop a rich vocabulary and understand the patterns, structures and conventions that support accurate spelling.
Our approach reflects our curriculum drivers of Pride, Collaboration and Understanding. Children take pride in improving their accuracy, explore and discuss words together and develop an increasingly secure understanding of how words are constructed.
What does Spelling look like at Eastfield?
From Key Stage 1 to Key Stage 2, we use the SCODE Spelling Programme to provide a structured and progressive approach to teaching spelling.
Teaching builds upon children's phonics knowledge and develops their understanding of spelling patterns, rules and strategies. Through explicit teaching, regular retrieval and purposeful opportunities to apply spelling within writing, children learn to transfer their spelling knowledge rather than simply memorise lists of words.
Oracy and vocabulary are integral to our approach. Children say, hear and investigate words, exploring pronunciation, meaning and structure. Teachers explicitly model new vocabulary and encourage children to make connections between words, supporting both spoken and written language.
Metacognition is also embedded within spelling. Children are encouraged to think about how a word is constructed, identify what they already know, select an appropriate strategy and check whether their spelling looks and sounds right. Over time, this helps children become increasingly independent in identifying and correcting errors.
How does learning develop?
The foundations for spelling begin in Early Years, where children develop their awareness of sounds in spoken language and begin to use their growing phonics knowledge when writing.
As children move into Key Stage 1, systematic phonics continues to provide an important foundation. The SCODE programme progressively builds children's understanding of spelling conventions and patterns so that they begin to make connections between words and apply known strategies.
Throughout Key Stage 2, spelling knowledge becomes increasingly sophisticated. Children encounter more complex patterns and vocabulary and are expected to draw upon previously learned knowledge when spelling unfamiliar words. They increasingly recognise relationships between words, explore word structure and independently select strategies to check and correct their spelling.
Regular retrieval ensures that previously taught spelling knowledge is revisited and strengthened, while writing across the curriculum provides opportunities for children to apply spelling independently and in meaningful contexts.
How do we support all learners?
We recognise that children develop spelling knowledge at different rates. Teachers use assessment of children's spelling within lessons and independent writing to identify misconceptions, gaps and next steps.
Support may include:
• revisiting phonics knowledge;
• explicit modelling and additional explanation;
• breaking words into smaller parts or syllables;
• oral rehearsal and pronunciation;
• exploring connections between related words;
• additional retrieval and practice;
• visual prompts and appropriately selected word banks; and
• targeted intervention where further teaching is required.
For pupils with SEND and children with identified gaps in prior learning, teaching is adapted appropriately while maintaining high expectations. Additional practice and scaffolding are used to help children secure essential knowledge, with support gradually reduced as confidence and independence develop.
Our aim is for children to leave Eastfield with secure spelling knowledge, an increasingly rich vocabulary and the confidence to make thoughtful and independent spelling choices when they write.
Our Maths Curriculum
At Eastfield Primary Academy, our maths curriculum is ambitious, inclusive and carefully sequenced to enable every child to develop confidence, fluency and a secure understanding of mathematics. We want children not simply to remember mathematical procedures, but to understand why they work, make connections between mathematical ideas and apply their knowledge independently.
Why is Maths important at Eastfield?
Mathematics is an essential part of everyday life and helps children to understand and make sense of the world around them. At Eastfield, we want every child to see themselves as a mathematician and to develop the knowledge, skills, confidence and resilience to approach mathematics successfully.
Our curriculum develops secure fluency, conceptual understanding, mathematical reasoning and problem-solving. Children are encouraged to be curious, identify patterns, make connections, explain their thinking, learn from mistakes and approach challenge with confidence and perseverance.
Our three curriculum drivers are embedded within mathematics:
Pride
Children develop confidence as mathematicians, take pride in their progress and recognise that perseverance, challenge and learning from mistakes are important parts of becoming successful learners.
Collaboration
Children discuss mathematical ideas, listen to alternative approaches, explain and justify their thinking and work collaboratively to solve problems.
Understanding
Children develop a deep understanding of mathematical concepts, make connections between different areas of mathematics and recognise how mathematics helps us understand the world around us.
What does Maths look like at Eastfield?
Our approach combines carefully sequenced curriculum planning with high-quality explicit teaching, mathematical discussion, purposeful practice and regular opportunities for children to apply their learning.
Our EYFS team designs a bespoke maths curriculum using a range of appropriate resources and experiences, driven by the needs, interests, starting points and developing understanding of the children. Mathematical learning is developed through direct teaching alongside meaningful opportunities to explore number, pattern, shape, measure and mathematical thinking through continuous provision and everyday experiences.
In Years 1 to 6, we use First4Maths Academy to support the planning and sequencing of our maths curriculum. First4Maths Academy provides curriculum and professional development materials from Nursery to Year 6, including resources that break mathematical concepts into manageable steps and demonstrate how concepts can be modelled using concrete resources.
Teachers use this sequence alongside their professional knowledge and ongoing assessment to ensure that learning builds upon what children already know and that teaching responds to children's needs.
Across the Academy, children experience:
• explicit teaching and modelling of mathematical concepts;
• regular retrieval and practice of prior learning;
• development of number fluency and arithmetic;
• mathematical reasoning and problem-solving;
• carefully chosen concrete resources, manipulatives and visual representations;
• opportunities to explain, justify and prove mathematical thinking;
• purposeful mathematical discussion and collaboration; and
• opportunities to apply mathematics in different contexts.
Oracy, vocabulary and visual representation
Oracy is a consistent feature of mathematics teaching across Eastfield. Children are explicitly taught the mathematical vocabulary they need to understand new concepts and communicate their thinking accurately.
Teachers model high-quality mathematical language and give children regular opportunities to explain their thinking, describe patterns and relationships, justify answers, ask questions and respond to the reasoning of others.
Vocabulary and images are used consistently across the Academy to support understanding and help children make connections between mathematical language, representations and abstract concepts. Visual models, images, concrete resources and manipulatives are carefully selected to make mathematical structures visible and support children in moving towards increasingly abstract and independent mathematical thinking.
This consistent approach helps children not only to find an answer, but to articulate how they know and explain why their strategy works.
Digital learning in Maths
We use a carefully selected range of digital resources to complement high-quality classroom teaching, providing additional opportunities for practice, consolidation, challenge and personalised learning.
These include:
• DreamBox Maths provides adaptive mathematical learning that responds to pupils as they work, adjusting support and challenge and providing opportunities to develop conceptual understanding, critical thinking and procedural fluency.
• Mathletics provides opportunities for personalised mathematical practice and challenge and gives teachers information about children's progress and areas requiring further attention.
• Times Tables Rock Stars supports the development of fluency and rapid recall of multiplication and division facts through adaptive practice.
• NumBots supports children's understanding, recall and fluency in early number, including subitising, number bonds, addition and subtraction.
These programmes support rather than replace high-quality teacher-led mathematics. Teachers select digital resources purposefully according to the learning needs of their pupils.
How does learning develop?
Mathematical learning begins in EYFS, where children develop strong foundations in number and numerical patterns alongside spatial reasoning, shape and measure. Practical experiences, mathematical talk and carefully selected representations help children explore concepts and develop increasing confidence with mathematical ideas.
As children move into Key Stage 1, teaching builds systematically upon these foundations. Children develop increasingly secure number sense, fluency and calculation alongside their understanding of shape, measure and other areas of mathematics. They are taught to use mathematical vocabulary accurately and increasingly explain and reason about their thinking.
In Key Stage 2, knowledge and understanding deepen as children encounter increasingly complex mathematical concepts. Fluency and efficient recall allow children to focus on more sophisticated reasoning and problem-solving. Children make connections across areas of mathematics, select increasingly efficient strategies, justify their choices and apply their understanding to unfamiliar problems.
Throughout this journey, important concepts are revisited and built upon so that new learning connects to secure prior knowledge rather than being taught in isolation.
How do we support all learners?
We have high expectations for every child and recognise that pupils may require different levels or forms of support to achieve the same ambitious mathematical goals.
Teachers use ongoing assessment to identify children's starting points, misconceptions and next steps and adapt teaching in response. Adaptive teaching may include:
• additional explicit modelling and worked examples;
• carefully selected manipulatives, images and visual representations;
• pre-teaching and reinforcement of mathematical vocabulary;
• additional opportunities for retrieval and practice;
• scaffolding and breaking learning into smaller steps;
• targeted questioning and guided support;
• additional processing time;
• opportunities to revisit prerequisite knowledge;
• personalised practice using appropriate digital resources; and
• increased challenge where children are ready to deepen their understanding.
For pupils with SEND, adaptations are made according to individual needs while maintaining high expectations and access to the mathematical curriculum. Children who are disadvantaged or who have gaps in prior learning are identified promptly so that teaching, additional practice and targeted support can help them secure the knowledge they need to access future learning.
How do we know children are learning?
Assessment is an integral part of mathematics teaching at Eastfield. Teachers continually check children's understanding through questioning, observation, mathematical discussion, children's work and formative assessment.
Assessment helps teachers identify what children know, remember and can apply, alongside misconceptions or gaps that need addressing. Our existing assessment approach includes formative assessment throughout the year alongside summative assessment and the regular review of end-of-year expectations.
This information is used to adapt teaching, identify pupils requiring additional support or intervention and recognise when children are ready for greater challenge.
Learning Showcase
Our Science Curriculum
At Eastfield Primary Academy, we believe that science should inspire curiosity and help children understand the world around them.
Our science curriculum develops children's scientific knowledge alongside the skills and disciplinary knowledge required to work and think scientifically. Through practical investigation, observation, discussion, research and problem-solving, children learn to ask questions, explore ideas, evaluate evidence and communicate increasingly sophisticated scientific explanations.
We use the STEM Learning Solutions Ltd (SLS) Primary Science Curriculum to support the planning and sequencing of science from Early Years through to Year 6. The curriculum builds substantive knowledge alongside progressive Working Scientifically skills and scientific vocabulary.
Why is Science important at Eastfield?
Science enables children to make sense of the natural and physical world and understand how scientific ideas help explain what they observe.
We want children to become curious, knowledgeable and independent scientific thinkers who can ask worthwhile questions, investigate systematically and use evidence to develop and justify explanations.
Our curriculum reflects Eastfield's drivers of Pride, Collaboration and Understanding:
Pride
Children develop confidence as scientists, take pride in conducting investigations carefully and recognise the progress they make in their scientific knowledge and thinking.
Collaboration
Children investigate, discuss and problem-solve together. They learn to listen to different ideas, share observations, evaluate evidence and communicate scientific explanations collaboratively.
Understanding
Children build connected knowledge about the world and learn how scientific evidence, concepts and models can be used to explain how and why things happen.
Science also helps children recognise its relevance to everyday life, future technologies and STEM-related careers and opportunities. The SLS Science Curriculum explicitly identifies scientific literacy, secondary readiness, future scientific debates and developing Science Capital as intended outcomes.
What does Science look like at Eastfield?
Science is an active, knowledge-rich and investigative subject.
We use the SLS Primary Science Curriculum, in which lessons combine the development of scientific knowledge with the explicit teaching of Working Scientifically. Dual objectives help ensure children develop both what they know about science and how scientists investigate, evaluate and communicate evidence.
Children undertake different types of scientific enquiry, including:
• observing and measuring over time;
• identifying and classifying;
• finding patterns;
• comparative and fair testing;
• researching and communicating; and
• problem-solving and applying scientific knowledge.
These enquiry types are deliberately used to develop Working Scientifically skills progressively.
Across their science learning, children progressively develop their ability to:
Explain Science
Recall and connect scientific knowledge, use increasingly precise vocabulary, apply scientific models and communicate logical scientific explanations.
Classify
Observe similarities and differences, group and subgroup using appropriate criteria and increasingly construct and use classification keys.
Design Experiments
Ask questions, make increasingly scientific predictions, select appropriate equipment, identify variables, design methods and manage risk.
Use Data, Tables and Graphs
Observe and measure accurately, record findings and present data through increasingly sophisticated tables, charts and graphs.
Make Conclusions
Identify patterns and relationships, use evidence to reach conclusions, evaluate the success of investigations and suggest improvements.
This progression is mapped from EYFS through KS1, lower KS2 and upper KS2.
Oracy and scientific vocabulary are integral to science at Eastfield. Children learn to use increasingly precise scientific language to describe observations, ask questions, explain processes, justify predictions and communicate conclusions. The SLS progression moves pupils from using simple scientific words within an activity towards accurately and fluently applying complex scientific vocabulary and constructing logical explanations.
Retrieval helps children connect new learning with what they already know, while metacognition supports children in considering how they will approach an investigation, monitoring whether their strategy is effective and reflecting on the reliability of their findings.
How does learning develop?
Scientific learning begins in Early Years, where children explore the world through first-hand experiences, play, observation, talk and questioning. Children learn to notice patterns and changes, use their senses, sort and compare, ask questions, use appropriate equipment and talk about what they observe.
The SLS curriculum deliberately identifies EYFS as the beginning of its progression in substantive knowledge, disciplinary knowledge and scientific vocabulary so that children's experiences provide foundations for Year 1.
In Key Stage 1, children build knowledge across areas including plants, animals including humans, everyday materials, living things and habitats and seasonal change. The Eastfield curriculum also provides opportunities to explore forces, light and electricity at an appropriate level.
Children learn to observe closely, classify and compare, ask questions, undertake simple investigations and use observations and measurements to help answer questions.
In Lower Key Stage 2, knowledge becomes increasingly detailed across areas including plants, living things, animals including humans, rocks, light, forces and magnets, states of matter, sound and electricity.
Children become increasingly systematic investigators. They make scientific predictions, identify cause and effect, select equipment, construct tables and charts and use scientific knowledge to interpret their findings.
In Upper Key Stage 2, children encounter increasingly sophisticated concepts including life cycles, properties and changes of materials, Earth and Space, evolution and inheritance, forces, light, electricity and the human circulatory system.
Scientific enquiry becomes increasingly independent. Pupils begin to control variables, consider precision and reliability, interpret more complex data, identify anomalies and use evidence and scientific models to construct increasingly sophisticated conclusions.
Across the whole curriculum, scientific knowledge, vocabulary and Working Scientifically skills are deliberately revisited and developed so that children move from exploring and noticing → describing and questioning → investigating and connecting → explaining, evaluating and reasoning scientifically.
How do we support all learners?
We are ambitious for every child and want all pupils to experience success as scientists.
Teachers use ongoing assessment to identify children's prior knowledge, misconceptions and next steps and adapt teaching while maintaining ambitious scientific outcomes.
Support may include:
• pre-teaching and revisiting scientific vocabulary;
• explicit modelling and demonstration;
• practical resources and appropriate scientific equipment;
• diagrams, models and visual representations;
• breaking investigations into manageable steps;
• carefully structured questions and sentence stems;
• additional opportunities for discussion and oral rehearsal;
• repeating observations or practical experiences;
• providing appropriate frameworks for recording data and conclusions; and
• varying the level of scaffolding while maintaining the same scientific learning intention.
For pupils with SEND, appropriate adaptations and reasonable adjustments enable children to participate meaningfully in practical investigation and develop scientific knowledge and Working Scientifically skills alongside their peers.
Children who are disadvantaged, or who have gaps in prior knowledge, vocabulary or wider experiences, are supported through explicit teaching, retrieval, carefully chosen practical experiences and targeted scaffolding.
As children's confidence develops, support is gradually reduced so that pupils take increasing ownership of asking questions, planning investigations, selecting equipment, interpreting evidence and evaluating conclusions.
Our aim is for every child to leave Eastfield as a curious, knowledgeable and increasingly independent scientific thinker, equipped with the knowledge, vocabulary and enquiry skills required for secondary science and an understanding of the contribution science makes to the world around them.
Learning Showcase
Art at Eastfield Primary Academy
At Eastfield, we aim to deliver a high-quality Art curriculum that will help children build their knowledge and skills. We have designed a bespoke curriculum that will engage, inspire and challenge pupils, equipping them with the knowledge and skills to experiment, invent and create their own works of art.
The teaching of art begins in our Early Year provision within the area of Expressive Art Design. In Years 1-6, art is taught discretely 3 times a year to give the children a wide range of experiences.
There is a clear 6 phase approach to each unit of work that the children complete.
Children are exposed to a range of artists, with each unit having a carefully chosen artist or piece of artwork to initially learn from. Units have a specific art focus of either; sketching, painting, printing, sculpting or collage and children are explicitly taught these before attempting to apply them into their own piece of artwork. Throughout a unit, children are encouraged to evaluate their own work, and the work of others in order to improve and develop their own skills.
Art
Each term we will upload 12 photographs to show our Art learning journey and our final pieces
Each term we will upload 12 photographs to show our Art learning journey and our final pieces
Each term we will upload 12 photographs to show our Art learning journey and our final pieces
Art - Year 1
Each term we will upload 12 photographs to show our Art learning journey and our final pieces
Art - Year 2
Each term we will upload 12 photographs to show our Art learning journey and our final pieces
Art - Year 3
Each term we will upload 12 photographs to show our Art learning journey and our final pieces
Art - Year 4
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Each term we will upload 12 photographs to show our Art learning journey and our final pieces
Each term we will upload 12 photographs to show our Art learning journey and our final pieces
Art - Year 6
British Values at Eastfield Primary Academy
At Eastfield Primary Academy, we are committed to preparing children to become responsible, respectful and active citizens. Through our curriculum, assemblies, enrichment opportunities and everyday experiences, we promote the fundamental British Values of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty, mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs. These values are closely linked to our academy drivers of Pride, Collaboration and Understanding, which underpin everything we do.
We believe that children learn best when they are given opportunities to think independently, express their views, work collaboratively and develop an understanding of the world around them. Through pupil leadership roles, class discussions, Religious Education, PSHE, Picture News, assemblies and our wider curriculum, children learn to respect differences, value diversity and contribute positively to their community.
At Eastfield, we celebrate the individuality of every child while fostering a strong sense of belonging, responsibility and community. We actively challenge discrimination, prejudice and intolerance, ensuring that all members of our academy community feel safe, valued and respected.
Our aim is that every child leaves Eastfield with the knowledge, skills and confidence to thrive in modern Britain and make a positive contribution to society
Our Computing Curriculum
Intent:
At Enquire Learning Trust, we believe that it is vital for all our pupils to learn from and about Computing and Technology, so that they can understand the world around them. Through teaching our computing curriculum, we aim to equip our 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 as well as having the skills to manipulate, develop and interpret different forms of technology in an ever-changing world.
In such a fast-moving curriculum, we are constantly looking at new ways of delivering relevant and exciting activities, while still delivering the fundamental skills needed for computing. Using technology safely and responsibly is a main priority and ensuring all pupils are able to use the internet and equipment appropriately is of paramount importance. We encourage our pupils to make links across the curriculum, the world and our local community, to reflect on their own experiences, which are designed in our curriculum, allowing horizontal and vertical links with previous year groups.
The core of computing is computer science, in which pupils are taught the principles of information and computation, how digital systems work, and how to put this knowledge to use through programming. Building on this knowledge and understanding, pupils are equipped to use information technology to create programs, systems and a range of content. Computing also ensures that pupils become digitally literate – able to use, and express themselves and develop their ideas through, information and communication technology – at a level suitable for the future workplace and as active participants in a digital world.
Our ambitious computing curriculum is now structured in 3 areas that allow all pupils from EY to year 6 to progress through different categories of knowledge. These are:
- Digital Literacy
- Information Technology
- Computer Science
Each area of the curriculum gives pupils time to practice and rehearse the knowledge needed to be proficient at computing and be ready for the next age of learning.
Implementation:
The Enquire Learning Trust bespoke computing curriculum offers a cross curricular scheme of work for EYFS, Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 which matches the expectations of the National Curriculum. The curriculum looks at the progression needed for all pupils to develop and embed skills and knowledge within the strands of: computer science, information technology and digital literacy. The curriculum is designed to support teaching and learning and the acquisition of subject knowledge in all areas. Children will have the opportunity to explore and respond to key issues such as digital communication, cyber-bullying, online safety, security and social media.
Impact:
The impact this curriculum will have shows that:
- Children will be confident users of technology, able to use it to accomplish a wide variety of goals, both in school and at home.
- Children will have a secure and comprehensive knowledge of the implications of technology and digital systems which is important in our ever-evolving society.
- Children will be able to apply the British Values of democracy, tolerance, mutual respect, rule of law and liberty when using digital systems.
- Solve problems in computational terms, and have repeated practical experience of writing computer programs in order to solve such problems
- Can evaluate and apply information technology, including new or unfamiliar technologies, analytically to solve problems
- Are responsible, competent, confident and creative users of information and communication technology.
Computing
Learning Showcase
Design and Technology at Eastfield Primary Academy
At Eastfield, we aim to deliver a high-quality D&T curriculum that will help children to build knowledge (procedural & declarative) and understanding of the technological world in which with live and how technology has changed over time.
Key skills are the basis of the bespoke D&T curriculum which will be explored and applied through structures, textiles, food technology and electrical systems. It will provoke challenging questions about how things work, design adventures, considering the consumer’s requirements while making and creating something new based on research and key skills taught.
The teaching of D&T begins in our Early Year provision within the area of Expressive Art Design. In Years 1-6, art is taught discretely 3 times a year to give the children a wide range of experiences.
There is a clear 7 phase approach to each unit of work that the children complete.
D&T at Eastfield will support developing pupils’ knowledge and understanding of the ever-evolving world of technology, taking into account the past and being innovative in creating something new for the future.
D&T
Each term we will upload 12 photographs to show our DT learning journey and our final pieces
DT - Nursery
Each term we will upload 12 photographs to show our DT learning journey and our final pieces
DT - Reception
Each term we will upload 12 photographs to show our DT learning journey and our final pieces
Each term we will upload 12 photographs to show our DT learning journey and our final pieces
Each term we will upload 12 photographs to show our DT learning journey and our final pieces
Each term we will upload 12 photographs to show our DT learning journey and our final pieces
Each term we will upload 12 photographs to show our DT learning journey and our final pieces
Each term we will upload 12 photographs to show our DT learning journey and our final pieces
Geography
Learning Showcase
Our History Curriculum
At Eastfield we aim to deliver a high-quality History curriculum that will help our children to build knowledge (procedural & declarative) and an understanding of Britain’s past and that of the wider world:
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Knowledge of: |
Understanding of: |
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We want to inspire children’s curiosity to know more about the past by enquiring into historical periods and events through a progressive enquiry approach. This approach provides opportunities to teach our children to ask perceptive questions, think critically, weigh evidence, sift arguments and develop perspective and judgement.
Through this progressive enquiry approach our children will 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.
The Long-Term Plan is organised so that two Unit plans are delivered in each year group in Autumn Two and Spring One that have a clear historical focus. However, History is woven into other unit plans where appropriate. This allows for depth of learning to occur and knowledge/understanding to be revisited numerous times across a Key Stage.
The Unit Plans clearly identify the knowledge (procedural & declarative) that is to be taught and the enquiry question for each session. Teachers then have the freedom to design how the learning takes place within their individual classrooms.
History
Learning Showcase
Our Music Curriculum
At Eastfield Primary Academy, we believe that every child should have the opportunity to experience, enjoy and participate in high-quality music.
Our curriculum develops children as performers, composers and listeners, building their musical knowledge, skills, vocabulary and confidence progressively from Early Years to Year 6. Children experience music from different periods, traditions, cultures and styles and learn to express their own ideas creatively through singing, playing, composing and performing.
We use the Kapow Primary Music scheme to support the planning and sequencing of our curriculum and work with the Humber Music Hub and local music partners to enrich our wider musical offer. Kapow Primary Music provides curriculum coverage from Reception through to Year 6 and develops performing, listening, composing and the history of music alongside the inter-related dimensions of music.
Why is Music important at Eastfield?
Music provides children with opportunities to be creative, expressive and collaborative. It develops careful listening, concentration, coordination and confidence while enabling children to experience the enjoyment and sense of achievement that comes from making music individually and with others.
Our curriculum reflects Eastfield's curriculum drivers of Pride, Collaboration and Understanding:
Pride – children develop confidence as musicians and take pride in creating, practising and performing music.
Collaboration – children sing, play, compose and perform together, learning to listen carefully, respond to others and recognise the importance of their contribution to an ensemble.
Understanding – children explore music from different times, places, traditions and cultures and develop the musical vocabulary and knowledge needed to listen, analyse and respond thoughtfully.
What does Music look like at Eastfield?
Music is an active and practical subject. Children learn by listening, singing, playing, improvising, composing and performing.
We use Kapow Primary Music to support a progressive and spiral curriculum. Important musical knowledge and skills are revisited and developed over time, allowing children to build on previous learning and tackle increasingly complex musical ideas.
Across the curriculum, children develop four interconnected areas of musical learning:
Performing – children develop their voices and learn to play tuned and untuned instruments with increasing accuracy, fluency, control and expression. They perform individually and collaboratively to different audiences.
Listening – children listen to and respond to a broad range of music. They develop the vocabulary to describe, compare and evaluate what they hear and learn about music from different historical periods, genres, styles and traditions.
Composing – children experiment with sound, improvise and create their own music individually and collaboratively. As they progress, they become increasingly deliberate in selecting and organising musical ideas and may use technology to support composition.
History of Music – children develop an understanding of different musical traditions, genres and contexts and recognise how music develops and reflects different times and cultures.
The inter-related dimensions of music, including pitch, duration, dynamics, tempo, timbre, texture and structure, are revisited throughout these experiences so that children increasingly hear, recognise, describe and use them within their own music. These dimensions form an explicit part of Kapow Primary Music's curriculum structure.
Oracy and musical vocabulary are integral to music teaching. Children learn to listen attentively, describe what they hear, explain musical choices and evaluate performances and compositions using increasingly precise subject-specific language.
How does learning develop?
In Early Years, children develop their musical foundations through songs, nursery rhymes, movement, listening and opportunities to explore and create sounds. They begin to recognise patterns, respond to music and perform songs and rhymes individually and with others.
In Key Stage 1, children build on these foundations through increasingly purposeful listening, singing, composing and performing. They explore pulse, rhythm, pitch and other musical dimensions and begin using tuned and untuned instruments with increasing control.
Throughout Key Stage 2, children's musical knowledge and technical skill become increasingly sophisticated. They develop greater vocal and instrumental control, encounter musical notation, compose with increasing purpose and perform with greater accuracy, fluency and expression.
Children also become increasingly confident in discussing and evaluating music. They use a growing musical vocabulary to explain what they hear, justify their musical choices and reflect on how a performance or composition could be improved.
The spiral structure of Kapow Primary Music supports this progression by returning to significant knowledge and skills and developing them with increasing complexity.
How do we support all learners?
We want every child to participate actively in music and experience success as a musician.
Teachers adapt musical experiences according to children's starting points and needs while maintaining ambitious expectations. Support may include:
• teacher modelling and demonstration;
• visual and auditory prompts;
• breaking musical learning into smaller steps;
• repeated listening, rehearsal and practice;
• adapting instruments or the complexity of individual parts;
• additional opportunities to practise;
• paired and small-group performance;
• vocabulary support and sentence stems for evaluating music; and
• alternative ways for children to participate and demonstrate musical understanding.
For pupils with SEND, appropriate adaptations and reasonable adjustments enable children to participate alongside their peers. Children who are disadvantaged are supported to access the curriculum and wider musical opportunities so that financial or other barriers do not unnecessarily limit participation.
Music beyond the classroom
Our music curriculum is enhanced by opportunities to experience music beyond weekly curriculum lessons.
We work with music partners, including the Humber Music Hub network, to broaden children's musical experiences. The regional Hub specifically supports schools to deliver high-quality music education and aims to enable children and young people to access a range of musical opportunities both within and beyond school.
At Eastfield, wider opportunities include:
• Rocksteady, through which children can receive specialist instrumental tuition and experience playing as part of a rock band;
• school choir, providing opportunities to develop vocal and ensemble skills and perform to audiences;
• performances within school and to families;
• opportunities to perform within the local community, including events at St Andrew's Church; and
• opportunities for children to experience performing as individuals, small groups, ensembles and whole classes.
These experiences help children develop confidence, commitment and enjoyment while experiencing what it means to make music with others and perform for a real audience.
Learning Showcase
Our PE Curriculum
Why is PE important at Eastfield?
At Eastfield Primary Academy, we believe that Physical Education plays an essential role in helping children become physically confident, active and healthy.
We want every child to develop the fundamental movement skills, knowledge and confidence they need to enjoy physical activity, participate successfully alongside others and understand the importance of leading a healthy, active life.
Our PE curriculum also develops qualities that extend beyond physical performance, including resilience, teamwork, communication, leadership, fairness and respect. Through positive experiences of physical activity and sport, we want children to discover activities they enjoy and develop attitudes towards physical activity that will support their health and wellbeing throughout their lives.
This reflects the aims of the National Curriculum for PE, which expects pupils to develop competence across a broad range of physical activities, sustain physical activity, participate in competitive sport and lead healthy, active lives.
What does PE look like at Eastfield?
We use Beyond the Physical as the framework through which our PE curriculum is delivered. It uses a mastery-based approach, enabling children to develop secure foundations before applying their learning with increasing confidence, complexity and independence.
Our PE curriculum reflects our Academy drivers:
Pride
Children take pride in their personal improvement, celebrate achievement and strive to perform to the best of their ability.
Collaboration
Children learn to communicate, cooperate, lead, support others and work effectively as part of a team.
Understanding
Children recognise that everyone has different strengths and starting points. They learn to compete fairly, respect others and understand how physical activity contributes to physical and emotional wellbeing.
How does learning develop?
Our PE curriculum begins in the Early Years, where children develop the physical foundations needed for later learning.
Children have regular opportunities to develop gross and fine motor skills through dedicated PE teaching and continuous provision, both indoors and outdoors. Additional programmes including Dough Disco, Squiggle While You Wiggle and Digit Dance further support children's physical development.
As children progress through KS1 and KS2, they build upon these foundations by applying and combining their physical skills within increasingly challenging activities, games and sports.
Children progressively learn to:
• control and coordinate their movements;
• apply physical skills in increasingly complex situations;
• communicate and collaborate with others;
• make decisions within games and activities;
• understand and apply simple tactics;
• participate appropriately in competition; and
• evaluate their performance and identify ways to improve.
This progression reflects the National Curriculum expectation that children initially develop fundamental movement skills before applying and combining a broader range of skills with increasing confidence and competence.
What do children learn?
Across the primary PE curriculum, children develop competence through a broad range of physical activity.
The National Curriculum requires pupils to develop running, jumping, throwing and catching alongside balance, agility and coordination. As they progress, children apply their learning through games, gymnastics, dance, athletics and outdoor and adventurous activities, developing appropriate attacking and defending principles and comparing their performance with previous outcomes.
At Eastfield, children in KS1 and KS2 access two one-hour PE sessions each week, with two units of learning delivered during each half term.
Beyond the Physical organises learning around memorable key words which encapsulate the intended physical learning. For example, children may explore LOOK, RUN, AVOID, helping them understand how to identify space, move effectively and avoid collisions. Children have sufficient time to develop and apply each element before progressing.
This helps children understand what they are learning to do physically, rather than simply experiencing a series of different activities or sports.
Teaching and learning
PE lessons follow a consistent approach which enables children to revisit previous learning, develop and practise new skills, receive appropriate support or challenge and reflect upon their performance.
Clear success criteria help children understand what successful performance looks like and how they can improve. Video resources are also used to support children's understanding of the physical skills being taught.
Children are given opportunities to practise sufficiently so that skills become increasingly secure before learning progresses.
Oracy in PE
PE provides purposeful opportunities for children to develop their Oracy skills.
Children learn to listen carefully to instructions, use appropriate subject vocabulary, communicate effectively with partners and teammates, discuss tactics and explain their decisions.
They are also encouraged to give and respond to constructive feedback, helping them communicate what went well and what could be improved.
As children progress through Eastfield, we want them to become increasingly confident in explaining their physical choices and communicating effectively when collaborating and competing with others. The National Curriculum specifically expects KS2 pupils to enjoy communicating and collaborating as part of PE.
Developing Reflective Learners
PE provides valuable opportunities to develop metacognition.
Children are encouraged to think about how they learn and improve physically. Teachers model techniques and help children recognise what successful performance looks and feels like.
As children become increasingly independent, we encourage them to consider:
• What am I trying to achieve?
• What do I already know that might help me?
• Which technique or strategy should I use?
• How well did it work?
• What could I change or improve?
• What will I try next time?
This process of planning, performing, reviewing and improving supports the National Curriculum expectation that pupils compare their performances with previous ones and demonstrate improvement.
Supporting Every Child
We are ambitious for every child in PE.
Activities are adapted to remove barriers to participation while retaining the important physical learning and appropriate challenge.
Through the Managing Difference element of Beyond the Physical and the STEP principle, teaching can be adapted to support or challenge children according to their individual starting points and needs.
Children who require additional support are given appropriate scaffolding, while those ready for greater challenge are encouraged to apply their skills with increasing complexity, precision and independence.
Our aim is that every child can participate meaningfully, experience success and make progress.
Physical Activity, Health and Wellbeing
PE forms part of our wider commitment to children's physical and emotional wellbeing.
Children also learn about healthy lifestyles and the importance of physical activity through the Science and PSHE curricula.
Through PE, children develop an understanding of how being physically active can contribute to their health and wellbeing, while positive experiences help them develop confidence and enjoyment in movement and physical activity.
Swimming and Water Safety
Swimming and water safety form an important part of our PE provision.
Children access swimming instruction in Year 4 for ten weeks. Further swimming opportunities are provided in Years 5 and 6, supported through PE and Sport Premium funding.
The National Curriculum requires pupils to leave primary school able to:
• swim competently, confidently and proficiently over a distance of at least 25 metres;
• use a range of strokes effectively; and
• perform safe self-rescue in different water-based situations.
Our swimming provision supports children towards achieving these important physical and water-safety outcomes.
Beyond PE Lessons
Physical activity at Eastfield extends beyond curriculum PE.
During breaktimes and lunchtimes, children have access to a broad range of opportunities for physical activity through our OPAL (Outdoor Play and Learning) provision.
Children also have opportunities to:
• participate in after-school sports and physical-activity clubs; and
• represent Eastfield in a range of competitions through our Schools Sports Partnership.
These opportunities complement curriculum PE and encourage children to develop confidence, teamwork and enjoyment of physical activity.
What do we want our children to achieve?
By the time children leave Eastfield, we want them to:
• be physically confident and increasingly competent;
• have secure fundamental movement skills;
• apply and combine their skills across a broad range of physical activities;
• participate confidently both individually and with others;
• communicate and collaborate effectively;
• understand and apply appropriate tactics and strategies;
• compete fairly and respectfully;
• demonstrate resilience and perseverance;
• evaluate their performance and identify how they can improve;
• understand the importance of physical activity for health and wellbeing;
• meet the statutory expectations for swimming and water safety; and
• develop positive attitudes towards physical activity that encourage them to lead healthy, active lives.
Most importantly, we want all children to leave Eastfield having experienced success and enjoyment through physical activity, equipped with the confidence and foundations to continue being active beyond primary school.
Find Out More
PE Curriculum Progression
Explore how children's physical knowledge and skills develop as they move through Eastfield.
PE and Sport Premium
Find out how we use PE and Sport Premium funding to improve opportunities and outcomes for children.
PE Learning Showcase
Take a look at PE, sport and physical activity taking place across our Academy.
Learning Showcase
Our PSHE / RSE Curriculum
This page has been updated in to reflect the statutory changes to the RSHE guidance that come into force in September 2026:
At Eastfield Primary Academy, we believe every child deserves an education that prepares them not only for academic success but also to thrive as rounded individuals in modern society. Personal, Social, Health and Economic (PSHE) and Relationships & Sex Education (RSE) sits at the heart of this commitment.
PSHE is not an add-on to our curriculum; it is fundamental to our children’s development as confident, healthy and respectful members of society. Through high-quality PSHE/RSE, we equip pupils with the knowledge, skills and attributes they need to stay safe, maintain wellbeing, and build positive relationships throughout their lives.
Our curriculum is carefully designed to be developmental and progressive. From the moment children join our school, they begin to explore emotional literacy - learning to recognise, name and talk about feelings. This foundation grows year by year, helping pupils to manage emotions, develop resilience, and make informed decisions that support their own and others’ wellbeing.
By embedding PSHE/RSE across our school culture, we nurture a community where respect, inclusivity and responsibility flourish. In doing so, we prepare our pupils not only for the challenges of childhood but also for adulthood, work and active citizenship.
We are committed to:
• Supporting the whole child - recognising that children's emotional and social development directly impacts their capacity to learn
• Creating a safe, inclusive environment where every child feels valued and able to discuss concerns without fear or stigma
• Building foundations for the future - providing age-appropriate learning that prepares children for the challenges and opportunities of adolescence and beyond
• Working in partnership with families, recognising that parents are children's first educators in many aspects of relationships and health
• Embedding PSHE across school life - not just in weekly lessons, but through our values, relationships, and everyday interactions
Each half term, the whole school focuses on a specific Puzzle:
Viewing PSHE Teaching Materials
We want parents to feel informed about what their children are learning in PSHE. We provide several ways for parents to access information about the curriculum:
• Parent Knowledge Organisers - For each Puzzle (half-term unit), we provide accessible summaries showing the key learning objectives and content from the Jigsaw programme. They provide a clear overview of what will be taught in each Puzzle without overwhelming detail.
These are sent out via the MCAS App (MyChildAtSchool App).
• Parent Access to Lesson Materials - Parents who would like to see the standard Jigsaw lesson plans and teaching slides for their child's year group can request access. We provide secure access codes on a Puzzle-by-Puzzle basis (each half term) for parents who specifically ask to see these materials. These show the published Jigsaw content.
To request access, parents should contact their child's class teacher, who will provide a unique access code and link. These codes expire at the end of each half term, and parents can request a new code for the next Puzzle if they wish.
We actively encourage parents to engage with these resources so they can support and continue conversations at home. If you have any questions about PSHE content or would like to access any of these materials, please contact the Class Teacher or Principal for more information.
Relationships & Sex Education (RSE)
Sex education is not compulsory in primary schools; however the Department for Education recommends that all primary schools teach age-appropriate sex education to ensure children are prepared for the changes adolescence brings and understand how human life begins.
At Eastfield Primary Academy, our approach to sex education is:
We teach age-appropriate sex education in Years 5 and 6 as part of our PSHE curriculum, going beyond the statutory content about puberty to include factual information about human reproduction. We believe this information is important for children before they leave primary school, particularly as children naturally become more aware and curious about how life begins, and may seek information from less reliable sources if we do not provide age-appropriate, factual teaching.
We define sex education as learning about human reproduction. It is defined as those lessons covering sexual intercourse, conception, the stages of pregnancy and birth. It includes the emotional impact of having a baby as well as the physical facts. Sex education is not learning about different types of sexual activity.
This is distinct from the statutory Health Education content about puberty and menstruation, and from Science curriculum content about life cycles and reproduction in mammals, from which children cannot be withdrawn.
The following Jigsaw lessons in the ‘Changing Me’ Puzzle contain non-statutory sex education content:
Year 5: Conception
Year 6: Babies: Conception to Birth
The content of the ‘Changing Me’ Puzzle builds knowledge progressively:
How to talk to children about difficult topics | NSPCC
Parent Engagement and the Right to Withdraw from Sex Education
Parents have the right to request that their child be withdrawn from some or all of sex education taught as part of PSHE. Parents do NOT have the right to withdraw children from:
• Relationships Education (statutory)
• Health Education, including puberty education (statutory)
• Science curriculum content, including content about reproduction (statutory)
Before making a decision to withdraw a child from sex education, we invite parents to discuss their concerns with the Principal and Class Teacher. This discussion helps us to understand the request and enables us to clarify the nature and purpose of the curriculum, discuss the benefits of the education, and consider any potential impacts of withdrawal on the child.
For Further information, please see our RSE Policy.
Learning Showcase
Our RE Curriculum
At Eastfield Primary Academy, we follow our locally agreed syllabus using Jigsaw RE.
Jigsaw RE is an enquiry-based scheme of work, covering the principal world faiths and humanism in a progressive way from Nursery to Year 6. In Early Years, the learning is closely matched to Development Matters to contribute meaningfully to children’s holistic development. Throughout all the enquiries, the children’s spiritual, moral, social and cultural education is carefully considered.
Each enquiry lasts for half a term and utilises a four-step learning model. The four steps are:
- Step 1: Engagement: the children’s own human experience is explored to act as bridge from their world (which may or may not include religion) into the world of the religion being studied. E.g. An enquiry begins with a “big” question such as: “What is the best way for a Christian to show commitment to God?” Children then start discussing the theme of the enquiry (in this case, commitment) from their own experience. What have they shown commitment to? Brownies? Cubs? Their sporting team? Playing an instrument?
- Step 2: Investigation: over approximately the next 3 lessons, the teacher will guide the children to explore and investigate appropriate subject knowledge relevant to that question of enquiry, (i.e.) children then move on to investigating what the people following the studied religion or worldview believe about it. They will spend approximately 3 lessons on this, learning in a variety of ways, so they can adapt their responses and come to a measured conclusion.
- Step 3: Evaluation: an assessment activity enables each child to show their thinking and the depth of critical evaluation. E.g. children complete an activity which can assess their learning, by answering their “big” question. The assessment activities are child friendly and can be answered in a variety of ways, encouraging children to justify their view with the knowledge they have gained throughout the enquiry.
- Step 4: Expression: This refers the children back to the starting point of their own experience and allows them to reflect on whether their findings have influenced their own thinking. E.g. in the final week of the enquiry, the children reflect on what they have learnt about the concept and apply to it their own lives, thus allowing them to form their own beliefs and identity.
At Eastfield Primary Academy, we have chosen the following options as we feel these best suit the needs of our children and creates a cohesive approach to following our locally agreed syllabus:
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Blue – Christianity Green – Islam Purple – Sanatana Dharma Red – Judaism |
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RE
Learning Showcase
Our Spanish Curriculum
At Eastfield we aim to deliver a high-quality Spanish curriculum that will help our children to build knowledge (both substantive and disciplinary). Our school uses the Primary Language Network (PLN), Video to Teach Spanish Scheme. The aim of using this scheme is to allow the children to learn Spanish in a fun, engaging way whilst having the experience of hearing a native Spanish speaker within every lesson, ensuring the children are exposed to accurate pronunciation and intonation.
Our curriculum is organised to develop our children’s depth of knowledge over time. Each year group has a set of learning intentions for each lesson that follows on sequentially from what has been taught in the previous year group. Each unit develops listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills.
Lessons are designed to cover aspects of listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Children will learn through a range of games, songs, and stories. Lesson plans clearly identify the objective and assessment focus, key vocabulary and phrases and a description of each task. Each lesson is organised around a four-step model:
1. Warm up. This is often in the form of a song to recap some previous learning and knowledge.
2. Learn. This phase of learning is where children will be exposed to new words, phrases, or skills. There are lots of opportunities to listen and repeat, allowing for accurate pronunciation.
3. Practice. This part of the learning comes in the form of games and allows the children to practice new words, phrases, or skills.
4. Task. There will be a follow up task for the children to share and apply skills.
Spanish
Learning Showcase
Forest School
Forest school allows children to learn outdoors in our small forest area. They explore, gain knowledge and understanding of nature. Sessions can be either small groups, focused groups, or whole class groups as a hook for their new topic.
Forest school is beneficial for children in so many ways:
· They learn new skills
· Builds resilience
· Increases motivation and concentration
· Encourages problem solving
· Builds resilience
· Builds confidence
· Gives the children a sense of achievement
Activities may include:
· Knot tying
· Identifying plants, trees, or mini beast
· Story telling
· Den building
· Imaginative play
· Exploring
· Making fires
· Cooking
Forest school is an excellent way to learn in a different environment. Children show they not only enjoy being outdoors but thrive and most of all have lots of fun
Oracy at Eastfield
At Eastfield Primary Academy, oracy is the golden thread that runs through our curriculum and school culture. We believe that every child deserves the confidence, skills and opportunities to find their voice, share their ideas and be heard. Through a deliberate and ambitious approach to spoken language, we empower our pupils to become articulate, thoughtful and confident communicators who are prepared for success both in school and beyond.
We know that talk is one of the most powerful tools for learning. That is why oracy is embedded across every classroom, every subject and every stage of a child’s journey. Whether children are exploring new ideas, collaborating with peers, solving problems, debating viewpoints or presenting to an audience, they are taught to communicate with clarity, purpose and confidence.
Our approach has been informed by the principles of Voice 21, ensuring that high-quality talk is explicitly taught, carefully modelled and purposefully planned. Children develop the physical, linguistic, cognitive and social-emotional skills needed to communicate effectively, while learning how to listen actively, build on the ideas of others, justify their thinking and engage respectfully in discussion.
At Eastfield, we create a culture where talk drives thinking. Through rich questioning, structured discussion, storytelling, debate, performance and collaborative learning, pupils learn to explore ideas in depth, broaden their vocabulary and deepen their understanding. We celebrate every voice and provide meaningful opportunities for all children to speak, listen and lead, ensuring that no child is left unheard.
By placing oracy at the heart of learning, we are not simply teaching children how to speak; we are equipping them with the confidence to participate, the language to succeed and the skills to thrive as lifelong learners and active citizens in an ever-changing world.
Metacognition at Eastfield Primary
At Eastfield Primary, we believe that children’s ability to think about their learning and regulate their own thinking is essential in preparing them for the next stage of education and for life as global citizens. The Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) identifies metacognition and self-regulation as highly effective approaches for improving outcomes across all phases of schooling. As a Thinking School, we place these approaches at the heart of our curriculum and school culture.
What is metacognition?
Metacognition is often described as ‘thinking about thinking’. It is the awareness children have of how they learn, the strategies they use to be successful, and their ability to reflect on and adapt their approach when faced with challenges.
At Eastfield, we develop metacognitive thinking through the use of Thinking Frames and the Reflective Lens. These powerful tools help pupils organise information, make connections between ideas, deepen understanding and reflect on their learning. They also complement our strong oracy provision by encouraging discussion, questioning, reasoning and thoughtful exploration of ideas.
Alongside this, we explicitly promote the Habits of Mind. These dispositions encourage children to persevere when tasks are challenging, think flexibly, manage impulsivity, listen with understanding and empathy, question and solve problems, and strive for accuracy. By developing these habits, children learn not only what to think, but how to think effectively and independently.
At Eastfield, we aim for our children to:
• Understand and monitor their thinking
• Plan and organise their learning effectively
• Reflect on their progress and decision-making
• Evaluate information critically and thoughtfully
• Question, explore and make connections in their learning
• Persevere when faced with challenge
• Think creatively, flexibly and independently
• Develop confidence, resilience and curiosity as lifelong learners
Children are encouraged to plan, monitor and evaluate their learning across all subjects, helping them become increasingly independent, reflective and successful learners.
To support this work, we partner with Thinking Matters, a leading organisation in metacognitive practice in the UK and internationally. Through this collaboration, we provide pupils with evidence-informed strategies that empower them to become independent thinkers, resilient learners and confident problem-solvers.
At Eastfield, we believe that great learning happens when children understand themselves as learners. By developing metacognitive skills and positive Habits of Mind, we equip our pupils with the tools they need to thrive both in school and beyond.