Curriculum statement

At Eastover Primary School we believe in a broad and balanced curriculum, incorporating Early Learning Foundation Stage and the National Curriculum, in a resource rich and stimulating environment.  This promotes a positive, challenging, and enjoyable learning experience which meets all our children’s needs and abilities. To enable all our children to enjoy, achieve and develop creative approaches to thinking and learning, the curriculum is delivered through topics and experiential learning opportunities through visits and trips.  

Our class teachers are responsible for teaching the curriculum with specialist provision for French, Music, and PE.  We offer a range of extracurricular activities which support and motivate children to achieve their full potential. 

Staff at Eastover Primary School have devised an engaging curriculum plan based upon the programmes of study with careful consideration of the needs of our children. We maintain our belief that learning is lifelong and that the skills and attitudes we instil in the early stages of our children’s lives should stand them in good stead for the future.  

At Eastover Primary School, all teachers are responsible for providing an inclusive curriculum that is differentiated for those with Special Educational Needs or Disabilities (SEND). We have high expectations for all pupils and are committed to ensuring our curriculum complies with the Equality Act 2010 and the Special Educational Needs and Disability Regulations 2014.  

We recognise the importance of providing an inclusive learning environment for all pupils including those with SEND. Additional information on this can be found in our Special Education Needs Information Report.

Unlocking Letters and Sounds 

We are using Unlocking Letters and Sounds which was validated by the DfE in December 2021 starting in September 2022. We start teaching phonics in the first few weeks of term 1 in Reception and children make rapid progress in their reading journey. Children begin to learn the main sounds heard in the English Language and how they can be represented, as well as learning ‘Common Exception’ words for Phases 2, 3 and 4. They use these sounds to read and write simple words, captions and sentences. Children leave Reception being able to apply the phonemes taught within Phase 2, 3 and 4. 

In Year 1 through Phase 5a, b and c, they learn any alternative spellings and pronunciations for the graphemes and additional Common Exception Words. By the end of Year 1 children will have mastered using phonics to decode and blend when reading and segment when spelling. In Year 1 all children are screened using the national Phonics Screening Check. In Year 2, phonics continues to be revisited to ensure mastery of the phonetic code and any child who does not meet age related expectations will continue to receive support to close identified gaps. For further details please see the Unlocking Letters and Sounds progression. 

To ensure no child is left behind at any point in the progression, children are regularly assessed and supported to keep up through bespoke 1-1 interventions. These include GPC recognition and blending and segmenting interventions. The lowest attaining 20% of pupils are closely monitored to ensure these interventions have an impact. 

At Eastover we promote a 'phonics first' approach and in both our guided reading sessions at school and in the books children take home, texts are very closely matched to a child's current phonics knowledge so that every child can experience real success in their reading. 

In these crucial early stages of reading we will use books from different reading schemes linked to the Phase they are learning. Once children progress beyond decodable texts, they move onto our book scheme (coloured book bands) so that they can continue to progress in their decoding, fluency and comprehension skills to become avid, expert readers. 

More information about the scheme will be shared at parents meetings in September. 

For more information about what the children are learning, please see below: 

• National CurriculumThe national curriculum primary programmes of study and attainment targets for key stages 1 and 2.

• Early Years Foundation Stage FrameworkThe standards that school and childcare providers must meet for the learning, development and care of children from birth to 5.

• Equality Act 2010