The Curriculum
We aim to provide a curriculum which is both broad and balanced and which offers all children an opportunity to develop their skills, knowledge and understanding in a full range of subject areas.
The Early Years
Young children just starting school need a specialised and appropriate curriculum if firm foundations for later learning are to be well established. Children under 5 (those in our Early Years classes) are not yet of statutory school age and are not required to follow the National Curriculum. Our Early Years curriculum aims to develop early language and mathematics skills, but also ensures children's physical and social development.
The National Curriculum
From Year 1 onwards, children at the school follow the National Curriculum in accordance with the 1998 Education Act. The National Curriculum consists of ten subjects:
Core Subjects: English, Mathematics, Science
Foundation Subjects: Art, Design Technology, Geography, History, Music, Physical Education and Information Technology
Teaching in these subjects is guided by the National Curriculum programmes of study and is supported by a range of published materials.
Religious Education also forms part of the curriculum, although it is not part of the National Curriculum. Within the curriculum are other areas such as health, sex, social, moral and spiritual education, elements of which often form part of teaching within the main subject area.
Assessment
It is important that teachers are able to establish a clear picture of children's abilities and achievements and the use of formal and informal assessments enables them to do this. Teachers constantly assess children's attainments in their work and use these to plan future teaching needs. We also make use of other assessment material to track and monitor each child's progress.
Children entering the Early Years class will be assessed in several key areas. An Early Years Profile will track their progress until they enter Year 1. This will be carried out through observation of the children as they take part in their normal school activities and will be important in helping us to establish their future learning needs and the appropriate experiences needed for their development.
At the end of Key Stage 1 (Year 2) and Key Stage 2 (Year 6) all children will be assessed in the core areas of English, Mathematics and Science. These will determine levels of attainment for all children by establishing their achievements against set criteria.