Birmingham Curriculum Statement

In Birmingham community cohesion means working towards a society in which strong and positive relationships exist and continue to be developed in schools, in the workplace and in the wider community. This is achieved through shared values which would include: the valuing of democracy, rule of law, individual liberty, tolerance and mutual respect of people’s backgrounds and circumstances; promoting equal opportunities and challenging discrimination, all of which is based on the Equality Act 2010 and is non-negotiable.

Curriculum - General

The school complies with the requirements of DFE Circular 7/90 “The Management of the School Day” which recommends a minimum of 21 hours teaching during the week for children in Key Stage 1 and 23.5 hours teaching time for children in Key Stage 2.

All policy documents are available for parents to view, by arrangement, through the school office.

The Early Years Foundation Stage

At Stanville our Early Years Unit encompasses the Nursery and Reception classes. The Early Years are about supporting children in developing key learning skills such as listening, speaking, concentration, persistence, independence and learning to socialise with others. We follow the National Early Years Foundation Stage curriculum. The curriculum is play-based, with a focus upon the areas of learning.​

The Foundation Team plan exciting, challenging learning activities for both the classroom and outdoor environments. These well-planned activities take into account all children’s needs and the different stages of development. The variety of activities available ensures all styles of learning are catered for and children’s interests are encouraged. 

We build on children’s prior experiences and extend their knowledge, skills and understanding through exciting half-termly Cornerstones topics that are linked to the areas of learning. The Foundation Team closely monitor the learning taking place by planning focus activities and observations on a continuous basis as well as facilitating play opportunities.

Each area of the curriculum has Early Learning Goals, which establish expectations for children to reach by the end of the Foundation Stage. At the end of the Reception year we also aim to provide children with the skills they need to prepare them for the KS1 curriculum. ​

Teaching of Phonics at Stanville Primary School

At Stanville Primary School, we believe that all our children can become fluent readers and writers. This is why we teach reading through Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised, which is a systematic and synthetic phonics programme. We start teaching phonics in Nursery/Reception and follow the Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised progression, which ensures children build on their growing knowledge of the alphabetic code, mastering phonics to read and spell as they move through school. As a result, all our children are able to tackle any unfamiliar words as they read. At Stanville Primary School, we also model the application of the alphabetic code through phonics in shared reading and writing, both inside and outside of the phonics lesson and across the curriculum. We have a strong focus on language development for our children because we know that speaking and listening are crucial skills for reading and writing in all subjects. 

Please find below a selection of information, resources and links to support your child in developing their phonics work at home:

What We Do - Years 1-6

The subjects taught across the school are in keeping with current national requirements and are continually updated as and when required. They include; English, Mathematics, Science, History, Geography, Art, Music, Design Technology, Computing, Physical Education and Citizenship. In addition, all schools are required to provide Religious Education and a daily act of worship. Modern Foreign Languages is also taught in Key Stage 2 in line with government legislation. 

​To ensure all the children receive a broad and balanced curriculum we follow our bespoke Curriculum. This curriculum allows full coverage in all subject areas and is designed around enquiry and child-led learning so as to ensure a broad and rich curriculum. Our curriculum ensures it also meets the school's specific needs and strengths to support all pupil learners.

For further information about the curriculum coverage in each year group please click any icon below.

Statutory Requirements for Relationships & Health Education

From September 2021, all schools have been required to teach Relationships and Health Education. At Stanville Primary school we follow the Coram Life Education curriculum and SCARF. A key requirement for this change was that the school had to engage with the community regarding policy, curriculum content and as a result provide a means of dialogue. Please be assured that the curriculum is completely age appropriate and essential in supporting children to stay safe and well as they grown and develop. 

For further information please click on the icons below to access the initial covering letter from the staff and governors as part of the engagement process, the RHE policy and the Curriculum map for all classes. Even though the official consultation has concluded you may access information about the Coram Life Education and SCARF by clicking any of the icons below or if you prefer you can of course contact the school for further details.

PSHE & Relationships Programme 

Please click on the icons below if you have a child in Years 4, 5 or 6 to access the letter detailing the PSHE and Relationships Curriculum all children in these year groups are required to receive. This content is age appropriate, but should you have any queries or concerns please contact the school and someone will be in touch.

Pupil Progress, Assessment and Reports

Assessment at Stanville is an integral part of teaching and learning.  Its purpose is primarily to inform the teacher of a child's progress so that appropriate tasks are planned for future Teaching and Learning.

Individual pupil progress is monitored and tracked closely in core and foundation subjects.  We are committed to ensuring each child reaches their full potential.  To measure this, a baseline profile is completed within the first half term of each child's entry into the Foundation Stage, and is kept as a reference point in the child's records as they go through the school.  A similar process takes place also across the rest of the school when a child joins mid-year.

Formal tests currently take place in Year 2 and Year 6 in line with National SATs testing as well as Year 1 Phonics testing.  The results of termly tests in all year groups (1-6) assist us in monitoring each child's progress throughout the school and contribute to overall teacher assessment. In addition to formal tests teacher assessment in all classes is continuous throughout the year.

Individual progress and attainment are reported to parents and discussed and agreed with children. These describe an all-round picture of the child's development and inform all parties of the next steps in learning.