Loanends Primary School Prospectus 2025

Curriculum The Revised Northern Ireland Curriculum has been statutory from September 2007. The curriculum builds on good classroom practice. At Loanends we provide a broad and balanced curriculum for all our pupils and it is our aim to give every pupil the opportunity to experience success in learning and to achieve as high a standard a possible. It is planned to provide a full range of learning experiences where pupils will develop their skills, understanding and knowledge. The curriculum is designed to be flexible, allowing children to have some influence over their learning. There are three stages of the Primary Curriculum The Foundation Stage Years 1 and 2 Key Stage 1 Years 3 and 4 Key Stage 2 Years 5, 6 and 7 The curriculum for the three stages is set out in the following Areas of Learning: Language and Literacy (Communication) Whilst we recognise that Literacy is a subject in its own right, it is also an important vehicle through which other subjects are taught. Talking and Listening, Reading and Writing are fundamental at each stage and once the basic skills have been mastered, pupils are encouraged to develop their creative skills in an interactive and stimulating environment, producing work for a variety of audiences. KS2 pupils use Accelerated Reader, a reading program that helps teachers support and monitor children’s reading practice. Pupils pick a

Loanends Primary School Prospectus 2024-25

times throughout the school year and results are used to generate the appropriate reading level for individual pupils. Since its introduction in 2018, achievement in reading has improved significantly.

Mathematics and Numeracy (Using Mathematics)

Pupils are encouraged to develop a sound understanding of mathematical concepts through practical activities and problem solving throughout the three stages of the Curriculum. Mental maths activities are a daily activity in all classrooms and basic number facts and methods of computation are addressed at the appropriate level of understanding. Mathematics is integrated across the curriculum, giving pupils the opportunity to connect and contextualise their learning to a variety of real life situations.

book at their own level and read it at their own pace. When finished, pupils take a short online quiz to measure how much of the book they understood. Star Reading is a complementary test, taken

online, and is used to measure pupil’s reading level. This multiple-choice test is taken at various

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