The Curriculum

The Nursery and Reception – The Foundation Stage
The Foundation Stage encompasses the Nursery and Reception and follows the Early Leaning Goals, which are reached by a series of Stepping Stones. All our children endeavour to reach these Early Learning Goals at their own pace.

The Nursery and Reception curriculum is divided into six areas of learning: Personal, Social, Health and Emotional development (PHSE), Communication, Language and Literacy, Mathematical Development, Knowledge and Understanding of the World, Physical Development and Creative Development. These six areas are inter-related and inter-dependent. Topics are used to help the children expand their learning and to allow them to make links between their existing knowledge and new information, each half term or term has a general topic, which is sib-divided into weekly themes and, wherever appropriate these activities focus on these themes.

We value each and every child as an individual and encourage the children to value each other in the same way. The teaching staff provide a supportive environment where the children learn to co-operate and develop in self-confidence, independence and responsibility for themselves and their belongings. Children learn appropriate behaviour, how to share and to respect and appreciate other people through positive reinforcement and consistent responses.

Key Stage 1
The KS1 curriculum is designed to develop social, physical and academic skills, which will be built upon as the child progresses through the school. With positive reinforcement in a nurturing environment children are able to take pleasure in and benefit from their learning. Children are encouraged to take responsibility for their education through discussion, asking questions, finding answers and setting their own targets.

The curriculum is similar to that of Reception other than ‘Knowledge and Understanding of the World’ being sub-divided into Science, ICT, DT and Humanities (Geography, History and R.E.)

Children become more conscious of the names of the subjects they study whilst at the same time retain a sense of their association. The Pre-Prep Two curriculum continues to build upon the work undertaken in Pre-Prep One.

The topics covered during the year are planned on a three-year rolling basis. Throughout the Pre-Prep years, subject specialist teachers from the Main School teach ICT, Music, French and PE.

Within the Nursery and Pre-Prep the foundations are laid for a strong ethos of hard work and play. Academic skills developed by an enthusiastic and caring team through carefully planned Schemes of Work, Termly and Weekly plans, which follow, build upon and extend the objectives set by the National Curriculum.