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The curriculum followed is the National Curriculum for England, with additional lessons in Arabic Language, Islamic Studies and Social Studies to meet the requirements of the UAE Ministry of Education.
The National Curriculum for England defines two 'key stages'; Key Stage 1 through 2. In addition to offering education from Key Stage 1 to 2, The Al Muna Primary School offers Foundation classes for 3 to 5 year olds.
The National Curriculum Core subjects are: English, Mathematics and Science. Foundation subjects are Design and Technology; Information and Communication Technology; History; Geography; Modern Foreign Languages (Year 3 upwards); Music; Art and Design; Physical Education and PSHCE. Due to Ministry of Education regulations in the United Arab Emirates, Religious Education is not taught. Arabic, Islamic Studies and Social Studies are taught as per UAE Ministry of Education guidelines.
Staff plan on a weekly basis within the framework of the school's long and medium term planning. Lessons are carefully differentiated to cater for mixed abilities.
A Personal, Social and Health Education (PSHE) programme called SEAL runs throughout the school. From Year 5, it also includes Citizenship.
The curriculum gives a complete learning experience to the child. It is not only the lessons and activities that are planned, organised and provided when at school, it is also the tone, standards, quality and discipline of the school and the attitudes and values it portrays. This is often referred to as “the hidden curriculum”.
The curriculum should be seen as much in terms of experience, as of the knowledge and skills we believe the children should acquire. It should also be thought of as being equally concerned with personal qualities, behaviour and conduct.
In planning the curriculum and putting it into practice, we ensure that excellence is pursued and valued, that lessons are challenging and have pace and direction. Whether the children are taught individually, in groups or as part of a whole class, the teaching meets their individual needs. Certain experiences, knowledge and skills that we promote, are essential to the well rounded development of every pupil and form the basis to future learning. Ongoing assessments take place in each Year Group, and at certain times of the year there will be more formal assessments.
A Whole School Curriculum Plan, based on the National Curriculum for England, serves as a framework for our teaching and learning and helps ensure consistency and continuity between classes and across Year Groups. Children are assessed after entry to the school and on an ongoing basis throughout the academic year. Assessments enable every child’s progress to be carefully tracked. At the start of each term, every parent receives a overview of the topics that will be studied.
The following paragraphs give some detail about each of the National Curriculum Subjects. Literacy
During their years at The Al Muna Primary School School the children will be encouraged to develop their language abilities in the four key areas of speaking, listening, reading and writing. The aim is to improve the child’s fluency in using spoken and written language for a wide range of purposes and to develop their understanding and critical appreciation of the language of literature and of daily life. Speaking and Listening
Spoken language comes naturally to most children, but there is a continuing need for development and improvement. Most of the talking young children take part in at home is casual and if they forget what they wanted to say, or fail to make themselves clear, then there is usually someone who will take over. As the children progress through the Key Stages, it is the school's policy to encourage them to put longer and more expressive units of speech together and to select a vocabulary and a style appropriate to the occasion. Much of this is developed through Drama and Speaking and Listening activities in Literacy.
A vital part of growth and personal development is learning to be a good listener. Children are helped to handle increasingly complex speech by their teachers and just as important, they are given opportunities for group discussion, for a variety of purposes, with other children. They will learn to plan and carry out an activity together, or to take into account the opinions and ideas of others.
Reading
The ability to read is crucial to a child’s progress. At The Al Muna Primary School we seek to foster in every pupil a willingness to read for enjoyment and for information and to progress towards the ability to skim and scan textbooks and reference books for relevant information at the same time as understanding the text. The vital foundations of this process are laid in the early years. Parents can give tremendous support to their children by demonstrating the enjoyment of reading and taking every opportunity to stress how useful reading is, whether by pointing out the signs and symbols in the street or labels in the shop or at home. It is from this positive attitude to reading at home and in the school that fluency in reading is achieved.
Many of our younger children learn to read by breaking words into sounds. Please encourage your child to practise their sounds at home. Success in this area of reading at a young age will help with spelling in later years. Writing
Learning to write is a much more deliberate and painstaking process than learning to speak; there are many things to think of all at the same time. A high priority is given to developing the ability of your child to learn to use English fluently and confidently, to receive and communicate facts and ideas freely with accuracy, sometimes creatively and with quality of expression. We encourage children to attempt mark making in FS1 and to develop this into writing words, lists and sentences in FS2. By Year 1, children are encouraged to think about VCOP (vocabulary, connectives, openers, punctuation) whenever they are writing. By assessing childrens’ writing on a termly basis and comparing writing levels across the school’s entire age range, we are confident that children will become successful writers by the time they reach year 6. Mathematics
The main aim of Mathematics teaching is to give the children the knowledge and skills to enable them to use Mathematics comfortably in everyday life. This means much more than 'doing sums' or being able to manipulate numbers and symbols, although these are important.
The children will be introduced to Mathematics in a practical way, using apparatus and material. The handling of Mathematics apparatus and the structured use of the immediate school environment will help the children gain essential concepts, whilst practising and developing skills which lead to a sound understanding of mathematical thinking and computation. At the appropriate time, the children learn their tables and have regular mental Maths tests. In years 4, 5 and 6, children are in sets for Maths according to their mathematical ability. This enables some children to enjoy small groups and a great deal of teacher intervention. Science
Science plays an important part in our curriculum. All children experience a broad, balanced, continuous science curriculum that covers work on living things and their environment, materials and their uses, Earth and Space, Forces and Energy. By taking part in practical activities, the children are taught the skills of scientific investigation which include observation, planning, predicting, hypothesizing, measuring and fair testing.
Science work is linked closely with other areas of the curriculum, particularly mathematics, language, Information & Communication Technology and Design and Technology. History, Geography and Social Studies
Children will develop their understanding of and their skills in Geography and History through class projects and individual topic work. The National Curriculum guidelines are used in the planning of the lessons. History and Geography form the core of many of our cross curricular topics and themes with UAE social studies integrated throughout. Design Technology (DT)
The children are given the opportunity to work with and gain experience of a wide range of materials and techniques. The children are encouraged to plan and make their designs and to evaluate the end product, often suggesting improvements for their designs. Physical Education (PE) and Swimming
P.E., Swimming and Outdoor Games are part of the normal timetable and an important part of the National Curriculum. Parents are therefore asked to send a note to the school to inform the class teacher if, for any valid reason, their child is not able to take part in these activities, i.e. ear infection, damaged ligaments. The children attend Physical Education lessons in a well-equipped and spacious sports hall or outside. In addition to this, from FS2, children have swimming classes and are involved in various outdoor games. Specialist Teachers take the children for Swimming and Physical Education. In swimming the children are involved in development of stroke technique. The school has facilities for basketball, netball, football, rugby and badminton as well as various other ball games. In Physical Education the children learn to control their movement in negotiating tasks with and without apparatus and to develop a sensitive awareness to the quality of body movement. Dance will give the pupil the opportunity to express ideas and emotions creatively to music. In Games, children will develop hand eye coordination and footwork by using a range of sports equipment so that they can participate in a variety of activities from football to tennis. The different areas of P.E are Dance, Games, Swimming, Athletics and Gymnastics. In addition, during their residential visit to Dibba, Year 5 and 6 children embark on Outdoor, adventurous activities. Art
Art is an often integrated with other subject areas. We aim to give our children the use of a wide range of materials and techniques as well as introducing them to a variety of styles and media. In doing this we introduce them to the works of great artists as well as providing the freedom to develop their own style and approach. Information and Communication Technology (ICT)
Children are introduced to a variety of software applications and have controlled Internet access for their learning. All classes have access to networked computers, interactive whiteboards and a wide range of other software applications, including control technology. We aim to develop the confidence of all children in the use of ICT so that they will take ongoing responsibility for their own learning and we provide opportunities for them to decide which ICT application is appropriate to use in their work. Music.
As well as singing, children engage in playing a range of percussion instruments and electric keyboards. The main aim in Music is to help children to enjoy being part of a musical experience of sound and rhythm through listening, appraising and performing. In Year 2, children learn to play the recorder and from Year 3, children may opt for the opportunity to play an instrument. Personal, Social, Citizenship and Health Education (PSHE).
Through our SEAL programme (Social and Emotional Aspects of Learning), children will learn about themselves as developing individuals and as members of a community. They will also learn the basic rules and skills for keeping themselves healthy and safe and for behaving well. The children will have opportunities to show they can take some responsibility for themselves and their environment. The children learn about their own and other people's feelings and become aware of the views, needs and rights of other children and adults. They will develop social skills such as how to share, take turns, play, help others, resolve simple arguments and resist bullying. At appropriate stages, the children will also learn about themselves as growing and changing individuals with their own experiences and ideas. They will become more mature, independent and self-confident and learn about the wider world and their role in the communities within it. Arabic, Islamic Studies and Social Studies
Specialist teachers present the Arabic lessons and children follow the guidelines as set out by the Ministry of Education, giving them an opportunity to learn about the language of the United Arab Emirates. The content of the lessons is relevant to the age of the children, with an emphasis on listening and speaking. Children with Arabic as a first language are taught these lessons in Arabic, following the Ministry curriculum. French
French is taught throughout Key Stage 2 by a specialist French Teacher. The lessons are designed primarily to develop the childrens’ listening and speaking skills. Reading and writing is included and a wide range of visual and audio stimuli are used, the emphasis being placed upon developing the child’s confidence in speaking French.
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