Coughton’s Vision

At Coughton CofE Primary school we strive to provide an atmosphere in which we can all thrive together. A strong Christian foundation sits at the heart of the school. Through a broad range of memorable learning experiences children have the opportunity to engage thematically with our diverse, creative and inclusive curriculum. Our Coughton family endeavour to inspire and encourage a love of learning and foster highly positive relationships. We all value and encourage each other to be our best selves – always.

Our Curriculum Rationale

At Coughton we are: skilled readers, confident writers, mathematicians, scientists, historians, geographers, musicians, artists, linguists, theologists, athletes, digital nomads, designers and technologists, inclusive and diverse. We want our children to have no limits to what their ambitions are and want them to embody our core values. We all believe to always “Be our best selves”. Our curriculum is carefully crafted so that our children develop their academic, social and cultural capital.

Our curriculum promotes curiosity and a love and thirst for learning. It is ambitious and empowers our children to become independent and resilient. We strive for academic excellence and want our children to have high aspirations. We always strive to “Be our best selves” so that we have no limits to what our ambitions are. We want the children to embody our core values and strive to achieve personal successes. 

We encourage our children to celebrate success and build on disappointment in order to develop resilience. We want to equip them with not only the minimum statutory requirements of the National Curriculum but to prepare them for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of later life. We want our children to use the beautiful surrounding in our local area and beyond to learn from other cultures, respect diversity, co-operate with one another and appreciate what they have. We achieve this by providing a strong SMSC curriculum, with British Values and our core values placed at the heart of everything we do. We enrich their time in our school with memorable, unforgettable experiences and provide opportunities. We firmly believe that it is not just about what happens in the classroom, it is about the added value we offer to really inspire our children.

We believe at Coughton that children should be involved in their learning and have an understanding not just of what they are learning but also of why they are learning. We want to teach them skills that they can transfer to any subject such as organisation, research and investigation. We spend time finding out, from latest research, the best ways to help children learn, as well as using tried and tested traditional methods. All children learn best if they are starting from what is familiar to them.

Inspiration breathes life into our school. At Coughton, children will experience a creative and engaging curriculum full of opportunities for them to flourish. We live out our vision through our values; collaboration, inspiration, respect and nurture.

We further model these key behaviours through our Christian virtues. Each half term we celebrate a different virtue through worships and PHSE lessons. 

We believe in educating and caring for the whole child, not just academic excellence but physical and emotional growth including spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. We as a school, believe to express these values and virtues through ‘Being our best selves’

Due to a change from mixed age groups to single year groups, Year 5 will be completing the following topic in the Autumn term 2021, so not to miss out areas of the curriculum:   What did the Romans do for us?

English

Phonics 

Phonics in the EYFS and KS1 is taught using Little Wandle, which is a government approved scheme. A parent guide is available to provide background information, which also suggests ideas that would be suitable to support reading at home. 

Reading

At Coughton CE Primary School, we believe that reading is placed at the heart of the curriculum. We place emphasis on the importance of reading and through innovative teaching, create a rigorous and sequential approach to the reading curriculum that supports the development of children’s fluency, confidence and enjoyment. 

Each classroom has a dedicated reading area which includes a range of fiction, non-fiction and poetry reading material. We strongly believe that a range of books offer a wealth of reading opportunities and therefore offer access to a wide range of banded reading books. Our goal at Coughton C.E. Primary school is to foster the love and enjoyment that a good book can bring.

For more advice on how you can help your child read at home, please watch these videos of Children’s Laureate Julia Donaldson who shares some of her top tips. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-wud5ndvuE

The following website recommends books for your child’s age group, as well as books related to our themes: www.booksfortopics.com

Maths

We follow the White Rose Progression ladders within our Maths lessons, which supports our planning and mathematical concepts taken from our Coughton Calculation Policy 2020.  

We aim to provide a stimulating and exciting learning environment that takes account of different learning styles and uses appropriate resources to maximise teaching and learning.

Through our creative approach to teaching and learning we also seek to explore and utilise further opportunities to use and apply mathematics across all subject areas.

Click here for parent workbooks to support children at home 

Foundation Subjects

Science

At Coughton CofE Primary School, we value Science. WE ARE SCIENTISTS! A high-quality science education provides the foundations for understanding the world through the specific disciplines of biology, chemistry and physics. Science has changed our lives and is vital to the world’s future prosperity, and all pupils should be taught essential aspects of the knowledge, methods, processes and uses of science. Through building up a body of key foundational knowledge and concepts, pupils should be encouraged to recognise the power of rational explanation and develop a sense of excitement and curiosity about natural phenomena. They should be encouraged to understand how science can be used to explain what is occurring, predict how things will behave, and analyse causes.

Art and Design

At Coughton CofE Primary School, we value Art & Design. We are ARTISTS! Art, craft and design embody some of the highest forms of human creativity. A high-quality art and design education should engage, inspire and challenge pupils, equipping them with the knowledge and skills to experiment, invent and create their own works of art, craft and design. As pupils progress, they should be able to think critically and develop a more rigorous understanding of art and design. They should also know how art and design both reflect and shape our history, and contribute to the culture, creativity and wealth of our nation.

Geography

At Coughton CofE Primary School, we value Geography. WE ARE GEOGRAPHERS! A high-quality geography education should inspire in pupils a curiosity and fascination about the world and its people that will remain with them for the rest of their lives. Our Geography curriculum aims to equip pupils with knowledge about diverse places, people, resources and natural and human environments, together with a deep understanding of the Earth’s key physical and human processes. As our pupils progress, their growing knowledge about the world will help them to deepen their understanding of the interaction between physical and human processes, and of the formation and use of landscapes and environments. Geographical knowledge, understanding and skills provide the frameworks and approaches that explain how the Earth’s features at different scales are shaped, interconnected and change over time.

Design & Technology

At Coughton CofE Primary School, we value Design Technology. WE ARE DESIGNERS and TECHNOLOGISTS! 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 disciplines such as mathematics, science, engineering, computing and art. Pupils learn how to take risks, becoming resourceful, innovative, enterprising and capable citizens. Through the evaluation of past and present design and technology, they develop a critical understanding of its impact on daily life and the wider world. High-quality design and technology education makes an essential contribution to the creativity, culture, wealth and well-being of the nation.

Religious Studies

At Coughton CofE Primary School, we value Religious Education. WE ARE THEOLOGISTS! Religious education contributes dynamically to children and young people’s education in schools by provoking challenging questions about meaning and purpose in life, beliefs about God, ultimate reality, issues of right and wrong and what it means to be human. In RE children learn about and from religions and world views in local, national and global contexts, to discover, explore and consider different answers to these questions. They learn to weigh up the value of wisdom from different sources, to develop and express their insights in response and to agree or disagree respectfully. Teaching therefore should equip pupils with systematic knowledge and understanding of a range of religions and world views, enabling them to develop their ideas, values and identities. It should develop in pupils an aptitude for dialogue so that they can participate positively in our society with its diverse religions and world views. Pupils should gain and deploy the skills needed to understand, interpret and evaluate texts, sources of wisdom and authority and other evidence. They learn to articulate clearly and coherently their personal beliefs, ideas, values and experiences while respecting the right of others to difference.

History

At Coughton CofE Primary School, we value History.WE ARE HISTORIANS! A high-quality history education will help pupils gain a coherent knowledge and understanding of Britain’s past and that of the wider world. It should inspire pupils’ curiosity to know more about the past. Teaching should equip pupils to ask perceptive questions, think critically, weigh evidence, sift arguments, and develop perspective and judgement. History helps pupils to understand the complexity of people’s lives, the process of change, the diversity of societies and relationships between different groups, as well as their own identity and the challenges of their time.

Physical Education

At Coughton CofE Primary School, we value Physical Education. WE ARE ATHLETES! A high-quality physical education curriculum inspires all pupils to succeed and excel in competitive sport and other physically-demanding activities. It should provide opportunities for pupils to become physically confident in a way which supports their health and fitness. Opportunities to compete in sport and other activities build character and help to embed values such as fairness and respect.

This year (2021), we have the pleasure of working alongside Aston Villa Foundation. The coaches support teachers plan and implement lessons that bring to life the PE Programme of Studies for Key Stages 1 and 2 from the National Curriculum. They will also offer extra-curricular provision, which provides opportunities for children to participate in fun and engaging sessions. A range of sports are offered and delivered, with a primary focus of football and invasion-based games.

Computing

At Coughton CofE Primary School, we value Computing. WE ARE DIGITAL NOMADS! A high-quality computing education equips pupils to use computational thinking and creativity to understand and change the world. Computing has deep links with mathematics, science, and design and technology, and provides insights into both natural and artificial systems. The core of computing is computer science, in which pupils are taught the principles of information and computation, how digital systems work, and how to put this knowledge to use through programming. Building on this knowledge and understanding, pupils are equipped to use information technology to create programs, systems and a range of content. Computing also ensures that pupils become digitally literate – able to use, and express themselves and develop their ideas through, information and communication technology – at a level suitable for the future workplace and as active participants in a digital world.

Music

At Coughton CofE Primary School, we value Music. WE ARE MUSICIANS! Music is a universal language that embodies one of the highest forms of creativity. A high- quality music education should engage and inspire pupils to develop a love of music and their talent as musicians, and so increase their self-confidence, creativity and sense of achievement. As pupils progress, they should develop a critical engagement with music, allowing them to compose, and to listen with discrimination to the best in the musical canon.

In addition to class music, regular singing in assemblies and extra-curricular opportunities, instrumental music tuition is offered.

At Coughton CofE Primary School, we value SMSC. WE ARE INCLUSIVE and DIVERSE! We actively promote the spiritual, moral, cultural, mental and physical development of pupils at our school. This involves collective worship, establishing a strong school ethos supported by effective relationships throughout the school, and providing relevant activities beyond the classroom to ensure pupils’ SMSC development. Through a high-quality SMSC curriculum we promote the fundamental British values. Our pupils understand that while different people may hold different views about what is ‘right’ and ‘wrong’, all people living in England are subject to its law. Our pupils are encouraged to regard people of all faiths, races and cultures with respect and tolerance. Our core values and virtues underpin all aspects of school life. We challenge opinions or behaviours in school that are contrary to fundamental British values.

Forest School

We are very lucky at Coughton CofE Primary because we have a superb forest school area with an open fire circle, a small woodland, mud kitchens, den building areas, plant and vegetable patches and an off site allotment area which is on local faming land. Our dedicated Forest School leader provides wonderful opportunities for our pupils to experience outdoor learning in the wider environment. Come rain or shine, children are encouraged to enjoy what nature has to offer. 

At Coughton we want to encourage our children to participate in various activities to further enrich their learning experience.