At George Washington Primary School, we believe that art is a fantastic way for all children of all ages to express themselves, be creative and explore. Exploring the arts and creativity is built into all areas of the curriculum wherever possible. There are overwhelming positive benefits of art education for children. As a school, we explore these benefits, such as helping with well-being and improving health and happiness in our pupils. It also helps children develop critical thinking and the ability to interpret the world around us.
At George Washington Primary School we follow the National Curriculum Programme of Study for Computing.
In computing lessons, children have the opportunity to develop a range of skills, such as:
As well as teaching computing discretely, we use technology in a range of cross-curricular contexts so that children have an opportunity to use and apply the skills they have learnt.
Online safety is another important element of the computing curriculum that is taught through other curriculum areas where appropriate. Each year, we mark Safer Internet Day by addressing current issues that are affecting children both in our school and also in the wider community.
The school has invested in mobile technologies, including iPads and laptops to serve as a tool in learning across the curriculum, developing pupil engagement and interest and computing skills in their own right.
At George Washington Primary School, we follow the national curriculum for design and technology.
Design and technology encourages children to become creative problem-solvers, both as individuals and as part of a team. During our work in design and technology we aim to develop the skills, knowledge and understanding of our pupils so that they are able to participate successfully in a technological world.
We want them to become more creative and practical and to be able to utilise a range of technical skills that will serve them well in the future. We believe that it is important that our pupils are able to critically evaluate their own work and make improvements.
In design technology, the children’s work is based around the five content strands of designing, making, evaluating, technical knowledge and food.
The English Curriculum is delivered using the 2014 National Curriculum. Early Learning Goals are used to ensure continuity and progression from the Foundation Stage through to the National Curriculum.
Phonics
In Key Stage 1, we have daily phonics sessions for all Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 children; we also have phonics sessions for children who will benefit from them in KS2.
Our daily phonics sessions are delivered by teachers and teaching assistants to groups of children, which are organised by the phase they are currently working within.
We use the Little Wandle programme to deliver our phonics lessons.
Speaking and Listening
The four strands of Speaking and Listening (Speaking, Listening, Group Discussion and Interaction and Drama) permeate the whole curriculum. Interactive teaching strategies are used to engage all pupils in order to raise reading and writing standards. All of our children are encouraged to develop effective communication skills in readiness for later life.
Reading
At George Washington Primary School we see reading as an integral part of the school curriculum that impacts on all learning. We value the importance of being a confident reader and work hard to develop children’s reading skills. We want children to enjoy reading a wide range of different books and be able to talk about books and authors.
We teach reading from Foundation Stage to Year 6. This can be in the form of one-to-one reading with an adult, shared reading, guided reading sessions and independent reading. In Early Years and Key Stage 1, we have daily phonics sessions and use the Little Wandle programme to support this. We use a range of reading schemes to broaden children’s understanding, interest and enjoyment of reading. In Key Stage 2, as their reading develops, children are encouraged to read from a wide range of fiction and non-fiction books.
All children are able to take books home to read with an adult, this shared learning will help children to practice their reading skills and develop a lifelong love of reading.
As well as teaching the skills necessary to become confident readers, we have our own class libraries full of exciting books, which children access and use on a regular basis.
Writing
Exciting ‘hooks’ and writing stimuli are key to our children becoming confident and accomplished writers. Children make great progress when they are fully engaged by their work. Teachers plan sequences of English work based around the interests of the children in their class. Children have writing opportunities across the curriculum and produce high quality writing in Science, Topic and Maths lessons, as well as in daily English lessons. The teaching of writing happens in shared writing with the whole class, or groups, when the teacher will model the use of grammar, punctuation, vocabulary choices and specific genre features, incorporating the ideas of the children. Children also have access to small guided writing groups with their teacher, or another member of staff, to address individual needs. These groups may happen in class or out of class as an intervention group. Sometimes children will work one-to-one with a teacher or other
staff member as and when the need arises. Children often work together to generate, share and develop ideas.
Handwriting
At George Washington, we teach handwriting as a skill, which enables children to use a clear, well-formed style in which to record their thoughts for themselves and others to read. We aim for a clear, legible, well-formed, joined-up writing style, which children can produce quickly and comfortably.
We use the Collins Primary Focus handwriting scheme to support our work and teach individual letters with cursive flicks from the earliest stages. We want all our children to develop a personal style of joined-up handwriting in which they can have confidence and pride.
Spelling
The majority of children from Years 1 to 6 are given lists of spellings each week to learn at home. Weekly spelling lessons teach the spelling rules and skills children need to build up a knowledge of key spellings and the strategies to spell words independently. Regular spelling games consolidate children’s knowledge. Children may also be given unseen spelling quizzes of National Curriculum spelling list words, or words which are chosen as important for an individual child or group of children.
Geography is a subject packed with excitement, with opportunities for hands on learning, which can help us better understand the world, its people, places and environments, and the interactions between them.
At George Washington Primary School, Geography is taught in an engaging and inspiring way where children are able to develop their knowledge of the world around them. By using a cross-curricular approach and hooking children into their learning through motivating topics, we develop children’s curiosity and fascination. We aim to give pupils the knowledge about diverse places, people, resources and the ability to develop a growing knowledge of the world around them.
In EYFS, children form the foundations for later work in Geography. These early experiences include: exploring and investigating, drawing on their own personal experiences and observing closely using their senses.
In KS1, children focus on their local area to understand and compare local history. They name and locate countries, continents and oceans and are able to describe geographical similarities and differences. Being exposed to maps, atlases and globes at a young age allows the foundation of skills to be built upon when entering KS2.
As children progress into KS2, they will build upon these skills. Children learn about human and physical characteristics, time zones and apply geographical skills and knowledge in fieldwork experiences. At this stage their confidence grows in questioning knowledge of their world and important debates are discussed. We also make the best use of technology as it enthuses pupils and provides good opportunities for research.
At George Washington Primary School we have a rich and varied history curriculum that engages all pupils from reception through to year 6. We aim to give children an awareness of the past and how it was different from the present, an understanding of the sequence of historical events and an ability to explore some of the ways in which historians find out about the past. Whilst we follow the National Curriculum, each year group strives to make it as dynamic and interesting as possible, enriching the learning of every child through creative teaching, fantastic activities, and unique experiences.
In Early Years, children will talk about the past and present in their own lives and in the lives of their family members. They will become increasingly aware of the changes in routines during different times of the day and the seasons in the year. They will also learn about similarities and differences between themselves and others, among families, communities, and traditions.
In KS1, pupils will develop an awareness of the past, using common words and phrases relating to the passing of time. They should know where the people and events they study fit within a chronological framework and identify similarities and differences between ways of life in different periods of time. They will use a wide vocabulary of everyday historical terms. They will ask and answer questions, choosing and using parts of stories and other sources to show that they know and understand key features of events. They will also understand some of the ways in which we find out about the past and identify different ways in which it is represented.
In KS2, pupils will continue to develop their knowledge of chronology. They will have secure knowledge and understanding of British, local and world history, establishing clear narratives within and across the periods they study. They should note connections, contrasts and trends over time and develop the appropriate use of historical terms. They will regularly address and sometimes devise historically valid questions about change, cause, similarity and difference, and significance. They should construct informed responses that involve thoughtful selection and organisation of relevant historical information. They should understand how our knowledge of the past is constructed from a range of sources.
All children in KS1 and KS2 follow the National Curriculum for Mathematics (2014).
In Reception class the children follow The Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage (2014).
The aims of the National Curriculum are to ensure that children become fluent in the fundamentals of mathematics, are able to reason mathematically and solve problems.
The National Curriculum expectations are set out for each year group under the following areas:
Mathematics is essential in everyday life and it is important that children develop their mathematical skills to the full. At George Washington Primary School, we aim to provide the children with a mathematics curriculum and high quality teaching which will produce children who are numerate, independent, inquisitive and confident. Our aim is to provide them with a stimulating environment and adequate resources so that children can achieve their true potential. We want to ensure that children develop a positive and enthusiastic attitude towards mathematics which will stay with them throughout their lives.
Cross Curricular Links
Subjects such as Geography, Science, Design & Technology and Computing provide opportunities to develop the children’s skills and knowledge e.g. interpreting data, drawing graphs, measuring and reading scales. This will help and support the children’s understanding of different concepts and see them being used in everyday contexts
We also make use of our on-site Forest School area to enrich the mathematics curriculum and develop real life problem solving skills.
At George Washington Primary School, we are excited to launch our Spanish learning journey. With the support of the Language Angel's Spanish scheme, the children will be introduced to Spanish through a wide range of games, songs and traditional stories.
Below are some topics our children will be introduced to.
KS1:
KS2:
Here is some of the basic vocabulary you can learn alongside your children:
hola - hello
adiós - goodbye
gracias - thank you
por favor - please
buenos días - good morning
buenas noches - good night
sí - yes
no - no
In Music, across the school, children work on three main areas:
In Key Stage 1, children start to sing songs, speak chants and rhymes. They begin to play tuned and untuned musical instruments musically, listen to and discuss live and recorded music, and they begin to select different sounds to make their own music.
In Key Stage 2, children are taught to play and perform (using their voices or instruments) in different contexts, compose music for different purposes, use and understand musical notation and begin to develop an understanding of the history of music.
Children sing every week in assemblies, and are taught songs for specific events through the year. At Christmas and in the summer, children prepare performances in which they have to sing or play instruments. Recently, we have put on performances of Joseph and his Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat, Annie Kids, The Lion King Kids, The Jungle Book Kids, The Wizard of Oz, Mary Poppins Junior and Beauty and The Beast.
All children have the opportunity in KS2 learn an instrument including violin, guitar, clarinet, flute and saxophone – led by specialist music teachers. Performances are regular to encourage children to perform their instruments in front of their peers and parents.
The school also runs a Key Stage 2 choir, which performs regularly at events in the local area.
In PE, across the school, children at George Washington Primary School:
Key Stage 1 children are taught to:
Key Stage 2 children are taught to:
Children participate in PE lessons every week and are taught essential rules to play competitive games. Our school teams have the opportunity to compete against other schools within the region. Over the duration of the year, the children work alongside a range of coaches, to develop their knowledge and understanding of skills, techniques and how to utilise these in a game.
Swimming and Water Safety
All schools must provide swimming instruction either in key stage 1 or key stage 2. Children at George Washington Primary are taught to:
Currently, children in year 4 and 5 have weekly swimming lessons over the year and there are ‘catch up’ sessions for children, in year 6 who didn’t achieve their 25m swimming badge. Each year, the lifeguards from Sunderland RNLI come into school to talk with the children about water safety, when at the beach and by the river.
At George Washington Primary School, RE is taught according to the aims of the Sunderland Agreed Syllabus (2021). The Education Act 1996 states that “An Agreed Syllabus must reflect the fact that the religious traditions in Great Britain are in the main Christian, whilst taking account of the teachings and practices of the other principal religions represented in Great Britain. It must be nondenominational and must not be designed to convert pupils or to urge a particular religion or religious belief on pupils."
We believe that RE has an important part to play in developing the spiritual, moral, social, cultural and intellectual development of all our children. It allows them the opportunity to develop a greater understanding of themselves, whilst also developing their compassion towards others. RE helps to promote the spiritual, moral, cultural, mental and physical development of pupils, and prepares them for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of later life. Through child centred, engaging lessons it also allows all pupils to develop their critical thinking and reasoning skills and gives children the opportunity to listen to others, hear and analyse conflicting viewpoints and develop empathy and respect.
At George Washington Primary School, Science is implemented in line with the requirements of the National Curriculum. Science is an important subject that develops a sense of curiosity and excitement about the world around us and we believe that it is important that it should be taught in a fun and enjoyable way to all year groups. Science also provides many different opportunities for children to develop important life skills such as observing, predicting, questioning and evaluating.
An emphasis is placed on ‘working scientifically’ through inspirational and engaging practical activities. We strive to develop a love of science where questioning and an exploratory attitude is at the heart of learning from our youngest children developing their knowledge and understanding of the world in Early Years right through to our eldest children in Year 6 planning their own scientific enquiries and fair tests.
Children will engage with a variety of programmes of study across each year group which range from investigating plants, animals and materials at Key Stage 1 before progressing on to light, sound, electricity and states of matter in Key Stage 2. Each programme covered will also in turn support children to develop their scientific vocabulary and questioning skills appropriate to their particular age range.
Please click here to view our latest edition of George Washington's Junior Journal, created by some of our Key Stage 2 children!
To view out latest newsletter, please click here: 27.06.2025
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