RE

 

 

 

Religious Education at Woodford Valley C of E Primary Academy enables all pupils to have an awe and wonder of the world grounded in distinct Christian values.

We believe that children should be encouraged to ask ‘Big Questions’ in RE which drives their learning, wisdom and curiosity. These questions are based around Christianity as well as other faiths, including Islam and Judaism, which allow the children to explore their relationships with God, each other and the wider world and enables them show respect and dignity towards others.

RE encourages the children to build up their skills of trust and empathy within the school community and beyond. We want to nurture our children spiritually so they become the best that they can be.

When teaching RE, teachers strive to make it creative, inspiring, challenging and ensure children are given the opportunity to develop their own beliefs and values. We use the Wiltshire Agreed Syllabus for our planning, teaching and assessment; alongside this we use the Understanding Christianity resource. Our staff work together to achieve excellent outcomes for the learners who develop as well rounded caring people.

RE is at the core of our everyday school life its values and skills enable the children to question, contribute and develop their learning.

We want our children to enjoy religious education, having embedded ideas and values which they can take with them on the next stage of their Christian and learning journey. 

 

RE policy

RE Planning

RE Progression of Skills

PE

 

The enjoyment, skills and team-spirit gained by pupils is wonderful to see. Woodford Valley enters many tournaments and festivals throughout the year; showing respect and dignity for themselves as well as those they compete against.

 PE intends to develop the children’s personal, physical knowledge, skills and understanding, so that they can perform with increasing competence and confidence in a range of physical activities. These include dance, games, gymnastics, swimming and water safety, athletics and outdoor adventure activities. PE involves thinking, selecting and applying skills and promotes positive attitudes towards a healthy lifestyle. The impact of this is to enable pupils to make informed choices about physical activity throughout their lives.

As a school we are very proud to be able to participate in sporting events and team game competitions, both within school and further afield. We have great hope for all our pupils in sporting activities and encourage them all to have a go.

Our beautiful countryside setting provides ample opportunities for PE challenges and fun in the great outdoors!

Sports Report 2018

PE Policy

PE planning

PE Progression of Skills

PSHE

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At Woodford Valley, we want to ensure children are happy, thrive and are prepared for life with hopes and dreams for their future.  The personal, social, health, and economic well-being of our children is a core part of our whole school ethos and is embedded throughout our learning community.

We use ‘Learning for Life’,  a scheme devised by experienced Wiltshire teachers, encompassing all areas of P.S.H.E. and guided by the principles of Every Child Matters and the Children’s Charter for PSHE Education, produced by Wiltshire children. Subject matter includes: health, risk, relationships, loss, change and personal finance. The implementation of ‘Learning for Life’ enables all pupils to flourish through our PSHE curriculum.

Our scheme is supported by a carefully planned Sex and Relationships programme, Life Education Van workshops, friendly visits from the Community Police, Bikeability, Junior Good Citizen, our own vegetable plot , cookery sessions in our own studio, extensive opportunities for fun and physical exercise and a philosophical and spiritual whole school outlook.

Through our PSHE, we intend all pupils to have the opportunities to become independent, resilient learners who show respect and dignity towards others. As well as this, to appreciate the world that they live in and to celebrate achievements of all.

PHSE Policy

PSHE Subject Planning

History

 

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We are passionate about History at Woodford Valley and seek to nurture historical curiosity, and an appreciation of our rich and colourful past.  Our community is steeped in heritage, with the Stonehenge World Heritage site at one end and the medieval city of Salisbury at the other.   Nearer still is Wilton, an ancient capital of Wessex. We enjoy working with local archaeologists and historians, and are keen to find out about our ancestors.  We also intend to develop children’s understanding and respect of world history, with class-based topics such as the Caribbean and Slavery.  Our academy status, allows our studies to be innovative and imaginative, inspired by the expertise on our doorstep.

We follow a creative programme, interspersed with special whole school themes, such as: ‘Who do you think you are?’- a family history project,  ‘2000 Years’ in connection with the Olympic Games,  and  ‘What’s Under Your School?’ with archaeologist Julian Richards.  We took part in the Magna Carta celebrations in 2015, and through ‘100 Years Ago’ marked the momentous anniversary of the First World War. In 2019 we implemented History with a school wide mini museum project.

At Woodford Valley we bring the past to life through workshops and many visits to places of relevant and historical interest. Historical enquiry skills are extended through examination of context and perspective, and the evaluation of different evidence sources.  Children consider social, cultural, economic and other factors which have impacted on past civilisations, empires, places and peoples inspiring hope and wisdom through enquiry.

 

History Policy

History planning

Progression of skills History

Geography

 

We see Geography as a journey of discovery through which we seek to stimulate children’s curiosity to explore and engage in the world around them.  It equips them to explore and gain knowledge about a range of different places, communities, resources and environments; enabling them to make comparisons and identify links. It also gives them a structure with which to understand the key physical and human processes which shape and change our landscapes over time; capturing the vibrancy of people and place.

Our intent is to put geographical enquiry at the heart of each topic studied, and support this with relevant fieldwork to enable children to apply a range of skills and techniques.  As children progress through the school their focus moves from the school and its grounds to the wider Woodford Valley and then on to more distant places; so building up their broader understanding of place and enabling us to live well together.

We aim to encourage children to think about their own place in the wider world and to ask questions about the global community in which they live.  We challenge them to be independent thinkers and problem solvers; this enables them to consider their own values and responsibilities both to other people and respect their environment.

Geography Policy

Geography Long Term Plan

Geography Progression of Skills 2019

Art

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‘Art develops spiritual values and contributes a wider understanding to the experiences of life, which helps to build a balanced personality.’ 

Bridget Riley

 

We believe Art fosters a sense of freshness, discovery and growing awareness of the world around us.  It promotes fundamental qualities of imagination and self-expression which enrich learning and life.  We believe it helps us to view the world and community around us with respect, to treat it with dignity and recognise the wisdom it has to offer.   Our intent is to provide a broad, balanced and creative approach to art ensuring the curriculum is inspiring, challenging and an enjoyable experience for all children.

To implement this, we provide an art curriculum of quality, range and depth which stimulates and builds on children’s art skills, knowledge and understanding.  Giving children opportunities to design and complete artworks in a range of art forms and offer opportunities to explore the arts of diverse cultures.  We ensure that teachers have access to regular and continuing professional development that refreshes their own creativity and keeps them up to date with developments in the arts.  We provide opportunities for all children to exhibit their work, as well as taking and encouraging them to see work exhibited and performed by professional artists.  We also build partnerships and work with local community and parents on art projects.

The impact of our Art Curriculum can be seen in our Art folders which are kept by all year groups and sketchbooks which are kept in KS2.  These are used to record, develop and evaluate our work.  In addition to this, we display our artwork, creativity and achievements throughout the corridors of school and hold events for whole school projects and artist collaborations which we share with our wider community.

 

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Art Policy

ART – planning and progression of skills

Computing

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At Woodford Valley, we recognise how widely technology is used by pupils both in and out of school and the impact is has on their lives and learning. ICT competence plays an important role in enabling children to be confident, creative and independent learners. Our aim is that children are responsible, competent, wise and creative users of technology. We foster and support children’s interest, expertise and enthusiasm for using and applying ICT throughout the curriculum. We aim to provide children with the skills, attitudes and visions to operate in a rapidly-changing and increasingly technological world, safely and responsibly. Pupils are encouraged to use these skills and this experience to support and develop their learning across all areas of the curriculum, using technology as a tool for researching specific areas of interest and drawing upon the knowledge and wisdom of a global community.  Within a safe and supportive environment, pupils are encouraged to explore and find out for themselves and to have the confidence to problem-solve when using new technologies, resources or applications. Pupils are taught that their contributions could potentially be shared with a global community and this gives them a responsibility for the contributions they create and share. We support children in developing the wisdom to become critical and discriminating in the information and resources they encounter. In offering experiences of a broad variety of resources and applications, we enable opportunities for pupils to find, explore, analyse, exchange, present, program and code information. Children are taught to think logically, identify inputs and outputs and order instructions to create codes. Children’s coding skills are built on and developed throughout the year groups, with examples of everyday applications introduced wherever possible. Within a broad and balanced curriculum, at each Key Stage, our Computing curriculum builds on children’s experience of and ability to:

• Develop computing capability in finding, selecting and using information;
• Present, produce and share information, including photos, video and audio;
• Use the internet safely, wisely and responsibly and to understand the audience they publish for and to;
• Use technology for effective and appropriate communication;
• Use technology as a tool, applying computing skills and knowledge to their learning in other areas;
• Organise, store, manipulate and retrieve data in a range of digital formats;
• Write and test simple programs;
• Input, read and write algorithms and codes to program devices and apps;
• Select, use and combine a variety of software on a range of digital devices, including collecting, analysing, evaluating and presenting data and information.

The school uses the internet as part of the statutory curriculum in order to fulfil the entitlement for pupils.  The school has a policy in place to ensure internet safety.

Computing Policy

Internet Safety Policy

Subject Planning

Computing – progression of skills

Science

 

 

Science is a subject that we want all children to enjoy and engage in at Woodford Academy. Our intent is to give children the knowledge, wisdom and skills they need to investigate and question the wonderful world around them. 

To implement this we challenge pupils and give them opportunities to develop a wide range of scientific skills from identifying and classifying to gathering and recording data. These skills are assessed and built upon progressively as the pupil moves through the school.  We provide opportunities to experiment and investigate using many resources inside and outside of the school while building a core of scientific knowledge and vocabulary.

The impact of our science curriculum is that all children not only develop specific key scientific skills but also can understand concepts and scientific ideas.  Children learn to question and discuss science-based issues that may affect their own lives, the community and the future of the world.   

 

SCIENCE POLICY

SCIENCE PLANNING

Progression of science skills

Design and Technology

 

 

Purpose of Study

Design and Technology Design and Technology forms a key part of our learning at Woodford Valley.  It is an inspiring and practical subject where children are encouraged to explore their creativity and use their imagination in a variety of contexts.   It is a subject that challenges children to design and make products that solve real and relevant problems.  As children move through the school they will be involved with various projects, and they will experience at least one unit of food technology each year in our wonderful kitchen! Through these experiences children develop resilience and learn how to take risks, becoming resourceful, innovative, and learn how to live well together.  Design and Technology makes natural and real cross curricular links with a broad range of disciplines such as mathematics, science, engineering, computing and art in a dynamic and engaging way.  This provides children with the opportunity to practice these skills, giving them an understanding of why they are learning, its impact on daily life, our community and the wider world. 

Cooking and nutrition

At Woodford Valley we are fortunate to have our own Food Technology classroom where we are able to instill a love of cooking and open a door to one of the great expressions of human creativity.  Every member of the school is taught how to cook and how to apply the principles of nutrition and healthy eating.  Learning how to cook is a crucial life skill which enables children to feed themselves and others affordably and well, now and in later life.   Growing plants from seed and maintaining the school vegetable garden provide children with an opportunity to understand seasonality and to know where and how a variety of ingredients are grown, nurtured and are cooked.

 

Please click here to see the video of our Woodford Bake Off.

 

Design And Technology Policy

DT Planning

DT Progression of Skills