Curriculum

Our aim at Padbury is to give our children the very best education, to enable each child the opportunity to fulfil their potential. Pupils at Padbury combine learning through play and practical experiences with more formal sessions. The curriculum provides stimulating, interesting, and enjoyable experiences within a caring and secure environment. We encourage pupils to become independent learners and motivated individuals.

We strive to provide an exciting environment through a curriculum that is organised into half term topics. The curriculum is planned and linked together using a thematic approach. This is to ensure that the curriculum is meaningful to the children. There are currently 2 cycles of long term plans and these are rotated every 2 years.

Our approach to learning is to foster each child as an individual and through our curriculum, promote an environment where everyone feels valued and safe. Our "Values" education is an integral part of our curriculum and underpins everything that we do.

OFSTED (December 2008) found that our teachers "provide interesting and challenging activities that are well matched to each pupils' learning needs" and that the children "learn to apply their knowledge gained in one area to another, because activities are well planned".

The curriculum at Padbury includes:

Literacy:

We encourage and develop confident speaking and good listening. Each child is given many opportunities for public speaking and performing through our special church services, also our Christmas and Drama Club performances.

Each child is encouraged to develop a love of reading, together with fluency and confidence. A daily phonics session is provided in which the children are taught to blend sounds and break down words. We use a wide range of approaches to reading, including Jolly phonics also Look and Say. The Oxford Reading Tree is our main reading scheme.

Numeracy:

Numeracy at Padbury aims to develop and extend each child's mathematical knowledge, skills and concepts. We encourage the children to use and apply their knowledge and mathematical understanding. We help the children to realise that mathematics is challenging and fun. Activities include puzzles, games, problem solving and practical tasks, together with a variety of ways to record, calculate and communicate. Computers are used whenever relevant, and provide extension for the children's learning.

Science:

We aim to develop a range of scientific knowledge, vocabulary and skills through practical experiences for each child. Science is linked thematically with other curriculum areas. Scientific skills and attitudes are developed through investigations, observations, questioning and discussion. The children are encouraged to predict and hypothesise. They learn to record their findings through pictures, writing, tables and diagrams.

Religious Education:

We are a Church of England school. This means that our Religious and "Values" Education form an integral part of our whole curriculum. We have strong links with our local churches in Padbury and Adstock where the children participate in special services throughout the year. We use the Bucks R.E. syllabus as the basis for our scheme of work and link topics thematically with other areas of the curriculum. The children hear and act out stories from the Bible and world religions. Our Religious Education is further extended through pictures, songs, visits and visitors; also music and drama.

Personal, Social and Emotional Development:

We follow the Social and Emotional aspects of Learning scheme (SEAL). Our themes encourage caring for each other, developing confidence and expressing feelings; also learning to work individually and as a group.

I.C.T:

Computers form an integral part of our work. We have computers in all our classrooms and every child is given weekly allocated time to use and develop their computer skills.

Humanities/History and Geography:

In our History work, the children are encouraged to develop a sense of the passage of time. We use the children's own, personal history as a starting point. Our own school environment and the village of Padbury provide many Historical and Geographical experiences, on which we are able to draw comparisons; for example: Then and Now; Village and Town. The children are encouraged to develop Historical and Geographical vocabulary, skills, knowledge and understanding.

Art:

We provide a range of exciting materials and experiences so that each child can develop skills, whist given opportunities to experiment. The children enjoy learning about some well known artists. Drawing, painting, collage, printing and modelling are some of the activities that the children are involved in. The children are taught to use a range of tools.

Design Technology:

The children are encouraged to design and make their own artefacts. Design technology at Padbury provides challenging and purposeful learning. The children are encouraged to use the natural and man-made environment to promote their own ideas.

Physical Education:

The children participate in a variety of sports activities, which include: Gymnastics and dance in our school hall. Games skills take place outdoors. Visits to other schools take place in Small Schools Partnership events.

Music:

At Padbury we all enjoy making music. The children are enthusiastic singers and they experiment with sound using the percussion instruments. We also provide opportunities for listening and performing. Parents and friends of Padbury enjoy regular performances from the children during our community events.

Extra Curricular Activities at Padbury:

These have proved very popular and include: Sports Club, Percussion Club (Autumn Term) and Drama Club (Spring Term).