Oldcastle Primary School’s Curriculum

We are dedicated to creating an inspiring curriculum for our pupils at Oldcastle Primary School. We aim to provide our pupils with a concept-based curriculum that builds on their prior knowledge to aid progression whilst ensuring they can be happy confident human beings. 

Our curriculum includes overarching themes. They are continuously evaluated and reviewed by staff, and changes are made as appropriate to ensure that all pupils within the classroom can access the opportunities and experiences that the curriculum provides. 

Our concept-based curriculum is planned for each year group into Units of Work. 

A brief example of planning is detailed below: 

During this Unit of Work, pupils will explore Human Rights and develop an awareness of equal opportunities. Pupils will recognise how the concepts of equality and diversity have changed over time. Research into women who have shaped the society in which they live today will enable pupils to recognise their right to freedom of expression and decision-making. 

• Overarching Theme: Humankind: A unit about what makes us human, celebrating our diversity and evaluating our impact on the world.
• Unit of Work: Women who changed the world. 
• Key concepts: Diversity and Equality

Literacy, Language and Communication

At Oldcastle Primary School, we have a holistic approach to literacy, aiming for excellent readers, writers, speakers and listeners. We want all our pupils to become fluent, confident readers who love to read! Being able to articulate thoughts eloquently in written and oral form enables our pupils to be confident, capable learners. 

We do this by using a range of approaches, including using: 

• Read, Write, Inc. 

• Oxford Reading Tree

• The Literary Curriculum

• Fresh Start (Read, Write, Inc. extension)

• Voice 21

Read Write Inc (RW Inc) is a complete phonics literacy programme which helps all children learn to read fluently and at speed so they can focus on developing their skills in comprehension, vocabulary and spelling. The programme is designed for children aged 4-7 years. However, at Oldcastle, we begin the programme in Nursery and will continue teaching RW Inc through a Fresh Start programme to children beyond the age of 7 if they still need support in their reading.

RW Inc was developed by Ruth Miskin, and more information on this can be found a https://www.ruthmiskin.com/parents/

Alongside Read Write Inc, pupils in Nursery to Year 2 will access Oxford Reading Tree reading books. These books will be read in school and encouraged to be read at home. 

As pupils progress through school, they will access learning through the award-winning Literary Curriculum, a complete, book-based approach designed to teach pupils literacy skills through high-quality texts. Teaching through a text creates a consistent, cohesive approach to literacy across the school and includes teaching spelling, grammar, syntax and editing. 

Throughout the school, from Reception to Year 6, we use Literacy Tree for our teaching of English. Literacy Tree is used across the UK and globally and is an award-winning educational platform. All of the Literacy Tree resources use high-quality children’s books and for Writing, we follow their 'Teach Through a Text' approach to ensure there is consistency throughout the school. The Literary Curriculum immerses children in a literary world. Creating strong levels of engagement to provide meaningful and authentic learning experiences. It encourages our pupils to become critical readers and acquire an authorial style as they encounter a wide range of significant authors and a variety of fiction, non-fiction and poetry.  The text choices are an important part of this as well - many link to aspects of History and/or encourage deep discussions. 

We are immensely proud that our school has been chosen as a Literacy Tree Flagship School for our innovative use of the book-based approach across our school.

Oracy is developed at Oldcastle using the Voice 21 programme. Through a high-quality oracy education, pupils learn through talk and to talk. This is when they develop and deepen their subject knowledge and understanding through talk in the classroom, which has been planned, designed, modelled, scaffolded and structured to enable them to learn the skills needed to talk effectively.

Mathematics and Numeracy

We have worked hard to create a robust and progressive mathematics curriculum for all our pupils at Oldcastle. 

Mathematical concepts have been planned coherently across year groups, with progression at the heart of planning. Teachers plan lessons based on their pupils' prior knowledge and work towards mastery of new learning. Mastering maths means pupils acquiring a deep, long-term, secure and adaptable understanding of the subject. The phrase ‘teaching for mastery’ describes classroom practice and school organisation elements that combine to give pupils the best chances of mastering maths. 

Pupils are introduced to stem sentences from Nursery to Year 6. In maths, stem sentences include accurate mathematical vocabulary in a highly structured sentence that allows pupils to communicate their ideas with mathematical precision and clarity.

Assessment and Progression

The progression reference points for the Curriculum for Wales are Progression Steps. As a rough guide, Progression Step 1 will be covered at 5 years old, Progression Step 2 at 8 years old, Progression Step 3 at 11 years old, Progression Step 4 at 14 years old and Progression Step 5 at 16 years old. Progression is based on stage, not age, and pupils will progress at different rates. 

All assessment forms should inform teaching and learning, ensure that misconceptions are identified and addressed, and progress is made. Formative assessment, that is, assessment for learning, is embedded within all classroom learning environments, such as questioning, discussions, written work and peer and self-assessment.  Teachers at Oldcastle will continually assess pupils learning based on work completed in class, observations, classroom discussions and questioning. Pupils will be provided clear and concise feedback on a day-to-day basis and have a thorough understanding of how to make progress.