Curriculum

Arabic is an essential component of our curriculum offer. We aim to enable children to understand basic vocabulary, read and write script and become increasingly confident speakers as they progress through the school. Arabic is primarily taught to enable students to read the Quran and other religious texts, learn about the history and heritage of Qatar, deepen their understanding of Islamic culture and understand how Muslim communities live on a day-to-day basis.

Art is a subject which enables children to be creative in a variety of different ways. Children think critically and design products to reflect the way in which they see and understand the world.

In Computing (ICT), our aim is to equip our pupils with the foundational skills, knowledge and understanding they will need in the ever-changing world we live in. We use elements of ‘Switched on Computing’ to plan our lessons throughout the school. Children learn how computers and computer systems work, how to design and build programs and to develop their ideas using technology and create a range of content.

Design and Technology is a practical subject which requires children to use their creativity and imagination to design and make efficient products.

Phonics makes the links between letters and the sounds they represent. Children need to learn the sounds for not only the 26 letters in the alphabet but also the 44 main phonemes in the English language. They also need to learn that some sounds have more than one way of being written. We begin teaching this phonetic knowledge in Foundation, using a systematic progression scheme called ‘Letters & Sounds’, enabling the children to apply their knowledge to simple reading books at an early stage.

Through Reading, we aim to equip all pupils with a love for literature while developing the habit of reading a range of texts, for both pleasure and information. We empower all pupils with the tools to read easily, fluently and with good understanding. This is achieved by helping students acquire a wide vocabulary, an understanding of grammar and having a knowledge of linguistic conventions for reading, writing and spoken language. We strive to develop generic learning skills across the curriculum in order to provide our pupils with the opportunity to become powerful and successful learners.

Our aim is to give every child the skills to learn to write clearly, accurately and coherently, while adapting their language and style in and for a range of contexts, purposes and audiences. Children regularly plan, revise and evaluate their writing in a variety of ways. They constantly use discussion in order to learn allowing them to elaborate and explain their understanding and ideas. We aim for children to be competent in the arts of speaking and listening, making formal presentations, demonstrating to others and participating in debate.

In French, children are given the opportunity to learn about a different culture and to communicate with others in a foreign language. It is also a thoroughly enjoyable subject to learn, with emphasis on speaking, listening, writing and reading through practical tasks, such as drama or story-telling.

In Geography, children develop a curiosity and fascination of the world that will stay with them throughout their lives. They develop respect for the physical world and the vast scope of cultures that make up our diverse planet. Our primary focus is for all children to have an understanding of the world: people, places and environments and how they are changing over time.

In History, we aim for all children to understand our past and how History will shape their future. Our curriculum is full of topics which foster awe and wonder, and drive children to ask the reason behind the facts. Our topics help children to gain an understanding of the complexity of people’s lives, their own identity and the challenges of their time.

Mathematics is an essential aspect of everyday life and plays a crucial part in areas such as science, technology and engineering. Children regularly learn about key aspects such as using numbers efficiently, solving day-to-day problems, shape, space, measures and many others. We draw the child’s attention to the links between Mathematics and other curricular work, so they can make connections across subjects. The generic learning skills that we promote through our Mathematics curriculum include information processing, problem solving, and reasoning. We empower children to be able to infer meaning from a range of sources including graphs, charts and tables.

Our Physical Education (PE) curriculum inspires all children to succeed and excel in competitive sport and other physically-demanding activities. We provide regular opportunities for children to become physically confident in a way which supports their health and fitness – embedding values such as fairness and respect in the process.

In Personal, Social, Health, Economic and Citizenship Education (PSHE and C), the children learn skills to improve their life chances later with the aim to help them to develop personal awareness. This enables them to observe their own thoughts and feelings, regulate them and make conscious decisions about their learning, behaviour and lives. The scheme of work brings together PSHE education, emotional literacy, social skills and spiritual development.

Religious Education (RE) contributes to the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of all children. RE helps children to develop skills and attitudes that allow them to participate and contribute positively in the school and wider community. Through practising skills such as tolerance or mutual respect, children recognise the diversity which exists within and between communities and amongst individuals. They learn to appreciate the different ways of life and different ways of expressing meaning.

Through Science, we give children the tools to become critical thinkers who are able to experiment, make predictions and give reasons for their answers to day-to-day problems. They are encouraged to be curious and find reliable answers to questions we pose about the world around us. Children are supported in their understanding of scientific ideas by using different types of scientific enquiry to answer their own questions, including observing changes over a period of time, noticing patterns, grouping and classifying things, carrying out simple tests, and finding things out using books and videos. We give children opportunities to broaden their scientific understanding by exploring, talking about and testing their ideas.

After children are confident at decoding and phonetically spelling words, they begin to be taught the rules surrounding spelling more complicated vocabulary, with the aim of teaching skills that transfer across their entire writing.
Punctuation and Grammar are taught as part of each child’s English lessons, although sometimes we discreetly teach more complex patterns and rules through an allocated time in the school day.