Foundation subjects
SMSC
SMSC stands for spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. SMSC is cross-curricular and has our children at the centre of its content.
Spiritual: Explore beliefs and experience; respect faiths, feelings and values; enjoy learning about oneself, others and the surrounding world; use imagination and creativity; reflect.
As a school we celebrate special events that reflect the diverse faith backgrounds of our pupils, families and staff. This is done through our Special Assemblies, our weekly assemblies, stories, music, art and shared reflection at the end of our school day.
Moral: Recognise right and wrong; respect the law; understand consequences; investigate moral and ethical issues; offer reasoned views.
At The Avenue School we support each pupil to reflect and question about their actions and words and how these impact on others. We seek to promote a caring and fair environment where each of our pupils are valued and enabled to thrive. This is supported through our PSHE/Seal activities, clear and high expectations of behaviour and other activities such as Recycling initiatives, raising money for charities such as Children in Need, Save the Children and Comic Relief and our Harvest Appeal.
Social: Use a range of social skills; participate in the local community; appreciate diverse viewpoints; participate, volunteer and cooperate; resolve conflict; engage with the ‘British values of democracy, the rule of law, liberty, respect and tolerance.’
We promote experiences for our pupil’s to enable them to be resilient, confident and to actively contribute to their home/school/local communities. Communication is integral and at the foundation of our learning and teaching to support our pupils in self-advocacy. We have a strong School Council who will be a steering group for advocating the UNCRC (United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. This academic year we will be partaking in “The Great Get Together” to celebrate the work we are doing in building kinder communities and ensuring everyone feels a sense of belonging.
Cultural: Appreciate cultural influences; appreciate the role of Britain’s parliamentary system; participate in culture opportunities; understand, accept, respect and celebrate diversity. The Avenue School is rich in diversity and we celebrate and embrace this daily and in assemblies as well as in our special events with parents such as International Day and Black History Month where all partake in a shared buffet. Brent will be London’s Borough of Culture in 2020. Our pupils will be partaking in many experiences and events to celebrate the stories, art and music of our borough.
Computing
Computing at The Avenue is split into three sections:
- Digital Literacy, where the pupils learn what the different types of technology are and how to stay safe online.
- Information Technology, where the pupils learn how to use computers, including IPads for a purpose, such as creating, saving and editing documents.
- Computer Science, where the pupils learn about programming using code.
The pupils are taught Computing across the curriculum, and it is actively encouraged for Computing to be taught within Maths, English and Science lessons where appropriate.
The Avenue School has very good computing resources, including:
- at least 4 pupil iPads in every class room
- a digital TV, linked to an Apple TV, in every class room – allowing iPads content and work to be shared with everyone
- access to networked photocopiers for printing and scanning
- access to the wired and wireless networks, allowing the sharing and accessing of information and digital resources
- a PC in every class
Information about online safety and our approach to it, can be found on our Safeguarding page.
Science
At The Avenue school we aim to inspire our pupils to be curious about the world and the environment. We use a sensory, hands-on, explorative and fun way of teaching in order to meet each child’s needs. We believe science learning is achieved when teaching is fun, engaging and visual. Our science curriculum is split into 4 strands:
- Scientific enquiry
- Life processes and living things
- Materials and their properties
- Physical processes
Science is delivered both as a discrete subject and through a cross-curricular approach. As part of the science curriculum the children engage in lots of different activities and experiments during science week. All our pupils have the opportunity to conduct their own experiments and experience being young scientists.
PE
We promote physical education to develop pupils’ physical competence and confidence. Pupils learn how to think in different ways to suit a wide variety of creative, competitive and challenging activities. They learn how to plan, perform and evaluate actions, ideas and performances to improve their quality and effectiveness.
We promote positive attitudes towards active and healthy lifestyles. Our curriculum includes dance, gymnastics, games and outdoor/ adventure, as well as activities such as swimming and yoga. Our children learn to participate in group games, which encourage turn taking, cooperation, and social skills.
Our occupational therapists work with the class teams to develop pupils’ body awareness and physical skills. Skills that are taught in P.E. sessions are transferable to general development, such as the use of playground equipment to increase play and social skills. Cross-curricular links ensure that P.E. is incorporated into school life, and other curriculum areas are taught and generalised through P.E.