Smitham Primary School

The curriculum teaches children skills and knowledge to ensure they have a secure understanding in all areas of learning; they can apply these and are prepared for the next stage on their learning journey, be that, transitioning into a new year group, key stage or secondary school.

Our exceptional and inclusive provision, both inside and out, promotes meaningful, first hand experiences which support pupil engagement and enthusiasm, resulting in high standards of learning in all areas of the curriculum for all pupils. 

In reading, our children explore rich texts through independent reading and also by listening to high quality books read by the teacher. We have installed a Reading Chalet and Story Zone which allow children access to 'quiet' reading areas and resources throughout the day, including lunchtime. Reading is also supported across the whole curriculum; children are expected to engage with tests that are subject specific: drawing out technical vocabulary and key pieces of information. 

In writing, our children become writers who are confident to write for a variety of purposes and to a range of audiences, including contributions to the CR5 publication (the local magazine) and our Learning blog and to the Mayor of London.  Writing is either based around a book or a cross-curricular theme.

Our maths curriculum engages our pupils and encourages them to develop a range of mathematical knowledge and skills, which can be applied to a variety of challenges, puzzles and real-life scenarios, ensuring deep thinking and mathematical enquiry. Our pupils are able to reason, investigate and create mathematical challenges. (Information about how we teach calculations is in the Curriculum tab under Parents' Guide.)

In computing we teach children a range of skills through a variety of different programs. Children are expected to design and sequence algorithms. They are given the opportunity to debug programs and solve problems using logical reasoning. We use our own esafety program ‘Would You…’ to develop children’s awareness of their responsibilities, while accessing online data and programs, and challenge their understanding of how to stay safe online.

Our ‘hands on’ science lessons ensure that pupils have the opportunity to acquire investigative and practical skills. We value and encourage children's thoughts and ideas and support them in taking ownership of their scientific investigations. This helps them to understand the processes of planning, conducting and evaluating experiments. Throughout this process, the children acquire the necessary knowledge but also learn to ask scientific questions and begin to appreciate the way in which science will affect the future on a personal, national, and global level.​​​

‘The topic based curriculum engages the pupils well. The curriculum is stimulating. The school provides a wide range of enrichment activities.’ (Ofsted, March 2017)