Green Dragon Primary School

At Green Dragon Primary School the curriculum comprises all the activities that are planned, taught and developed within the school to promote learning and personal growth. Through participating in these activities the children develop intellectually, personally, socially, emotionally and physically.

• We place great importance on the development of our children as Independent Learners and believe that our creative approach in the classroom contributes very much to the achievement of that goal.
• We believe that every child should enjoy learning and receive a first class education through high quality experiences and enrichment opportunities that embed life- long learning. 
• Our curriculum is ambitious and lays the foundation for improved future success. It is designed to nurture creativity and to be inclusive of children’ diverse needs and backgrounds. The ability to learn transferable skills- to become an independent, inquisitive, learner- is a core aim of our curriculum.
• We aim to overturn inequality by ensuring that all children, regardless of circumstance, have every opportunity to succeed and thrive. Every child is recognised as a unique individual and we celebrate our differences within our diverse school community.
• We recognise the rich cultural background of our community; therefore, language opportunities are embedded across the curriculum so that we are fluent in Standard English. British values are at the core of all we do whether it be through our assemblies, our RE curriculum, our Personal, Social, Health and Economic (PSHE) lessons or through other areas of the curriculum.
• We value the importance of our children recognising their own heritage in the curriculum. When learning about the significant achievements in human history, we encourage our children to recognise their own heritage and history within this. We firmly believe in the importance of developing a strong sense of identity and self-esteem in order for our children to have the highest aspirations.
• We believe that the school workforce and curriculum should reflect the community we serve; therefore, all groups are represented, and the curriculum is purposefully developed to connect and engage pupil interests.
• We respect parents as the first teachers of their children and aim to work with families to secure a learning and growing relationship together. Therefore, we operate an open door policy and welcome our parents into school. Parents are kept well informed about their child’s learning and progress.
• We believe that childhood should be a happy and enquiring time in our lives, that children should have a range of experiences that enhance their learning and expand their understanding and curiosity of the world around them.
• Safeguarding is our number one priority. We believe that the health, safety and well-being of all our children are of paramount importance and therefore maintain a culture of vigilance at school and in the community. Effective safeguarding of children can only be achieved by putting children at the centre of the system as is reflected in our daily practice and embedded in every decision we make.
• Given our context, the school vision, aims and ethos, outline the drive and ambition of staff and the community to overturn the deficit, accelerate progress and provide unique experiences, including cultural capital, to ensure each child has every opportunity to thrive and succeed in the 21st century. Therefore, our aim is to provide our children with rich, inspiring and evolving curriculum opportunities which build confidence, tolerance, resilience, communication, respect and readiness to contribute to society.

For more information on the National curriculum, visit the website: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/national-curriculum

Please click here to be directed to our Phonics and Reading page

At Green Dragon Primary School, we believe that all our children can become fluent readers and writers. This is why we teach reading through Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised, which is a systematic and synthetic phonics programme. We start teaching phonics in Reception and follow the Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised progression, which ensures children build on their growing knowledge of the alphabetic code, mastering phonics to read and spell as they move through school.

As a result, all our children are able to tackle any unfamiliar words as they read. At Green Dragon Primary we also model the application of the alphabetic code through phonics in shared reading and writing, both inside and outside of the phonics lesson and across the curriculum. We have a strong focus on language development for our children because we know that speaking and listening are crucial skills for reading and writing in all subjects.

Science is concerned with developing children’s natural enquiry skills. At Green Dragon our children have an inherent curiosity, therefore our science curriculum enables the children to develop their knowledge and understanding of scientific ideas, processes and skills.

Working scientifically is at the heart of the science curriculum. Children are taught how to use enquiry skills to navigate through new concepts and activating prior learning in order to get a holistic understand of topics taught. The science at our school encompasses a wide range of cross-curricular activities including links with outdoor learning, geography, mathematics, computing and writing.

At Green Dragon children are:

• Taught through practical ‘hands-on’ investigations as much as we can.
• Questioned to investigate, think, understand and progress.
• Taught to learn together collaboratively and from each other.
• Encouraged to be enthusiastic and knowledgeable about the topic.
• Given resources to help them learn.
• Become familiar with contexts they recognise and can relate to.
• Whenever possible, learn outside the classroom.

Our teaching of history aims to encourage children to foster an interest and curiosity about the past and how it has shaped and influenced the world today. It also aims to develop children’s’ interest in their surroundings, as well as their knowledge of places and environments around the world.

The International Primary Curriculum provides a highly motivating and engaging context for our children to learn. Topics engage children’s interest as well as ensuring coverage of the National Curriculum. Topics are introduced as exciting challenges with many cross-curricular links. History is not taught as a stand-alone lesson but taught alongside art and geography enabling children to build upon their knowledge and understanding each day. The children study a range of different time periods and significant individuals from the past, allowing them to develop a chronological knowledge of British and world history.

We always aim to develop core historical skills such as chronology, change and continuity, interpretation and empathy, critical thinking through the use of sources and questioning.

At Green Dragon, we want to promote and celebrate the plethora of languages spoken by our children. 

The experience of learning and using a foreign language makes its unique contribution to the whole curriculum by taking children out of the familiar environment which is pervaded by English and allowing them to explore the lifestyle and culture of another land through the medium of its language. This, in turn, provides a satisfying, enjoyable, fun and intellectually challenging experience for children in coping with a different linguistic medium.

Green Dragon’s chosen language is Spanish, and this is taught in Key Stage 2 by one of our teachers who is also Spanish. It is taught in weekly 45 minute sessions with a primary focus on speaking and listening. Children are taught Spanish phrases and vocabulary as well as the grammar and pronunciation that underpins the language. They are also able to extend their cultural understanding by finding out about Spanish culture and daily life.

All of the Green Dragon Core Values are incorporated into the language’s curriculum, but especially being open-minded, enquirers and good communicators. The culture of the foreign country is explored in many of the International Primary Curriculum (IPC) topics, where pupils have to compare one culture (its history, religion and geography) to another.

Religious education contributes dynamically to children and young people's education in schools by provoking challenging questions about meaning and purpose in life, beliefs about God, ultimate reality, issues of right and wrong and what means to be human. Our world is enriched by a wide and profound diversity of cultures and beliefs. We, as human beings are strengthened and empowered by learning from each other. Engaging and stimulating religious education helps to nurture informed and resilient responses to misunderstanding, stereotyping and division. It offers a place of integrity and security within which difficult or 'risky' questions can be tackled within a safe, but challenging context.

We recognise the importance of children’ all-round personal development and the leading role that RE plays in contributing to the spiritual, moral social and cultural elements in particular. 

We welcome and celebrate diversity and are sensitive to the home background of each child. 

Aims of Religious Education 

At Green Dragon, we aim to:

• enable each child to explore our shared human experience and the questions of meaning and purpose which arise from our experiences.
• develop children’s knowledge and understanding of religion through an exploration of the beliefs and practices of the principal world faiths.
• affirm each child in her/his own family tradition, religious or non-faith, and through that to promote awareness, respect and sensitivity for the traditions of other people provide opportunities for the cultivation of children’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. 
• support children in reflecting and thinking about fundamental human beliefs and values so that they develop a personal framework by which they can live.

We aim for our Year 2 - 6 children to visit a place of worship during the academic year.

• Year 2: Mandir - Hindu place of worship
• Year 3: Church - Christian place of worship
• Year 4: Mosque - Muslim place of worship
• Year 5: Gurwara - Sikh place of worship
• Year 6: Synagogue - Jewish place of worship