It is our aim to ensure that all children leave Bury Lawn School with a thorough grounding in key subjects and as well rounded individuals, able to make judgements for themselves and move on to the next stage of their lives with confidence.
The Early Years - Nursery
At Bury Lawn, education begins from 2 years in the Nurture Group with a full or part-time introduction to school life. The Nurture and Nursery offer a full and varied timetable following the QCA guidance on the six areas of learning. The formal beginning of reading, writing and number skills is introduced. Children have the advantage of sharing facilities with the main school, allowing them access to specialist teaching for Music, for example, and the use of the School Hall and Gym for physical activities.
The Nurture Group and the Nursery are housed in The Lodge, a stand-alone secure building adjacent to the entrance to the school. They enjoy an enclosed garden area and play surface, with outside play equipment, such as sit-and-ride toys, climbing equipment, and a Wendy House.
We offer a flexible programme with fully qualified staff. Children are split into 2 groups, step 1 and step 2, and follow an individually structured programme of language, reading, writing and number work.
Younger children have access to a wide range of free and structured activities each day in order to promote and encourage the child's development in all areas: physical, intellectual, language, emotional and social. A variety of interesting themes are used to develop and extend children's knowledge and curiosity about the world in which they live. These themes and related artwork provide opportunities to develop fine motor skills in cutting, painting and drawing. Individual work with children promotes an understanding of different concepts including colour, shape, size, opposites and number leading to the production of a small book each term.
The nursery is very much part of the whole school, taking part in all the traditional events including a Harvest assembly, Christmas production and Sports day. Assemblies take place weekly with Nursery joining with the Reception and Year 1 classes. This helps with the transition of moving to the Reception class. The children progress naturally, already relating to staff and interacting with older children in the school.
The Early years - Reception (age 4 - 5)
At 4 years, the children move to Reception, housed in the main school, which extends and enriches the education of the individual through the six areas of learning listed below:
- Personal, Social and Emotional Development.
- Communication, Language and Literacy.
- Mathematical Development.
- Knowledge and Understanding of the World.
- Physical Development.
- Creative Development.
Education at Bury Lawn aims to nurture a fully rounded individual, catering not only for their educational needs, but also for their spiritual, emotional and physical well-being. In-built in the education of the children is care and concern for others and a recognition of each child's strengths, an awareness of the world around us and an acceptance of those among whom we live. The children are taught through group activities and whole class strategies as well as being given individual tuition.
In safe, happy, caring surroundings, Reception children gain the confidence needed for learning, the social skills needed for personal development and the skills needed for language and mathematical development for Year 1. The children are always encouraged to be polite, thoughtful and caring towards others. Like the younger children, they take part in drama and music activities, assemblies, the Christmas play, Sports day and much more.
Years 1 to 6 (age 5 - 11)
In Year 1, the beginning of Key Stage 1, the children gradually move to a more formal learning environment where they enjoy ever more complex activities in happy and caring surroundings. They continue to follow individual reading programmes and also learn spelling rules which are reinforced by weekly spelling and dictation tests. They also begin to join their handwriting.
In Mathematics, they follow a set scheme and begin to learn multiplication tables. Through the study of various topics the children become increasingly aware of the wider world and are introduced to history, geography and science. French is also introduced being taught by a specialist teacher.
Emphasis is placed upon caring for others, politeness and good manners. A strong sense of belonging pervades the school and children feel part of a team, working towards the same goals. During the year, the children are monitored and assessed in order to determine and cater for their future needs.
The children take part in a range of activities throughout the year including Harvest assembly, Christmas production, Sports day, school trips linked to the curriculum and much more.
In Year 2 to Year 6, the children are introduced to a growing number of subjects and separate lessons in History, Geography and Science take the place of General Studies.
The Junior School curriculum is loosely based on the National Curriculum but offers a wider experience for the children. Formal testing is carried out in May in order to assess the children's progress and to set targets for the next stage in their education.
Every Year group participates in a cross-curricular week, each with a different emphasis, which culminates in a presentation to parents. Children grow in confidence and self-esteem as they begin to participate in a range of performance based activities such as the Poetry Competition, the General Knowledge Quiz, Music Day and Inter-house sports events.
The oldest children in the Junior School, Year 6, take on a number of responsibilities and have certain privileges awarded to them to encourage good citizenship and to nurture leadership qualities. Continuity between the Junior and Senior Schools is ensured by close liaison between staff, as well as through the presence of the older pupils who create a sense of security and a feeling of natural progression.
Ethos
We believe that the non-selective ethos of Bury Lawn means that all children can benefit from the individual care and attention the school provides. Our aim is to bring out the best in each of our pupils, wherever their particular talents may lie. The Senior School curriculum is designed to ensure that this becomes a reality and is intended to provide an ongoing and flexible response to the changing needs of the individual.
Years 7 - 9 (age 11 - 13)
The Senior School curriculum begins in Year 7 when the children move across from the Junior School to an environment specifically created to ease a child's transition into the Senior School. Here pupils are still taught by their form teacher for the majority of the subjects, but move to specialist areas for IT, Art, French and Science, thereby exploring the novelties of Senior School life from the familiarity of a classroom base.
From Year 7, pupils are taught in groups according to ability although these may well change depending on the individuals needs. All pupils follow a broad curriculum, embracing Mathematics, English (including Literature), Geography, History, Information Technology, Food Technology, Art and Design, Music, Drama, Games and PE and Personal, Social and Health Education. A General Science course taught by specialists in Years 7 to 8 leads to the separate sciences in Year 9. All children study at least one modern foreign language with the possibility of French, German and Spanish along with Latin for the more linguistically able.
In short, we aim to provide a curriculum which equips all of our pupils with the kind of knowledge, skills and confidence which will enable them to make the most of their talents at GCSE and beyond.
GCSE Years 10 - 11 (age 14 - 16)
The majority of our students study 9 GCSEs but the number and the subjects pursued depend very much on the individual's capabilities and inclinations. We aim to tailor our programme towards these variables and GCSE option groups are created on the basis of student and parental discussion. This enables the majority of students to follow the programme of their choice, remembering that Maths, English and Science must be included.
As a result, some pupils may well sit some of their examinations a year early after 'fast track' courses whilst others may follow fewer courses or spread them over a longer period. All students who wish to enter for GCSE examinations, whatever their abilities, may do so.
During their GCSE years, pupils will also receive guidance on preparation for public examinations, careers and their options for Sixth Form and further education.
Years 12 and 13 (age 16 - 18)
Sixth Form at Bury Lawn is a popular option for those students wishing to benefit from a combination of wide curriculum choice coupled with small teaching groups and an enviable record of academic success.
In addition to the clear academic advantages of individual care and attention in small tutorial groups, Sixth formers also gain from our flexible approach towards subject combinations and from individual guidance about subject selection and UCAS application.
Whilst the majority of students at this level will be aiming for further study at University level, others follow alternative career paths and Bury Lawn can provide the broad curriculum and qualifications to facilitate successful progression to further education or the world of work.
Developing confidence, responsibility and self-reliance, Sixth Form students also play a unique and valuable role as School Counsellors, mentoring younger pupils, convening School Forum meetings, and meeting with the Head Teacher to help formulate policies relating to the welfare of the School as a whole. Positions of responsibility, drawn from the ranks of Counsellors, include the Head Boy, Head Girl and their deputies and Heads of Houses.
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