Principles of the Curriculum

At Dove Green Private School, we follow a British independent school curriculum, which incorporates elements of the English National Curriculum developed to take account of UAE National priorities and to ensure pupils are equipped with the tools to become global learners.

Our curriculum is designed to provide:

Breadth – of subject matter and learning experience
Balance – between styles and areas of learning
Relevance – to the needs of the individual, past and present experiences, cultural backgrounds and current locality.
Coherence – through links between areas of learning and long, medium and short term planning
Equality of opportunity – removing barriers to learning and assessment through setting suitable learning challenges which respond to diverse learning needs
Access – taking account of individual needs and abilities and allowing teacher, parent and pupil led choices

Our curriculum at Dove Green Private School is carefully designed to develop pupils as independent and lifelong learners as well as encouraging a spirit of intellectual curiosity and the pursuit of knowledge. We develop in our pupils the capacity for independent thought and action, and combine this with rational and responsible decision-making.

The attainment of each child’s full potential in terms of physical, emotional, social and intellectual development is the principle aim of the school. We monitor progress and ensure that age related standards are the minimum requirement.

Physical Development

Dove Green Private School seeks sensitively to cultivate each child’s physical poise, skills and confidence, through a healthy diet, adequate play, a safe and spacious school environment, and organised sporting activities. Each of these factors makes a significant contribution to and is a vital precondition for effective learning.

Emotional Development

Dove Green believes that effective learning requires a healthy, settled and evolving emotional life. To this end we prioritise pastoral care of the children, including a happy and relaxed atmosphere in classrooms and around the school, to ensure that children are ready to enjoy the curriculum with full commitment and without unnecessary distraction.

Social Development

Staff at Dove Green believe that effective learning includes developing social skills, towards both adults and peers. To this end, all subjects are taught in a variety of ways interactively, with a variety of lesson organisation to include group work and paired work, as well as whole class teaching. Teachers attempt to model and to teach acceptable and appropriate behaviour, both inside and outside the classroom.

Intellectual Development

Ultimately the school’s success is measured in terms of the attainment by each pupil of his or her intellectual potential. This is achieved by the combination of all of the above conditions with effective teaching. Through an effectively planned curriculum, the school attempts to equip pupils with the thinking tools, knowledge, skills and attitudes, which will prepare them for their secondary education and life within the wider community.

Equal Opportunities

We believe all pupils in the school should have equal opportunities and equal access to the curriculum. The only stipulation the school has is that the learning of the class is not overly disrupted or the child and peers are not put at any risk.

Disabilities:

In accordance with the statutory requirements the school aims to make the curriculum inclusive and accessible to all pupils as far as is reasonably practicable.

Foundation Stage Curriculum

At Dove Green Private School, we follow the principles of the national EYFS Framework for pupils in the Foundation Stage while extending and enriching the curriculum to best suit our international school and our multi-cultural environment.

The EYFS incorporates seven areas of learning; three prime areas and four specific areas, as follows:

Prime Areas:

Communication & Language, Physical & Development, Personal, Social & Emotional Development

Specific Areas:

Literacy, Mathematics, Understanding the World, Expressive Arts

Each area of learning and development is implemented through planned, purposeful play and through a mix of adult-led and child-initiated activity. Play is essential for pupil’s development, building their confidence as they learn to explore, to think about problems, and relate to others. Pupils learn by leading their own play, and by taking part in play which is guided by adults.

There is an ongoing judgement to be made by practitioners about the balance between activities led by pupils, and activities led or guided by adults. Practitioners must respond to each pupil’s emerging needs and interests, guiding their development through warm, positive interaction. As pupils grow older, and as their development allows, it is expected that the balance will gradually shift towards more activities led by adults, to help pupils prepare for more formal learning.

The Early Learning Goals establish expectations that most children should reach by the end of the Foundation stage. These goals are used in conjunction with our children’s interests and their current development stage to inform our planning. We recognise that some pupils might be working beyond the goals and therefore planning might also incorporate the National Curriculum Year 1 activities in FS2.

Alongside the EYFS Framework, our children will also receive specialist teaching in Arabic, music, PE and Swimming.

We encourage cross-curricular opportunities both in and outside of the classroom, which is achieved through our thematic topic planning which runs in half term blocks for FS2 and monthly units for FS1. Pupils in the Foundation stage will study the following Thematic Topics:

FS1: Settling in and Spiders, All about me, Transport and things that move, Fire and Ice, Life Cycles and the hungry caterpillar, Animals

FS2: Amazing me, Celebrations, Growing things, Life Cycles and Once upon a time (See attached Curriculum map)

Key Stage 1 Curriculum

English and Mathematics are the central elements in the curriculum. These are delivered with a rigour stemming from proven and traditional teaching methods and are bolstered by the latest innovations in modern practices such as interactive white boards and other ICT systems. At Dove Green we use the latest curriculum planning strategies and staff regularly review their teaching practices to ensure a fresh and dynamic approach to education.

Alongside the teaching of English and Mathematics, pupils are taught the Foundation subjects using creative, thematic topic planning. There is a strong emphasis on specialist teaching in subjects such as Arabic, French, Science, Art, Music, Computing, PE and Swimming.

In Year 1 pupils will study the following Thematic Topics:

Healthy Me, Amazing animals, Destination Outer Space, Superheroes, Once Upon a time and House and Homes

In Year 2 pupils will study the following Thematic Topics:

The Titanic, The Great Fire, Explorers and Extreme environments, Islands-Katie Morag, Dragons, Knights and castles and Artists and Authors

Regular homework is set to support and extend the children’s learning and to instill self-discipline and independent study, which are vital to academic progression through the school.

Key Stage 2 Curriculum

As the KS2 department is in its infancy, we are working with a two year rolling programme, to ensure curriculum coverage and to ensure there is no curriculum duplication as the pupils progress through the key stage. (See curriculum map attached).

Regular homework is set to support and extend the children’s learning and to instill self-discipline and independent study, which are vital to academic progression through the school.

Personal, Social and Health Education

PSHE encompasses all areas designed to promote children’s personal, social and health development. It gives children the knowledge, skills and understanding that they need to stay healthy and safe, develop worthwhile relationships, respect differences, develop independence and responsibility, make the most of their own abilities and those of others.

Our school mission statement reflects what we hope to achieve in PSHE. We want our children to develop self-awareness, positive self-esteem and confidence, enabling them to:

value the achievements they make, and the achievements of others
make informed choices about dealing with risks and meeting challenges now and in the future.
decide on values by which they want to live their lives.

Moral and Social Studies:

Our school curriculum and ethos promotes moral, social and cultural development and prepares all pupils for the opportunities and responsibilities within their lives. Moral and social studies are taught in combination with other studies, e.g. History and Geography and discretely in “you and me in the UAE” sessions.

Delivery of You, Me and the UAE

A range of strategies will be used as appropriate. These will include:

School Code of Conduct, Circle time, role-play, discussion – whole class, small group, 1:1, stories

e.g. exploring behaviour of characters, creative activities, and pupil-initiated activities. We also hold a weekly Achievement Assembly every Thursday morning.

All classes use circle time to promote and discuss issues within PSHE and where appropriate we follow the Quality Circle Time model.

Curriculum adaptation

Cross Curricular links

Links are made with Moral and Social studies in other curriculum areas as appropriate e.g. P.E., science, geography and in topic planning. Also, in whole school events such as Eco Week, National Day etc.

Assessment

Children’s understanding, knowledge and skills are assessed through observation, discussion and questioning and participation in groups. The record of pupils’ ongoing attainment is stored on the Classroom Monitor system. Children will be involved in self-assessment e.g. talking about their own experiences, in special assemblies celebrating achievement.

Arabic, Islamic and Social Studies

The teaching of Arabic in Dove Green meets KHDA regulations. Continuing from key stage one, pupils are taught to communicate in modern standard Arabic, with the aim that they become fluent and enthusiastic about speaking, reading and writing the Arabic language in a range of different contexts. Islamic Studies is mandatory for all Muslim pupils. It is taught in Arabic to native speakers and in English to non-native speakers. In addition, all Year 3-6 pupils study UAE Social Studies. Studies are designed to:

Keep local and other native Arabic speaking and Muslim children familiar with their national identity, religion and heritage

Provide non-native, foreign pupils with the basic functional skills of the Arabic language to help enhance mutual understanding, peaceful co-existence and cross-cultural harmony and tolerance.

Arabic lessons include role-play, educational games, interactive ICT activities, songs and folk stories.

Extra-Curricular Activities

At Dove Green, we have a wide and varied programme of clubs to explore different curriculum areas further including creative and sporting activities that take place outside the formal curriculum. We value the opportunity for children to interact within mixed age and ability groups and pupils are actively encouraged to take part in the programme of activities available.

Trips and outings

School trips form an important dimension of a child’s educational experience, taking the classroom into the outside world and forming shared experienced with teachers and peers. All classes are expected to go on at least one outing each term to complement their learning in the curriculum. Extensive use is made of local facilities and links with the local community and environment.

Coordinator Headmaster

Governor Review Date

D.G.P.S. Curriculum Policy