English

English has a pre-eminent place in education and in society. A high-quality education in English will teach pupils to speak and write fluently so that they can communicate their ideas and emotions to others and through their reading and listening, others can communicate with them. Through reading in particular, pupils have a chance to develop culturally, emotionally, intellectually, socially and spiritually. Literature, especially, plays a key role in such development. Reading also enables pupils both to acquire knowledge and to build on what they already know. All the skills of language are essential to participating fully as a member of society; pupils, therefore, who do not learn to speak, read and write fluently and confidently are effectively disenfranchised.

Aims

The overarching aim for English in the national curriculum is to promote high standards of language and literacy by equipping pupils with a strong command of the spoken and written word, and to develop their love of literature through widespread reading for enjoyment. The national curriculum for English aims to ensure that all pupils:

• read easily, fluently and with good understanding
• develop the habit of reading widely and often, for both pleasure and information
• acquire a wide vocabulary, an understanding of grammar and knowledge of linguistic conventions for reading, writing and spoken language
• appreciate our rich and varied literary heritage
• write clearly, accurately and coherently, adapting their language and style in and for a range of contexts, purposes and audiences
• use discussion in order to learn; they should be able to elaborate and explain clearly their understanding and ideas
• are competent in the arts of speaking and listening, making formal presentations, demonstrating to others and participating in debate.

Reading

Our aim is that your child will become a confident independent reader with a love of books - we know that children should develop the ability to read, understand and respond to all types of print. 

The school reading scheme includes 'Oxford Reading Tree, Rising Stars and on-line material via 'Phonics Bug'.  We also have a wide range of books that have been colour banded into age and national curriculum levels by the library service.  

Children learn phonics in class 1 by following the Government produced 'Letters & Sounds' and 'Jolly Phonics'.

The school works closely with Cumbria Library Service and receives termly visits from the library van along with topic boxes and a variety of reading challenges.  The service re-banded all school books prior to us making a large investment in new books for both classes in January 2020. 

Writing

Your child will be taught a broad range of language skills, including spelling, grammar, writing, and punctuation. They will be encouraged to write both imaginatively and factually, with much of the written work being done in other subject areas.

Maths

Mathematics is a creative and highly inter-connected discipline that has been developed over centuries, providing the solution to some of history’s most intriguing problems. It is essential to everyday life, critical to science, technology and engineering, and necessary for financial literacy and most forms of employment. A high-quality mathematics education therefore provides a foundation for understanding the world, the ability to reason mathematically, an appreciation of the beauty and power of mathematics, and a sense of enjoyment and curiosity about the subject.

Aims

The national curriculum for mathematics aims to ensure that all pupils:

• become fluent in the fundamentals of mathematics, including through varied and frequent practice with increasingly complex problems over time, so that pupils develop conceptual understanding and the ability to recall and apply knowledge rapidly and accurately.
• reason mathematically by following a line of enquiry, conjecturing relationships and generalisations, and developing an argument, justification or proof using mathematical language.
• can solve problems by applying their mathematics to a variety of routine and non routine problems with increasing sophistication, inlcuding breaking down problems into a series of simpler steps and persevering in seeking solutions.

​Pupils at Crosby Ravensworth are taught core mental maths skills each morning through Andrell Education's 'Big Maths' programme.  These skills are applied in maths lessons which follow the Collins 'Busy Ants' scheme in both classes.

Science

The teaching of Science for your child will be based, as far as possible, on the immediate experience of their own environment. They should acquire the skills and attitude that enables them to observe carefully and systematically and find patterns in observations, to note similarities and differences, to make generalisations, to set up fair tests and devise simple experiments and to use tools for a planned purpose.

Religious Education

As we are a Church of England school, Crosby Ravensworth considers Religious Education to be a core subject.  We follow units of work from Questful RE (Diocese of Blackburn) and Understanding Christianity.  The children explore the major aspects of Christianity and other world faiths. The children learn about the beliefs, customs and practices to develop a deeper understanding and awareness. Parents have a right to withdraw their children from RE.   Our policies on RE and collective worship can be read on our policies page here.