Foundation subjects

In Key Stage 1 – Years 1 and 2 – the Creative Curriculum (CC) will be used to weave together Science, History, Art, Geography and DT and will cover all the National Curriculum (NC) learning objectives for those subjects over the year. All objectives will be covered at least once and children will know that the investigations or experiences are directly related to specific subject such as science or geography. The CC will allow for a more exciting and imaginative delivery of the NC subjects and also be structured in such a way as to allow for individual classes to come up with their own ideas to meet learning objectives, allowing the curriculum to be led by the children.

To ensure that the curriculum is exciting, creative, meets the needs of all the children and is shaped by their strengths we have woven lots of enrichment experiences into the teaching of the Foundation subjects. We aim to ensure the children have a good understanding of the local community and the wider world. For example, in Art children visit Walsall Art Gallery to develop different skills, working with different media. In Geography the children are taken on visits to explore the local area and to think about how the area can be improved. We are lucky enough to have a range of places of worship within walking distance and each year group will visit one place in the year. We participate in inter-school sports days and use the local park for family based sports day events.

We have several trips each year linked to the the Creative Curriculum to ensure that children get first-hand experience of what they are learning about. This year the Year 1 children will be going to  Warwick Castle and West Midlands Safari Park to develop their scientific, historical and literacy learning. Year 2 will be visiting The Think Tank and Rhyl. We have visitors in regularly: for example, as part of one of our Music days we had bhangra dancers in to teach the children the origins of Bhangra dancing during Divali; 'Dance Through History' to help us celebrate and understand our Victorian school; and Chinese lion-dancers to welcome in Chinese New Year.

There will be times when some of the learning objectives won’t fit into the CC and so to make sure it is covered effectively we will teach that area of the NC as a ‘stand alone’ lesson.

We have decided that Music, PE and Computing will be more effectively taught as individual subjects although cross-curricular links into the CC will be made where it is possible and purposeful.

At Whitehall we care for the whole child and so we continue to give time to PSHE (Personal, Social and Health Education) using Jigsaw and elements of My Happy Mind  in our class based assemblies where children get to talk about friendships and how to work together, solve relationship problems and look after their mental health and well-being.. Wherever possible we make links to children’s social, moral, spiritual and cultural development (SMSC) throughout the day so that our children can be educated citizens. These values also help to make our children ready for the world of work.