Key Stages 1 and 2

At William Levick, we have designed our own curriculum so it meets the needs of children in our school. Learning builds on from previous learning, in each topic and each year, which is based on the National Curriculum for Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 and other aspects that we consider to be important in preparing our children for the future and the wider world. 

In Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 we deliver a range of lessons to ensure coverage of all aspects of the National Curriculum which includes daily maths and English learning. We are currently developing our global citizenship in particular, which includes growing links to our buddy Chinese school as we continue our research project, 'East Meets West'. 

We also ensure that British Values are embedded throughout the curriculum, with links made across many subjects and throughout the year, in every year group. Our own school values are also intrinsically woven into lessons and often turned into discussion points during lessons, for example in PSHE.

English

English lessons use a range of stimuli, including books/ stories, poetry, film and topic related ideas, to produce a range of writing. In order to meet the requirements of the new National Curriculum for English, children also are provided with GAPS learning (Grammar, Punctuation & Spelling), which are integrated into each English lesson.

In every class there is a daily reading session. In Key Stage 1 children read in small groups  with a teacher and also undertake a range of reading activities during the week. In Key Stage 2 children participate in a daily, whole class reading session, where children are able to develop a range of skills, including retrieving information, inferring the meaning and looking closely at vocabulary. 

Phonics

Children in Foundation Stage and Key Stage 1 have a daily phonics lesson to develop skills to support their reading and writing. To support us in planning and delivering phonics lessons we use resources from Phonics Play, Letters and Sounds and Jolly Phonics.

Phonics related links are provided below to help with your child's learning.

• PhonicsPlay

• Letters and Sounds

• Jolly Learning

Maths

Our main aim is to achieve a positive attitude to maths. We want the children to love maths so at William Levick we strive to deliver maths lessons that are both fun and enjoyable. We feel if a child enjoys maths then s/he is more likely to want to learn.

Another important aim is to differentiate lessons effectively to enable all types of learners, at all different stages, to make progress. We carry out regular assessments; observations and analysis of children’s work in order to gain important knowledge of what your child already knows, what s/he is learning quickly and what they need to work on to make progress. It is hoped that if a child can see that they are making progress then their confidence will improve also. Confidence is another key ingredient for success, we operate a ‘can do’ approach.

At William Levick we believe that a child’s understanding and confidence in maths can be improved with the use of apparatus, models and images. We aim to make maths ‘less abstract’ and provide children with apparatus, models and images that make concepts easier to understand.

Numicon is one particular resource that William Levick has invested in. Numicon is a multi-sensory approach that gives children a tangible representation of number. It enables children to see and explore the relationships and patterns in number. We also make good use of Dienes and Cuisinaire rods and not to forget the free resource we all have – fingers!

Religious Education

The school follows the Derbyshire Agreed Syllabus for its Religious Education programme. This provides children with the knowledge and understanding of the World's major religions. It is hoped that through our RE curriculum will develop an understanding, tolerance and acceptance of people from all cultures and backgrounds.