Curriculum

This is based on the Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum where the children progress through the Early Years outcomes. At the end of the Foundation Stage, the children are assessed on the 17 Early Learning Goals which make up the Foundation Stage Profile. The Early Years Goals are available in the school office.

Link to the Government’s Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage

During the first term when a child enters Year 1, they begin Key Stage 1. They remain in this Key Stage until the end of Year 2. At the beginning of Year 3, they are entering Key Stage 2, where they remain until the end of Year 6. In these Key Stages (and beyond, into secondary schooling) children are taught according to the National Curriculum. This is split into ‘Core Subjects’ and ‘Foundation Subjects’ (not to be confused with the Foundation Stage described above). The Core Subjects are English, Mathematics, Science and Computing. The Foundation Subjects are Geography, History, Art and Design, Physical Education (PE), Music, Computing,  and Design Technology. There is also a requirement for schools to teach Religious Education (RE) and Personal, Social and Health Education (PSHE) and Citizenship

English

We use a variety of teaching and learning styles in English lessons. Each week children experience a combination of whole-class shared reading or writing activities, whole-class focused, guided group or independent activities and whole-class sessions to review progress and learning. Learning is centred around quality literary texts and poetry. We encourage children to use and apply their learning in other areas of the curriculum. In Foundation Stage and Key Stage 1, there is a daily focussed phonics lesson (Letters and Sounds). In Key Stage 2, children practise individual spellings daily and year specific spellings are embedded within the English curriculum. We teach fully joined up cursive handwriting script from the onset.

Mathematics

We teach Mathematics through a daily lesson that has a combination of whole-class and group teaching. During these lessons we encourage children to ask as well as answer mathematical questions. They have the opportunity to work on their own, using a wide range of resources such as number lines, number squares, digit cards and small apparatus to support their work.

Science

Science is taught in line with the requirements of the National Curriculum 2014. Sometimes we teach Science through whole-class teaching, while at other times we engage the children in an enquiry-based research activity. We encourage the children to ask, as well as answer, scientific questions. They have the opportunity to use a variety of data, such as statistics, graphs, pictures, and photographs.

Computing

This is taught in line with the requirements of the new National Curriculum and includes programming, the use of technologies and digital literacy, including e-safety.

The National Curriculum Foundation Subjects

In the Foundation subjects we strive to make learning meaningful and relevant by making links between subjects. In many cases, more than one subject can be addressed at the same time, for example, when simulating historical artifacts (History and Art). In our foundation subject lessons, we aim to stimulate understanding and interest in that subject and to allow children opportunity to develop their imagination and creativity.

Religious Education and Collective Worship

We follow the Hertfordshire Agreed Syllabus for Religious Education. During their time at Potten End School children will find out about the faiths of Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Sikhism and Judaism, but with a strong emphasis on Christianity. During Religious Education activities, children will be given many opportunities to consider their own and others’ thoughts, beliefs and feelings and to find out how and why people of different religious backgrounds take part in a range of activities and celebrations.

We aim to provide a broad and balanced curriculum for all children. We admit any child into the school according to the LEA admissions procedures and regardless of whether or not they have a special educational need. We recognise that children make progress at different rates and that some children who make comparatively less progress may nevertheless be making good progress according to their own ability.

Providing a number of tasks which range in difficulty within a lesson, or expecting a different standard of work at the end of a lesson is all part of the teacher’s work. Within every class lesson, children will be working towards targets appropriate to their own level of ability (this is called differentiation). Some children, however, face significant barriers to their learning which cannot be overcome through differentiation. These are most likely to arise as a consequence of having a special educational need and will necessitate special educational provision to be made.

A child has a learning difficulty if he/she:

• has a significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of children of the same age or
• has a disability, which prevents or hinders him/her from making use of the facilities provided by the school for children of the same age.

Children may have a special educational need either throughout, or at any time during their school career.

The school has a Special Educational Needs policy which is in line with the national Special Educational Needs Code of Practice. The aims of our policy are:

to ensure that the special educational needs of children are identified at as early a stage as is possible, assessed and provided for:

• to create an environment that meets the special educational needs of each child
• to enable all children to have full access to all elements of the school curriculum
• to identify the roles and responsibilities of staff in providing for children’s special educational needs
• to enable everyone involved in the child’s education to support the child as fully as possible.

A copy of the policy is available on request. We are able to meet the aims of our policy through monitoring the progress of every child each term. If a child is identified as having a special educational need, appropriate provision is determined and provided. This may include additional support within or outside the classroom, the creation and monitoring of an Individual Education Plan (IEP) or the seeking of advice from outside agencies. Agencies through which support has been gained recently include the Educational Psychology Service, Speech and Language Therapy, Occupational Therapy and the Westfield Base for Specific Learning Difficulties.

Please click to read the Intervention Programmes Autumn 2014 information and to read the SEND Information Report (School Offer) Autumn 2014.

Inclusion

The school offers a continuum of provision to meet a diversity of pupils’ needs. Although classes are mixed ability, class teachers have the flexibility to set smaller ability groups, with their class, for English and Mathematics. Additional in-class support is available in classes, which is provided by Teaching Assistants and a Specialist Teaching Assistant. This additional support is targeted at individual pupils and small groups of pupils who are catching up on their basic skills or, have a learning difficulty.. The Higher Level Teaching Assistants, Teaching Assistants and Specialist Teaching Assistant support pupils with emotional and behavioural difficulties, as well as working with gifted and talented pupils. Computers are available to support learning in every classroom.

A range of extra-curricular activities are available during lunchtime and after school, for example: recorder club, football club, craft club, cookery club, gym club, netball club and dance club.

Single storey building, toilet facilities, ramped access, lift to access library area and a specialist SEN classroom.

Children are encouraged to read at home on a daily basis. They will also bring home phonics, spelling and mathematics to do. Library books may be taken home but it is expected that these will be returned the following day/week, according to the direction of the class teacher. As children get older, they may be encouraged to do additional work at home, for example, complete a task or carry out some simple research.