The Wider Curriculum and Enrichment

We use various strategies to enrich and extend the children’s learning over and above the national curriculum requirements.

PSHE (Personal, social, health and economic) education and Citizenship

At Coldfall Primary School, we believe in providing a broad and balanced PSHE (Personal, social, health and economic) curriculum for our pupils. This includes a comprehensive scheme of work related to relationships and health.

PSHE and RSE guidance for parents

Values Education

Our aims:

  • For children to develop a clear understanding of what is right and wrong – a moral compass – and be able to make good choices
  • To develop good citizens
  • To develop the whole person and see each other as human beings not just as learners, teachers, staff
  • To develop considerate, reflective, open-minded children and staff
  • To develop and enhance the sense of community, unity and whole school ethos
  • To empower and develop the self-worth and confidence of each individual
  • To enable deeper learning through raising awareness, reflection, discussion, and an ethical language

We have 33 values over a 3 year period – ie one value per month, excluding August, so the children will revisit the values twice in their time at Coldfall

Our 33 values are:

LOVE, FUN, FRIENDSHIP, KINDNESS, RESPECT, HONESTY, TEAMWORK, PEACE, TRUST, CREATIVITY, HARD WORK, COURTESY, EMPATHY, EXCELLENCE, FORGIVENESS, GENEROSITY, HUMILITY, LOYALTY, PATIENCE, POSITIVITY, RESILIENCE, THOUGHTFULNESS, COURAGE, FREEDOM, SELF BELIEF, EQUALITY, FAIRNESS, ENTHUSIASM, RESPONSIBILITY, PERSEVERANCE, CITIZENSHIP, WISDOM, THANKFULNESS

These values were chosen by the school community – consulting parents, staff and pupils.

Some key aspects of Values Education:

  • Role of staff – staff act as role models for pupils, ‘what children see, children do!’ The relationships between staff and children are most significant. Having ‘smiling eyes’ and ‘unconditional positive regard’ for others, treating them with care and respect, trusting and valuing each other are essential. Staff also need to provide security through very clear and explicit high expectations and boundaries.
  • Reflection – taking time to be still, to ‘pause to be’ is part of Values Education.  It leads to greater self-awareness, allows a few moments of calm to enable one to refocus and thereby build capacity to learn, and it increases creativity, self-control and self-confidence. It should become part of daily classroom and assembly practice.
  • An ethical vocabulary – this creates consciousness and awareness, enables the values learning to be made explicit and enables better understanding of values. A shared language creates a trans-formative culture and lifts the community.

 

In July 2016 we were awarded our VbE Values Quality Mark.  The full report is HERE for you to read.

Watch this video of some of our lovely Year Threes discussing values here at Coldfall.

British Values and Extremism
At Coldfall, the British values of democracy, rule of law, individual liberty, mutual respect and tolerance of different faiths and beliefs are embedded within our Values Curriculum. These values are particularly linked to our school values of citizenship, freedom, equality, and fairness. Pupils learn about the values through assemblies, class PHSE/circle time and P4C (Philosophy for Children) sessions.

Pupils may also learn about government and law especially in Year 6. Visits to the Houses of Parliament and to local councillors have been arranged for pupils and MPs have been invited into school.

The school is aware of the need to be vigilant when it comes to any extremist attitudes or behaviour and appropriate actions will be taken accordingly. All staff are aware of the need to alert the Senior Leadership Team and Governing Body if they have any concerns of this nature.

Our overriding aim is to teach children to be resilient to extremism. This involves pupils being taught how to ask probing questions and make sound judgements for themselves about what is right and wrong. Our Global Curriculum enables pupils to learn that there are many differing views and experiences in the world outside of their own. Our Values Education and PHSE learning also promote the development of self-confidence, self-worth and a sense of identity. They allow pupils opportunities to reflect on and discuss different lifestyles and facets of identity, as well as being able to ask questions, to challenge inappropriate and harmful ideologies, and stand up for what they believe is right.

The principles of good teaching in which pupils reflect and question are the foundations on which we base successful building of resilience.

Forest Schools
We run a Forest School programme in various year groups. The concept of Forest Schools comes from Scandinavia and is gaining popularity in the UK as a means of enabling the children to learn in an outdoor environment. Our children will be using both the nature trail and Coldfall Woods as a location for these activities.

By participating in engaging, motivating and achievable tasks and activities in a woodland environment, each participant has an opportunity to develop intrinsic motivation and sound emotional and social skills. The Forest Schools Programme has demonstrated success with children of all ages who visit the same local woodlands on a regular basis and, through play, learn how to handle risks and most importantly to use their own initiative to solve problems and co-operate with others. Different groups will be going to the woods in all weathers (except for high winds) throughout the year. Children use full-sized tools, play, learn boundaries of behaviour, both physical and social, and grow in confidence and self-esteem.

Food Technology
We have a fully equipped food tech room where children, as part of their work with food, are taught how to cook and apply the principles of nutrition and healthy eating. We aim to instil a love of cooking in pupils as well as preparing them with the crucial life skills enabling them to feed themselves and others affordably and well now and in later life.
French

Our French curriculum is taught from Year 1 to Year 6 taught by class teachers using “Language Angels”.

interactive and fun songs, games and activities to help achieve confidence, accuracy and fluency for all students.

For more information on French resources at Coldfall, follow this link,

https://www.coldfall.haringey.sch.uk/?page_id=1915

Music
Music is an important part of life at Coldfall. All children receive weekly lessons with a specialist teacher as well as participating in singing assemblies and concerts. Many of our children have instrumental lessons through Haringey Music Service and these children are given the opportunity to participate in extra-curricular ensembles such as the school orchestra and guitar orchestra.

Our school choir as an exceptional reputation and have performed in numerous high profile events in prestigious venues including The Queen Elizabeth Hall, The Wigmore Hall, The Royal Albert Hall , Birmingham Symphony Hall and The Barbican. Next year they will record Benjamin Britten’s Saint Nicholas with The BBC Concert Orchestra. For more information on the musical life of Coldfall please click here:

https://www.coldfall.haringey.sch.uk/?page_id=3104

Sport
PE at Coldfall is led by a qualified teacher, supported by a sports coach.  Children receive two hours of PE a week, one hour with our specialist PE teacher and another with the class teacher, in addition to playtimes when they are encouraged to keep active and make use of the extensive grounds which include playing fields, a multi-use games area (MUGA), a climbing frame and climbing wall, trim trail and large playground.  A program of CPD for class teachers and TAs is under development, led by our specialist teacher and sports coach.

We make full use of the Haringey Sports Partnership and the school mini-bus to enter children into competitive inter-school competitions such as cross country, netball, tag-rugby, table tennis and football and continue to develop links with other local schools to ensure that participation for pupils is maximised.

For more information on PE at Coldfall, including Primary Sports Funding, follow this link http://www.coldfall.haringey.sch.uk/?page_id=352

Art
At Coldfall we have commissioned a bespoke scheme of work for art to complement our ‘Global Curriculum’.  Each half term, children will take part in an art project that will take place over the course of a week of afternoon sessions.  Please follow the link for further information.

For more information on Art at Coldfall, including Primary Sports Funding, follow this link

https://www.coldfall.haringey.sch.uk/?page_id=3161

Trips
Trips out of school are often organised to support children’s learning in the classroom. Letters are sent home with the children with a returnable permission slip. We do ask for contributions towards the cost. We aim to ensure a wide range and balance of visits throughout a child’s years in the school, for example visits to a theatre, a concert, museum, local area, and place of worship. We also take Year 6 on a five-day residential trip to Tollesbury, on the Essex coast.

Positivity

I’m aware that a banana may, on first thought, seem an obscure image to sum-up positivity. However, the colour is bright and optimistic and you can place the banana in front of ones’ face and present a bright and positive face to the world.