We love Art at Constantine and are proud of the rich curriculum we have tailored to inspire the children in our care.

Our curriculum is designed to immerse pupils in the work of local and international artists, who they will learn about and take inspiration from when creating their own works of art. Pupils will research and discuss the key ideas, techniques and practices of artists using the appropriate vocabulary and in reference to historical and cultural contexts. Each unit makes cross-curricular links with other subjects where possible to give pupils’ art a greater purpose and relevance.  We aim to provide our children with a real purpose and audience for pieces of art they create, such as showing them off in school or presenting them within the local community.

Throughout their art career at Constantine, pupils will have the experience of using a wide range of materials to develop and refine their skills and techniques in drawing, painting, printing and three-dimensional art. They will have the opportunity to experiment with a range of mark-making tools such as charcoal, pencils, pens, pastels and crayons as well as combining media such as fabric, paper and paints in collage to create a range of exciting artwork. Pupils will learn different printing techniques using paint and inks on paper and fabric. Drawing will be used to experiment, plan out ideas and make observations of photographs, real-life and others’ art as well to draw three-dimensional images using tone and shading as well as perspective. Pupils will be able to accurately mix colours and use appropriate brushes and techniques with water colours, gouache and acrylic.

Pupils will learn to think, work and speak like artists, critiquing their own and others’ artwork and using every opportunity to learn and improve on their creations as well as building on their skills over time to be competent and confident artists.

If you would like to discuss anything further, please do not hesitate to ask the class teacher for your child.

 

 

Having an awareness of and depth of skills in Computing is vital in today's modern world, with children facing an increasingly digital future.  We aim to engage our children in exciting, purposeful computing learning that gives them both the explicit knowledge and skills they need, such as an awareness of e-safety and coding, and also enables them to deliver high quality responses in other areas of the curriculum through creating digital artefacts.

We deliver a Computing curriculum that focuses on the three key areas of:

• Digital Literacy
• Computer Science
• Information and Communication Technology

Our children will learn about the fundamentals of how computer systems work, how important developments such as the internet operate, how to remain safe online, how to create increasingly complex outputs using coding that produce online and offline (real world) outputs and many other significant components that build their understanding.  In many cases this learning is integrated into our topic learning to give a genuine purpose such as using Crumbles to build a motorised vehicle to carry natural resources from one place to another, digitally altering images of local landmarks to Constantine or recording their own musical productions based on rainforest animals.

The curriculum is designed to build on prior learning and give children the opportunity to develop their skills and understanding over time, returning to concepts in an age relevant way and with a combination of online and offline learning where appropriate, so they are confident in their use of computing across all aspects of their lives.

If you would like to discuss anything further, please do not hesitate to ask the class teacher for your child.

 

 

 

Investigating, Designing, Making and Improving is what it’s all about! In Design Technology we investigate, plan, design, make and evaluate a range of items linked to our other curriculum subjects.

What the National Curriculum says about Design and Technology:

Purpose of study

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.

Aims

The national curriculum for design and technology aims to ensure that all pupils:
 

• develop the creative, technical and practical expertise needed to perform everyday tasks confidently and to participate successfully in an increasingly technological world
• build and apply a repertoire of knowledge, understanding and skills in order to design and make high-quality prototypes and products for a wide range of users
• critique, evaluate and test their ideas and products and the work of others
• understand and apply the principles of nutrition and learn how to cook.

If you would like to discuss anything further, please do not hesitate to ask the class teacher for your child.

 

 

 

Early Years Education

Every child deserves the best possible start in life and the support that enables them to fulfil their potential. Children develop quickly in the early years and a child’s experiences between birth and age five have a major impact on their future life chances. A secure, safe and happy childhood is important in its own right. Good parenting and high quality early learning together provide the foundation children need to make the most of their abilities and talents as they grow up.

Fal Class

At Constantine we follow the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) framework 2021. This is a statutory requirement for all schools. Our team of Foundation practitioners use on going assessment and observations of the children to develop a flexible curriculum. The curriculum is based on the children’s interests. This ensures that they are enthusiastic and motivated about their learning. Our Foundation Stage children have continuous access to both inside and outside throughout the day. We provide a carefully planned play-based curriculum which also maximises opportunities for children to develop their own lines of enquiry.

Phonics and reading are taught through the structured Read, Write Inc programme. This is a recognised scheme that ensures that all children become confident, independent and enthusiastic readers.  For more information on this programme, see our Phonics and Reading page.

Within the first six weeks of the Reception Year the children will complete the Reception Baseline Assessment. The Foundation Stage Profile is used to assess all children against the Early Learning Goals at the end of the Reception Year and any concerns with progress will be reported to parents promptly through parent/ teacher meetings. Fal Class actively encourages parental involvement in activities such as reading and trips and staff are available to speak to parents daily at drop off and pick up, via the home/school book and Class Dojo.

Four guiding principles shape practice in Fal Class. These are:

• Every child is a unique child, who is constantly learning and can be resilient, capable, confident and self-assured;
• Children learn to be strong and independent through positive relationships;
• Children learn and develop well in an enabling environment, in which their experiences respond to their individual needs and there is a strong partnership between practitioners and parents and/or carers; and
• Children develop and learn in different ways and at different rates. The education and care of all children in early years provision is paramount, including children with special educational needs and disabilities.

Learning in the Early Years

We believe that children learn best from practical experience and all areas of the Early Years' curriculum will involve plenty of hands-on learning both inside and outside.

There are seven areas of learning and development:

Communication and language development involves giving children opportunities to experience a rich language environment; to develop their confidence and skills in expressing themselves; and to speak and listen in a range of situations.

Physical development involves providing opportunities for young children to be active and interactive; and to develop their co-ordination, control, and movement. Children must also be helped to understand the importance of physical activity, and to make healthy choices in relation to food.

Personal, social and emotional development involves helping children to develop a positive sense of themselves, and others; to form positive relationships and develop respect for others; to develop social skills and learn how to manage their feelings; to understand appropriate behaviour in groups; and to have confidence in their own abilities.

Literacy development involves encouraging children to link sounds and letters and to begin to read and write. Children must be given access to a wide range of reading materials (books, poems, and other written materials) to ignite their interest.

Mathematics involves providing children with opportunities to develop and improve their skills in counting, understanding and using numbers, calculating simple addition and subtraction problems; and to describe shapes, spaces, and measures.

Understanding the world involves guiding children to make sense of their physical world and their community through opportunities to explore, observe and find out about people, places and the environment.

Expressive arts and design involves enabling children to explore and play with a wide range of media and materials, as well as providing opportunities and encouragement for sharing their thoughts, ideas and feelings through a variety of activities in art, music, movement, dance, role-play, and design and technology

Each area of learning and development must be implemented through planned, purposeful play and through a mix of adult-led and child-initiated activities. Play is essential for children’s development, building their confidence as they learn to explore, to think about problems, and relate to others. Children learn by leading their own play, and by taking part in play which is guided by adults

Transition

Before entry to the school in September, children will have opportunities to visit Fal class on a regular basis to become familiar with the new staff and surroundings. There will also be an EYFS meeting in the Summer term, to help familiarise parents with the procedures.

Constantine School maintains strong links to Constantine Pre-school who also operate from our grounds, so children who attend the pre-school are familiar with the staff and setting on entering school.

 

 

At Constantine we work hard to instil a joy of language into the hearts and minds of all our pupils.  English is taught creatively in all areas of the curriculum. It is divided into key areas:

Writing 

We have found that the teaching of writing works best when it is embedded in speaking, listening and reading activities. We tailor a range of strategies to deliver a writing curriculum that is skills based but aimed at developing vocabulary, stimulating creativity and giving the children the building blocks that they need to be able to write with purpose and accuracy.  

Handwriting and spelling are taught daily. We link all our writing to the class topic or class books to ensure immersion in language and examples of techniques used by real authors in real books for children to ‘magpie’.  Children need to have exposure to a wide range of stories and genres of writing to develop a structure to build upon and add their own ideas.  

SPaG (Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar) 

Children learn spellings through focusing on spellings patterns and applying spelling rules in their writing. Children are given time to explore the spelling rules. Children in KS2 have explicit SPaG lessons, which are in addition to their literacy lessons.  

During SPaG lessons, children will learn about word classes, sentence construction, punctuation and the appropriate grammatical terms of their year group. 

Reading 

Children will learn to recognise, understand and enjoy the written word and develop a love of books. Phonics is taught in the EYFS and KS1 and is taught through a range of resources including the Read Write Inc scheme. We use a range of different banded books to support and develop early reading skills and as children progress they begin to read books from our Accelerated Reading scheme.  See our Reading page for further details of our approach to reading. 

The best way you can help your children to read easily and with enjoyment is to talk and listen to them as much as possible, answering questions from an early age and trying to involve your children in a variety of interesting experiences. Above all, read to your children as often as you can. Even when your children can read for themselves, do not stop reading aloud to them. You will be able to introduce them to texts that are beyond their reach and which will stimulate them and extend their vocabulary and experience. 

At Constantine Primary School, we use the ‘Read Write Inc’ phonics programme designed by Ruth Miskin to teach early reading. The structured programme helps all children learn to read fluently and at speed so they can focus on developing their skills in comprehension, vocabulary and spelling. At the core of the programme is the lively and vigorous teaching of synthetic phonics. Children learn the 44 common sounds in the English language and how to sound-blend words for reading (decoding) at the same time as developing handwriting skills and spelling (encoding).

We have found that by using the Read Write Inc. programme, children experience success from the very beginning of their reading journey. Lively phonic books are then closely matched to their increasing knowledge of phonics and as children re-read stories their fluency increases. The stories include prompts to support thinking out loud and discussions, helping children develop the skills they need to be successful storytellers.

Read Write Inc. lessons are fun and engaging and all staff who deliver the reading sessions are fully trained. The lessons are taught daily and pupils are regularly assessed and grouped to enable appropriate challenge and pace throughout the programme.

The documents below, show the key objectives for each child in the different areas of English.  If you have any questions about the content and how to support your child, please contact the class teacher.

 

 

 

 

Bonjour!

Children learn French from Years 3 to 6, with children in EYFS and KS1 learning some basic greetings. There is a clear progressive curriculum in place that uses a variety of strategies to engage and inspire the children.

If you would like to discuss anything further, please do not hesitate to ask the class teacher for your child.

 

At Constantine we strive to give our pupils a life-long interest in the lives of other people from around the world, a sense of their own identity and an understanding of their responsibilities as a global citizen (One of the key drivers for our curriculum).  Our half-termly topics are often led by a geography focus and there is a cross curricular approach across all subjects.  Every class also completes a local study each year and this is sometimes focused on the geography of Cornwall and Constantine’s placement within the county and wider world. 

Our pupils are equipped 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 children move through school they deepen their understanding of the interaction between physical and human processes, and of the formation and use of landscapes and environments. Alongside this knowledge, children develop the skills to collect, analyse and communicate with a range of data gathered through experiences of fieldwork that deepen their understanding of geographical processes.

Through Geography, we are able to teach pupils about our ecological responsibilities; for example children learn about local threats to our coastline in year 3, the impact of global warming in year 5 and deforestation in year 6.

Topics all include opportunities for children to develop their enquiry skills. Pupils are taught to ask questions and learn more about other places by comparing different photographs, maps, charts, data, television programmes, Internet sites such as ‘Google Earth’ and by having first hand experiences. Fieldwork forms an important part of our geography learning and gives the children the opportunity to apply many of the skills that they have learned.

If you would like to discuss anything further, please do not hesitate to ask the class teacher for your child.

 

 

At Constantine we aim to develop a child’s interest and curiosity about the past and increase their knowledge of different periods of history. Children should acquire an understanding of events in this country as a coherent, chronological narrative and gain an understanding of significant events in the wider world during their time here at school. History is often the starting point for our entire half-termly topic and plays a key role in giving context to the rest of our learning.  Children will have the opportunity to learn about a range of different historical periods and societies – from the ancient Egyptians, to Vikings, to the Tudors and the history of the 20^th century. We also focus on specific individuals from history who have made a significant impact, such as Rosa Parks and Florence Nightingale.  Every class also completes a local study each year and this is often focused on the history of Cornwall and the context of Constantine. 

All children will develop analytical and evaluative skills when learning about the past and understand the role that evidence plays in the making of historical claims. Our history curriculum aims to impart knowledge of the past alongside the skills needed to interpret, compare, question and evaluate it.  The children also begin to learn how to analyse historical sources to help them decide how reliable they are and the need to cross-reference with multiple sources.

To enrich our study of history, we regularly arrange school trips to places of interest connected to the topic, learn through drama, role play and also invite experts into school to share their knowledge.

If you would like to discuss anything further, please do not hesitate to ask the class teacher for your child.

 

Maths at Constantine School is dynamic, practical, exciting, creative and challenging.  There is a strong focus on learning and recalling number facts, multiplication and division facts. We endeavour to ensure that our children are confident and numerate mathematicians.

Teachers work hard to match what we learn in Maths to our creative curriculum, as well as applying knowledge and skills in other areas such as the school garden, technology and everyday life. We encourage the children to talk, explain and discuss their mathematical thinking and skills – this links with the way we are currently working in our classes through the ‘Mastery approach’. This approach enables the children to learn through Fluency, Problem Solving and Reasoning, ensuring a deeper understanding of the concepts they are learning.

White Rose Schemes of Learning - Please follow this link if you would like to see the Scheme of Learning for each of our year groups.

For parents who are looking to help their child at home, please take a look at the videos produced by Werrington Primary School on how to use the methods that we teach in school. They cover the four operations that are learned as the children move through each year group and through the school. We are very grateful to Werrington for allowing us to share the resources that they have made, and hope that they will help all parents.

If you would like to discuss anything further, please do not hesitate to ask the class teacher for your child.

Useful Maths resources to access from home

NumberBots

TTRS

Hit the Button

Variety of Maths games

Daily 10

 

 

 

KIRFs (Key Instant Recall Facts)

KIRFs (Key Instant Recall Facts) are designed to support the development of the mental skills that underpin much of the mathematics work in school. They are particularly useful when calculating, be it adding, subtracting, multiplying or dividing. 

Each year group is allocated up to six facts to focus on throughout the year, in line with age related expectations. It is important that they know these facts thoroughly and can recall them instantly. The KIRFs are designed to be a set of facts that need to be learnt thoroughly as they build on each other year on year. Again, we stress that the children must aim to know their KIRFs inside out, back to front and with instant recall. 

We strongly encourage you to engage with your children in the learning of their KIRFs and find fun and practical ways to do this. There are many online tools that you can use such as Times Table Rockstars (TTRS) for Years 2-6, Daily 10 and Hit the Button which can both be found through these web links.

Daily 10

Hit the Button

TTRS

 

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, performing and singing, creating and allowing them to compose, and to listen.
*Taken from the ISM The National Curriculum for Music: An assessment and progression framework – Dr Alison Daubney and Professor Martin Fautley.

 

In 2011, the a hotly-debated UNICEF report asked children what three things made them happy. The top three replies were:

• time with family,
• friendships,
• and being outdoors.

We are passionate about using the outdoors as a space for learning.

 

PSHE – Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education is a package of vital knowledge and skills for our children – a toolkit for coping with real life.

It includes a huge range of subjects such as keeping safe, relationships, managing feelings, healthy eating, making sensible choices, and respect for others, plus a firm grounding in the basic values of which we would all approve. In fact, without a good grasp of PSHE principles, it is difficult to imagine our children achieving the happy, fulfilled, independent and healthy, adulthood that we all would wish for them; as useful members of society, able to make and enjoy good relationships and to make sensible decisions.

PHSE is much more than just the set pieces in the programme. Much of it is taught unobtrusively, every day, in every lesson, at school camp, in the assemblies, the clubs, the teams and the class room displays. It is delivered opportunistically by motivated staff sharing a common set of values. It happens whenever a small disagreement is resolved, or there is encouragement to share, to help, to do as you would be done by, to see things from another’s point of view, or to try harder at something new and brilliant.

In addition, PSHE is delivered through a dedicated programme called 'Jigsaw' that provides a progressive series of lessons across a year and between each year group.  These take the form of six units, delivered one at a time each half-term, and covering Being Me in My World, Celebrating Difference, Dreams and Goals, Healthy Me, Relationships and Changing Me.

If you would like to discuss anything further, please do not hesitate to ask the class teacher for your child.

 

Information and Resources for Parents/Carers

 

 

Physical Education (P.E.) and Sport form an integral part of our school life, both within the curriculum and beyond. We want to teach children the importance of a healthy, active lifestyle and the benefits that it can bring.

P.E. in Kernow Learning schools is all about developing physical literacy and a love of movement at primary level, with a focus on leadership skills, health and wellbeing. This puts P.E. at the heart of our educational agenda– ensuring young people are well enough to learn and have developed a range of personal competencies that will help them in the classroom and beyond.

Kernow Learning Trust is keen to address the negative stereotype of P.E. being all about prowess in sport and rather reposition it to enhance lifelong skills.

Constantine is part of the Penryn and Peninsula School Partnership along with 8 other Primary Schools. The majority of the sporting festivals and tournaments that we take part in are organised and run by Penryn College and our links and transition to Penryn as a secondary are very strong.

We use the REAL PE programme for teaching PE across the school. This ensures that there is a consistency and clear progression in key skills. Children apply these skills in a variety of team games.

Years 3 to 6 have swimming lessons at Culdrose for a set number of weeks each year, with our aim to have every child being able to competently swim above the recommended 25m by the time they leave Year 6.

At Constantine, we enjoy taking part in lots of different sports in and out of school. We have our amazing netball, football and cross country teams alongside our competitive swimmers, gymnasts and athletes who take part in events across the county and inter-school events with local schools.

If you would like to discuss anything further, please do not hesitate to ask the class teacher for your child.

 

At the heart of our curriculum is the development of reading. At Constantine School we are passionate and committed to raising the profile and attainment of reading throughout the school. We aim for the children to develop a love for literature and value the importance of reading as a gateway to a wealth of knowledge about the world around them. As well as the teaching of reading through synthetic phonics, we aim to develop each child’s comprehension skills through daily whole class or small group reading lessons centred round high quality texts which link to the class topic and also provide a stimulus for writing.  These lessons focus  on developing vocabulary, applying reading strategies, generating discussion and careful questioning to enable children to infer and deduct information from the text. Throughout their time at school, all children will experience a range of quality texts, from both current and classic authors and have the joy of exploring them in shared reading experiences with their peers. Teachers read aloud to the children daily to further develop a love of reading. 

Children are able to take home a reading book that is well matched to their reading ability based on their RWI band or teacher assessed level. Children can also choose a book from the library collection, which they can either read themselves or share with an adult at home. 

All classrooms display a range of texts, including topic related books, as well as a selection of carefully chosen stories and non-fiction books.  Each term, we select from the pink loan boxes from the Cornwall Library Service, which provide a range of inspiring books and texts that link to our topic. These are used as a stimulus and focus in the children’s learning, as well as being displayed in the classroom for them to freely choose and read.  The children are encouraged to communicate their opinions about books they have read through book reviews and by commenting in their Reading Record which is shared with their parent or carer and their class teachers. 

Special events in school such as World Book Day play an integral role in fostering a love of reading. Authors and storytellers visit the school, children take part in workshops at school and at local organisations, visit the local bookshop and library and children and staff dress up as their favourite book character.  

Reading is the one skill we want all children to develop to the best of their ability - as it is the key to all learning.  We aim for children to become independent and confident readers, so that they develop a love of reading.

 

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Read Write Inc (RWI)

Starting in EYFS, we use Read, Write Inc. as our systematic approach to the learning of phonics.  There is a really talented and trained group of adults ready to support all children and help them on their reading journey. Children are checked every 6 weeks and the groups are adjusted to meet their next steps. All children take part in the national Y1 phonics check.

RWI is a dynamic programme that teaches children to read and write through a consistent, whole-school approach. First, children learn the common sounds in the English language and how to sound-blend words for reading; at the same time they develop skills in handwriting and spelling. They progress to read and comprehend lively storybooks containing words that they can decode to ensure they achieve early success in reading.

 

How do we prioritise reading?

Reading underpins our whole curriculum and is visible in every classroom in school. All classes highlight and display recommended books to read, texts that link to topic learning and key authors identified. All classes access the school library each week and we work closely with the local library and local bookshops to enrich the reading experiences of all children in school.

Children have daily guided reading lessons using texts that link to their topic learning to ensure that they are immersed in the language of the topic.

All children are read to daily by their teacher and opportunities for additional reading experiences are woven into the school week. All adults in school talk enthusiastically and knowledgably about books with children and model the joy found in reading.

How do we promote a love of reading?

We provide such rich and varied reading experiences for children that all pupils are able to develop a love of reading during their time at school. Books and authors are celebrated and our guided reading promotes a sense of shared discovery and exploration of texts as children get the opportunity to discuss, investigate and to develop their own opinions and ideas in response to the books that they encounter.

We celebrate World Book Day each year to help to widen the range of experiences that we are able to offer. We work with Falmouth Library to promote their summer reading challenge each year and celebrate children who take part.

How do we teach phonics from the start?

We follow the Read Write Inc. phonics programme, beginning in Reception as soon as children start school. This prompt start ensures that all children learn to read as quickly as possible. Children are regularly assessed and daily phonics lessons are delivered in small, targeted groups.  As a school, we have invested in the Ruth Miskin training portal to ensure that our use of the programme is as current and focused as possible.  

How do we make sure that pupils make progress?

We carry out regular phonics assessments as part of our Read Write Inc. programme and those children who make slower than expected progress in these assessments are targeted for additional support. Children in Key Stage 2 regularly take Star reading tests to assess their comprehension and help to set the appropriate level of reading book.  All children in school complete assessments once a term and the data from this is analysed so that those children who need additional input to make good progress can be supported.

How do we support pupils to catch up quickly?

Teaching all children to read as quickly as possible once they start school is a priority for all at Constantine. Assessment for learning enables staff to quickly identify gaps and barriers to learning so that targeted support can be put in place. Daily phonics top up is delivered to children who need additional practice and we deliver additional targeted support to children who would benefit from it. We run workshops for parents to help them to be able to support phonics learning at home. The SENCO works closely with class teachers to ensure that any specific barriers to reading individuals have are reduced through targeted support.

How do we match the pupils’ reading books to their phonics knowledge?

Children in EYFS and KS1 who are on the Read Write Inc. phonics programme have decodable reading books to take home that link directly to their Read Write Inc. phonics level to ensure that they match their phonics knowledge perfectly. Children who have completed the Read Write Inc. phonics programme have their reading assessed using the Oxford Primary Reading Assessment and are matched to reading books accordingly.

How do we train staff to be reading experts?

Most TAs and teachers have completed Read Write Inc. training and the school has invested additional funds into purchasing the Rusk Miskin online training portal. Those adults currently delivering Read Write Inc. have their own personal pathway through the online training portal that is specific to the groups that they are teaching and to their own strengths and areas for development. Read Write Inc. master classes are delivered when needed to ensure skills and knowledge are kept current.

Recommended Books

Click on the pdf links below and you will be able to open links to books for relevant year groups.

https://www.booksfortopics.com/ages/

 

 

Today’s children and young people are growing up in an increasingly complex world and living their lives seamlessly on and offline. This presents many positive and exciting opportunities, but also challenges and risks. In this environment, children and young people need to know how to be safe and healthy, and how to manage their academic, personal and social lives in a positive way. This is why Relationships Education is compulsory in all primary schools in England.

In our school the key building blocks of healthy, respectful relationships, focusses on family and friendships, in all contexts, including online. This will sit alongside the essential understanding of how to be healthy. All of the above, plans support the wider learning we provide in helping to foster pupil
wellbeing and develop resilience and character that we know are fundamental to pupils being happy, successful and productive members of society. Central to this is pupils’ ability to believe that they can achieve goals, both academic and personal; to stick to tasks that will help them achieve those goals, even when the reward may be distant or uncertain; and to recover from knocks and challenging periods in their lives. This is complemented by development of personal attributes including kindness, integrity, generosity, and honesty. We have endeavoured to ensure the content is proportionate and deliverable.

This area of the curriculum is one that represents a huge opportunity to help our children and young people develop. The knowledge and attributes gained will support their own, and others’, wellbeing and attainment and help young people to become successful and happy adults who make a meaningful contribution to society.

If you would like to discuss anything further, please do not hesitate to ask the class teacher for your child.

 

At Constantine, we follow the Cornwall Agreed Syllabus 2020-25 for Religion & Worldviews. The principal aim of religious education is to explore what people believe and what difference this makes to how they live, so that pupils can gain the knowledge, understanding and skills needed to handle questions raised by religion and belief, reflecting on their own ideas and ways of living.

Through Religion & Worldviews we also provide children with the opportunity to further explore British Values and RSHE ideas. The children discuss current affairs and learn about tolerance, inclusion and respect for other races, religions and beliefs.

What is Religion and Worldviews, and why do we learn about it?

Religion and Worldviews explores big questions about life; it finds out what different people believe and the difference this makes to how they live.

Religion and Worldviews helps us to make sense of religion and belief, reflecting on our own ideas and ways of living.

Our approach at Constantine

Our approach to the teaching of Religion and Worldviews in Constantine Primary School is built around the Cornwall Agreed Syllabus’ three main aims:

1. Making sense of a range of religious beliefs
2. Understanding the impact and significance of religious and non-religious beliefs
3. Making connections between religious and non-religious beliefs, concepts, practices and ideas

In our Reception classes, children will encounter Christianity and other faiths present in their local community. In Key Stage 1 children will start exploring Christianity, Judaism, and Islam, in more depth. They will expand their knowledge of these, alongside Hinduism, in Key Stage 2.

The Cornwall Agreed Syllabus uses a Spiral Curriculum approach – whereby pupils have the opportunity to revisit the same themes and religions. As they progress throughout the school, they will explore concepts at a deeper level and with increasing complexity. This enables pupils to consolidate and build upon their existing knowledge, whilst deepening their understanding and developing new skills.

We teach using a variety of exciting and engaging methods, which includes the use of drama and role play, stories, art and music. We provide opportunities for our pupils to go on educational visits and invite a range of visitors to the school to enhance their learning experiences.

Links to other subjects

Religion and Worldviews plays a key role in supporting our pupil’s spiritual, moral, social and cultural development, as well as providing important opportunities to explore British values.

Pupils’ literacy and oracy skills are promoted throughout all of our Religion and Worldviews lessons – with an opportunity to engage in a range of written tasks, alongside verbal discussions and debates.

At Constantine we interweave many of our topic subjects throughout our delivery of Religion and Worldviews, including Computing, Art and Music, in order to ensure that experiences are engaging and meaningful for our pupils.

Collective Worship

At Constantine there is a daily act of worship, which is either whole school or class/key stage based. This aims to make links with the themes explored within the Religion and Worldviews curriculum. We additionally provide opportunities for pupils to explore different festivals and celebrations throughout the year, and relate these to the religions that they are studying.

Right to withdraw

Whilst our approach to Religion and Worldviews encompasses a range of religious and non-religious viewpoints, parents have the right to withdraw their child from Religion and Worldviews lessons, or any part of the Religion and Worldview's curriculum. This must be requested in writing to the Headteacher.

If you would like to discuss anything further, please do not hesitate to ask the class teacher for your child.

 

At Constantine we strive to provide a high-quality science education that develops children’s understanding of the world through the scientific disciplines of biology, chemistry and physics.  At primary level, these areas are all encompassed within the umbrella of 'science' but we seek to encourage a questioning mind, critical thinking and enthusiasm for exploring the world around them.

Much of our science learning is led by a three stage process:

• "Wow!" - Some form of exciting or engaging introduction to a scientific concept
• "How?" - Encouraging the children to try to explain what they've seen using their own knowledge or supporting them to explore this
• "Now..." - Taking the children forward with their learning so they understand why it is important and how it fits into the world around them

We seek to provide children with scientific knowledge, methodologies, and processes but also to give them the real world uses of this science. Our children are encouraged to recognise the power of rational explanation through exciting investigations, which build on their natural curiosity.

We provide a range of different types of scientific enquiry throughout children’s time at Constantine and also encourage open-ended questioning, where they decide how to try to find answer. It is important children are not always directly guided to the ‘right’ answer and they realise that some of the most significant scientific advancements occurred from mistakes or someone saying ‘What if…..?’

The children are encouraged to:

• observe carefully;
• to record their observations in a variety of ways;
• to devise theories to explain their observations;
• to experiment and test;
• to analyse results,
• and to draw conclusions.

We believe that as well as being able to understand a scientific enquiry for themselves, it is important our children can also explain this coherently to someone else, using the correct vocabulary.

At Constantine we are passionate that a broad and balanced science education is the entitlement of all children, regardless of ethnic origin, gender, class, aptitude or disability. Enabling all children to access a scientific education should also encourage open-mindedness, self-assessment, perseverance and responsibility, which are skills they can apply in all walks of life.

If you would like to discuss anything further, please do not hesitate to ask the class teacher for your child.

 

Since 2021, Constantine has also been part of an Ogden Trust science partnership with seven other schools from across Kernow Learning.  The partnership offers funding and support to groups of schools that are committed to enhancing physics teaching and learning, in particular by raising the profile of science at Primary level through exciting and engaging activities.

 

The partnership works alongside Falmouth, Leedstown, St Merryn, King Charles, Mabe, St Agnes and St Francis schools to conduct regular professional development for members of staff, to run competitions like creating posters for Spaceport Cornwall and operating science clubs to enthuse learners in every school.

 

In recent years, projects that have been funded by Ogden Trust and operated by the schools include:

• A whole school "Science Week" with our sister partnership, which is run across eleven other schools in Kernow Learning - This included whole school investigation, an online science fair and science competitions.
• Establishing Science Ambassadors in every school with responsibilities to support their classes and raise the profile of science.  Children also had the opportunity to receive training from an Ogden Trust representative alongside other Ambassadors from partnership schools.
• Funding science book clubs so that children have high-quality, engaging science texts to support their own interests and the learning happening in classes.
• Developing links with external providers such as secondary schools, colleges and universities to access their expertise and resources.

Our projects for this year include:

 

• Setting up science bags that can be resourced easily within school and then sent home for families to complete together, encouraging science learning and discussion.
• A Physics Olympics event with qualifying events in every school and then a "Grand Final" between teams from every Partnership school.
• Another "Science Week" across the entire trust with exciting competitions, events and visitors.

At our Science Ambassador training, we learned about an object's centre of balance.

We were very excited to take part in our first ever Physics Olympics final with the aim of a team from one of seven schools winning the title of "Ogden Trust Falmouth Partnership Physics Olympics winners 2023".

The Constantine team competed admirably in four heats for:

- Tallest (Paper tower)
- Fastest (To empty 1.5l of water)
- Strongest (Boat to hold the weight of 5p coins)
- Longest (Marshmallow catapult)

All of the children showed skills in good communication, problem solving, working under pressure, perseverance and being creative in their learning.

We were incredibly proud to finish 1st overall and take home the title!

We are very proud to have had our recent Physics Olympics event shared nationally on the Ogden Trust website:

https://www.ogdentrust.com/about-us/news/tallest-fastest-strongest-longest/