Our Curriculum

At Upton Primary School, our vision is that every child will be known, valued and inspired to succeed, and our curriculum is how we make that happen. It is built on our Upton CARES values of Courage, Aspiration, Respect, Empathy and Succeeding-Together

Every child, including children with special educational needs and disabilities and those who are disadvantaged, follows the same ambitious curriculum wherever possible, with the support they need to succeed in it. A small number of children with high levels of need have a personalised curriculum, planned around their individual targets and agreed with their families. Our SEND Information Report explains how we adapt learning.

The National Curriculum and the Early Years Foundation Stage give our pupils a strong foundation in the essential knowledge and skills they need to become educated, responsible and confident citizens. We start with the foundations that unlock everything else: early reading and phonics through Read Write Inc., number through Mastering Number and White Rose Maths, and handwriting through Kinetic Letters. Every subject then follows a carefully ordered long term plan, so children build on what they already know, year on year, and remember what they have learned.

We go beyond the requirements of the National Curriculum so that learning is broad, balanced, ambitious and rooted in our community. Children learn about our local history, including Upton Colliery and Pontefract Castle. Children visit places across the Wakefield district and further a field. They learn a musical instrument with Wakefield Music Service in Year 4. Through British Values, our Everyone Belongs theme, Reflection Friday and our weekly Safeguarding Question of the Week, children learn to respect others, to keep themselves safe and to take their place as kind, confident members of our community.

Links to curriculum documents

 The links below will take you to further information about our curriculum and the subjects taught in school.

• Curriculum Statement
• Whole School Curriculum Overview
• Subject Long Term Plans
• Year Group Long Term Plans
• British Values and Everyone Belongs
• Relationships, Sex and Health Education (RSHE)
• Home Learning
• SEND Information Report
• School Policies

To find out more about our curriculum, please contact the school office on 01977 650820 or office@upton.wakefield.sch.uk, or speak to your child's class teacher.

Religious Education

At Upton Primary School, we are committed to providing a broad and balanced curriculum, which includes Religious Education (RE) as a key component. Our RE curriculum is planned to meet the Wakefield Agreed Syllabus. We teach it through Kapow Primary, and each unit is linked to a key question from the syllabus. Children learn about Christianity, the other principal religions represented in Great Britain and non-religious world views, including Humanism, and visits to places of worship bring their learning to life. RE encourages respect, understanding and tolerance for different beliefs, which is at the heart of our Everyone Belongs theme.

We recognise that parents and carers have the legal right to withdraw their child from all, or part of, Religious Education, in accordance with the Education Act 1996 and the School Standards and Framework Act 1998. If you wish to withdraw your child from all or part of RE, we kindly request that you inform the school in writing. We will then arrange a discussion to understand your concerns and agree what your child will do during RE lessons. While we respect every family's beliefs and decisions, we encourage parents and carers to consider the value of RE in promoting inclusion, tolerance and cultural awareness. Full details are in our Right to Withdraw Policy, which you can find in the Policies section of our website. For further information or to discuss the process, please contact the school office.

To find out more about the content of our RE curriculum, please see our RE Long Term Plan.

Relationships, Sex and Health Education (RSHE)

At Upton Primary School, we are committed to helping every child understand themselves, build healthy and respectful relationships and keep themselves safe. Relationships, Sex and Health Education (RSHE) is part of our Personal, Social, Health and Economic education (PSHE). It is taught from Nursery to Year 6 through OneLife, alongside our online safety lessons and our weekly Safeguarding Question of the Week.

One Life lessons give our children a clear, well-sequenced programme. In the summer term, we add our own Upton RHSE lessons for every year group, so that together they cover all of the statutory content in the Relationships Education, Relationships and Sex Education and Health Education guidance. These lessons are planned carefully for each age group and include keeping clean and healthy, families, naming body parts and staying safe using the NSPCC PANTS rule, bullying, money and the changes that happen during puberty. We let parents and carers know before sensitive lessons are taught, and you are welcome to look at any of the materials we use.

Relationships Education and Health Education are statutory under the Children and Social Work Act 2017, so all children take part in them. We recognise that parents and carers have the right to withdraw their child from sex education that is not part of the science curriculum. At Upton, this is one lesson: our Year 6 lesson on conception and birth, which is taught in July. If you wish to withdraw your child from this lesson, we kindly request that you inform the school in writing. We will then arrange a discussion to understand your concerns and agree what your child will do during the lesson. While we respect every family's decision, we encourage parents and carers to consider the value of this lesson in helping children to understand their bodies and to keep themselves safe. Full details are in our RSE Policy and our Right to Withdraw Policy, which you can find in the Policies section of our website. For further information, or to look at the materials, please contact the school office.

To find out more about the content of our RSHE curriculum, please see our PSHE Long Term Plan. Further subject information for PSHE and RSHE can be accessed via the links at the top of the page.