What are we Learning?

Science 

Science stimulates pupil’s curiosity, develops their sense of inquiry and their understanding of the world around them. Children learn to work as scientists, planning and undertaking practical investigations on their own and with others.

How we deliver the teaching of Science at OMA:

• Teach scientific ways of thinking. 

• Actively involve students in their own learning.

• Help students to develop a conceptual framework as well as to develop problem solving skills.

• Promote student discussion and group activities.

• Help students experience science in varied, interesting and enjoyable ways

The benefit of this is: 

• It allows an inclusive approach, where all children work at their own level 

• that teachers will work from carefully structured Schemes of Learning which inform them of prior and future learning

• that children will be able to embed their knowledge and develop critical thinking skills, as they work through each flow from representation to rich tasks.

• During the teaching there are built-in opportunities for continual knowledge and vocabulary assessment, ensuring misconceptions are addressed immediately.

• Experiential learning is also built into each unit, enabling staff to assess scientific skills.

Computing

Our Computing curriculum is delivered through KAPOW! and addresses the challenges and opportunities offered by the technologically rich world in which we live. We use computing to enrich our curriculum across the key stages as well as offering discrete computing lessons to ensure coverage of the national curriculum expectations.  We aim for the children to confidently and independently use and apply information technology skills to support and extend their learning. We develop a culture where the use of computing becomes second nature to our pupils, thus ensuring they are ready and able to embrace the technological advances of the future.

In each year group, the children learn how to navigate the Internet safely and communicate respectfully through emails and the virtual learning portal through Google Classrooms.

Our Computing  curriculum will enable pupils to:

• Use and express and develop their ideas through, information and communication technology

• Create simple algorithms and programmes

• Debug programming errors

• Create, store, manipulate and retrieve digital content using a mixture of word processing, paint packages, digital photography and video packages.

• Be aware of their responsibilities online  and know what to do if they have any concerns.

• Know how information is stored on computers and how it travels, connecting people across the world through the use of the World Wide Web.

• Explain their thinking behind their programmes 

• Explore how search engines work

• Consider how their online actions can impact on others

• Know when and how to report an online concern.

• Use technology safely and respectfully,

• Identify where to go for help and support when they have concerns about content or contact on the internet or other online technologies.

Please take a look at our Computing Overview for the year. Click here 

History

Our children study a wide range of ancient, British and world history, learning about famous historical figures and exploring how and why they have influenced our lives today. History fires children's’ curiosity about the past in Britain and the wider world. Children consider how the past influences the present, what past societies were like, how these societies organised their politics, and what beliefs and cultures influenced people’s actions. As they do this, pupils develop a chronological framework for their knowledge of significant events and people.

We enable opportunities for our children to explore the past through the use of a variety of sources of information to find clues and evidence and take part in discussions with their peers before reaching their own conclusions.

In history, pupils find evidence, weigh it up and reach their own conclusions. To do this, they need to be able to research, sift through evidence, and argue for their point of view – knowledge and skills that are valuable in adult life.

Our History Curriculum will enable pupils to: 

• Develop a sense of time (chronology), recognising how time is measured and that some things change and some things stay the same;

• Investigate how and why events happen and how they may be linked;

• Consider what it was like to live in different periods and what motivated the people who lived then – and that we cannot think in the way they thought;

• Recognise that there are some things we can never know about the past and that history has to be constructed from the bits of the past that have survived;

• Understand that people interpret the past differently and use different ways to present their ideas;

• Make thoughtful use of a variety of sources to find out about the past;

• Communicate their ideas in a variety of ways and with clarity and independence.

Geography

Geography develops children’s knowledge and understanding of people and places. At OMA, we learn about the wider world as well as local areas, looking at the physical, social and economic issues surrounding each case study. Use of maps, atlases, photos and the internet ensures a well-balanced and interactive method of learning for all pupils.

For us Geography is about our children becoming naturally curious to find out more; question and investigate. Through our knowledge rich curriculum pupils find out about the Earth's land, water, air, and living things and people. We ask thought provoking questions where children discuss environmental issues and the impact of human behaviour to the Earth.

Our Geography curriculum will enable pupils to:

• Life skills

• Develop  the ability to make sense of information

• Observe and interpret the environment

• Develop and secure map reading 

• Understand and interpret secondary data

• Communicate findings in drawings, charts and diagrams

• Record and analyse  data using ICT

• Discuss  issues and problems with others

• Develop critical and creative thinking

• World knowledge

• Develop  an awareness and understanding of distant places and environments

• Recognise how people from all over the world are linked through travel and trade

• Build a framework of place knowledge

• Investigate major rivers, mountains and cities

• Develop an appreciation of other peoples and cultures

• Recognise the need for a just and equitable society

• People and places

• Describe and analyse the spatial patterns and organisation of people, places, and environments on Earth.

• Undertake fieldwork, enquiries and an active exploration of the locality

• Explore landscapes, settlements and human activity

Religious Education

We encourage children to use and develop their skills in RE and to participate in critical and reflective thinking. Within our RE curriculum we study the background and practices of a range of faiths practiced in Chepstow and our closest Cities of Cardiff, Gloucester and Bristol that include Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Sikhism and Buddhism.

RE lessons also contribute to pupils’ personal development and well-being and to community cohesion by promoting mutual respect and tolerance. Our curriculum allows for personal reflection and spiritual development, deepening the understanding of the significance of religion in the lives of others.

At OMA, we want the rigour and demand to be there from the Early Years - the curriculum we have implemented expands vocabulary and builds the substantive and sequential knowledge needed throughout the whole school. Discovery RE & Opening Worlds are the schemas we have researched and feel best fits our intent.  

Discovery RE adopts a 4-step enquiry-based approach to teaching & learning. Christianity is taught in each year group, thus developing the children’s knowledge in a progressive & sequential way; Judaism, Islam, Hinduism & Sikhism are also covered. Each enquiry addresses an aspect of Christian theology and encourages the children to use theological language. The key question for the enquiry is such that it demands an answer that weighs up ‘evidence’ and reaches a conclusion based on this. This necessitates children using their subject knowledge and applying it to the enquiry question, rather than this knowledge being an end in itself. Discovery RE focuses on critical thinking skills, on personal reflection into the child’s own thoughts and feelings, on growing subject knowledge and nurturing spiritual development; thus helping the children’s understanding of & tolerance and respect for others and their beliefs.

At Key Stage 2, the children learn about and learn from the different kinds of question human beings can ask about religious origins, beliefs and practices, namely questions that derive from philosophy, theology, social sciences and history (for example, when studying a particular religion in a particular place, asking the following different kinds of question: how does this story from the Sira or Quran help Muslims to understand this precept from the hadith? What does this New Testament story mean to Christians? What are the big ideas that this Hindu story reflects (e.g. dharma); how are these ideas expressed in other stories and in diverse religious practices across time and space? Or, how does this religious community perceive matters of justice? How has this religious tradition tackled the challenge of injustice to one another? How does this community’s beliefs shape its approach to injustice? What does this community teach about injustice and why? What insights about injustice can we gain from this religious communities’ texts, art, traditions and practices? While we are not expecting pupils of primary age to distinguish explicitly between these four disciplines, the programme will always be clear to teachers about whether the question being pursued is being examined as philosophy, theology, social sciences and history, so that the conditions under which valid claims can be made are very clear.

PSHE

PSHE education is a planned programme of learning through which children acquire the knowledge, understanding and skills they need to manage their lives. As part of a whole school approach, PSHE develops the qualities and attributes pupils need to thrive as individuals, family members and members of society.

PSHE is delivered from Year 1 to Year 6 through the Jigsaw Programme. PSHE education is to develop the knowledge, skills and attributes they need to keep themselves healthy and safe, and prepared for life and work. At OMA, PSHE includes the statutory Relationships and Health Education, in a spiral, progressive and fully planned scheme of work, giving children relevant learning experiences to help them navigate their world and to develop positive relationships with themselves and others.

With strong emphasis on emotional literacy, building resilience and nurturing mental and physical health, Jigsaw 3-11 properly equips schools to deliver engaging and relevant PSHE within a whole-school approach. Jigsaw lessons also include mindfulness allowing children to advance their emotional awareness, concentration and focus. There are six Puzzles in Jigsaw that are designed to progress in sequence from the start of each academic year: 

• Term 1: Being Me in My World

• Term 2: Celebrating Difference (including anti-bullying)

• Term 3: Dreams and Goals 

• Term 4: Healthy Me

• Term 5: Relationships 

• Term 6: Changing Me (including Sex Education)

Music

Our music curriculum  delivered through Charanga provides opportunities for children to immerse themselves in the world of music through singing, dancing, playing instruments and learning about great composers.  Children develop knowledge and skills such as listening and appraising, creating and exploring and experiencing the joy of singing and performing. 

Our Music curriculum will enable pupils to:

• Sing and perform 

• Learn about the terms ‘pulse’ and ‘rhythm’ 

• Read musical notation

• Learn about composition

• Have knowledge of musical terms such as chord, melody, quaver, strumming

• Listen to and appreciate music 

Art and Design

At OMA, we want to inspire children to be curious, confident and critical artists. We recognise Art and Design contributes to the development of the whole child emotionally, aesthetically, physically, socially and cognitively. It provides all children with the opportunity to express themselves imaginatively, creatively and develop their understanding of, and respond to the world around them. 

To ensure depth and breadth, KAPOW! is the schema we have researched and feel best fits our intent. There are four units studied in a spiral curriculum through the child's primary journey that look at:

• Drawing

• Painting and mixed media

• Sculpture and 3D

• Craft and design

We provide opportunities for children to:

• To research and find out about artists / artwork.

• To experiment with a variety of skills, painting, drawing, sculpting, sewing, collaging and working with fabric

• Imitate the work of artists

• Create high quality art pieces

• Reflect, evaluate and critique their work

• Be confident to create and design, making informed aesthetic choices

• Expressively use a repertoire of artistic knowledge and skills, incorporating a range of media

• Appreciate the diverse nature of art and artists

• Understand the power of visual communication

• Inspire others

• Be visually literate: communicate & collaborate artistically; express reasoned opinions; 

• respect a variety of approaches.

Design and Technology

We aim to provide children with a DT education that is relevant in our rapidly changing world and a curriculum that embodies our school intent: we intend to provide a wide range of inclusive opportunities, that ensure our children have a secure body of knowledge which enables them to lead life with the highest of aspirations. Design and Technology provides our children with an opportunity to tackle problems of a practical nature. Our DT is delivered through Kapow! a high quality knowledge rich DT curriculum that builds sequentially  whilst enabling exploration  of a variety of materials to help children learn important life skills. children learn independently and in groups, learning to cooperate, plan, design and make and evaluate their work. They learn to make their own decisions with help and encouragement

Through our design and technology curriculum, we aspire for our pupils to be unusually brave and think critically. We aim to provide opportunities for pupils to discover what is possible through designing and making innovative products. We strive to push the limits and ask children to use their research to design and make innovative, creative products and want our pupils to be problems solvers.

Our Design and Technology  curriculum will enable pupils to:

• Conduct research and look at similar models.

• Acquire skills of cutting, making, constructing, gluing and making

• Create detailed designs with annotations for products they will make

• Review designs and create final designs

• Use Computer Aided Design

• Evaluate their products

• Develop their knowledge of products and designers

• Consider the impact of products on the environment

• Explore audience, purpose and function

• Understand the importance of aesthetics when designing products

Modern Foreign Languages

The intention of the MFL curriculum at OMA is that children are taught to develop an interest in learning other languages in a way that is enjoyable and stimulating. Learning another language is a liberation from insularity and provides an opening to other cultures. We encourage children’s confidence and creative skills. We strive to stimulate and encourage children’s curiosity about language. We help children develop their awareness of cultural differences in other countries. We strive to embed the skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing skills necessary to enable children to use and apply their French learning in a variety of contexts and lay the foundations for future language learning. We partner with an MFL specialist from another Academy within the Trust to deliver live, interactive virtual sessions to our children.

Our Design and Technology  curriculum will enable pupils to:

• To foster a life-long appreciation of languages and other cultures 

• To recognise languages as a skill which can increase employability and widen opportunities 

• To establish a learning environment which encourages students to be confident with taking risks e

• To provide ample opportunities, both in and outside the classroom, to develop all four skills of reading, writing, speaking and listening

• To ensure access for all pupils to partake in a successful language learning experience

• To create extracurricular experiences for students to big-heartedly embrace and appreciate languages and cultures

• To facilitate active and engaging lessons for learners of all abilities

• To promote the use of exciting and relevant contexts as a vehicle for teaching and learning

Physical Education 

Physical Education develops children’s physical skills, confidence, capabilities and potential. It gives opportunities for children to be creative and competitive while learning to work with and respect others. At OMA children learn how to plan, perform and evaluate actions, often in pairs and small groups, helping them to develop the quality and effectiveness of their work. We promote a positive attitude towards active lifestyles and aim to introduce children to lifelong physical activity. The scope and sequence for our chosen programme delivered through Rising Stars Champions ensures that progression is built-in across the whole school.

In addition to being taught by their class teacher, children across the school are also taught by PE teachers and coaches who are specialists in their field.  We also fully support and advocate teaching children to swim in all year groups to gain the experience of swimming at a young age. 

The curriculum focuses on the three key areas of Sport, Health and Fitness