Foundation Subjects

History Intent Statement

At The Avenue School pupils learn about changes that have occurred in their own lives and the way of life of their family or others around them. For example how do we change as we grow? And how do our families adapt to changes to family life over time.  Pupils also learn about the lives of people from the more distant past who may have lived in the local area or elsewhere in Britain.  Pupils learn about important past events in British history as well as events that have occurred in the wider world.  Reading provides a powerful medium for researching the past.

All pupils have opportunities to explore the local area. Visits to local parks, buildings and shops offer The Avenue pupils opportunities to develop their understanding of both who and where we are.

Pupils attending The Avenue School benefit most from direct experience which may be provided through opportunities to explore the locality of the school as well as opportunities to learn from reading.  Our curriculum is mapped to ensure that all pupils explore historical themes from a wide subject perspective.

We focus upon developing social awareness by learning about the features of past societies and events, and through study of the experiences of peoples of varying religious, ethnic and cultural traditions.

An understanding of diversity is promoted at our school by providing pupils with the opportunity to explore the history of Britain and the wider world and to learn from our vibrant community.

Geography Intent Statement

At The Avenue School our Geography curriculum offers opportunities for pupils to develop a factual base of information about the world and the local community.  Pupils are encouraged to learn about maps and atlases and read for information, but particularly to engage with IT in order to find their way and develop understanding of places.  The pupils use geographical enquiry and skills to develop aspects of geographical knowledge and understanding.

During their time at The Avenue School pupils will have the opportunity to discover that Geography offers important life skills such as being able to, observe, investigate, navigate and have fun. The pupils will look at the world gaining understanding of seasons and weathers.  We provide opportunities to go on journeys in the local environment.

The curriculum is mapped to support the development of pupil’s geographical understanding, knowledge and skills about locations and places, including both physical and human aspects and we explore similarities and differences between places.

At The Avenue we are fully committed to enabling our pupils to develop habits that will protect our environment for future generations.

PE Intent Statement

PE is essential to The Avenue School’s curriculum offer as a way to promote pupils being healthy, keeping active, and understanding their own bodies and how their body moves in a space.  PESSPA (Physical education, school sport and physical activity) supports wellbeing and mental health and helps pupils to develop hobbies and habits that will benefit pupils throughout life. Many of the skills learned during PE are transferable to home and the wider community. Dressing skills promote independence, whilst the ability to play and compete alongside peers helps establish friendships and relationships through a shared enjoyment of activity. The pupils will understand that rules and instructions are important and that participation and competition can be fun. Pupils have the opportunity to set personal bests and compete against themselves in order to feel a sense of achievement and pride as they improve.

Physical activity is embedded throughout the day with the use of movement breaks and OT resources and activities to meet the individual needs of all pupils.  All pupils have at least 1.5 hours of Physical Education a week including a PE lesson which covers strands such as gymnastics, dance and games and a yoga session. During these lessons pupils use a range of equipment to build fundamental movement skills. Beyond this pupils are also offered a variety of enrichment activities during their time including horse riding and skiing.  The opportunities provided lay the foundations for a healthy lifestyle which will support pupils to manage their own weight and health as they get older.

Computing Intent Statement

At The Avenue School we recognise that computing skills are integral to enhancing the present and future lives of our pupils, therefore computing is an essential part of our broad and balanced curriculum. Our Computing curriculum offers our pupils engaging and fun opportunities to develop the skills required to equip them for an ever changing digital world.

At The Avenue pupils learn computing skills at every opportunity, including during cross curricular sessions in conjunction with other subjects.

The Computing curriculum is broken down into 3 strands: Digital Literacy, Computer Science and Information Technology. Pupils progress in each of these areas as they move through the school.

Digital Literacy: Our pupils are taught how to keep safe and be responsible while using technology.

Computer Science: We introduce our pupils to understanding how computers and networks work. We provide opportunities to learn basic computer programming, from switch activated devices, remote control vehicles and simple floor robots right up to more complex programming where appropriate.

Information Technology: Our pupils learn about the use of computers for functional purposes, such as creating content, or collecting and presenting information, or using search technology.

Proficiency in the use of digital devices can enable many pupils at The Avenue to achieve levels of effective communication and we work closely with our SaLT Team to ensure that each pupil who would benefit is enabled to access the digital resources that are right for them.

Art and Design Intent Statement

At The Avenue School, we value art and design as an important part of the children’s entitlement to a broad and balanced curriculum.

Through art we can provide the opportunity to develop children’s curiosity, creativity and cultural identity.  We ensure our pupils have opportunity to express their ideas and engage with their interests and experiences. Our pupils will develop knowledge of techniques and mediums, whilst engaging with the work of famous artists, designers and cultures.  The work produced by the pupils will be shared and celebrated with others through displays and exhibition.

Our goal is to develop a skill and interest that could become a hobby for life or support pupils in future careers.

Science Intent Statement

At The Avenue School we recognise the importance of science in every aspect of daily life. We want to instil knowledge and understanding of our world through the teaching of science.

We use scientific exploration to promote natural curiosity and engagement in learning about the physical environment and living organisms. In our science curriculum we want pupils to become enquiry based learners who learn through exploratory play, scientific enquiry, and engagement in learning about life processes and living things, materials and their properties and physical processes.

Pupils will learn to observe, predict and anticipate, describe, and explain scientific concepts.

All scientific activities are engaging and exciting and supported by text that will promote reading across the curriculum.

Music Intent Statement

Music is a very important aspect of The Avenue’s curriculum.  Many of our pupils respond to and access learning through music, song and rhyme.  Songs support learning across the curriculum whether singing “hello” to our friends and developing our communication skills,  learning rhymes that support preparation for learning phonics in order to read or listening to number songs to develop mathematical concepts. 

Our pupils also have opportunities to make their own music and express themselves using instruments.  This enables pupils to convey their feelings and emotions.  We ensure that our pupils hear music from different cultures and provide enrichment opportunities where our pupils can work alongside musicians.