‘All areas of the curriculum are continually developed and reviewed, ensuring threads of emotional and mental wellbeing are evident and all areas of the curriculum support this.’- Herts Wellbeing Advisor.
Design and Technology encourages children to use their creativity and imagination to design and make a quality product. They will be expected to work with different tools, equipment, materials and components. The finished products will then be evaluated in order to identify improvements that could be made to their work in the future. Design and Technology has links with many other curriculum areas including Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics and Art.
Through the teaching of History in Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 we provide opportunities for the development of key skills: sequencing, cause and effect, reasoning, enquiry, constructing the past and chronological awareness. There are opportunities to respond to artefacts, pictures and written sources and to present the results of enquiries including written narratives. The children will learn about Ancient Civilisations to the present day as well as the history of Britain and the wider world, alongside studying significant individuals from the past. Using the link below you will find a whole school map for History.
In Geography at Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 we aim to develop the children’s knowledge of places and environments. This begins with the immediate school locality and widens to include both regional and national studies. The children will also study localities in other countries looking at the similarities and differences between physical and human features. Geographical skills are taught including an understanding of maps and plans and a range of investigative and problem solving skills. Geography is also a focus for understanding issues about the environment and sustainable development. Using the link below you will find a whole school map for Geography.
The Art and Design scheme stimulates creativity and imagination. It provides sensory experiences and enables children to communicate what they see, feel and think. Through the scheme, children secure their understanding of the formal elements of art: colour, texture, shape, line, tone, space and pattern. Skills are taught sequentially and children have opportunities to revisit and build upon previous learning. The scheme equips children to experiment, invent and create their own works of art, craft and design.
Children are encouraged to explore ideas and meanings through the work of a range of artists and designers. Children learn to think critically about the art they are exposed to and evaluate their own work. The scheme allows many cross curricular links prompting children to think more deeply on topics. Through Art, children expand their knowledge of different cultures and periods of time, instilling a sense of the impact Art has across society.
Throughout the school, the class teachers teach music for one lesson per week. During Key Stage 1, children develop the skills to listen carefully and respond to a wide range of music. They play musical instruments and learn to sing a variety of songs. The children begin to add accompaniments and create short compositions.
At Key Stage 2, the skills of performing, composing and appraising music are further developed. The children sing songs and play instruments with increasing confidence and skill. They may work individually, as part of a group or as a whole class. Music from different times, genres and cultures is listened to and discussed. Compositions are also developed in response to a variety of stimuli. In Year 4 children opportunity to learn the recorder in a lunchtime club. In addition, parents have the opportunity to pay for group guitar tuition.
All children have the opportunity to perform in their key stage performances.
At St Anthony’s we develop a mindful approach to PSHEE and Citizenship that encompasses Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education as well as emotional literacy, social skills and spiritual development. We aim to give the children the knowledge, skills and understanding they need in order to lead confident, healthy and independent lives. St Anthony’s guide children to become informed, active and responsible British citizens and approach all learning within the spiritual and moral framework of the Catholic Church.
Our Scheme of Work is largely based around the Jigsaw programme and is supplemented with other resources. These include National themed weeks such as children’s mental health week, fire safety, anti-bullying, money and road safety. Cross curricular links are identified and planned for, especially in RE. Throughout the school children are taught strategies to keep themselves safe and each year group builds upon the strategies from the previous year. This is known as Protective Behaviours.
‘St Anthony’s use both TenTen and Jigsaw to deliver PSHEE/RHE lessons which are amended and adapted to meet the Catholic ethos of the school and the needs of their school community’- Herts Wellbeing Advisor.
RHE is taught alongside PSHEE and takes a spiral approach to learning, St Anthony’s uses the award winning Ten Ten Life to the Full programme of study which includes teaching about personal health, physical and emotional well-being, strong emotions, private parts of the body, personal relationships, family structures, trusted adults, growing bodies, puberty, periods, life cycles, the dangers of social media, where babies come from, an understanding of the Common Good and living in the wider world.
The entire teaching is underpinned with a Christian faith understanding that our deepest identity is as a child of God – created, chosen and loved by God. The programme is fully inclusive of all pupils and their families.
Our school’s RHE programme of study has three themes:
• Created to love others – this explores an individual’s relationships with others and shows an understanding of the importance of valuing and understanding oneself as the basis for personal relationships.
• God is love – We are created out of love and for love. The command to love is the basis of all Christian morality.
• Created to live in community – local, national & global (this explores the individual’s relationships with the wider world)
At St. Anthony’s, the children in Key Stage Two learn French following a structured, progressive scheme. We aim to build all children’s confidence through constant praise for any contribution they make in a foreign language, however tentative. Learning a new language enables the children to become international citizens who are linguistically equipped and culturally aware in a rapidly changing world. The children are given regular opportunities to practise, use and consolidate new vocabulary with their peers. Using the link below you will find a whole school map for Languages.