Subjects/Curriculum Maps

English at Odessa Infants School

English is a core part of the whole curriculum at Odessa. Children are exposed to a number of high quality texts from Nursery to Year 2 on a weekly basis. Not only in their Literacy lessons, but also during Guided Reading sessions, a daily story time at the end of day, and often during weekly assemblies.

We work to instil a love of reading, writing, and oracy in all the children at Odessa by planning engaging and exciting Literacy lessons that the children are eager to take part in. We pair our lessons with visual aids like writing support, pictures and photographs, and we encourage children to add illustrations to their pieces of writing.

We believe every child is an author, a story-teller, an illustrator and a book lover. We help them reach their highest potential by giving them the opportunities to find and explore texts and topics that excite them, provide them with support to write to the best of their abilities, and inspire them with a diverse range of high quality texts.

Phonics

From Nursery to Year 2, children have Phonics lessons every morning at Odessa. In addition to this any children who did not achieve the phonics screening check at the end of Y1 are given extra intervention groups to ensure they reach the national standard by the end of Year 2. We follow the Bug Club phonics scheme which follows children as they progress through the year groups. This means that children will be familiar with the expectations and routine of their Phonics lessons as it follows the same structure from Phase 1 through to Phase 6.

During their lessons children learn all the sounds needed to be able to read and then apply these in their English lessons. Children learn the skills of segmenting words down into the individual sounds and then blending them together to read the whole word. They also learn about digraphs and trigraphs- sounds that either have 2 or 3 letters but make one sound. At the end of Year 1 most children take part in a Phonics Screening Check.

Reading

Children at Odessa read every day and as often as possible. They have daily Guided Reading sessions where children in Early Years learn how to read, hold and treat books and then move onto Reading Comprehension in Key Stage 1.

All children at Odessa have access to an exciting programme called Bug Club. This is an online system where children can read hundreds of books which their teacher would have matched to their level. As they go through the book they are asked questions to check the children’s understanding.

We encourage the children to read every day as part of their homework as children take two books home each week to enjoy. At Odessa, we encourage a Love of Reading through activities like Reading for Pleasure. We want children to be excited about stories and reading and we help them to develop a life-long passion for literature.

Writing

At Odessa children begin writing from Nursery where they development their gross and fine motor skills. From Reception to Year 2 children explore different genres of writing and record every day. We have high expectations of our children and this is shown in the pride in their work. We try to incorporate writing in all other subjects to maintain high standards.

We follow the Power of Reading scheme for our writing lessons. This scheme allows teachers to slowly unfold a text to create a sense of suspense and excitement among children. It also allows us to hone in on small details in the story and pictures so that children have a deeper understanding of the text. We use these small details to form the basis of our writing lessons.

Children are also encouraged to apply the skills they have learnt in their English lessons to Foundation subjects such as History, Geography and Religious Education.

Mr Mineiro
English Lead and Year Two lead

Gallery

At Odessa we aim to provide a happy, caring and stimulating environment where all children are encouraged to reach their full potential. Play is at the heart of our curriculum. We believe that children learn best through hands on experiences that are provided both indoors and outdoors. Children will develop positive attitudes towards learning if they are provided with a curriculum that meets their developmental needs. We allow the children to make choices about the activities they want to participate in.

As you walk around the Foundation Stage you will observe the children engaging in adult–led focused or child initiated learning activities. We value the learning that has already happened in the home environment and aim to build on this by developing close relationships with parents and carers. Together we are able to build on the child’s previous learning experiences and provide a personalised learning journey.

They need to:

• Use the skills we are teaching them in a calm and purposeful environment
• Immerse themselves in the processes
• Experiment and reinforce
• Explore
• Play
• Investigate
• Use high quality books that engage the children and spark excitement and enjoyment in learning about the world around them.

During their time in Nursery and Reception, the children will experience the areas of learning that are laid out in the Curriculum Guidance for the Foundation Stage.

Maths at Odessa school

At Odessa we aim to produce lifelong learners of Mathematics with a passion for the subject. We use a mastery based curriculum aimed to inspire and challenge our children. Our lessons meet the objectives of the National Curriculum by providing opportunities to investigate, reason and problem solve. We also aim to create cross curricular links by applying our knowledge of Maths in other subject areas, for example: creating graphs and tables in Science, reading coordinates in Geography and calculating periods of time in Physical Education.

Each lesson gives children opportunities for ‘intelligent practice’ where they can improve their fluency of concepts and strategies and become more confident mathematicians. We also ensure our lessons are engaging by creating real life contexts that help children see Maths as a life skill.
At Odessa we also encourage our children to explain their Mathematics, which allows them to deepen their understanding as well as demonstrate their learning. We also promote the use of concrete resources across the whole school in order to embed and enhance an understanding of the foundations of mathematical knowledge.

Tim Richards
Maths Lead

Useful website

My Maths
BBC Bitesize
Mathletics
Nrich
Sumdog

Gallery

Science at Odessa Infants School

At Odessa we enjoy learning a range of science topics including: plants and animals, sound and light and dark to name a few.
During science lessons children carry out a range of investigations to test their predictions and make conclusions from their results based on their scientific knowledge and understanding.
As part of the science curriculum children visit a range of scientific places including the science museum.

Felecia Rose Kane
Science Lead

Computing at Odessa Infants School

At Odessa Infant School we deliver our computing programme of study for KS1 using the Switched on Computing scheme of work. It covers all the requirements of the Computing programme of study in a way that’s intended to develop pupils’ understanding of the concepts, practices and perspectives that underpin programming and other aspects of computing science.

It provides ample opportunity to create collaborative project work in which pupils can acquire the information technology skills they’ll need. It also helps pupils understand the implications of technology for individuals and society as they continue to become more digitally literate.
Every half term, each phase follows and completes one unit, with a total of six units of the year.

Each unit focuses on one of the key six aspects of computing:

• Programming
• Computational thinking
• Computer networks
• Creativity
• Collaboration and communication
• Productivity

This ensures pupils at Odessa receive a broad and balanced computing curriculum. For the most part, links are made between computing and what the children are learning about elsewhere in the curriculum. Online safety is embedded throughout the Switched on Computing units.

Bijal Sonegra
Computing Lead

Gallery

Religious Education at Odessa Infants School

At Odessa we enjoy learning a range of RE topics and cover a wide range of different religions and practises.

The children have the opportunity to discuss different Religions and practises and through discussion can identify how we can all be better members of society in a multi cultural and multi belief community.

As part of the RE curriculum children visit a range of Religious settings including Churches, Mosques and Temples.

Fatima Kidia
RE Lead

Gallery

Design and Technology at Odessa Infants School

DT at Odessa is intertwined throughout all curriculum areas as well as being taught as a standalone subject that is taught throughout the year. Children have the opportunity to study a variety of famous designers and then design, create and review their own pieces of work.

Both 2D and 3D products are designed by the children which are celebrated on displays found throughout the school. We are currently strengthening our links with external art exhibitions to provide a range of opportunities for the children to develop their design skills both in school and on educational visits.

Rashidah Tai
DT Lead

PSHCE at Odessa Infants School

At Odessa we view PSHCE as an important part of the school curriculum.

At Odessa we believe in building a better future for our whole community. We ensure that we are able to provide a range of different activities and experiences that promote wellbeing and community cohesion.

We have created a code of conduct for all – The 4 C’s, which is reflected in all we do and our everyday practice:

• Care
• Consideration
• Courtesy
• Co-operation

We have put together a school council of children from all year groups dedicated to making the school Eco-Friendly. Our ‘Eco Warriors’ are reviewing how to be energy efficient across the school and how we can help to improve the environment.

Hena Hussain
PSHCE Lead

Gallery

Physical Education at Odessa Infants School

At Odessa Infant School, P.E. plays a significant role in school life. Children in Years 1 and 2 take part in two hours of high quality P.E. lessons a week. Children have one indoor lesson a week where they focus on skills including flexibility, strength, technique, control and balance through gymnastics, dance and athletic lessons.

Within the Early Years, our Nursery and Reception children are constantly developing their fine and gross motor skills through a variety of activities indoors and outdoors. Children also have the opportunity to play a variety of different sports and games and learn the importance of playing fairly, sharing
and following rules.

We are actively employing sports coaches to take after school clubs so that children can take part in a variety of different sports. We employ coaches to provide specialist
training in specific sports and we provide a variety of high quality equipment to engage and support all of our pupils.

Regina Codjoe
P.E. Coordinator

Gallery

If you would like to see how our sports funding is utilised please see the ‘School Sports Premium’ link on the website.

Music at Odessa Infants School

Nick Miniero
Music Lead

At Odessa we recognise the importance of music in our broad and balance curriculum. We have had a range of concerts this year with a varied selection of songs across all the year groups led by our Music Lead Nick Miniero. We also have visiting teachers in to teach a variety of instruments to year groups including the Ukelele.

Gallery

Art at Odessa Infant School

Art at Odessa is woven throughout the whole curriculum as well as being taught as a discrete subject with all Art lessons planned. Alongside this Children have opportunities to work with artists and designers both in school and on educational visits. We use a wide range of media for both 2 and 3 dimensional work.

As a result of the importance we place on creativity and the creative process, the quality of the Artwork produced at Odessa can be judged for oneself with a walk around the school’s vast communal spaces which serve as an evolving exhibition space for all the children’s wonderful creations which we take great pride in.

Nick Mineiro
Art Lead

Gallery

Children in Years 1 and 2 have one Humanities lesson a week. The lessons are taught as part of a half-termly topic. Each topic has either a historical or geographical focus. As well as learning skills and knowledge directly related to History and Geography, Humanities lessons also allow reinforcement of essential mathematical and English skills and knowledge.

In History, the children have the opportunity to learn about events and people in London, England and the Ancient World. Our Geography curriculum explores the local area and the rest of the UK and makes comparisons with countries in other areas of the world. In both areas, there is the opportunity to reflect on how the past has shaped the UK and the World today and the effect our actions today may have on the future wellbeing of the planet.

The location of Odessa enables us to enrich our curriculum with visits to the fantastic parks and museums that London offers.

Tim Richard Geography Lead

Tamara LaRonde History Lead

Websites to use at home

BBC Primary History
Sheppard Software Geography games
Mapzone

Gallery