English at Ocklynge follows a text-based approach in which pupils enjoy a broad and diverse range of high-quality literature. We believe in not just teaching children how to read but also why. We think that providing children with immersive, memorable, and meaningful reading experiences encourages a love of reading that will last a lifetime. We believe that exposing children to the best texts is the most effective way to nurture and develop them as both readers and writers.
If we want children to be the best writers, they need to have read the best texts. We think that teaching children how to analyse quality texts not only makes their writing more purposeful but also develops their independence and cultivates a love and appreciation for great writers. Teaching children to read as a writer helps them make purposeful and thoughtful choices in their writing. Children’s reading supports their writing, and their writing supports their reading.
We believe that selecting high-quality texts takes children beyond their immediate environment and immerses them in the world of literature. Children learn to examine their own lives and the lives of others through the prism of fiction. This develops their cultural capital as they explore worlds that are unfamiliar to them and compare them to their own. In this way, literature not only develops children’s oracy and literacy but is also critical in enhancing their social and emotional well-being.
At Ocklynge, texts have been chosen to align with our school values: respect, responsibility, resilience, and reflection.
For example:
English at Ocklynge is taught as a discrete subject. This approach allows us to structure the English curriculum in a way that ensures children experience and analyse the best texts. It also ensures that texts are selected based on several factors, such as the progression of difficulty, cultural representation, diversity of narrative structure, and coverage of the National Curriculum. Separating English from other subjects enables children to write creatively without being bound by subject knowledge. While children apply the skills they learn from English to other subjects, this is separate from the English curriculum. In history, children learn to write like historians. In science, children apply their literacy skills to write like scientists. In all subjects, reading, writing, and oracy serve as curriculum enablers. This is distinct from the study of English, which focuses on developing a love and appreciation for great literature.
Maths at Ocklynge follows a mastery pedagogy and pupils take part in a mathematics lesson each day. This mastery approach gives pupils the best chance of securing both deep understanding of mathematical concepts and fluency in applying them with pupils building coherent learning with small steps based on: representation and structure; mathematical thinking; variation and fluency.
We believe mathematics teaches pupils how to make sense of the world around them through developing their ability to apply their knowledge when calculating, reasoning and solving problems and we use the CPA approach to support this. We aim to nurture a love for Maths among our pupils, equipping them with the essential knowledge and skills that will promote lifelong learning and retention of these key mathematical concepts.
We think creatively about the mathematical experiences we offer our pupils, enabling them to understand relationships and patterns in both number and space in their everyday lives. Teachers use a bespoke curriculum based on a wide variety of resources which develops children’s knowledge sequentially throughout Key Stage 2 revisiting, remembering and applying earlier skills whilst learning new skills to achieve the objectives set by the National Curriculum for mathematics (2014) and Development Matters (2021).
At Ocklynge our carefully sequenced, progressive curriculum is designed to help children develop a sense of excitement and curiosity about the world around them. It aims to help children understand the vital role of science in changing the lives of human beings and its role in the world’s future prosperity. We aim to harness children’s natural inquisitiveness by encouraging them to raise their own scientific questions and answer them using a range of different enquiry types: classification, observation, research, pattern seeking, comparative and fair testing and scientific modelling. We want our children to build a solid base of practical disciplinary skills that will underpin their secondary education and beyond.
Our young scientists will investigate different substantive topics during their time at Ocklynge. These include Animals and Humans, Living Things and their Habitats, Forces, Properties of Materials, Light, Sound, Plants, Earth and Space, Evolution and Inheritance and Electricity. Our topics all begin with a Big Question which will be answered by the children using a carefully selected range of smaller enquiry questions. Links between our and Science and Maths curriculums encourage our children to employ their knowledge of measure and statistics to accurately gather and interpret scientific data. Our aim is that children will form evidence-based conclusions, be able to evaluate the degree of trust they have in their results whilst using a wide range of key scientific vocabulary to explain their rationale.
The History curriculum at Ocklynge provides children with a rich understanding of the past, fostering curiosity, critical thinking, and a sense of identity and belonging.
Pupils are assessed through these expectations each term. In addition, through reading age appropriate specifically selected texts, our children are exposed to the historical knowledge that they will need to become enthusiastic historians.
Children explore key historical events, figures, and civilizations, developing chronological understanding, historical interpretation skills, and the ability to analyse sources. By the end, our children demonstrate a deeper appreciation of the complexities of history, gaining valuable insights into how the past shapes the present and future.
“Geography is a subject which holds the key to our future.” Michael Palin.
At Ocklynge Junior School, we believe that Geography helps to provoke and provide answers to questions about the natural and human aspects of the world. Through our enquiry-based approach, children are encouraged to develop a greater understanding and knowledge of the world, as well as their place in it.
Geography has a wide application to everyday life, teaching the children to enjoy learning about the world and to have a better understanding of how people live in different locations and the human effect on the planet. Teaching will equip pupils 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 pupils progress, their growing knowledge about the world should help them to deepen their understanding of the interaction between physical and human processes, and of the formation and use of landscapes and environments. Geographical knowledge, understanding and skills provide the frameworks and approaches that explain how the Earth’s features at different scales are shaped, interconnected and change over time.
We aim to inspire in our pupils a curiosity and fascination about the world and its people that will remain with them for the rest of their lives.
At Ocklynge, we want our children to know about and understand a range of religions and world views. Our approach to R.E. seeks to promote the spiritual, moral, social and cultural
development of pupils at the school, and to prepare pupils for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of adult life.
We believe it is important that R.E. should not seek to indoctrinate or to persuade pupils to take up any one particular belief, but enable pupils to clarify and enlarge their ideas about
religion in an environment which promotes respect, tolerance, integrity and harmony.
Religious Education at Ocklynge School follows the East Sussex Agreed Syllabus, Faith and Belief in the 21st Century 2022-2027.
At Ocklynge we strive to let children lead in their learning, providing them with the skills and inspiration to adapt and apply to their own projects.
Our curriculum is skills based and progressive, ensuring broad coverage of media, skills and contextual understanding. We cover the skills of drawing, painting and sculpture, developing and implementing ideas, being an independent artist and art in context/in history across the school.
The intention behind this, is to ensure we build upon previous experiences and form consistency between classes in any one year group. The curriculum is vibrant and fits into and around each year group.
Our Art provision allows inclusivity, creativity and ensures children are given opportunities to succeed outside of traditional academic subjects.
At Ocklynge we strive to let children lead in their learning, providing them with the skills and inspiration to adapt and apply to their own projects. Our curriculum is skills based and progressive, ensuring broad coverage of technical skills and contextual understanding.
We cover the skills of designing, making and evaluating – specifically looking at woodwork, mechanical systems, use of prototypes, food technology, circuits in design, computer aided design, paper technology and history of design/famous designers and architects.
We build upon previous experiences and form consistency between classes in any one year group. Our DT provision allows inclusivity, creativity and ensures children are given opportunities to succeed outside of traditional academic subjects. It draws together learning in other foundation subjects and extends opportunity to express their understanding in new and inventive ways.
In this regard, it aids in developing a creative learning environment, improving outcomes and ensuring children are learning progressive, relevant and specific skills.
At Ocklynge, our Physical Education curriculum is committed to cultivating lifelong wellness and character development. Through diverse and inclusive activities, we foster a deep respect for movement, teamwork, and healthy living. Our goal is to empower pupils to embrace an active lifestyle whilst embodying our school values of respect, reflection, responsibility, and resilience.
We encourage a competitive spirit, a drive for excellence in sports, with an emphasis on respect and fair play. We aim to instil not only physical strength, but also the mental fortitude, collaborative spirit, and respect for diversity that form the foundation for lifelong health, success, and fulfilment of an active lifestyle.
We embrace a mindful approach to teaching PSHE/Health and Well-being to all pupils at Ocklynge Junior School. Our lessons are taught using the Jigsaw scheme of work to ensure the children have full and up to date coverage of this subject. Jigsaw fulfils all the requirements for the statutory Relationships and Health Education curriculum. The statutory elements are swiftly updated when new guidance is released.
We bring together Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education, including emotional literacy, social skills and spiritual development. Jigsaw is a spiralling and progressive curriculum enabling all year groups to work on the same theme (Puzzle) at the same time, generating a whole school focus for adults and children alike.
Working alongside the British Values, we embed our school values of Responsibility, Resilience, Respect and Reflection within our teaching. Through questioning, discussions and justification, pupils are challenged to be mindful and reflect upon their own thoughts and opinions whilst respectfully listening to those of others. The children are encouraged to reflect on their own perspectives and make comparisons to their own lives and the various communities in which they are part of.
The curriculum provides the relevant context to build skills, attitudes, self-esteem, resilience and confidence in the ever-changing world in which we live in. This is supported with our online safety lessons which teach the children how to be safe in our digital world. We provide opportunities for the children to learn these skills explicitly as well as nurturing them implicitly.
“Music can change the world” Ludwig van Beethoven
At Ocklynge Junior School we want our music curriculum to inspire pupils to cultivate a love of music and grow their talent as musicians, thus increasing their self-confidence, creativity and sense of achievement. We strive to enable our pupils to develop engagement with music across a range of historical periods, styles and traditions.
We aim to do this by giving pupils the opportunities to:
The Modern Foreign Language taught at Ocklynge is Spanish. By studying a foreign language we aim to encourage respect for other peoples: foster an understanding of the interrelation of language and culture and to expand pupils’ view of the world and make pupils more flexible and tolerant. Foreign language study leads to an appreciation of cultural diversity, so supporting our value of respect.
At Ocklynge, we aim to equip our learners with the skills needed to thrive in an ever-evolving, digital world.
A thorough knowledge and understanding of ICT is of vital importance- both for home and the world of work. Our computing curriculum focuses on the progression of skills in writing algorithms, understanding computing systems, creating media and design and development. This incorporates skills such as writing code, creating animations, desktop publishing and data logging. Online safety lessons are an integral part of our curriculum to ensure that pupils become confident in safely navigating the digital world in which they live.
In addition, our intention is that computing supports the children’s creativity and learning across the curriculum to enhance and support their learning in all areas.
