St Anthonys College - Primary Department

In our Primary Department, pupils are taught most subjects by their class teacher. We are fortunate to have a dedicated and very experienced team who endeavour to create a stimulating and enjoyable environment, where pupils are supported to achieve their very best. All children are encouraged to be confident and participate in all aspects of school life.

The pupils closely follow the English National Curriculum, with the addition of Spanish for the non-Spanish pupils and additional English for the non-English pupils.

We have a strong E.F.L. department, (English as a Foreign Language), which caters for our multi-national pupils including Spanish, Norwegian, German, Russian, Danish and Swedish.

In addition our Spanish Department carry out a magnificent role in ensuring all our pupils have a great command of Spanish. All our students study languages throughout their time at St. Anthony’s to develop their linguistic skills.

Further-more pupils receive specialist teaching from colleagues in our senior department for Drama, P.E., and Spanish.

Year 1

Literacy
Over the year, a variety of texts will be covered ranging from traditional fairy tales, rhymes (most of which will be familiar to the children) to informational texts.
Written skills will also be developed with the focus being on composing simple sentences, progressing onto spelling, grammar and punctuation. This process will be developed further, through our daily reading programme (following the Oxford Reading Tree scheme). Parents are also encouraged to read with their children at home to provide extra support. Every Friday, a literacy worksheet and spellings list will be given out to be completed over the weekend. Spellings are for the following Friday (allowing one week).

These skills are also developed through other studies including Art, Humanities, I.C.T., Music, and Science.

Mathematics / Numeracy
Following the abacus scheme of work, we cover a range of mental, written and practical mathematical skills over the academic year. Homework is also distributed in numeracy to consolidate learning/work covered for that specific week. This has proved to be extremely beneficial to the children, and we have received a lot of positive feedback from parents.

In addition to the above subjects, the pupils are also taught by specialist subject teachers for Spanish and P.E.

Year 1 at work

Year 2

In Year 2 the focus is on the core subjects of Literacy and Numeracy, but many aspects of these are taught through other subjects.

Literacy
Literacy involves the development of coherent story telling, presenting information and the ability to listen carefully and extract information required. Spelling continues to be a key factor in the learning experience with weekly spelling tests for all children. The school offers a specialist T.E.F.L. department for non-native English speakers encouraging the development of spoken, written and grammatical skills.

These skills are also developed through other studies including Art, Craft, Geography, History, I.C.T., Music, and Science.

Science is about observing and exploring the world around us, developing skills of observation, analysis, experimentation and the recording of results.

Mathematics / Numeracy
In Mathematics the emphasis is on number work developing the ability to manipulate and solve problems. It also includes the use of data collection as well as work on formal measurements and the properties of shapes.

In addition to the above subjects, the pupils are also taught by specialist subject teachers for Spanish and P.E.

Year 3

Literacy
In Year 3 the aim is to develop each child’s ability to read and write. We develop the skills necessary to meet the requirements of the National Literacy Strategy.
The skills are wide ranging and include:

To read and write with confidence, fluency and understanding.
To use a full range of reading cues.
To understand the sound and spelling system and use this to read and spell accurately.
To acquire fluent and legible handwriting.
To understand and be able to use a range of non-fiction texts.
To know, understand and be able to write in a range of genres.
To have suitable technical vocabulary through which they can understand and discuss their reading and writing.

We develop these skills further through our studies in Art, Geography, History, I.C.T., Music, P.H.S.E. and Science.

Mathematics / Numeracy
By using a wide range of practical, written and oral activities the children have an opportunity to broaden their mathematical abilities.
The skills include:

To read, write and order whole numbers at least to 1000 and understand the place value of each digit.
To count on and back in terms of hundreds from any two or three-digit number.
To recognise fractions and use them to find fractions of shapes and numbers.
To know by heart all addition and subtraction facts for each number to 20.
To know multiplication tables.
To understand division and recognise it is the inverse of multiplication.
To choose and use appropriate operation to solve word problems.
Understanding and using angle measure in degrees.

In addition to the above subjects, the pupils are also taught by specialist subject teachers for Spanish, P.E., Music and Drama.

There are also a number of trips which take place during the school year which the children can participate in such visiting the theatre, the zoo and the cinema.

Year 3 making clay pots

Year 4

Literacy
The skills are wide ranging and include:

To use correct sentence structures.
To develop the use of punctuation and the use of commas to separate phrases and clauses.
To understand and be able to use paragraphing correctly.
To use synonyms, spelling patterns, prefixes and suffixes.
To understand and use dialogue.
To understand and use a wide range of genres including: play scripts, themed poetry – classic and modern, newspaper reports, non-chronological reports, book reviews, creative writing skills and instructions.

We develop these skills further through our studies in Art, Geography, History, I.C.T., Music, P.H.S.E. and Science.

Geography
The topic areas covered in Geography in Year 4 are:
            Village settlements
            Improving the environment
            How we spend our leisure time
            Earthquakes
            Volcanoes
            World map and mapping skills
            The British Isles
            Europe
            Life in India

History
In History we concentrate on two periods. The British Empire and Queen Victoria, and Ancient Egypt.

I.C.T
The topic areas covered in I.C.T in Year 4 are:
            Saving and retrieving information
            Developing presentational skills through word processing
            Using a range of imaging effectively including Word Art and Clip Art and drawing tools.
            Using graphical imaging through Paint.
            Using the internet to support project work.

P.H.S.E.
The topic areas covered in P.S.H.E. in Year 4 are:
           Trust
           Friendship
           Team work

Science
The topic areas covered in Science in Year 4 are:
            4A Moving and Growing – skeletons, muscles, bone location
            4B Habitats – data gathering, protection of the environment and other habitats
            4C Keeping Warm – measuring temperatures, thermal insulators
            4D Solids and liquids – classifying materials, changing solids to liquids, filtering liquids, dissolving
            4E Friction – reducing friction, lubricants, streamlining, parachutes
            4F Electrical Circuits and Conductors – circuits, conductors, insulators, switches

Mathematics / Numeracy
The skills include:

Multiplication and division.
Telling the time.
Fractions.
Charts and graphs
To know all the multiplication tables.
Facts including place value; add, subtract, times and multiply; all tables facts; properties of number; fraction and decimals
2D and 3D shapes, symmetry, angles
Time sorting diagrams, data handling
Position measuring – capacity, weight, length, perimeter, area
Understanding and using angle measure in degrees.

In addition to the above subjects, the pupils are also taught by specialist subject teachers for Spanish, P.E., and Drama.

There are also a number of trips which take place during the school year which the children can participate in such visiting the theatre, the zoo and the cinema.

Year 4 doing project

Year 5

Literacy

Analysing and comparing structures of different fiction genres.
Writing non-fiction in the form of recount of events, instructions, explanations and factual presentations.
Developing an active attitude towards reading, seeking answers and empathising with characters.
Discussing, proof-reading and editing writing for clarity and correctness.
Studying and using the basic conventions of standard English, including spelling strategies, vocabulary extension and grammatical awareness.

Maths / Numeracy

Reading and writing whole numbers.
Multiplying and dividing positive integers up to 10,000.
Estimating and approximating.
Using fraction and decimal notation to two decimal places.
Calculating mentally, using tables, doubling and halving.
Problem solving through calculating, investigating using all four operations and explaining methods and reasoning.
Organising and interpreting data in tables, charts and graphs, including computer generated tables.
Finding modes.
Using, reading and writing metric units including time.
Understanding area and formula, including calculating perimeters.
Recognising and classifying properties of 2D and 3D shapes, and lines of symmetry.
Recognising positions and directions, including co-ordinates.
Understanding and using angle measure in degrees.

Geography
The topic areas covered in Geography in Year 5 are:
            Water
            Coasts
            Hurricanes
            Tornadoes
            Tropical Rain Forests

History
In History we concentrate on one period, The Tudors.

I.C.T
The topic areas covered in I.C.T in Year 5 are:
            Developing presentational skills through word processing using a wide range of presentational tools.
            Graphical modelling using a range of drawing software.
            Collecting data using questionnaires
            Designing branching databases.
            Internet based research which is linked to a cross curricular theme.
            Introduction to e-mails.

P.H.S.E.
The topic areas covered in P.S.H.E. in Year 5 are:
            Respecting other people
            The environment
            Diversity of cultures

Science
The topic areas covered in Science in Year 5 are:
            Healthy Living
            Life Cycles and Food Chains
            Animal Classification
            Solids, liquids and gases
            The Solar System

In addition to the above subjects, the pupils are also taught by specialist subject teachers for Spanish, P.E., and Drama.

There are also a number of trips which take place during the school year which the children can participate in such visiting the theatre, the zoo and the cinema.

Year 5 making board games

Year 6

Literacy
Throughout the year pupils will be expected to respond to a wide range of literature with their own thoughts and ideas, both verbally and in writing. They will be studying passages from a Shakespeare play as well as classic fiction and poetry.

They will look at a range of poetic forms including haikus, limericks and riddles and learn to compare works by different children’s authors. Non-fiction reading will include biographies, autobiographies, diaries, journalistic writing and non-chronological reports.

By the end of Year 6 the pupils will have had opportunities to summarise a passage, chapter or text in a specified number of words and to comment critically on the language, style and success of examples of non-fiction.

The pupils should be confident in their use of a variety of spelling strategies including using prefixes, suffixes and common letter strings, applying their knowledge of spelling rules and exceptions and building words from other known words. They will have a weekly spelling test based at two or three levels.

Sentence structure and punctuation will be an important focus and by the end of Year 6 the expectations are that pupils will be confident in their abilities to form and to use a wide range of punctuation.

Pupils will be encouraged to read as often and form as wide a range of literature as possible.

Maths / Numeracy

Pupils will be expected to know all their times tables up to 12 x 12, off by heart and be able to recall them rapidly.
Other targets will include:- multiplying and divide decimals mentally by 10 or 100, and whole numbers by 1000.
Recognising squares of numbers and prime numbers to at least 20.
Reducing a fraction to its simplest form.
Finding simple percentages of small whole-number quantities.
Consolidating all strategies for mental calculations.
Using column addition and subtraction of numbers involving decimals.
Using short and long methods in multiplication and division.
Solving word problems involving numbers and quantities and explain methods and reasoning.
Calculating the perimeter and area of simple compound shapes that can be split into rectangle.

Geography
The topic areas covered in Geography in Year 6 are:
            Investigating rivers
            Mountains
            Cities

History
In History we concentrate on two periods, Ancient Greece and Britain since 1930’s.

I.C.T
The topic areas covered in I.C.T in Year 6 are:
            Developing presentational skills through word processing for different audiences, using a variety of styles.
            Producing step by step instructions through the use of flowcharts.
            Using the internet to select a range of information and deciding what is the correct information.
            Using spreadsheets and knowing that changing the variables will effect the result.
            Using databases – collecting and interpreting data.
            Using e-mail as a way to share information.

P.H.S.E.
The topic areas covered in P.S.H.E. in Year 6 are:
           Bullying, Friendships and Relationships
           Keeping healthy
           Citizenship

Science
The topic areas covered in Science in Year 6 are:
            Adapting to different habitats and food chains
            Micro-organisms
            Dissolving, evaporation and separating mixtures
            Reversible and irreversible changes
            Forces in action
            How we see things
            Changing circuits

In addition to the above subjects, the pupils are also taught by specialist subject teachers for Spanish, P.E., and Drama.

There are also a number of trips which take place during the school year which the children can participate in such visiting the theatre, the zoo and the cinema.

Year 6 studying English