We aim to teach the National Curriculum in an exciting and innovative way.
We appreciate that the children in our care are all different, we therefore aim to help them develop individually to the extent where they can enter a fast-changing society as an independent, active participant. We aim to teach appropriate skills and knowledge, and to foster the desire and confidence to use these acquisitions effectively. Through our 'values based' education we will encourage respect for themselves, others and the environment and help our pupils to appreciate and value human feelings, achievements and aspirations.
Organisation
The children are taught in various ways according to their needs. This will involve, whole school, whole class and group teaching. There will also be occasions when individual teaching will be the most appropriate. The children are encouraged to work together and individually.
Most children have special needs at some time and, where appropriate, we use the Special Support Service which operates in the County. We also aim to raise self-esteem in each child so that they can work with confidence at their own level, and cope with taking risks and making mistakes.
English
The teaching of English is a complex matter, because language is complex. It is the principal means by which we think, define what we experience and feel, and interpret the world in which we live and the principal means by which we communicate with others.
We aim therefore, to develop in the children, an ability to listen, to speak clearly and join in discussions with confidence. We want them to read fluently and with confidence using reading methods and materials suitable to their own ability and to the purposes for which they are reading.
Writing should reinforce reading skills, as well as providing a tool for the accurate recording of observations, personal ideas and opinions. Children should be encouraged to write creatively for pleasure, both in prose and poetry, and to take a pride in presentation using correctly, as far as they are able, spelling, syntax and punctuation.
We have implemented the National Literacy Strategy throughout the school.
Mathematics
The usefulness of mathematics lies in its strength as a tool for problem solving, and therefore not only must the children know the rules of number but also, and more importantly, how to apply those processes to new situations.
Children need also to be able to communicate mathematically, both in order to develop mathematical thinking, and to share problems, experiences and solutions. To achieve these aims we need to see mathematics as a broad based discipline involving children in problem solving, both verbally and written, individually and in groups and where possible this should be related to real life situations.
Teaching and learning are based on the National Numeracy Strategy.
Science
Science is also concerned with problem solving. Each of us needs to be able to bring a skilled approach to the many issues of modern life.
Within the limits of their age, uderstanding and ability, children should develop the skills of scientific and technical investigation. The ability to observe accurately, to recognise and relate patterns, and to communicate the knowledge gained in a variety of ways. In order to do this they need also to use equipment safely and effectively and to understand appropriate forms of measurement.
Information and Communication Technology
The school is well equipped with computers. We have a suite of 6 computers and 1 computer in each classroom. The Foundation Stage classroom has 1 PC and 1 Acorn computer. All PC's are networked and Internet linked. The children use the computers weekly, dedicated ICT lessons and also when appropriate in other curriculum areas.
The children will access the Internet from an early age. Our Internet access is supplied by Bedfordshire County Council, and it has a built-in filtering system that restricts access to undesirable sites.
The Butterflies class are encouraged to use email through the Teddy Bear Project. We are linked with a school in Australia and this provides excellent cross curricular links.
History and Geography
By careful choice of topics mainly taken from QCA schemes of work, the children are encouraged to enjoy and learn about the world in which they live as a cohesive whole. They learn study skills, how to find and organise information, and how to communicate with others. Also as part of the hidden curriculum, they learn confidence in themselves through understanding of their environment.
Religious Education
Religious Education has broadened considerably in two main directions. Firstly there is a growing interest in, and need to know about, the non Christian religions in our world, and secondly the desire to foster the feeling of 'wonder' which is natural to young children. Always present, although not always expressed in the past, is the need for moral education. Not a list of do's and don'ts but an understanding of themselves and others and the world in which they must co-exist. This will lead children to make valid judgements and decisions about their own behaviour and beliefs. Much of this moral education forms part of the hidden curriculum. The other way in which this moral education is taught is found within our PSHE programme and 'Values-based Education' which underpin the whole life of the school.
The other aspects of Spiritual Education, the feeling of 'wonder' and the understanding of Christian and non-Christian religions is dealt with in stories and discussions in Assembly and more formal R.E. lessons. We follow the Bedfordshire agreed syllabus for R.E.
Music
Children derive immense enjoyment from music from a very early age and this, in some form or other continues into adult life. Our aim in music is to foster that enjoyment and to widen the child's musical understanding and ability by daily contact with music. Although music is not taught formally, it plays a major role in school life in dancing, movement, singing and music making instruments, both tuned and untuned.
Art and Design Technology
Children needs wide variety of materials and experiences to develop artistically, but these need to be controlled so that they are not swamped with experiences and to ensure that each piece of work is concluded in a satisfactory manner. The opportunities of art and craft arise from a number of other subjects, and often forms a major part of topic work. Using these opportunities the children are introduced to the widest possible variety of work.
Physical Education
As well as providing needed acitivity and enjoyment, P.E. also aids the development of control, co-ordination, mobility and the child's understanding of his body and his abilities. It can also be a medium for boosting confidence, as those children who find academic work difficult may shine in this field.
Apparatus work, dancing, games, movement and swimming are all part of the curriculum and the children all take part in one of these activities nearly every day.
Although P.E. is usually thought of in terms of activity, there is also a need for children to understand about their body, how it functions and how to keep it healthy. Although health education does not appear as a separate subject on the school timetable, this is covered over a period of time as part of various topics.
