Curriculum

The primary school curriculum can be thought of in terms of the range of experiences and opportunities provided by the school for each child. These experiences involve learning in many ways, intellectually and socially.

Our school curriculum provides for teaching and learning in eight main areas. Account is taken of the experinces and outcomes highlighted within the curriculum for excellence. Our local circumstance and profile of our school guides the way we deliver expeiences for children to ensure that they benefit form interesting, enjoyable and relevant learning.

The eight main curricular areas offered in our primary school are;

The concepts of citizenship and enterprise and personal social development are encouraged and fostered through curriculum and social pursuits.

LANGUAGE

Language is at the heart of children’s learning.  Through Language, they receive knowledge and acquire skills and concepts.  Language enables children both to communicate effectively with others, and to examine their own and others’ experiences, feelings and ideas, giving them order and meaning.  Because language is central to children’s intellectual, emotional and social development, it has an essential role across the curriculum and helps each child’s learning to be coherent and progressive.

Your child’s earliest language is acquired in the home, and the school will build on that foundation.  This language will be varied and sometimes may not be English.  It will mirror the diversity of the community the school serves and will contribute to the learning that occurs in the classroom.  This language will be handled with sensitivity by our teachers so as to meet individual needs, encourage confidence and make learning a pleasurable experience.

Blackness Primary School attaches a high priority to giving pupils a command of language and the ability to use it appropriately and concisely.  Our language programme is designed to teach and develop listening, talking, reading and writing.  This includes having knowledge about language, listening attentively, talking to the point, reading with understanding and developing knowledge about the process of writing.

MATHEMATICS

Children enter school as active mathematical thinkers.  Early experiences include handling objects, noting pattern, sorting and matching.  As they grow older children continue to learn mathematical concepts through recreation and daily life.  At school their teacher will plan their experiences of mathematics with specific objectives in mind.  Various aspects of maths will be covered to incorporate mental strategies, problem solving information handling, number/money and measurement and shape/position and movement.

All the components of the maths curriculum are important and at all stages of the primary, attention is given to developing enquiry and problem-solving skills, as these are critical in acquiring and applying mathematics in every-day activities.

HEALTH AND WELLBEING

We aim to take a holistic approach in promoting health and wellbeing to enable children to –  

• make informed decisions to improve their mental, emotional, social and physical wellbeing
• experience challenge and enjoyment
• experience positive aspects of healthy living and activity for themselves
• apply their mental, emotional, social and physical skills to pursue a healthy lifestyle
• establish a pattern of health and wellbeing for now and in the future.

Health and wellbeing covers the following areas of learning –

• mental, emotional, social and physical wellbeing
• planning for choices and changes
• physical education, physical activity and sport
• food and health
• substance misuse
• relationships, sexual health and parenthood.

SCIENCES

Science is an important part of our heritage and we use its applications every day in our lives at work, at leisure and in the home.  Through learning in the sciences, children and young people develop their interest in, and understanding of, the living, material and physical world.  They engage in a wide range of collaborative investigative tasks, which allows them to develop important skills to become creative, incentive and enterprising adults in a world where the skills and knowledge of the sciences are needed across all sectors of the economy.

SOCIAL STUDIES

Through social studies, children and young people develop their understanding of the world by learning about other people and their values, in different times, places and circumstances; they also develop their understanding of their environment and of how it has been shaped.  As they mature, children and young people’s experiences will be broadened using Scottish, British, European and wider contexts for learning, while maintaining a focus on changes that have shaped Scotland.  With greater understanding comes the opportunity and ability to influence events by exercising informed and responsible citizenship.

TECHNOLOGIES

The technologies offer challenging activities which involve research, problem solving, exploration of new and unfamiliar concepts, skills and materials, and the rewarding learning which often results from creating products which have real applications.  These attributes are essential if, in the future, our children and young people are to play a major part in the global economy and embrace technological developments in the 21st century.

EXPRESSIVE ARTS

Art and Design, Drama, Music and Dance are included in this curricular area – the common feature being that they place special emphasis on developing creativity, imagination and personal response in each child.

Expressive Arts offer different ways of communicating with others, further enriching personal development – promoting appreciation, pleasure, skills and talent.

RELIGIOUS AND MORAL EDUCATION

Blackness Primary School is termed non-denominational and, indeed, our pupils hold a variety of faiths.  The programme for Religious Education in our school aims to help pupils learn about Christianity and other major world religions and to recognise religion as an important expression of human experiences.

The acts of religious observance and worship are held at Logie and St John’s Cross Church at Easter and Christmas.  Parents are welcome to attend.

Gatherings/Get Togethers for all children are also held on a regular basis. Although there may be no direct religious content at these meetings, social, moral and citizenship issues are a feature.

THE DEVELOPMENT OF PUPILS’ VALUES

In our school we are committed both through the ethos and the curriculum to provide appropriate opportunities for the development of pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural values.  This will be undertaken in partnership with parents and will take account of the individual needs of pupils and the views of parents.

The school welcomes and encourages diversity and individuality while emphasising our common commitment to moral values such as honesty, respect for others, compassion and justice.  It is a fundamental principle of our school that, all who are involved in the life of our school both have the right to be respected as individuals and carry the responsibility to act in a considerate and respectful manner towards others.

We implement Dundee City Council Policy for Equal Opportunities and ensure that all pupils have access to the full range of educational experiences available within the resources of the school.  We are firmly committed to the elimination of any form of discrimination on the grounds of race, religion, gender and disability.