The Curriculum at St Dubricius Porlock First School

Welcome to the vibrant world of learning at St Dubricius! We take immense pride in offering a curriculum that is broad, balanced, and engaging. Our curriculum is designed not only to impart knowledge but also to develop understanding, nurture creativity, and foster real-world application of learned concepts.

Intent: Shaping a Comprehensive Learning Experience

At the heart of our curriculum lies the intent to provide an education that is:

Child-Led

We prioritise what our children want to learn, ensuring their engagement and fostering a genuine love for learning.

Experiential

Learning comes to life through diverse experiences that involve making, acting, visiting, and more. These activities bring learning off the pages of textbooks and into the real world.

Localised

Our curriculum maintains a uniquely Porlock focus, grounding learning in the context of our local area. Our Passion of Porlock learning on a Friday, encompasses our understanding and develops our knowledge of Porlock, the local community and environment. Our students will undertake activities such as forest school, beach school, geography, history , art and community projects.

Relevant

We strive to make learning real and relevant to our students, connecting theoretical knowledge to practical applications.

Celebratory

We believe in celebrating our students' achievements and their learning journey, fostering a sense of pride and accomplishment.

Values-Led

Our Christian values guide our curriculum, reinforcing the principles of respect, empathy, and compassion.

Preparatory

We equip our students with the necessary skills, knowledge, and concepts for the next stage of their learning journey, preparing them for future academic challenges.

Inclusive

Every child is an asset to our learning community. We invest in all our students, recognizing their unique abilities and fostering their individual growth.

Broad

We offer a vibrant, broad-based curriculum that gives every child a compelling reason to come to school each day.

Encourages Risk-Taking

Our learning environment promotes risk-taking, allowing our students to step out of their comfort zones and expand their horizons.

Reading and Phonics Programme - Little Wandle

At Timberscombe, St Dubricius and Dunster First Schools, we use the Little Wandle synthetic phonics to give your child the best possible start with their literacy.

How is Little Wandle taught?

From Preschool to Year 1, children are taught to read using synthetic phonic sounds. They will learn the single letter phonemes alongside digraphs (double letter phonemes e.g. ea as in sea) and trigraphs (tripleletter phonemes e.g. igh as in light) and how to blend them together to read words. Alongside these sounds, children are taught 'tricky words' which are those words which are not phonetically decodable. Children will be encouraged to use their sounds to build words within their writing.

When will my child begin to read?

Once children are blending sounds independently to read words,they will take home their first reading book. They will read this book for a minimum of three times which will give them a chance to decode words, practise reading for fluency and then answer questions about their book o aid comprehension skills. Books will be sent home to read with your child that link to the phonics sounds they are learning.

How will my child's reading be monitored?

Children will be assessed half termly against the sounds that they have been taught. From this assessment, teachers will be able to place children on the correct level reading books and provide extra support if needed.

Religious Education

At St. Dubricius, our Religious Education curriculum is built around Somerset’s Awareness Mystery and Value syllabus and Understanding Christianity, published by RE Today. These resources guide our exploration of religious topics, promoting understanding and respect for diverse faiths.

For more information on our curriculum, please review the attached documents for the current term's rolling programmes and curriculum overviews. For any further queries, feel free to contact our Head of School.

Join us in our pursuit of providing an enriched educational experience, empowering every child to grow, learn, and thrive.

‍

For further information about any of our curriculum areas please contact the school office with your enquiry.