Our Curriculum
At Stebbing Primary School we follow the Primary National Curriculum.
Early Years Foundation Stage
The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) encompasses a statutory curriculum designed for children aged from birth to five. In order for all of the Early Learning Goals to be met by the end of the year, we provide a topic-based approach which is carefully planned to include child-led and adult-led activities. Throughout all learning activities, all staff make close observations of the child’s learning and behaviour which is continually assessed and evidenced.
The Montessori materials and principles are fundamental to develop the key skills outlined in our EYFS curriculum with a mixture of indoor and outdoor learning opportunities facilitated to effectively support the children in their spontaneous, independent learning.
Maths
At Stebbing, our Mathematics curriculum inspires a lifelong love of learning through hands-on exploration, deep conceptual understanding, and real-world application. Underpinned by the belief that every child can achieve mastery, we keep classes learning together while nurturing curious, confident, and inquisitive mathematical thinkers.
Core Framework & Ethos
Our curriculum focuses on three fundamental strands: fluency, reasoning, and problem-solving. We use the White Rose framework to break complex concepts down into small, progressive steps—an approach that aligns with our school’s Montessori ethos.
The Concrete, Pictorial, Abstract (CPA) Approach
To ensure a crystal-clear understanding of every concept, teachers guide pupils through a three-stage learning journey:
- Concrete: Hands-on play and exploration using physical manipulatives to build intuitive understanding.
- Pictorial: Drawing and visually representing ideas in multiple formats to bridge physical and mental concepts.
- Abstract: Moving confidently to formal numerals, symbols, and abstract problem-solving once foundations are secure.
Real-World Application: ‘Discovery Maths’
To contextualise learning and bring math to life, we are developing ‘Discovery Maths’ across the entire school. Taught at the end of each unit, these dedicated lessons provide children with rich opportunities to apply their newly acquired mathematical knowledge to real-world problems and practical investigations.
Enrichment, Memory & Progress
- ‘Dive Deeper’ Challenges: Children are regularly given opportunities to showcase advanced mastery by explaining and applying concepts in varied ways.
- Continuous Retrieval (‘Flashback 4s’): Short starter activities run throughout the week, continually revisiting prior learning alongside new topics to cement knowledge in long-term memory.
- Tracking & Assessment: Progress is continuously monitored through ongoing teacher assessment and formal end-of-block unit reviews, ensuring every child’s growth is tracked across the academic year.
English
At Stebbing Primary School, we believe that mastering the English language is fundamental to navigating the world. Our curriculum unifies and strengthens children’s ability to listen attentively, speak confidently, and read and write for diverse purposes. By inspiring enthusiastic, critical readers across fiction, poetry, drama, and non-fiction, we empower pupils to express themselves creatively and prepare them to thrive in the future.
Phonics
We use the Phonics scheme Essential Letters and Sounds.
Repetition is the most effective strategy for reading success, fluency and progress, so for this reason Wrens, Robins and selected children from other classes will keep the same reading book for one week. At Stebbing, we ask that children read their book at home four days each week. While learning to read, this is a sequence we recommend to get the most out of the four days of reading:
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Day 1 |
Decoding Working out the words by recognising letter sounds and blending. |
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Day 2 |
Fluency Reading the book more fluently having worked out the words last time. |
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Day 3 |
Expression Reading the book with expression now they are familiar, fluent and confident with the words. |
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Day 4 |
Comprehension Now the actual reading is taken care of, this is the best time to talk about the book:
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We may also send home additional reading books alongside the phonics scheme books. These additional books are also a tool, so children learn vocabulary, sequences, characters & settings. In order to be successful with these additional books and to promote a love of reading and self-confidence, they are designed to be shared as they will feature graphemes that the children are not yet familiar with.
Reading
At Stebbing Primary School, we believe reading is the foundation of all learning – it puts the broader world within reach. While the National Curriculum sets our benchmark, our bespoke reading curriculum, fine-tuned over years of practice, ensures pupils master deep comprehension while cultivating a genuine love for books. Using Reading VIPERS, we systematically cover key comprehension skills in every year group. Paired with daily reading, shared whole-class books, and access to exceptional literature, we empower every child who enters our school to become a lifelong reader.
Writing
At Stebbing Primary School, writing is the ultimate synthesis of our English curriculum. It provides pupils with a platform to demonstrate their learning by weaving together ideas inspired by rich literature with the spelling, grammar, and punctuation skills developed across the school. While fully aligned with National Curriculum objectives, our bespoke curriculum and assessment framework is tailored specifically to the unique needs of our children. Ultimately, our goal is to nurture lifelong writers who draw upon creativity, prior knowledge, and technical skill to write with clarity, confidence, and purpose.
To continuously enhance our writing curriculum, we are introducing The Literary Tree to drive high-quality teaching and learning. We will adopt a phased implementation model throughout the 2026/2027 academic year, leading to a full rollout of the programme in September 2027.
Spelling
Building on the high-quality phonics foundation established in Early Years and Key Stage 1, spelling at Stebbing Primary School is actively nurtured both in class and at home. Our curriculum is adapted from the Spelling Shed scheme, using its interactive online platform to make practice engaging and fun. Each week, new spelling patterns are explicitly taught, reinforced across daily English lessons, and consolidated through linked home learning tasks. We maintain high, age-appropriate expectations in every year group to build accuracy and confidence. Furthermore, home effort is celebrated in our weekly assemblies, while our annual internal and external Spelling Bee competitions provide exciting extension opportunities for higher-attaining spellers.
Grammar and Punctuation
At Stebbing Primary School, grammar and punctuation are taught through regular, dedicated lessons tailored to each stage of a child’s development. Our structured curriculum seamlessly integrates all National Curriculum objectives, ensuring pupils build a secure, age-appropriate understanding of language mechanics.
Science
2026-2027 Science Curriculum Overview
2026-2027 Science Subject Improvement Plan
In Science we use a knowledge and skills based, broad and diverse curriculum. We believe we are providing an exciting curriculum to engage and enthuse the children. We aim for children to be given the opportunity to take part in scientific enquiries and for these to be child led. We want children to leave our school with good attainment of knowledge and skills but also a love and enthusiasm for learning science. During Science lessons, teachers are developing lessons to demonstrate both a knowledge and skills learning objective. This will enable teachers to gain a more in depth understanding of where the children are when assessing. We are expecting to see a mixture of teacher and child centred approaches. The explicit teaching of knowledge will be mainly teacher led but we hope that scientific enquiries and investigations are more child centred, whereby each enquiry lesson focuses on a key skill that links back to our TAPs wheel. Children should be aware of the different skills that they are using within each lesson and develop these skills throughout their Stebbing journey.
Children should be exposed to certain scientific concepts throughout their school life. Therefore topics are pre-taught and re-taught in year groups other than those specified in the National Curriculum. These are taught using a more scientific enquiry approach where children can practise their skills and experiment with finding out knowledge for themselves. We believe that this is what creates an inquisitive mind-an important element in Science.
Art and Design
2026-2027 Art & Design – Road Map
2026-2027 Art & Design Curriculum Overview
2026-2027 Art & Design Subject Improvement Plan
Art taught here reflects our ethos; our value of diversity, creativity & children’s uniqueness, to develop self-confidence and skills necessary for success in life. It is a subject in which every child succeeds. Learners are empowered to develop their skills and ideas by being given time and freedom to really interpret, explore and experiment, with design and a variety of media. They know there is no predetermined ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ answer.
Computing
2026-2027 Computing – Road Map
2026-2027 Computing Curriculum Overview
Technology has become an integral part of our children’s lives, and using it safely and confidently is of the utmost importance. We want to create learners who are excited to explore and independently solve problems whilst understanding how to look after themselves when using a variety of technology. The internet has become an important part of their school life across the curriculum and we want to build their computing skills so that they can use them to improve their learning in all areas. Computing is an area of the curriculum which will encourage skills based learning and problem solving skills to produce confident, independent users.
Design and Technology
2026-2027 Design & Technology – Road Map
2026-2027 Design and Technology Curriculum Overview
2026-2027 Design & Technology Subject Improvement Plan
Design and technology is a hands-on subject that allows plenty of opportunities for practical learning. It is taught in a cross-curricular way to allow children to use previously taught knowledge to support their research and design, whilst encouraging them to draw on their own experiences to help generate ideas. We aim for children to work towards solving problems based on real life contexts to encourage enthusiasm and ambition. For each project the children will follow the process of design, make and evaluate and will focus on food and nutrition, mechanisms and structures and textiles. This will allow the children to develop their skill set within each area during each school year. Design and Technology goes hand in hand with our Montessori ethos at Stebbing School. It encourages independence and gives children the opportunity to use tools and equipment effectively and safely, learning applicable skills for later life.
Forest School
Forest School is an inspirational process that offers ALL learners regular opportunities to achieve and develop confidence and self-esteem through hands-on learning experiences in a woodland or natural environment with trees. Forest School is a specialised learning approach that sits within and complements the wider context of outdoor and woodland education.
The ethos is shared by thousands of trained practitioners across the UK and beyond. Its roots reach back to early years pioneers in outdoor learning and across the sea to Scandinavia.
The Forest School Association has set out 6 Principles for good Forest School practice-
- Principle 1 – Forest School is a long term process of frequent and regular sessions in a woodland or natural environment, rather than a one-off visit. Planning, adaptation, observations and reviewing are integral elements of Forest School.
- Principle 2 – Forest School takes place in a woodland or natural environment to support the development of a relationship between the learner and the natural world.
- Principle 3 – Forest School aims to promote the holistic development of all those involved, fostering resilient, confident, independent and creative learners.
- Principle 4 – Forest School offers learners the opportunity to take supported risks appropriate to the environment and to themselves.
- Principle 5 – Forest School is run by qualified Forest School Practitioners who continuously maintain and develop their professional practice.
- Principle 6 – Forest School uses a range of learner -centred processes to create a community for development and learning.
French – Modern Foreign Languages
2026-2027 Languages Curriculum Overview
2026-2027 Languages Subject Improvement Plan
The learning of a foreign language provides a valuable educational, social and cultural experience for pupils. Pupils develop communication and literacy skills that lay the foundation for future language learning. They develop linguistic competence, extend their knowledge of how language works and explore differences and similarities between French and English. Learning another language raises awareness of the multilingual and multicultural world and introduces an international dimension to pupils’ learning, giving them an insight into their own culture and those of others. The learning of a foreign language provides a medium for cross-curricular links and for reinforcement of knowledge, skills and understanding developed in other subjects.
Children are taught French from Year 3 to Year 6 with some elements such as songs and rhymes being introduced in the younger classes.
Geography
2026-2027 Geography – Road Map
2026-2027 Geography Curriculum Overview
2026-2027 Geography Subject Improvement Plan
In Geography, we stimulate children’s curiosity, imagination and fascination about the world around them whilst developing their knowledge and understanding, key language and geographical skills. Guided by the National Curriculum across Key Stages 1 and 2, learning progresses from fundamental spatial awareness—such as mapping the school grounds and local neighborhood—to understanding complex physical landscapes, climate zones, and human environments. By combining early fieldwork with foundational map-reading skills, Geography nurtures natural curiosity and helps young learners make sense of their place in an increasingly interconnected world.
History
History documentation will be uploaded soon
In History, we spark a natural curiosity about where we have come from, how the past shapes our present, and how it guides our future. We empower pupils to think critically, analyse evidence, and develop transferable skills that enrich their learning across the curriculum. History is not a passive subject; our children act as co-investigators alongside their teachers, building independent minds as they actively discover the world around them.
Music
2026-2027 Music Curriculum Overview
2026-2027 Music Subject Improvement Plan
In line with the National Curriculum for Key Stages 1 and 2, our Music curriculum fosters a lifelong love of music by developing pupils’ abilities to sing, play instruments, listen critically, and compose with confidence. To deliver a vibrant and progressive journey across all year groups, we follow the Charanga scheme of work, placing a core emphasis on its Creative Curriculum elements. This flexible, hands-on approach puts creative expression, improvisation, and musical discovery at the heart of every lesson—empowering children to explore musical concepts deeply while actively inventing, collaborating, and performing as young musicians.
Personal, Social, Health Education (PSHE)
2026-2027 PSHE Curriculum Overview
2026-2027 PSHE Subject Improvement Plan
At our school, we deliver a PSHE curriculum which is accessible to all that will maximise the outcomes for every child so that they are equipped to lead a successful life within, and beyond, Stebbing Primary School. We provide our children with opportunities to learn about school and British Values as well as rights and responsibilities; we want to equip our children with the knowledge and skills to appreciate what it means to be a member of a diverse society. Our children are also encouraged to develop their sense of self-worth by playing a positive role in contributing to school life and the wider community.
In reception, PSHE is taught through Personal, Social and Emotional Development. This is broken down into 3 key themes: self-regulation; managing self; and building relationships. In key stage 1 and 2, PSHE is taught predominantly through the curriculum we have designed by adopting the PSHE Association key themes used in conjunction with a range of tools and resources. The core themes are: Health and Wellbeing, Living in the Wider World and Relationships. These are further broken down into topics that are covered across the year. Teachers and support staff adapt these topics to suit the needs of the class whilst ensuring that all curriculum content is covered.
As a result of this, our children will have developed their knowledge and skills so they can be healthy, independent and responsible members of society who understand how they are developing personally and socially, and who have the confidence to tackle many of the moral, social and cultural issues that are part of growing up.
Physical Education (PE)
2026-2027 Physical Education Curriculum Overview
2026-2027 PE Subject Improvement Plan
SPG Planning, reporting and evaluating tool
At Stebbing Primary School, our physical education curriculum aims to cultivate a lifelong love of physical activity, sport, and healthy living. Delivered by classroom teachers alongside specialist coaches, our progressive curriculum builds skill and confidence across every year group. We complement core lessons with a broad range of extracurricular clubs, inclusive sports events, and targeted opportunities for higher-attaining athletes. Through daily physical activity, inter-house competitions and leadership roles like Sports Captains, physical education plays a pivotal role in holistic child development – ensuring every pupil enjoys a positive, inspiring experience of sport.
Religious Education (RE)
2026-2027 Religious Education Curriculum Overview
2026-2027 RE Subject Improvement Plan
RE lessons at Stebbing teach us that other people’s opinions are just as important and valid as our own, even when they are different to our own and we don’t agree with them; that we ourselves are free to believe what we wish, as are others; because faith as an attribute, as a concept, does not require or rely on fact or evidence; Faith is by definition what we/others believe, and choose to believe.
RE taught at Stebbing encourages philosophical thinking and discussions – it is more about teaching the children that there is no right or wrong way – we are all free to believe what we wish, what our family wishes, make up our own minds as & when. However, finding out about other ways of life and talking about the similarities & differences promotes a more tolerant and peaceful world, to know it is ok to disagree and be different, but that it is more important to understand and accept differences, not hate them.
Understanding and accepting differences will help each child to know and feel that they, with their uniqueness, also belong in our diverse world. This self-confidence they can take with them through life. Children of Stebbing will contribute to a more peaceful, more united future.
Year Group Curriculum Overviews
2026-2027 Curriculum Overview Year 1
2026-2027 Curriculum Overview Year 2
2026-2027 Curriculum Overview Year 3
2026-2027 Curriculum Overview Year 4
2026-2027 Curriculum Overview Year 5
2026-2027 Curriculum Overview Year 6
Should you wish to find out more about our curriculum please contact:
Mrs Lucy Heys
Headteacher
mrs.heys@stebbingprimary.co.uk
01371 856260