At the beginning of KS2 pupils have two lessons a fortnight dedicated to Art, Craft and Design taught by a specialist Art and Design Teacher.

In Year 3 pupils start their year with Textiles. They are introduced to designing a product that could be worn in a garden centre. Pupils are introduced to hand sewing and learn how to join material together using simple stitches and how to sew a button on.

Pupils then move onto their artist focus lessons where we look at the Artwork of Frida Kahlo, this complements work produced in their social studies lessons. Pupils produce a 3D frame linked to their ‘likes and interests’ to frame their portrait, as Frida Kahlo often did. The next artist studied is Friedensreich Hunderwasser. Pupils start to discuss his work focusing on similarities and differences and produce a piece of work inspired by him. They are introduced to oil pastels and use these in their work. The Architecture of Hunderwasser is also explored as pupils model their own building from playdoh and pupils re- design the Holy Trinity building.

Ceramics are introduced in the spring term where pupils make a coil pot. They learn about the equipment used in ceramics along with simple joining techniques. Pupils then glaze their pots to make a good quality finished pot.

In the summer term to complement the social studies topics of World War 2 pupils design and make a plan using paper mache. They have the opportunity to model their ideas and create a three dimensional product.

In Year 4 pupils build on the sewing skills learnt in Year 3 where they are introduced to a wider range of hand sewing stitches, including cross stitch and blanket stitch. They are introduced to applique and use it to create a fabric pizza slice made from felt. Pupils also then design a menu and pizza box for their own pizza restaurant.

Pupils are then introduced to the world of Greek Mythology and the epic tales from ancient Greece. They design their own Greek vase and then create their own mythical creature which they then realise in play doh. Pupils go on to make a mosaic tile and try to depict their mythical creature in this.

In the Summer term pupils are transported to Japan. Looking at the Art and Culture of the country, pupils study Katsushika Hokusai and ‘The Great Wave’. Pupils explore a range of different Art mediums, including oil pastels and watercolours to create their own version. Celebrating Children’s day, pupils create Koinobori, a carp kite. Finally pupils explore the work of Yayoi Kusama and create their own ceramics piece based on her work.

Year 5 pupils are introduced to Dia de los Muertos, ‘ Day of the Dead’ and use this as inspiration for a Sugar Skull cushion. Pupils revisit hand sewing and combine applique, embellishment and fabric pens to design and make a colourful, creative finished product.

Pupils focus on producing well drawn and labelled design ideas in their Sea Creatures project which they then realise in paper mache.
For the artist study in Year 5 pupils look at the work of Gustav Klimt. Exploring different printing techniques and collage to create their own piece of work inspired by the Tree of LIfe and the portrait of Adele Bloch- Bauer.

In Year 6 pupils look at the art of the Aboriginal people, using the iconic patterns and themes of Dreamtime to inspire design ideas for a notebook cover. Pupils are introduced to the resist techniques of tie-dye and batik to decorate fabric and also learn how to use the sewing machine to construct their notebook cover.

Pop Art is the inspiration for the next project, in particular the work of Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein. Pupils design and make a clock from wood using coping saws and files to cut and shape their clock. They attach a working mechanism to create a functioning product. Keeping with the work of Roy Lichtenstein, pupils learn about Still life. Developing observational drawing skills, pupils focus on the shape and proportion of objects to create a still life final piece. Using previously gained knowledge of primary and secondary colours they add colour to their work using printing and oil pastels.

Finally pupils look at the work of Sandra Sielberzweig and create their own self-portraits in her style. Looking at different ways to draw facial features, they use chalk pastels to add colour and details.

The Computing curriculum now places less focus on simply being able to use technology, but on the children being able to create and program for themselves. Through the teaching of Computing we aim to equip pupils at Holy Trinity School with the foundational skills, knowledge and understanding of computing they will need for the rest of their lives. Our children will develop an understanding of computer science, become digitally literate and be able to express themselves and develop their ideas through information and communication technology.

These are some of the key skills which pupils at Holy Trinity School will develop:

• Use a range of technology confidently and safely including cameras, Beebots, computers and laptops.
• Create and write simple programs
• Debug programs
• Use logical reasoning to predict the behaviour of simple programs
• Use technology purposefully
• Create, organise, store, manipulate and retrieve digital content
• Develop understanding of computer networks and the opportunities they offer for communication and collaboration
• Recognise common uses of information technology beyond school

At Holy Trinity School, we ensure that the children are taught how to be safe when using the internet. We use age-appropriate resources from The Child Exploitation and Online Protection Command, or CEOP, to teach the children how to stay safe online. We also take part in Safer Internet Day every year, by dedicating a day to exploring how to use technology safely.

KS1: use technology safely and respectfully, keeping personal information private; identify where to go for help and support when they have concerns about content or contact on the internet or other online technologies.

KS2: use technology safely, respectfully and responsibly; recognise acceptable/unacceptable behaviour; identify a range of ways to report concerns about content and contact.

At Holy Trinity, we are a writing school. From Reception to Year 6 we ensure that our children are given the opportunity to express themselves through the written word for a variety of different purposes. Our writing tasks come through both current events and our class topics, which we hope will inspire and interest the children in what they are writing.

Writing begins with ‘mark making’ in Reception class. In their classroom environment, our youngest writers are presented with a range of different writing activities, from tracing letter shapes in sand and foam, to writing on whiteboards to proudly show off their work on display.

As our children progress through KS1, writing starts to become more structured and the children start writing ‘Star Writes’. All children have a Star Write book which holds all of these pieces of independent writing and are a great means of seeing just how much our children at Holy Trinity improve and progress in their writing throughout the year. At the end of each half term, each teacher chooses one child from their class to be awarded with a ‘Super Star Writer’ certificate to celebrate their efforts.

In KS2, our children carry on writing Star Writes and each child completes at least 2 pieces of independent work every half term. To further develop writing skills and content, KS2 children have ‘8 Minute Writes’. These are short, sharp bursts of writing – usually based on a picture stimulus – where our children can practise skills or grammatical concepts that they have learned in class.
Another crucial part of the writing process in Holy Trinity is ‘editing and improving’. The children are taught from an early age that even the best and most accomplished authors must check through their work before it is published and, bearing this in mind, we teach the children the skills needed to improve their writing in this way. As part of making their writing the best it can be, we also encourage our children to consider their presentation. In Holy Trinity, we teach cursive handwriting right from Reception and, as the children move through to Year 6, we expect cursive to be present in all of the children’s work across all subjects.
Writing progress and attainment is monitored closely to ensure that resources and topics are adapted according to the needs and interests of the children.

Reading is a key part of life in Holy Trinity. As you walk through Prep School, there is an abundance of evidence highlighting the enthusiasm for and importance of books. There is rarely a day when the Prep library is not full of children eager to share a story with a friend; borrow a book to take home or acquire valuable library and research skills. 

Each classroom has outside its door, a poster sharing which book each class is currently reading. At Holy Trinity, we recognise the importance of allowing time to listen to and enjoy stories and so each class has at least ten minutes of reading time scheduled into their timetable every day. During this time, the children can listen to their teacher reading, listen to an audio book or discuss what they have read with their friends. These and other books that the children regularly experience in class, will inspire their work in a variety of subjects. 

At Holy Trinity, we encourage our children to read a variety of both fiction and non-fiction. We do this by giving them access to a range of books, newspapers and other reading material. We also enjoy many celebrations of books throughout the year. Recent events have included Roald Dahl Day, Shakespeare Week and our annual celebrations of World Book Day. Participation in these events in Holy Trinity is exceptional and they are something both staff and children look forward to

In addition to English and SPaG or Phonics lessons, pupils have Reading Practice sessions in small groups (Reception - Year 3) or whole class Guided Reading lessons (Year 4 - 6). In Reading Practice sessions, pupils develop decoding, prosody and comprehension skills, following Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised. During guided reading lessons, children are asked comprehension questions tailored to stretch and challenge them and to develop the necessary reading skills: vocabulary, inference, prediction, explanation, retrieval, sequence/summarise (VIPERS). If appropriate, pupils access additional one-to-one reading opportunities with school staff, older students or reading volunteers.

Reading progress and attainment is monitored closely to ensure that resources and topics are adapted according to the needs and interests of the children.

At Holy Trinity we aim to provide the pupils with the opportunities to develop a curiosity and fascination about the world and its people that will remain with them for the rest of their lives. We aim to provide the children with opportunities to learn about diverse places, people, resources and natural and human environments as well as developing their understanding of the Earth’s key physical and human processes (in order to foster their understanding of the interaction between physical and human processes) and of the formation and use of landscapes and environments.

The national curriculum for geography aims to ensure that all pupils:
develop contextual knowledge of the location of globally significant countries
understand the processes that give rise to key physical and human geographical features of the world
are competent in the geographical skills needed to:
a) collect, analyse and communicate with a range of data gathered through experiences of fieldwork that deepen their understanding of geographical processes
b) interpret a range of sources of geographical information, including maps, diagrams, globes, aerial photographs and Geographical Information Systems (GIS)
c) communicate geographical information in a variety of ways, including through maps, numerical and quantitative skills and writing at length

Key Stage 1
At Holy Trinity, Key Stage 1 pupils will, over the two year cycle, investigate their local area (the school and its surroundings), a contrasting area in the United Kingdom and abroad. They will find out about the environment in chosen areas relevant to the year group’s Social Studies focus. They will also begin to learn about the wider world (looking at hot and cold places in the world, the continents and seas) and the UK (its four countries, capital cities, surrounding seas and weather patterns). They will carry out geographical enquiry inside and outside the classroom. Through such exploration, they will ask geographical questions about people, places and environments, and use geographical skills and resources such as maps, compasses and photographs.

Key Stage 2
During Lower Key Stage 2, over the two year cycle, our pupils will investigate a variety of people, places and environments both in the United Kingdom and abroad which may link to their Social Studies focus. The pupils will find out how people affect the environment and how they are affected by it. They will carry out geographical enquiry inside and outside the classroom. Through such exploration, children will ask geographical questions and use geographical skills and resources such as maps, atlases, aerial photographs and technology. There will be a specific focus on developing geographical skills and field work each year building on the work done at Key Stage 1.
During Upper Key Stage 2, over the two year cycle, pupils will have the opportunity to investigate people, places and environments, focusing specifically on the physical geography and the impact of deforestation and tourism (human geography), Mountains and Water and Rivers. The pupils will find out how people affect their environment and how they are affected by it. They will carry out geographical enquiry inside and outside the classroom. From such exploration, children will ask geographical questions, and use geographical skills and resources such as maps, atlases, aerial photographs and technology. Each year there will be a specific focus on developing geographical skills and field work, building on the work done at Lower Key Stage 2.

Cross Curricular Links
Geography provides a number of opportunities for cross curricular links with Maths, English, Art and Computing. Computing provides a different medium for research and presentation of the topics covered and also allows mathematical skills to be developed. All aspects of English are used within the Geography curriculum, especially building a rich vocabulary, deeming it a source of a wide variety of opportunities to enhance the English curriculum.

At Holy Trinity, children are immersed in historical enquiry through our Primary Years. From Year 1 to Year 6, our half-termly history topics allow children to fulfil the National Curriculum requirements in a child-led and child-centred manner.

We ensure that history teaching inspires our children’s curiosity in the world around them. For example, in Year 2, children gain historical perspective in the context of our local area, looking at Kidderminster’s historical carpet industry. Similarly, in Year 5, children inquire into the English Civil war, with a particular focus on the Battle of Worcester in 1651.

Children learn the chronological progression of British history from the Paleolithic era to the present day, including looking in-depth at both world wars. By Year 6, children have garnered the necessary knowledge and skills to be able to analyse how historical events have impact on current affairs, in, for example, their unit of inquiry based upon human migration. Children are skilled in scrutinising historical evidence in terms of its authenticity, using various secondary sources of information and primary sources where possible.

Children also look further afield, in inquiries into Ancient Egypt and Ancient Rome.

The children’s learning in history is enriched by theme days, artefacts, the use of ICT for independent research and high-quality day trips. For example, history-based trips include Bewdley Museum, the Heritage Severn Valley Railway and The Commandery museum in Worcester.

Wherever possible, history-based units of inquiry also link to teaching and learning in English, as well as geography and Art as examples. Teachers use high-quality texts to further enrich the children’s understanding of specific historical eras and events.

History is assessed against the National Curriculum objectives.

Mathematics is crucial in everyday life and it is integral to all aspects of life. Mathematics teaches pupils how to make sense of the world around them by equipping them with a powerful set of tools to understand and develop their computational skills, and an ability to solve number problems in a variety of contexts. Success also requires practical understanding of the ways in which information is gathered by counting and measuring, and is presented in graphs, diagrams, charts and tables.

We endeavour to ensure that pupils develop a positive and enthusiastic attitude towards Mathematics that will stay with them as they go through education and beyond.  The pupils need to show fluency for each objective; they need to show they can apply each objective and then show they have mastered each objective through problem solving and reasoning.

The planning is based on White Rose Maths Hub schemes of work that provides a curriculum plan that will support ‘Teaching for Mastery’. There is a termly plan for each year group. As part of each overview, a significant amount of time is devoted to developing key number concepts each year. This ensures pupils build their fluency as number sense will affect their success in other areas of mathematics. Pupils who are successful with number are much more confident mathematicians.

In an effort to raise mathematical standards, the pupils (from Year 3 onwards) answer a series of mathematical questions on a weekly basis. When the pupils answer the questions correctly within a 10 minute time limit, they move up the ‘GEM’ level. Certificates are awarded in the weekly Achievement assembly.

“If you talk to a man in a language he understands, it goes to his head. If you speak to him in his own language, it goes to his heart”
Nelson Mandela

At Holy Trinity School, we believe that learning another language at a young age is the key to becoming a confident and enthusiastic communicator. In addition, it helps children to better understand other cultures, expressions and styles of communication. This can encourage an appreciation of how big the world is and will open their minds greatly.
It is widely believed that “children who learn a language before their teenage years are more likely than older learners to achieve native-like pronunciation. Furthermore, research has found that children between the ages of 2 and 7 have an innate ability to acquire the rules of any language”.

Children who learn a second language are “more creative and better at solving complex problems”. Once children know a second language it is also easier for them to understand further language structures, which is why experts believe that every new language learned is easier than the one before.

At Holy Trinity School, we have a bespoke, enriched French curriculum, taught by language specialists which includes a variety of teaching methods and styles.

In Key Stage 1, we focus on developing the children’s Speaking and Listening skills, through stories, songs, drama and role play. The content includes basic vocabulary learning of Numbers, Colours, Family, Food and the Alphabet.

In Key Stage 2, the KS1 topics are reviewed and the vocabulary built upon, to create phrases and sentences. At this point we also introduce Writing and Reading into their skills development and more in depth topics are taught, such as Planets, Body parts, Countries and School Life. In past years, we have organised residential visits for Upper KS2 to France in order to develop their linguistic skills and experience the culture first hand. It has always proved to be invaluable for the children, inspiring and enthusing them as they continue their language learning into secondary school.

“Where words fail, music speaks”
Hans Christian Anderson

At Holy Trinity School, we know how important Music is to the overall, holistic well-being of children. It develops language skills, builds up confidence, self-esteem and teamwork skills as well as promoting a love of listening, performing and composing music in a range of styles and genres. We understand that Music is for all. It has a rare and unique ability to bring people together; music making can make a whole class, school and community feel connected to others and part of something bigger.

In an era where our children’s mental health is at an all-time fragility, “Music is the shorthand of emotion” (Leo Tolstoy). In a society where there can seem to be so much hostility and bullying, “Music is the great uniter. An incredible force. Something that people who differ on everything and anything else can have in common.” (Sarah Dessen).

At Holy Trinity School, we have a bespoke, enriched music curriculum, which responds to the interests and needs of cohorts/individuals. Through the teaching of music, we can provide life experience and a breadth of skills which can be applied in later life e.g. endurance, perseverance, resilience. Music can help promote good mental health and enable children to contribute to the community. It fosters a sense of belonging and builds cultural capital by promoting a broad range of future career opportunities. Music at Holy Trinity School lends itself easily to valuing, respecting and challenging each child, regardless of race, gender, religion, social background, culture or disability.

Curriculum enrichment
There are regular opportunities to perform within the classroom, the school and wider community. Professional musicians visit the school, trips are made to musical places of interest (Edward Elgar’s birthplace.) Prep and Senior Choirs are offered, as well as a recorder group and orchestra. Peripatetic music teachers also attend to deliver lessons in violin, cello, double bass, flute, clarinet, piano/keyboard, guitar, ukulele, trumpet, singing and percussion.

In Key Stage 1, we focus on practical music making and starting to learn about the interrelated dimensions of music, through singing and action songs, and playing the glockenspiel. Children have the opportunity to write their own rhythm compositions and perform musical stories. They have opportunities to respond to music through singing, moving, playing and creating.

In Key Stage 2, the music making previously learned is refined and developed, with an emphasis on improvisation and composition. Children start to learn the ocarina and then the recorder. There are opportunities for the children to join the choir and perform in the Young Voices concert as well as local performances and competitions in the community.

At Holy Trinity, we aim to provide the pupils with the opportunity to experience learning outside the classroom. Research suggests that there is a dramatic decline in the number of children in today’s society that experience natural spaces, compared to previous generations. As a result, the opportunities we provide within education are essential.

Throughout the academic year, Reception – Year 6, take part in events such as Earth Hour and The Great British Spring Clean.

Earth Hour
Earth Hour officially involves switching off your non-essential electric lights for one hour, to stand united for each other and the one home we all share. As a school, we celebrate our commitment towards our planet in a variety of ways. For example, creating bird feeders, gardening, litter picking and audits of electrical appliances.
Join One Of The World's Largest Movements for Nature | Earth Hour 2022

The Great British Spring Clean
The Great British Spring Clean is an annual litter picking event organised by the charity Keep Britain Tidy. The event spans approximately two weeks each year, and encourages local ‘litter heroes’ to take to the streets, parks and beaches of Britain to clear up as much litter as they can.
Great British Spring Clean | Keep Britain Tidy

Educational Visits/Enrichment Activities
During the academic year, we aim for all children from Reception – Year 6, to experience a minimum of three educational visits/enrichment activities. Educational visits help to enrich the curriculum and provide all children with first-hand experiences. Due to the recent COVID-19 pandemic, the number of educational visits reduced during the last two academic years.

We have high expectations of all our pupils and we aim to ensure all make expected or above progress in reading through consistent, systematic phonics teaching and high quality reading materials. Phonics is a body of knowledge and skills on how the alphabetic system works, essential to the beginning of a successful reader’s journey. By the time a child leaves Key Stage 1, we aim for them to be secure in the skills of decoding and word recognition; a fluent reader ripe for the development of higher order reading for meaning skills.

At Holy Trinity, we follow Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised.

Please read below additional information regarding our phonics scheme.

Children learn to read by:

• using phonics as the only route to decoding
• learning to say the phonic sounds
• learning to blend phonic sounds to read words
• increasing their fluency in reading sounds, words and books
• reading fully decodable books that are consistent with their phonic knowledge
• not using other strategies to work out words (including guessing words, deducing meaning from pictures, grammar, context clues or whole word recognition)
  reading books in a progressive sequence until they can decode unfamiliar words confidently.

 For more information, please see the following links:

Little Wandle resources for parents

Phase 2 sounds taught in Reception Autumn 1
Phase 2 sounds taught in Reception Autumn 2
Phase 3 sounds taught in Reception Spring 1
How we teach blending

Early Reading Resources to support your child at home can be found below.

Our Reading Culture

At Holy Trinity School, we recognise that reading is the key to unlocking lifelong learning and we are committed to establishing a rich reading environment that fosters a love of reading. We encourage our children to read a variety of both fiction and non-fiction. We do this by giving them access to a range of books, newspapers and other reading material. We benefit from well-stocked libraries and classroom mini-libraries offering regular book loans and quiet reading spaces. We also enjoy many book celebrations throughout the year, including regular and well-supported book fairs, Roald Dahl Day, Shakespeare Week, National Poetry Day, Summer Reading Challenge and our annual World Book Day celebration that has been known to last longer than a day!

At Holy Trinity, we recognise the importance of allowing time to share stories for pleasure, therefore each class has daily timetabled opportunities for reading and listening to stories and poems, in addition to Guided Reading sessions, Phonics lessons (in Reception, Years 1 and 2) and English lessons plus further opportunities for reading in other curriculum areas.

Please see below recommended reading lists for each year group, supplied by https://www.booksfortopics.com/

Reading Practice Book (Reception – Year 4)

This book has been carefully matched to a child’s current reading level. When matched correctly, a child will read it with little help to develop their fluency and confidence in reading. When listening to their child read their practice book, parents and carers should give their child lots of praise and celebrate their success! If their child cannot read a word, they should decode and blend it together. Once finished, they should talk about the book together.

Library Book (Reception – Year 6)

Library books have been selected by our children to enjoy with their families. Families could…

• read the book to or with their child
• discuss the pictures
• enjoy the story
• predict what might happen next
• use different voices for the characters
• explore the facts in a non-fiction book.

Parents and carers can have a positive impact on their child’s reading by…

• sharing books for reading practice and books for pleasure to encourage a love of books
• modelling the importance of reading practice to develop fluency, using different voices and expression, discussing unfamiliar vocabulary, talking about the pictures, predicting what might happen next
• encouraging their child to re-read books at home they have read at school to build fluency
• updating their child’s reading log at least three times each week with encouraging and informative comments (including book title and pages read).

The broad aim of religious education at Holy Trinity School is to promote the spiritual, moral, cultural and intellectual development of children.  We enable children to develop knowledge not only of Christianity but also of other world religions, especially those that are the main faiths of children within our school.  Children reflect on what it means to have a faith and to develop their own spiritual knowledge and understanding. This is achieved by encouraging children to explore and respond to these aspects of religion and draw upon their own experiences. We help the children learn about religions as well as from religions.

At Holy Trinity we believe RE subject matter gives particular opportunities to promote an ethos of respect for others, challenge stereotypes and build understanding of other cultures and beliefs. This contributes to promoting a positive and inclusive school ethos. We believe RE enables pupils to build their sense of identity and belonging, which helps them flourish within their communities and as citizens in a diverse society. It teaches pupils to develop respect for others, including people with different faiths and beliefs, and helps to challenge prejudice and prompts pupils to consider their responsibilities to themselves and to others, and to explore how they might contribute to their communities and to wider society. It encourages empathy, generosity and compassion.

An RE topic is taught every half term, often as a blocked area of study rather than as a set of individual weekly lessons.  At Holy Trinity School we follow the Worcestershire Agreed RE Syllabus which can be found below.

In the science department, we strive to create enjoyable and interesting lessons that feel different from other subjects because we incorporate practical or other kinaesthetic activities whenever we can. Our objective is to connect learning to real-life contexts so that our young people are able to make links between their school learning and experiences outside of school throughout their lifetimes. The senior school science teachers and primary school staff work and plan learning together to deliver lessons of the highest quality.

In our primary school at Holy Trinity, we deliver lessons through topic-based learning and link our science objectives to each topic. The children complete investigations, experiments and research with a supportive link between school and home learning. We build on the children’s science knowledge and understanding each year as they progress through the school, referring to their previous knowledge from the years before. Where possible, we make use of our outside space to gather information and complete investigations into the world around us.