Foundation Subjects

Art and Design 

“You can't use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have." - Maya Angelou 

We grow in Art and Design because:  

At Irthlingborough Junior School, art and design is an essential part of our primary curriculum; we see the value in the subject and view it as an important part of our pupils’ entitlement to a broad and balanced curriculum. Art allows our children to develop their imagination and creative thinking, encourages them to make connections through their inventive minds, and gives them the skills to record these ideas visually. It provides opportunities for pupils to express their individual interests, thoughts and ideas, and challenges them to think deeply about these. It encourages expression and visual thinking, which in turn helps our children to learn in other subjects. Indeed, art, craft and design embody some of the highest forms of human creativity – something which our school places great importance on, with creativity being one of our character values. 

The Art and Design curriculum at Irthlingborough Junior School is carefully designed to inspire and challenge our pupils to maximise their knowledge and develop their skills, using a range of media and materials. Our children are supported in developing their observational skills through art and design, becoming better observers of the world around them. They utilise sketch books to record these observations – developing their ability to organise and communicate their own ideas in interesting ways - and to review and revisit these ideas over time. Throughout the school, pupils are also introduced to a range of works to develop their knowledge of famous artists, architects and designers, who have influenced the world of art and the world as a whole. Additionally, as they learn about the history, roles and functions of art, they can explore the impact that it has on contemporary life and that of different times and cultures. All of this contributes to their understanding of the world in which they live and promotes the British value of tolerance and respect for others, seeing through the eyes of artists. 

We grow in Art and Design by:  

• Producing creative work, exploring ideas and recording experiences.  

• Becoming proficient in drawing, painting, sculpture, mixed media and other art, craft and design techniques.  

• Developing increasing control over our skills and use of different materials 

• Evaluating and analysing creative works using the language of art, craft and design.  

• Knowing about leading artists, craft makers and designers, and understand the historical and cultural development of their art forms.  

• Gaining an increasing awareness of different kinds of art, craft and design 

We grow in Art and Design when:  

• We teach art regularly. The children cover an art topic at least once every other half term (alternating with Design Technology), with additional opportunities to engage with Art and Design activities throughout the school year.  

• Teachers plan lessons for their classes using our progression of knowledge and skills document, linked to the long- and medium-term plans for each unit. This ensures the curriculum is covered and the skills/knowledge taught are progressive from year group to year group.   

• We re-teach skills throughout the children’s time in school. Skills and techniques are revisited and honed each year, progressing in terms of depth and challenge, to build on the children’s prior learning.  

• Each child develops their skills and techniques in a way that is appropriate to them, through clear modelling and support, and using a variety of art materials and teaching strategies.  

• Children are introduced to artists and art movements directly linked to the skills or topics they are covering elsewhere in the curriculum where possible, for example in humanities and modern foreign languages.  

• We employ a sketchbook approach, so that children feel confident to experiment and refine their emerging skills. The children use the sketchbook as a place to focus on practising techniques and to gather information for use on a larger piece of work. They can see their progress in different skills over time and feel proud of what they have achieved.   

Computing 

‘Computing is not about computers anymore. It is about living.’ - Nicholas Negroponte.  

We grow in Computing because:  

Today, technology is changing the lives of everyone, especially children and young people. Through computing, we aim to enable the children we teach to be active members of a rapidly changing society, where work and leisure activities are increasingly computer-based. Indeed, our curriculum vision is to provide a high-quality computing education to equip our pupils with the computational thinking and creativity necessary to understand, challenge and change the world around them. Our approach to computing ensures that pupils become digitally literate – able to use, express themselves, and develop their ideas through information and communication technology – at a level suitable for their future education and workplaces, preparing them to participate in a digital world.  

We particularly value the fact that computing enables access to ideas and experiences from a wide range of communities, cultures, and viewpoints. This supports the British value of tolerance, which is at the heart of our pupils’ personal development. We also recognise that as a school we have the responsibility to teach our pupils how to keep themselves safe online; we provide them with the knowledge and skills to do so, promoting safe messages throughout the curriculum and ensuring they are able to use information in a perceptive and effective way.  

We grow in Computing by:  

• Designing, writing and debugging algorithms and programs that accomplish specific goals - solving problems by decomposing them into smaller parts.  

• Using sequence, selection and repetition in programmes, working with variables and various forms of input and output.  

• Developing logical reasoning and computational language to help us explain our understanding of algorithms and express the problems we encounter.  

• Exploring the technology around us, investigating computing systems and networks.  

• Developing our ability to use technology to make creative content in imaginative ways.  

• Utilising a range of applications to express ideas and opinions, researching and presenting data using a variety of visualisation tools.  

• Practising using technology safely, respectfully and responsibly, knowing where to go to for help and support when concerned about content or online behaviour.  

We grow in Computing when:  

At Irthlingborough Junior School, computing is taught using a blocked curriculum approach. This ensures children are able to develop depth in their knowledge and skills over the duration of each of their computing topics. Teachers use the ‘Purple Mash’ scheme as a starting point for the planning of their computing lessons, which are often richly linked to engaging contexts in other subjects and topics. Employing cross-curricular links motivates pupils and supports them to make connections and remember the steps they have been taught. Knowledge and skills are mapped across each topic and year group to ensure systematic progression. The implementation of the curriculum also ensures a balanced coverage of computer science, information technology and digital literacy. The children will have experiences of all three strands in each year group, but the subject knowledge imparted becomes increasingly specific and in-depth, with more complex skills being taught, thus ensuring that learning is built upon. To enable good progression and a smooth transition for our children, Irthlingborough Infant School also teaches using ‘Purple Mash.’  

To facilitate this learning, we have a class set of laptops in Years 3 and 4, accompanied by a class set of iPads; in Years 5 and 6, the children have individual Chromebooks. This ensures that all year groups have the opportunity to use a range of devices and programs for many purposes across the wider curriculum, as well as in discrete computing lessons. The computing provision is used to expand the opportunities it presents for many other subjects: for example, TT Rockstars, Spelling Shed, Wordshark and Accelerated Reader are used to support the learning in reading, writing and mathematics. The use of the internet provides learning opportunities for research and presentation opportunities to support Oracy using PowerPoint.   

Design Technology 

“Design is not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works." - Steve Jobs 

We grow in Design and Technology because:  

At Irthlingborough Junior School, we value Design and Technology as an important part of the children’s entitlement to a broad and balanced curriculum. Design and Technology is an inspiring, rigorous and practical subject. Using creativity and imagination, pupils design and make products that solve real and relevant problems, within a variety of contexts, considering their own and others’ needs, wants and values. They acquire a broad range of subject knowledge and draw on other disciplines, such as mathematics, engineering and art, too; every child will have the opportunity to learn and extend their understanding, experience and application of technology in as wide a variety of situations as possible. Through this, pupils learn to take risks, becoming resourceful, innovative, enterprising and capable citizens.  

The Design and Technology curriculum at Irthlingborough Junior School is carefully designed to inspire creativity and imagination in a practical way. The programme of topics covers the key areas of cooking and nutrition, mechanical and electrical systems, textiles, and structures: areas which prepare our children for life beyond our school. Pupils are also given the opportunity to explore how products have been created in a range of societies, cultures and times, and how design and technology plays a vital role in our society, locally and globally. Its essential contribution to culture, wealth and the well-being of people throughout the world is widely recognised and an appreciation of this is shared with pupils. We also introduce the children to a wide range of specific inventors and artists, so that we may inspire them to find and express their own type of creativity too.   Moreover, learning to cook is a crucial life skill that enables all children to feed themselves and others affordably and well, now and in later life. 

Throughout all of this, our DT curriculum promotes the use of team-work and collaborative learning which teaches our children to respect each other and their opinions, in line with our school values.  

We grow in Design and Technology by:   

• Developing the creative, technical and practical expertise needed to perform everyday tasks confidently and to participate successfully in an increasingly technological world. 

• Building and applying a repertoire of knowledge, understanding and skills in order to design and make high-quality prototypes and products for a wide range of users. 

• Considering both the user (who products are for) and the purpose (which tasks products will perform) of each product designed and created. 

• Selecting and using appropriate tools safely and effectively to make these products. 

• Critiquing, evaluating and testing our own ideas and products, as well as the work of others – considering functionality, design decisions and effectiveness 

• Reflecting and making refinements as the work progresses. 

• Being innovative and authentic – having scope to be original in our thinking while making produces that are real, believable and can be evaluated through use. 

• Exploring attitudes towards the made world and how we live and work within it.   

• Finding enjoyment, satisfaction and purpose in designing and making. 

• Developing an understanding of technological processes, products, and their manufacture, and their contribution to our society.   

• Understanding and applying the principles of nutrition and healthy eating when learning how to cook. 

We grow in Design and Technology when:  

• We teach design and Technology regularly, covering one topic every other half term (alternating with Art and Design).  

• Teachers plan lessons for their classes using the progression of knowledge and skills document linked to the long and medium-term plans for each unit.  

• Both strands of the curriculum are covered through units each year: designing and making; cooking and nutrition.  

• Each project includes the elements of designing, making, evaluating and developing technical knowledge. 

• Skills and techniques are developed throughout the children’s time in school. They are revisited and honed each year, progressing in terms of depth and challenge, to build on the children’s prior learning.  

• Each child is supported in developing their skills and techniques in a way that is appropriate to them, through clear modelling and support using a variety of materials and teaching strategies.  

• Lessons are built to ensure that pupils can develop imaginative thinking and enable them to talk about what they like and dislike when designing and making – they should be able to talk about how things work, and to draw and model their ideas.   

Modern Foreign Languages – French  

‘Learning a foreign language is a liberation from insularity and provides an opening to other cultures. A high-quality languages education should foster pupil’s curiosity and deepen their understanding of the world.”  - The National Curriculum  

We grow in French because:  

Today, with the improvement in transport and the significant role travel now plays within people’s lives, children are increasingly likely to visit different countries within their lifetime. Therefore, exposing them to modern foreign languages is no longer a luxury, but a necessity: one which prepares them for the world beyond our school, raises the aspirations they develop for their lives, and broadens the possibilities on offer to them. It provides them with opportunities to communicate for practical purposes, challenges them to learn new ways of thinking and potentially inspires them to – one day – read great literature in the original language. Whether they put this into practice in later life or not, we see the value that learning a modern foreign language has in improving pupils’ self-esteem and encouraging better interpersonal skills here and now. 

At Irthlingborough Junior School, we have chosen that language to be French. Through French we aim to show the children that there are other cultures and encourage them to be curious in and gain a deeper understanding of the wider world. Indeed, our curriculum vision is to provide a high-quality education in French by understanding and responding to spoken and written language from a variety of authentic sources. To speak with increasing confidence, fluency and spontaneity, finding ways of communicating what they want to say, including through discussion and asking questions, and continually improving the accuracy of their pronunciation and intonation. In addition, we will encourage children to write at varying length, using a variety of grammatical structures that they have learnt.   

We grow in French by:  

• Listening to spoken language and showing understanding by joining in and responding.   

• Exploring the patterns and conventions of language by focusing on the spellings, sounds and meanings of words; engaging in conversations; asking and answering questions; and seeking clarification and help.  

• Using language to help us express our own ideas and thoughts in new ways, and responding to those of others 

• Speaking in sentences, using familiar vocabulary, phrases and basic language structures.   

• Developing accurate pronunciation and intonation so that others understand when they are reading aloud or using familiar words and phrases.  

• Reading carefully and showing understanding of words, phrases and simple writing.   

• Broadening our vocabulary and developing the ability to understand new words that are introduced into familiar written material, including through using a dictionary.   

• Writing phrases from memory, and adapting these to create new sentences, to express ideas clearly.   

• Describing people, places, things and actions both orally and in writing.   

• Understanding basic grammar (including feminine, masculine, the conjugation of high-frequency verbs, key features and patterns of French), how to apply this to build sentences and how this differs from or is similar to English.  

We grow in French when:  

At Irthlingborough Junior School, French is taught through the 3 pillars: vocabulary, phonics and grammar. This ensures children not only have a good vocabulary but can speak accurately, pronouncing the words accurately and forming their sentences grammatically correct. Teachers use a combination of a curriculum developed within the school and Kapow as a starting point for the planning.  Knowledge and skills are mapped across each topic and year group to ensure systematic progression. The implementation of the curriculum also ensures a balanced coverage of vocabulary, phonics and grammar. The children will have experiences of all three strands in each year group, and the subject knowledge is relevant to the topic area being studied that term.   

To facilitate this learning, we also have access to linguascope to develop both vocabulary knowledge and pronunciation. In addition, we are using the Physical French phonics scheme to support phonic awareness when speaking French.   

Geography 

‘The study of geography is about more than just memorising places on a map. It’s about understanding the complexity of our world, appreciating the diversity of cultures that exist across continents. And in the end, it’s about using all that knowledge to help bridge divides and bring people together.’ - Barack Obama 

We grow in Geography because:  

The study of geography involves pupils exploring the relationship and interactions between people and the environments in which they live and upon which they depend.  Many of the pupils who now attend our school will live to see the next century and inhabit a world of 11 billion people.  The many opportunities and challenges that will arise during their lifetime will be very much about geography – personal, local, national and global therefore our pupils will need to know about geography and be able to think like geographers. In our approach to Geography, we want our children to be prepared for life in the modern world and be able to think reflectively and consciously about how they choose to engage with it. Through learning about the lives of ordinary people, children will come to understand the importance of tolerance towards different groups of people including those with different ethnicities or religious beliefs – a British value that lies at the heart of our curriculum. They will develop a greater respect for the natural world and the people living within it along with a strong appreciation of the diversity of the world in which they live.   

We grow in Geography by:  

At Irthlingborough Junior school, we aim to inspire pupils to become curious and explorative thinkers with a diverse knowledge of the world; in other words, to think like a geographer. We want pupils to develop the confidence to question and observe places, measure and record necessary data in various ways, and analyse and present their findings. Our curriculum aims to build an awareness of how Geography shapes our lives at different scales such as local and national level and over periods of time. We hope to encourage pupils to become resourceful, active citizens who will have the skills to contribute to and improve the world around them. Our curriculum aims to help pupils grow by: 

• Developing geographical skills and knowledge.  

• Thinking critically, with the ability to ask perceptive questions and analyse evidence.  

• Developing fieldwork skills across each year group.  

• Developing a deep interest and knowledge of their own locality and how it differs from other areas of the world.  

• Developing an increasingly sophisticated understanding of geographical terms and vocabulary.