Subjects/Key Stages

Art

We inspire our pupils to use a wide range of media including ICT, paint, textiles, printing, graphics, digital photography, clay and 3 dimensional media. We support our pupils to achieve well through providing a grounded knowledge of art history and the work of designers. We want our pupils to become creative thinkers. Art is a visual language and we empower each pupil to think, organise and plan ideas for themselves; art can be complex, profound, serious or humorous and we believe that it provides a framework for growth and is a vehicle for self-expression and creative thinking.

Computing

The Computing curriculum intent is to inspire pupils to achieve their full potential in the digital age by empowering them with the knowledge and skills necessary to excel in a technology-driven world.

Through a dynamic and engaging approach, it seeks to ignite a passion for computer science, inspiring pupils to explore, create, and innovate. By fostering a deep understanding of computational concepts, coding, and problem-solving, the curriculum empowers pupils to achieve academic success and equips them with the tools to shape the future through technology.

D & T

Design and Technology’s curriculum intent is built around the school’s vision to Inspire, Achieve and Empower.

Design and Technology at Marston Vale Middle School involves pupils participating in design and make projects, which enables them to produce practical solutions to real life problems. Well-structured projects provide opportunities for pupils to continue to develop their knowledge and understanding of materials and components, systems and control, and structures. Design and technology allows children to apply the knowledge and skills learned in other subjects, particularly in Mathematics, Science and Art. As well as developing an appreciation of the Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural aspects of education, founded on British Values and a sense of moral purpose.

The subject INSPIRES by encouraging children to be creative, imaginative and innovative when designing and making products. It provides problem solving and challenging tasks, in which all pupils can ACHIEVE success and high outcomes. The subject EMPOWERS pupils to develop resilience and make informed decisions through independent and group learning strategies.

In both, Key Stage 2 and 3, Design and Technology is taught in a well-equipped specialist rooms with group sizes of 22 or less.

Resistant Materials projects range from designing and making an acrylic pencil holder and a controllable vehicle using electrical control in Key Stage 2 to producing a CAD/CAM picture frame and focused practical tasks relating to electronics in Key Stage 3.

In Food technology pupils are required to prepare and cook repertoire of predominantly savoury food products, which develop cooking techniques, crucial life skills and apply the principles of nutrition and healthy eating.

English

At Marston Vale Middle School we aim for pupils to become confident speakers, technically accurate writers and analytical readers, who are able to access the wider world and prepare them for their future successes. Our curriculum aims to challenge, inspire and excite them through text based learning where pupils read and engage with a range of diverse texts to broaden their minds and allow them to access a world beyond their imagination.

Through our English curriculum, we provide pupils with the knowledge needed to speak and write fluently so they can communicate their ideas and develop emotional literacy. This begins in Year 5 and is a thread through to year 8. Here at Marston Vale Middle School English is at the very heart of our school and works parallel with other curriculum areas to enable pupils to transfer those essential skills in reading, writing and spoken language into all elements of their learning.

The delivery of our academic writing programme and use of the toolkit at KS3 aims to ensure all pupils have an awareness of the higher level skills of analysis needed to excel in examinations and assessments. Beyond that, emphasis on developing an academic writing style will empower pupils to thrive in a world where literacy and oracy skills are key to future success.

Throughout their learning journey with us, we aim for our pupils to appreciate our rich and varied literary heritage and so we inspire our pupils through a choice of engaging and challenging texts. Through these we promote a life-long engagement in reading so that pupils have a chance to develop culturally, morally, socially, spiritually and intellectually by being exposed to different styles of literature, authors and genres.

Our ambition is to inspire pupils, to support them to achieve their full potential and to empower them to develop into happy, creative and successful members of society.

French

Learning a language serves as an avenue to inspire, achieve, and empower, as it liberates individuals from insularity and opens doors to other cultures (Department for Education). At Marston Vale Middle School, our languages curriculum is meticulously designed and sequenced to ensure that each year builds upon the last, fostering continuous growth in our pupils. Vocabulary and language concepts are revisited and expanded upon, with a heightened focus on the specific patterns and functions of words and phrases, ensuring accessibility for all learners.

We firmly believe that learning a language inspires our pupils in countless ways. It encourages them to appreciate and celebrate differences, unlocking the world and its diverse cultures to the young minds in our community. Language proficiency empowers them to pursue studies and careers abroad, broadening their horizons and enriching their life experiences. Moreover, it offers a deeper understanding of their mother tongue, as the language classroom often becomes the arena where grammar rules are grasped, and vocabulary expands, rooted in knowledge of word origins.

Geography.

Geography at MVMS follows a curriculum that inspires a life-long curiosity and fascination about the world and its people.

It equips pupils with knowledge, understanding, skills and global awareness to enable them to develop during KS2 in order to achieve their full potential at KS3, while preparing them for success at KS4 and in life beyond.

Pupils' learning empowers them to engage with local, national and global issues now and throughout their lives.

History

History Curriculum Intent

At Marston Vale Middle School, we believe that History should inspire our pupils to investigate the past with growing curiosity and imagination. We believe that History allows our pupils to investigate the global, national and personal past to help create a better picture of the wider world. Thus empowering our pupils to engage with the dilemma, choices and beliefs of Britain's past as well as that of other past societies. We encourage our pupils to develop their own opinions on the past and have implemented varied assessments that will enable all our pupils to achieve and grow as both individuals and historians.

We believe History aids pupils to critically and effectively analyse the present by truly engaging and understanding the past therefore empowering their own judgement. By enhancing a multitude of skills which are reinforced in History, and other subjects, our pupils will have the tools needed to bridge the gap between Middle and Upper School. As well as the eventual gap from study to their future careers and life experiences. We hope that through studying History our pupils will continue to enhance their questioning abilities and independent thinking to be active members of wider society and increase their own life chances beyond Marston Vale Middle School.

The more you know about the past, the better prepared you are for the future

Theodore Roosevelt

Maths

At Marston Vale Middle School our curriculum, its structure and implementation are designed to build on pupils’ interests and current mathematical knowledge and develop and extend both while fostering a love of learning maths.

We inspire pupils by providing a wide range of opportunities in a variety of interesting contexts. Our pupils explore, extend and develop their individual abilities and talents to the full allowing them to achieve their full potential and enjoyment within maths. We want our pupils’ to leave the school empowered by the knowledge they have gained and prepared for successful futures.

We follow the National Curriculum, ensuring that all statutory requirements are delivered without compromising the personalised needs of our pupils that they require to be successful in future.

Fundamental British Values as well as Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural aspects of education are important to us and have become a focus of how we teach. Our pupils have access to excellent support, both from staff and peers, to achieve their potential.

It is our intention at Marston Vale Middle School to have pupils who delight in using mathematics to solve problems, make unexpected discoveries and new connections in their understanding. As their confidence grows, they look for patterns, use logical reasoning, suggest solutions and try out different approaches to problems.

Mathematics offers children a powerful way of communicating. They learn to explore and explain their ideas using symbols, diagrams and spoken and written language through a ‘Teaching for Mastery’ approach. Our pupils discover how mathematics has developed over time and how it contributes to our economy, society and culture.

Music

Music at Marston Vale Middle School provides and facilitates a diverse and knowledge rich experience to learners through a guided exploration of music in its many forms; styles and contexts. At the heart of music at MVMS, you will find a vibrant performance culture, where students are actively encouraged and feel empowered to pursue performance opportunities. Music at MVMS facilitates an environment that promotes a love for learning through creative and reflective trial and error processes that inspire learners to delve deep into creative compositional contexts. As a result of experiencing the Music curriculum at MVMS, a learner will be provided a space to practise the all important SMSC skills and grow in character making them more aspirational, confident and able members of society ready to achieve their goals.

In Key Stage 2 - Learners explore music across the world and history, accessing lots of instrumentation across the two years allowing for the broadening of their horizons and learning what it means to be a musician. To ask different questions, to describe music in richer, more detailed and meaningful ways.

In Key stage 3 - Learners following their KS2 experiences will at this point have found strengths within the subject, they will now commit to specialising in an instrument based on their successes at Key Stage 2 which will empower them to access harder concepts within music setting them up to bridge gaps as a specialist instrumentalist going into KS4.

Physical Education

The Physical Education department is committed to giving all pupils at Marston Vale Middle School the opportunity to participate in a broad curriculum of sports.

We deliver a broad range of sports and activities that will inspire our pupils and create a real interest for sport.

Pupils are taught sequentially and are challenged each lesson to help them achieve highly.

The PE curriculum empowers pupils to explore a range of other skills and personal qualities, such as tolerance and respect for rules.

Extra-Curricular Activities and Opportunities

We encourage pupils to join our extra-curricular clubs; we regularly compete against other local middle schools in sports such as Rugby, Football, Netball, Rounders and Cricket. Many of our teams have achieved excellent results in leagues, tournaments and other events. However, the main aims for pupils of this age are enjoyment, the desire to continually improve and the ability to accept winning or losing gracefully. We also offer pupils the chance to be Sports Leaders in Year 8; these pupils support the PE department at internal and external sporting events.

PSHE - (Personal, social, health, and economic well-being education).

Marston Vale Middle School’s Personal Social and Health Education (PSHE) curriculum is designed to empower pupils with the skills, knowledge and understanding they need to lead healthy, independent lives and while preparing them to make the most of life and work.

Our spiral curriculum inspires learning year on year through the three themes of Health and Wellbeing, Relationships and Living in the Wider World, allowing pupils to build on the learning whilst offering flexibility to reflect the context of the school and local community.

Our PSHE curriculum helps pupils to achieve their academic potential by giving the skills to become informed, active and responsible members of the school community and society.

RE

Religious Education

Our aim in Religious Education is to 'Inspire, Achieve and Empower’.

Pupils are inspired by the stories of those of faith and the impact that religious belief has at a local, national and international level.

They achieve through the variety of opportunities to extend and deepen their knowledge and understanding through the teachings of worldwide religions. This is based upon the Bedfordshire Agreed Syllabus. This focuses on religious identities, meanings and values studied allowing pupils to learn about religion and to learn from religion.

Pupils are empowered to develop self-respect and the respect for others, whether this is people of faith or of none. Through developing inquiring minds pupils are encouraged to think critically and to explore a variety of opinions and, in turn, to develop their own.

Parents may withdraw their child from Religious Education. However, parents wishing to exercise this right on religious grounds, should arrange to discuss the matter with the Headteacher before making a formal request.

Science

The science curriculum at Marston Vale Middle School is one, founded in both knowledge and practical activity, which INSPIRES our pupils. It provides pupils with knowledge, understanding and skills that enable them to ACHIEVE their full potential at both KS2 and KS3, whilst also preparing them for success at KS4 and beyond. Pupils feel EMPOWERED to become scientifically informed, caring and responsible individuals who can think critically and make informed choices about themselves, the environment and society.

GSO Test