If you wish to find out more about the curriculum, you can speak to our class teachers, key leaders or send an email to: office@summerfieldschool.org 
 

Reading and Phonics

We teach a specific phonic session each day using the Read Write Inc Phonic programme and children very quickly learn to recognise sounds and blends which helps them become fluent and confident readers. Used in over 5,000 UK Primary schools, Read Write Inc. Phonics is a DfE validated Systematic Synthetic Phonics programme with a whole school approach to teaching early reading and writing, designed to ensure progress for every child, in every primary school. Children work in groups at their phonic ability level and are assessed every half-term to monitor their progress through the scheme. Parents can find lots of useful information about Read Write Inc phonics by clicking the link on the right, including videos, e-Books, pronunciation guides and letter formation practise sheets. Children bring home a Read Write Inc 'book-bag book' to read at home that is matched to their phonic knowledge so that they experience reading success right from the start. As reading confidence grows, children also take home an Oxford Reading Tree book to share with parents as well as a library book to ensure that children experience and enjoy a wide range of good quality literature.  

Sonar Curriculum

At Summerfield, our intent is to have the highest ambitions for all. We are always aware when planning for learning of the widely different needs and starting points of all children, particularly those who are disadvantaged, have Special Educational Needs or Disabilities or those who are more able. All children can learn and make progress and can commit learning of knowledge and skills to long term memory when we: 

(i) teach in small steps; 

(ii) make sure all pupils have to ‘think hard’; 

(iii) practice through retrieval. 

We use Rosenshine’s Principles of Instruction to focus our daily, weekly and half termly teaching sequences. The ten principles are a set of common-sense actions that more effective teachers do resulting in students making more progress and achieving better results.

Curriculum Design / Planning 

Our curriculum planning is based on the Sonar Curriculum. Sonar Curriculum is an online, comprehensive solution to primary curriculum design and comprises a multitude of materials for curriculum mapping, short and medium planning and resources to support the delivery of effective teaching and learning. It provides the robust, rigorous framework which underpins a coherent curriculum design. Through standardised and sequenced objectives across every strand of every subject, skills, knowledge and understanding are deliberately mapped to ensure cumulative fluency across the primary phase. We use the Sonar Curriculum to provide leaders and teachers with a concise framework of coverage, pitch and sequence for English, Science and for most foundation subjects.

In 2023-2024, our fourth cycle of Sonar Curriculum, teachers have a strong understanding of the learning journey of all core and foundation subjects from EYFS to Year 2 / Year 6 and beyond. Teachers will continue to follow the Sonar Curriculum to ensure progression of knowledge, skills and vocabulary. Subjects will be taught discretely with a focus on developing children’s understanding of how the subject will impact their future jobs, e.g. how to be Scientist.

The Sonar Curriculum provides overviews for Early Years covering the 7 areas of learning: Personal, Social and Emotional Development, Communication and Language, Physical Development, Literacy, Mathematics, Understanding the World and Expressive Arts and Design. This enables teachers to plan effectively to meet the coverage requirements of the National Curriculum and Early Years Foundation Stage Framework and is a starting point for subject leaders to use when monitoring and evaluating their focused subject. 

Sonar Curriculum planning covers Writing, some elements of Reading, Science, Art and Design, Computing, Design and Technology, Geography and History. As detailed later on in this section, we use the White Rose Hub planning for Maths, Accelerated Reader to support our reading programme, Talk 4 Writing to support the teaching of Writing, Jigsaw to teach PSHE and RSE learning, Purple Mash to support Computing, MKSP planning for PE, Music Express for Music and Linguafun to support the teaching of Spanish in Years 1 and 2, German in Years 3 and 4 and French in Years 5 and 6.

Structural Learning

At Heelands and Summerfield, we use Structural Learning to enhance critical and creative thinking. The process helps children form an idea of something abstract in their mind. Cognitive building bricks are used to help students organise their thoughts and construct meaningful knowledge. The strategy promotes creativity and critical thinking by engaging pupils in connections making exercises.

(This information is taken from the Teaching, Learning and Assessment Policy – September 2023)