ENGLISH

English is based on the four skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing.

Listening

Children need to listen with concentration and understanding. We endeavor to teach the children to listen to each other as well as to adults. In school, we provide many opportunities to develop this skill.

You can help to develop your child’s listening ability by listening to them, reading and telling stories, rhymes, and poems, watching suitable television programs and having follow-up discussions.

Speaking

We encourage children to talk for a variety of reasons and to a variety of audiences with a variety of techniques and we provide an abundance of stimulating situations in order to develop and extend this skill. You can help your child by talking to him/her about simple tasks, visits, television, toys etc. and by encouraging your child to question and explain things.

Reading

Children learn to read by reading and at our school we actively encourage reading for pleasure. Your child will be taught to read using a range of strategies, taught at the appropriate time. We have a wide variety of reading material suitable for each child and children are given choices. This may be a free or guided choice. You can support your child in reading by reading suitable books to him/her, encouraging your child to bring his/her books home, listening to and reading with your child and helping him/her to choose other suitable books.

Writing

We want to develop children as confident, competent writers. When learning to write the children pass through a series of developmental stages. At each stage, your child will be stimulated, encouraged, supported and given time and practice to allow him/her to continue on to the next stage of development. Children will be encouraged to drag and edit their own work and to value and appreciate each other’s contributions.

Children are given a variety of experiences to develop the manipulative skills which later lead to handwriting. The children are then taught the correct method of letter formation and are given time and opportunity to reinforce this. They are observed whilst doing this as bad habits are hard to eradicate. Children will be introduced to joined up writing when appropriate but always by Year 2.

MATHEMATICS

Our Mathematics work is based on practical, first hand, real life activities relevant to the children’s experiences, work is recorded when and where it is appropriate. The work is differentiated to cater for the differing needs of our children, thus enabling each child to work to the best of his/her ability and to achieve their full potential.

Children follow the Mathematics Ma through both key stages, learning through practical and written activities to develop numerical skills and problem-solving ability.

SCIENCE

Science stimulates and excites children’s curiosity about the world around them, linking practical experience with ideas. Children undertake experiments and investigations through which they acquire and develop scientific knowledge, skills, and understanding through a series of topics. Science is taught separately as well as through cross-curricular links.

They will be given the opportunity to make observations, ask questions and draw conclusions. They will record their work in a variety of ways.