Curriculum Intent
We have designed our ambitious curriculum to challenge all our children regardless of their individual needs and life experiences.
At our Federation we use the Early Years Foundation Stage Statutory Framework (2021) as our reference point for a broad and balanced curriculum.
Every aspect of our school life contributes to ensuring children make sense of and appreciate the world around them as responsible global citizens.
Our children are provided with the opportunities to develop the learning behaviours than enable them to become life-long learners.
Curriculum Design
At Merebrook, all learning experiences are carefully chosen to ensure all children are engaged and motivated. We believe that choosing the right context to engage our children in their learning is vital in fostering a love of learning. Subject knowledge and skills are planned and developed systematically for each subject with relevant links made to subjects and prior learning.
Click the links below for further information on knowledge and skills taught for each subject in each year group.
Progression of Knowledge and Skills
If you would like further information regarding our curriculum, please contact Miss Tracy Hurwood. She can be contacted by email or by telephone on 01908 522 876.
The teaching of reading starts as soon as children start school in Early Years. At Merebrook we use the highly successful Read Write Inc (RWI) Phonics programme to teach children how to recognise and read the sounds in words and how to read what we call tricky red words, such as ‘once,’ ‘have,’ ‘said’ and ‘where’. Children are taught in homogenous groups to ensure speedy acquisition of both phonic and reading skills. Children continue to move through the RWI programme as they move through to Keystage 1.
In addition to daily phonics lessons, children in Keystage 1 take part in individual and whole class reading sessions, led by an adult.
The focus in these sessions shifts towards the children’s understanding of the texts they are reading as they become fluent readers and they begin to develop the skills of inference and deduction. In these sessions, children mostly share texts which link to topic learning so that they are able to make links with their learning across the curriculum.
We aim for all our children to develop a love of listening to stories, reading stories and becoming confident and imaginative story tellers. Across the school there are dedicated story times each day to foster a love of reading. Our carefully selected collection of quality texts include “mirrors, windows, and sliding glass doors”—enabling children to view characters who reflect their own identities, who open windows to others who are different, and who provide doors to new experiences and realities.
Every child takes home a RWI reading book which is closely linked to the pupil’s phonics ability. In addition to this text, pupils also have the opportunity to select a library book to nurture reading for pleasure. Children are encouraged to read at home on a daily basis and to discuss what they are reading.
Children that are not making the progress we expect to see will receive 1:1 phonic tutoring by a qualified member of staff. The aim is for all children to ‘catch up and keep up’. Children that come to us from other schools at the start of September or mid-way through the year, will be assessed, grouped and supported with 1:1 tutoring, if required.
Our assemblies promote our core values of Community, Pride, Aspire. Each month we focus on a range of values themes, growth mindset focus, composer and language of the month. This specific teaching is interwoven throughout all we do.
Parents and carers are invited to attend a variety of assemblies. We encourage attendance as this promotes community spirit, and shows the school and the home working together in support of the children's achievements.
