The curriculum at Marlfields Primary Academy firmly underpins the school vision and aims. It is the totality of the children’s learning experiences. We believe that all children have the right to a broad, balanced, challenging and relevant curriculum which provides continuity and progression and takes individual needs into account. At Marlfields we recognise that children need a well-rounded school experience to succeed, and that personal development is essential to their well-being and achievement. We believe in developing independent active learners and in giving children increasing responsibility for aspects of their own development. We believe that learning is a continuous process involving the acquisition, interpretation and application of skills, knowledge and concepts and on developing positive attitudes. The aims of the curriculum are to promote high standards and good progress for all learners. A thematic approach is taken to exploit opportunities for cross curricular teaching and purposeful learning to ensure a fusion of excellence in teaching with enjoyment in learning. A strengthened focus on Mathematics and English is employed and taught explicitly as well as using opportunities to apply learnt skills embedded throughout the curriculum. Children’s understanding of computing and the use of technology is used to enhance learning across the curriculum.
A full overview of the curriculum at Marlfields is contained in our booklet “Curriculum @ Marlfields”
BRITISH VALUES
At Marlfields Primary Academy we believe in and teach our learners about the fundamental British Values of:
- Democracy
- Rule of Law
- Individual Liberty
- Mutual Respect
- Tolerance of those of different faiths and beliefs
These values are actively promoted through collective worship, our school golden rules, electing and running our school council. They are taught explicitly through Personal, Social, Health Education (PSHE), Citizenship and Religious Education (RE). We also teach British Values through planning and delivering our broad and balanced curriculum, which includes real opportunities for exploring these values. British values are reinforced regularly in the following ways:
Democracy
- Democracy is richly embedded within our school. All children in our school have a voice through the School Council and pupil interviews .The election of School Council Representatives for each class (Years 2-6) are based on pupil votes.
- Our school behaviour policy involves rewards and sanctions runs through all aspects of school life and is shared with parents and carers.
The Rule of Law
- The importance of laws, whether they be those that govern the class, school, or the country are constantly reinforced.
- All children follow the school Golden Rules, these are reinforced regularly throughout the day. Children are taught the value and reasons behind rules and laws, that they govern and protect us,the responsibilities that this involves and the consequences when laws are broke. Visits from authority, e.g. PCSO and fire service help reinforce this message.
- To encourage and promote good behaviour, attitude and work we have a whole Dojo point reward system. Children are awarded Dojo points for following any of the school golden rules at any point during the school day. We are also committed to praising children’s efforts (behaviour, achievement and general) through verbal praise and Good to be Green award certificates awarded every week during our celebration assembly.
Individual Liberty
- Children are actively encouraged to make choices at our school, knowing that they are in a safe and supportive environment.
- Children are encouraged to know, understand and exercise their rights and personal freedoms and are advised how to exercise these safely, for example through our e-safety and PSHE lessons.
- Children are given the freedom to make choices, e.g. signing up for extra-curricular clubs.
- Children are encouraged to stand for our School Council where they are responsible for gathering pupils opinions
Mutual Respect
- Mutual respect is at the heart of our values. Children learn that their behaviours have an effect on their own rights and those of others.
- All members of our school community treat each other with respect.
- Respect is a theme running through all of our golden rules.
Tolerance of those of different faiths and beliefs
- Congleton is situated in an area which is not culturally diverse, therefore we place a great emphasis on promoting diversity with the children.
- Assemblies are planned to promote cultural diversity either directly or through the inclusion of stories and celebrations from a variety of faiths and cultures.
- RE and PSHE teaching reinforces tolerance of different faiths and beliefs. Members of different faiths or religions are encouraged to share their knowledge to enhance learning within classes and the school.
By doing this we will be developing our children to ensure that they:-
- Know right from wrong and to respect the civil and criminal law of England;
- Children are able to contribute positively to the lives of those living and working in the locality of the school and to society more widely:
- Children develop tolerance and harmony between different cultural traditions and to respect their own religions;
- Children show respect for democracy including the democratic system and how laws are applied in England.
We would like to point parents to our individual class pages where the parents of partners leaflets can be found for each of our year groups. These leaflets are done each term and give parents clear guidance on the curriculum the children will be covering each term and how they can support at home. Please also visit our blog page regularly which celebrates our work regularly with you all. To further support our pupils we are a ‘KiVa school’ – for further information please see our leaflet for parents on this part of our curriculum available from the school office.
Maths - English - PE
MATHS AT MARLFIELDS
Welcome to the Maths page for Marlfields. We follow the Power Maths Scheme as a basis for our learning. During Maths sessions children will work on their fluency, reasoning and problem solving skills. Arithmetic skills are important in order to support your child’s understanding and applying of different Maths’ concepts. You can help by practising their times tables and basic calculations of all four operations (addition, subtraction, multiplication and division).
Our calculation policy shows you the type of representations and images we teach in class – to view a copy click here: Marlfields Calcuation Policy 2018
Mymaths is used in class and for homework. It also has games for your child to play. Your child’s login and password are in their school planners. If you use an iPad or Andriod tablet device then you may need to download Puffin Academy from the app store to access mymaths.
We also use TTRockstars which challenges the children to improve their recall of times tables facts. The children love competing against each other.
Our aim at Marlfields is to make Maths fun, enjoyable and achievable for all. We promote a positive attitude towards the children’s learning, where they learn by having a go, learning from mistakes and using their knowledge in a variety of situations.
If you have any questions about Maths at Marlfields, please just ask.
Louise Pearce, Maths Lead
Year Group Overviews
READING & WRITING WITHIN SCHOOL
Within school to support the teaching of writing, phonics and reading the school use the following schemes, these schemes are not used exclusively, they are supported by other teaching materials to widen the learning of the children.
Primary Writing Project – Pie Corbett scheme which links learning to real texts.
Phonics: Jolly Phonics alongside Letters and Sounds.
Reading: Oxford Reading Tree (published by Oxford) and Storyworlds (published by Heinemann).
As children progress with their reading skills the scheme used is supplemented by quality texts.
The skills taught in English and Maths are used across all other parts of our curriculum. The children are encouraged to use skills mastered in English and Maths to support them when accessing knowledge from other subject areas.
RECOMMENDED BOOKS
Please find below recommended reads for each year group – why not challenge yourself and try to read all during they year. Happy reading!
- Recommended books for Foundation stage
- Recommended books for Year 1
- Recommended books for Year 2
- Recommended books for Year 3
- Recommended books for Year 4
- Recommended books for Year 5
- Recommended books for Year 6
Reading Support
Reading Everywhere by Marlfields Primary Academy.
Reading Everywhere…….
As a way to encourage children to pick up a book throughout our school day and to show the importance of pleasure in reading books we have created a fantastic reading corridor for children to quietly sit and read.
We have been transforming the long, plain and boring corridor by our studio into small spaces. This was just the start of our fantastic reading journey.
With a little paint and imagination, a team of helpers painted amazing scenes from our favourite books; this has created a real buzz around school.
A painted fire place and faux book shelf to transformed a boring window into a castle fireplace. Letters from Hogwarts, Marauder’s Map, wands and with a few magic potions helped us create our own Common Room, with comfy seats and Quidditch boxes to sit on and read.
For more information click on this pdf link Reading Everywhere .
Background
The Government is providing additional funding to provide new, substantial primary school sport funding in order to improve the provision of physical education and sport in primary schools. This funding is being jointly provided by the Departments for Education, Health and Culture, Media and Sport, and will see money going directly to schools to be spent on improving the quality of sport and PE for all their children. All state-maintained schools, academies, middle schools, special schools and pupil referral units which have primary aged pupils will receive the funding.
This funding is ring-fenced and therefore can only be spent on provision for PE and sport in schools. We will be held accountable for how we have used the additional funding to support pupils progress and participation in PE and school sport. We are required to publish on-line information about how we have used the additional funding, including details about our sporting provision alongside curriculum details. This will ensure that parents/carers and others are made fully aware of the PE and sporting provision at Marlfields. Please see our Sports Funding Policy.
Allocation & Impact Report of PE Sports Grant for Marlfields Primary Academy
We believe in a holistic approach to the development of sport and physical activity for all and encourage collaboration and partnership working to make the best use of resources and enhance PE and sport provision in order to raise participation and achievement for all pupils. Our rationale for the use of Sports Premium funding, which the Governors have agreed, are that it must be used so that:
- all children benefit regardless of sporting ability,
- the most able children are given the opportunity to compete in tournaments with other schools,
- staff have access to training opportunities and continued professional development,
- some activities may be subsidised so that pupils do not miss out due to financial constraints,
- we make use of collaborative and partnership working.
Please click on our latest report below:
HOT OFF THE PRESS!
Please see our newsletters, done weekly, for our sports team’s achievements this year. Our Blog page also shows PE going on within school.
We have recently installed an orienteering course on site and an outside gym which we will be able to enjoy for years to come.
Subject Leader Visions
Each subject within school has a subject leader
Science Subject leader’s vision:
(i) To maintain and the increase the status of science within a curriculum that enhances the learning and enquiry skills of children throughout the school.
(ii) For all children to have opportunities to gain scientific knowledge and skills through an inclusive, creative and broad curriculum that incorporates practical experiences and investigation linked to ICT and Numeracy links.
(iii) To gain the Primary Skills GOLD Quality Mark.
RE Subject leader’s vision:
(i) To raise the profile of R.E across school making R.E teaching and learning an enjoyable, creative and stimulating experience for everyone.
(ii) To involve children in creating a stimulating school environment and teachers to use R.E to support standards in writing.
PHSCE Subject leader’s vision:
(i) For all children to experience an education in PSHE which places the child at the centre of planning, learning and assessment; taking into account local and global needs, valuing diversity, views and experiences.
(ii) To provide a balanced curriculum that facilitates learning and supports the development of the child as a whole.
(iii) To develop children who are responsible members of the community.
DT Subject leader’s vision:
(i) To raise the profile of D.T making D.T teaching and learning an enjoyable, creative and stimulating experience for everyone.
Art Subject leader’s vision:
(i) To raise the profile of art across school making art teaching and learning an enjoyable, creative and stimulating experience for everyone.
(ii) To involve children in creating a stimulating school environment.
(iii) To renew Arts Award moving onto Arts Mark. Introduce art champion to school.
Geography Subject leader’s vision:
(i) To raise the profile of Geography making geography teaching and learning an enjoyable, creative and stimulating experience for everyone.
(iii) To involve children in creating a stimulating school environment and teachers to use geography to support standards in writing.
History Subject leader’s vision:
(i) To raise the profile of History making Teaching and learning an enjoyable, creative and stimulating experience for everyone.
(iii) To involve children in creating a stimulating school environment and teachers to use History to support standards in writing.
Music Subject leader’s vision:
(i) To develop the confidence of our children through participation in the arts.
(ii) For the children in this school to be excited by Music.
(iii) To develop Marlfields Primary along the lines of being a recognised “Creative Arts” school by Arts Mark criteria.
MFL Subject leader’s vision:
(i) To provide children with an understanding of another language, culture and country.
(ii) To broaden their horizons and encourage them to become confident global citizens.
Inclusion & SEND at Marlfields
Inclusion
At Marlfields Primary Academy we believe that all children have the right to be included in all aspects of school life. As such we strive to enrich the lives of the children in our school by promoting and celebrating community cohesion as well as valuing the individual. We tailor our curriculum to encourage life long learning, real life skills and equality for all learners. As such the school is recognised as being a Flagship School for Inclusion.
Please take time to read our current 2022 IQM assessment report.
Please click here to read our booklet about inclusion at Marlfields Primary Academy
Special Educational Needs & Disability
Marlfields Primary Academy is one of only a few schools recognised by the Inclusion Quality Mark organisation in London as one of ‘Flagship Status’. This recognises how the school works with a number of different support agencies in line with the new SEND requirements to be a totally ‘INCLUSIVE’ school where all children are valued as individuals. We work closely with Cheshire East Local Authority with regard to their ‘Local Offer’ and have detailed below our school’s offer for SEND pupils and their parents. We have also been recognised with a number of awards as shown on the webpage. All of these awards show how the school strives for excellence and is forward thinking in how to constantly give our pupils new and innovative opportunities for learning. However this is just a flavour of what we are about and we would strongly urge you to arrange a visit to the school so that we can meet and talk through your own child’s personal requirements. We look forward to seeing you soon.
The latest SEND Annual Report is below:
SEND Reform
The Children and Families Bill has now become an act of parliament and can be seen here:
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2014/6/contents/enacted
The act became statutory from September 2014 giving some of the biggest changes to Special Educational Needs for many years.
The Cheshire East Information, Advice and Support (CEIAS) Team offer confidential support and information to children and young people with SEND, their parents or carers. Please visit their CEIAS website for further information.
Link to the Cheshire East Local Offer
www.cheshireeast.gov.uk/localoffer
For further information please contact Sandra Isherwood or Sarah Booth in school or you may wish to follow the links below:
A summary of the main provision set out in the bill
https://education.gov.uk/a00221161
Ipsea offer free legal advice to parents regarding local authority commitment to SEN – they have some useful articles relating to the proposed changes
ipsea.org.uk
Our school SEND Lead is Miss Booth – supported by Mrs Isherwood.
Our school’s named Governor for SEND is Mrs M Gartside and can be contacted on 01260 633120 or by email on clerktogovernors@marlfields.cheshire.sch.uk