At Greenbank Primary School, we follow the National Curriculum for England and Wales and as in most other primary schools, many subjects are combined to form termly or half-termly themes.
Through our curriculum we aim to challenge our children to become independent, well-rounded individuals who take ownership of their learning and become deep thinkers. Moreover, we want our children to be able to apply their knowledge and skill set in a range of contexts within school and real life.
As part of our curriculum we teach the three core subjects: English, Mathematics and Science. Other subjects taught in school are: Art, Computing, Design and Technology, Geography, History, Music, Physical Education and Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education. In addition, children in Key Stage 2 (Years 3-6) learn French. The teaching of RE is based on the scheme recommended by Rochdale Local Authority.
All work is carefully planned to ensure that children have access to the relevant areas of the curriculum according to their age and ability and that the skills of reading, writing and mathematics are practised daily throughout the school.
The curriculum at Greenbank also offers children Learning Outside the Classroom (LOtC) experiences which are interwoven throughout our curriculum and children of all ages benefit from these experiences. LOtC opportunities are planned to support with learning and help children to understand concepts, skills and themes further whether that is in Maths, English, History or other curriculum subjects.
LOtC experiences take place in the immediate school grounds and further afield and provide relevance and depth to the curriculum in ways that are difficult to achieve within the four walls of the classroom.
Children across all ages also have an Adventurous Pursuits Curriculum as part of their learning offer. Children have sessions in archery, climbing, geocaching, kayaking, orienteering, sailing and walking. These sessions are led by our Outdoor Team with staff from each year group supporting when the children in their class are taking part in these sessions. Forest School is also taught across the school. For further information about our Outdoor Learning click on Outdoor Learning in the ‘School Life’ tab from the top drop down menu of our website.
At Greenbank we believe Learning Outside the Classroom can be enjoyable, creative, challenging and adventurous and helps children and young people learn by experience and grow as confident and responsible citizens who value and appreciate the spectacular landscapes, natural heritage and culture on offer.
Physical Education lessons are taught by our Sports Development Officer. Each Year group has a weekly PE lesson in which the children are taught the full range of PE skills outlined in the National Curriculum. Children in Year 4 also take part in swimming lessons which are held at Whitworth Swimming Baths in Rochdale. Some children also take part in extra PE lessons as an intervention. Parents are informed of these lessons before their child takes part in the programme and the reasons why their child has been recommended to be part of the programme.
If would like to see in more detail on what the children are learning in each Year Group, click the Year Group page under the ‘Our Classes’ tab from the top drop down menu of our website. In addition, all class teachers send home ‘Class Newsletters’ each term which detail the learning the children will be undertaking each term.
All our learning complies with the Equality Act 2010 and the Special Educational Needs and Disability Regulations 2014 about making the curriculum accessible for those with disabilities or special educational needs. See our Special Educational Needs page for more information, this can be found in the ‘Our School’ tab at the top of the menu on our website.