Humanities Faculty
History
At John Ball we offer a History curriculum which inspires our children to be more curious about the world and its people. Through our curriculum our children learn to apply their own direct experiences of the world, and develop and extend it within a historical context.
Children will develop a broad and comprehensive knowledge of Britain’s history at an early stage of their education, and over time build on this, including an understanding of significant people and events in world history, and our rich locality. Giving history a local and cultural context enabling it to be relevant and meaningful to our children.
The chronology of the curriculum is designed to be reflective and responsive to the development of children’s ever expanding world view, as well as their growing capacity to understand more complex concepts rooted in history, such as democracy and ancient Greece. Our History curriculum is designed to allow children to be critical thinkers with the skills to seek relevant information across all topics.
Geography
At John Ball we believe that it has never been more important for our children to have a comprehensive global understanding and knowledge of the world, and the people and cultures that inhabit it. Through understanding geography and the complexity of our planet, we believe that our children will develop respect for the physical environment, and the diverse range of cultures and beliefs that make up our world.
Through our Geography curriculum, our children have a means to apply their own direct experiences of the world, and develop and extend it within a local, national and global context.
Personal, Social and Health Education (PSHE)
PSHE includes health education, promoting respectful behaviour, and developing our children’s positive awareness of themselves and others in our community. It involves children learning how to keep themselves fit and healthy; developing a set of values and beliefs including respect for ourselves, for others and for the environment.
Citizenship is taught mainly through whole class and group discussion. It concentrates on developing children’s knowledge and understanding of their roles and responsibilities, and how to make a positive contribution to their community. They also learn about democracy, and how local and national government works.
At John Ball we have adopted the practice of ‘circle time’, dedicated to developing the ability to listen to others express their views, and to discuss and debate current ideas and issues.
Relationships and Sex Education (SRE)
Before a class studies sex education formally (more formally in Key Stage 2) parents and carers are informed, and are invited to view the materials which will be used by a class. At other times if children ask teachers questions relating to sex or sexuality, it is our policy to answer their questions honestly and with regard for our equality policies.
We will always try to inform you about the kind of questions your child is asking so that you may also respond to them. Parents are entitled to withdraw their child from formal sex education (Year 6) if they so wish, but we cannot withdraw a child from playground chatter or the statutory science curriculum, so we do hope that as many children as possible are able to take part in these lessons.
Religious Education (RE)
Through RE children will learn about different religions, and their traditions, practices and beliefs. Whether our children are religious or not, human culture and history has been driven by religion, and so it is important to develop children’s religious literacy to help build a holistic worldview.
RE is a weekly lesson allowing our children to study and explore different religions in more depth. To enhance our curriculum, each year group will have the opportunity to visit a different place of worship once every academic year. The purpose of these RE trips is to allow our children to learn about a religion from people within a faith community, and to think about the questions raised through studying a particular religion. These trips along with engaging RE lessons, will enable our children to foster their intellectual curiosity, to ask questions and personally reflect upon their own thoughts and beliefs. They will also inspire our children to develop an eagerness for learning about different faiths and cultures, and to examine the differences and similarities in beliefs, practices, morals and ethics within today’s society.
Our children are taught to respect and tolerate beliefs that are different to their own, and these values permeate the life of our school and help to build a diverse but cohesive ethos. This trusting environment at John Ball also allows children and teachers to talk openly and freely about their own personal beliefs and practice.
Physical Education (PE)
We believe that physical education should play a fundamental role in the lives of all our children. Our high quality, progressive PE curriculum allows children to learn about themselves, the importance of a healthy lifestyle, self-expression and concepts such as fair play and respect.
Dance and Gymnastics tuition is taught from qualified, professional coaches who plan curriculums developed to ensure the progression of each student whilst maintaining the core values that we at John Ball wish to impart upon each child.
Throughout our teaching of the PE curriculum, we aim:
- to develop a subject that promotes and fosters a life-long love of physical education, while teaching a breadth of sports to develop fundamental skills;
- to develop an understanding and usage of sporting vocabulary so children have an awareness of the types of techniques they are employing;
- to allow for healthy competition to be bred in a safe and nurturing environment where sporting behaviours and responses (sportspersonship) are upheld;
- to instill incremental knowledge of how children can maintain a fit and healthy lifestyle that endures beyond primary school.
For more detailed information about our curriculum, please contact the school office at admin@johnball.lewisham.sch.uk