Our Curriculum
By fostering a love of learning and encouraging critical thinking, we inspire our children to become responsible, engaged citizens who are equipped to make a positive impact on the world.
We empower our learners to explore their curiosity, engage in social learning and develop the skills and knowledge they need to succeed in school and beyond.
The curriculum is designed to provide a secure and imaginative basis for academic progress at each stage of development. We aim to teach the children how to grow into positive, responsible people, who can work and co-operate with others while developing knowledge and skills, so that they achieve their true potential. Children are taught in small class sizes with support staff available.
Curriculum Documents
English
Mathematics
Digital Literacy
Curriculum Maps (Outline of Curriculum Topics From Reception to Year 6)
Our English
English (referred to as Literacy in Key Stage 1) is an essential part of education. We recognise that when children have a strong understanding of the English language, they are able to access the full curriculum and excel in life.
At Chepstow House School, we create a word-enriched environment that provides children with plenty of opportunities to learn new vocabulary. We consider, among other elements: meaning, pronunciation, phonological representation, spelling, grammar and sentence structure. This forms the foundation of our English teaching. All staff, across every subject, play a role in developing children’s vocabulary.
Our aim is for all children to be captivated by the English language and to develop a lifelong passion for literature. Our English lessons are designed to build essential skills in speaking, listening, reading (including comprehension) and writing. Proficiency in these areas allows pupils to communicate effectively and to express themselves creatively and imaginatively.
English Curriculum Content & Reading List
The English scope and sequence and reading lists for year groups can be found above.
Speaking and Listening
Throughout the year children have many opportunities to develop these essential skills. Including in assemblies, debates within year groups and key stages and presentation to parents.
Phonics
At Chepstow House, we use a blended approach to phonics, combining the Jolly Phonics scheme with our own tailored resources and rhymes.
In the first term of Reception, individual phonics sounds are sent home daily for regular practice. As children begin to learn digraphs and trigraphs, we introduce phonic rhymes that align with our Chepstow House phonics programme. These are shared with families in order to support learning at home.
Reading
Children are heard daily in guided reading. To allow for a variety of genres to be read we do not follow a set reading scheme. In guided reading, a group of children read the same book every day in school and for homework. This allows in-depth analysis of the text to take place. All children are encouraged to read their own independent reading book, which they can bring in from home or borrow from the library on our weekly visits.
Methods used to teach reading
Teaching children to read is the most exciting part of teaching. At Chepstow House, emphasis is placed on reading for enjoyment and meaning. We use a structured phonics scheme, Jolly Phonics. The scheme introduces tricky words progressively and encourages reading for meaning, helping children not just learn to read, but to become readers. Our aim is for the children to become independent readers, with all children reading chapter books by the end of year 2.
Types of Formal Reading Teaching
Phonic Awareness:
When first starting to read the children are taught phonic recognition. This happens daily from Reception to year 2.
Within class:
The children are heard reading daily, either individually or in guided reading groups.
Guided Reading:
Guided reading involves explicit teaching but is carried out in small groups of children with similar reading attainment. Reading in a group under the teacher’s guidance offers focused instruction while enabling children to appreciate increasingly challenging texts. The children enjoy listening to each other read the story and it provides an opportunity for the teacher to model intonation, look at punctuation, discuss the book and develop listening and comprehension skills. It also allows for group discussion of the text, meaning of words and opinions of the story. Hearing other people’s views encourages a deeper reading of the material and cognitive stimulation.
Independent Reading:
From Reception to year 2, children are listened to individually to ensure the children become readers and not just ‘able to read’. Time is spent talking about the story and helping guide the child to decide which method is best to help them decode words.
Sending reading books home daily:
This allows parents/carers to support their child and reinforce class practice at home.
Informal reading opportunities:
Each class has a reading box/bookcase full of books and the children have opportunities everyday to look through these books and enjoy the pictures as well as the words. Words are all around them throughout the school. Displays and notices give a sense that the written word is about enjoyment as well as information. Throughout the day the children are encouraged to express and share their ideas in order to draw out their awareness of language. Sounds, letters and words are also introduced through games, wordplay, poem reciting and shared book time. Story time is an important part of reading. Having the opportunity to listen to a story helps children to focus on the sounds of words read without interruption and provides a model of fluent reading. Parents in the Reception class are invited in once a week to read their child’s class a story.
Children needing support:
Children not making the expected progress are supported individually and daily using a structured programme that develops phonic and high-frequency word recognition and decoding skills. In some cases children will be taken out of class by support staff. In other cases support is provided in class.
Children needing to be challenged:
Depending on ability and circumstances children may join guided reading groups in classes above their year group.
Assessment:
Children are assessed throughout their time at school using PM Benchmark running records to ensure they are reading fluently and with comprehension at the correct level. Reading ages are assessed every six months. Children not making the expected progress are supported individually using a structured programme that develops phonic and high-frequency word recognition and decoding skills.
Spelling
We have developed a spelling programme specific to Chepstow House. The spelling units follow phonic and spelling rules. Children should practise their spellings daily. They learn to spell the words correctly, explore their meanings and understand how they are formed.
Handwriting
The children continue to develop their handwriting using the Kingston Cursive writing script (TRTS). When they demonstrate this script correctly and consistently throughout their work they move on to writing with a fountain pen.
Word Aware
We use Word Aware to expose children to a wide range of vocabulary during their time at Chepstow House. Our Word Aware, Phonics and Spelling Coordinator ensures new vocabulary is used every day and in all subjects, not just in English lessons.
Our Mathematics
Using the national curriculum and the Independent Schools Examination Board (ISEB) mathematics syllabus, it is our aim to develop:
- A positive attitude towards mathematics and an appreciation of its fascination
- Competence and confidence in mathematical knowledge, concepts and skills
- An ability to solve problems, reason, think logically and work systematically and accurately
- Initiative and an ability to work both independently and cooperatively with others
- An ability to communicate mathematical ideas clearly
- An ability to use and apply mathematics across the curriculum and in real-life situations
- A deep understanding of mathematical concepts
- Effective use of interactive whiteboards and mathematical programs to support learning
Throughout the school day, opportunities exist to extend and promote mathematics. Teachers seek to make use of these opportunities to ensure mathematical learning is cross-curricular whenever possible. CT is also widely used to reinforce mathematical understanding.
The approach to teaching mathematics in key stage 1 and key stage 2 is based on three key principles:
- A mathematics lesson every day
- A clear focus on direct, instructional teaching and interactive oral work with the whole class and in groups
- An emphasis on mental calculation and problem solving
In Reception and year 1, each class teacher is responsible for the mathematics taught in their class. From year 2 onwards, mathematics is streamed and children are grouped into three ability-based classes.
Numicon is used to support a multi-sensory approach to maths, designed to help children develop a strong conceptual understanding of number.
You can find our maths curriculum by year group and accompanying calculation booklets under ‘Curriculum Documents’.
Our Digital Literacy
Digital literacy is embedded throughout school life and our teaching. IT equipment is available in every classroom, which allows digital literacy to be taught through all subjects as well as within our computing lessons. Our aim is for all children to become digital citizens; for all children to be competent, confident and conscientious using digital and traditional content in effective and safe ways.
The digital literacy outcomes ensure that throughout the school day children are developing their digital literacy skills. Digital literacy goes beyond the functional skills needed to be IT literate and aims to instil digital practices in all parts of school life. Children need to learn how to use of the technology for education as well as entertainment. They need to acquire esafety skills including when it is best to use traditional methods or to have a digital detox. Our digital literacy outcomes can be viewed under ‘Curriculum Documents’ above.
The computing curriculum is varied and constantly adapted to meet new technology. In the Early Years and Key Stage 1, the teaching includes programming bee-bots and computer software, using technology to store and manipulate digital content, understand how technology is used in everyday life. In Key Stage 2, the children develop greater competence in Microsoft Office software, coding and collaborative and digital creation tools. Using technology safely, respectfully and responsibly is a common theme across the school. Microsoft SharePoint and Teams are used to link work in school with homework and to celebrate great work across the school.
Digital literacy is divided into the following areas:
- Citizenship: Identity, image & reputation; health & well-being; digital rights, licensing & ownership; online behaviour & cyberbullying.
- Interacting & collaborating: Communication; collaboration; storing & sharing; creation of digital content.
- Producing digital content: Planning, sourcing and searching; creating; evaluating and improving.
- Data & computational thinking: Problem solving and modelling; data and information literacy
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