Other Subjects

History

At St Paul’s we believe history is an excellent way to encourage pupil’s curiosity and develop children’s understanding of the diverse, vibrant world they live in. Children will develop skills of enquiry and questioning, becoming “history detectives” with an open mind to explore the past and the impact it has on our lives today. We aim to bring history to life through engaging first hand experiences and cross curricular study to allow children to apply and link their learning.

Children are introduced to history at the beginning of their school life, exploring their own lives, sequencing events and the experiences of their families. Throughout their time at St Paul’s the children will use artefacts, ICT, visits and research to develop a comprehensive understanding of the history of the British Isles and the wider world too. 

We encourage creative methods of recording learning for example through drama, music, computing and writing.  Many history topics are showcased to parents with a variety of activities put together by the children to demonstrate their learning. In Key Stage 1 children will learn about events beyond living memory such as the Gunpowder Plot, the Great Fire of London and the First Flight. Significant individuals studied include Florence Nightingale, Mary Seacole, Neil Armstrong and Amelia Earheart. In Key Stage 2 children study history of Britain and the wider world through particular historical periods study such as Stoneage to Iron Age, the Roman Empire, Ancient Civilisations (Greece, Maya, Egypt), settlement of Anglo Saxons and Vikings, Tudors , Victorians and World War 2. 

Computing

The learning and teaching of Computing at St Paul’s aims to provide an opportunity for children to understand, appreciate and enjoy the multi- cultural world we live in. This will allow our pupils to celebrate the rich diversity of modern Britain. Our teaching of Computing will help pupils to use computational thinking and creativity to understand and change the world.

The key aims for Computing at St Paul’s are:

• To understand and apply the fundamental principles and concepts of computer science, including abstraction, logic, algorithms and data representation.
• To analyse problems in computational terms, and have repeated practical experience of writing computer programs in order to solve such problems.
• To evaluate and apply information technology, including new or unfamiliar technologies, analytically to solve problems.
• To be responsible, competent, confident and creative users of information and communication technology.

Computing is taught at St Paul’s through a topic approach. Our curriculum is designed to inspire pupil’s curiosity about the past by providing memorable first-hand experiences and broad subject knowledge, guided by the National Curriculum and our progression of skills document. 

Our Computing curriculum provides the pupils with the skills of word processing, data handling, programming, coding and Internet safety.

 Every classroom has the use of an interactive white board, visualiser and camera to enhance learning opportunities.  We also have a whole school Computing suite with laptops and iPads in each base, both of which are used regularly by the children to enhance their learning across all areas of the curriculum.

Geography

The geography curriculum at St Paul's is delivered through a cross-curricular approach, providing an opportunity for children to understand, appreciate and celebrate the rich diversity of the world we live in. An understanding of place knowledge will be developed, starting with our local area and then expanding to encompass the United Kingdom and other countries around the world. We aim to expose our children to a variety of different cultures and continually encourage them to make comparisons.

Children will learn that they are part of a global community. They will consider the impact that they have on the environment and learn to be responsible citizens as they study human and physical geography. This is provided primarily through first-hand experiences. As children progress through the school, they will develop their geographical skills. These include: using and understanding maps; using digital technology; and fieldwork skills.

Science

Science at St Paul's is taught through a topic-based approach, making links with other areas of the National Curriulum in order to help the children to embed their learning. The children learn about a wide range of science topics including: Sound, Forces, Plants, Materials, Animals including Humans, Electricity and Evolution.

We ensure that the science learning at St Paul's is exciting and engaging. We aim to provide the children with first hand experiences and experiments that will instil awe, wonder and a passion to discover new things.

This is also celebrated during National Science Week, Big Science Days and workshops/visitors, along with Science club during the summer terms. During each academic year, the children will be encouraged to think 'scientifically'  to ask questions, make observations, devise tests, record  results, draw conclusions and identify and classify in a range of contexts.

Design Technology

Design and Technology at St. Paul's is an inspiring, rigorous and practical subject which provides children with a real life context for learning. They will be taught about the design process involved in creating a product, from the research and planning stage, through to manufacturing, packaging design and evaluation of an end product. Children will be involved in an exciting variety of projects, building their skills in using different materials, tools and techniques. They will develop the creative, technical and practical expertise needed to perform everyday tasks confidently and to participate successfully in an increasingly technological world.