School Day & Curriculum

School Day

Children usually arrive at school between 8.00 and 8.50 am with the length of the school day varying according to the age of the child. First Steps Nursery children attend on two or more mornings and Second Steps Nursery on five mornings each week, with their day ending at 12.00 noon.

First and Second Steps Nursery children are welcome to stay for lunch until 1.30 pm, which is freshly prepared and cooked on the premises using locally sourced produce. Afternoon sessions are also available for Nursery children, finishing at 3.30 pm.

Once the children move into Reception, they attend full-time every day. They are also able to stay to take part in after school club activities, should they wish to. In addition, we provide an extended day facility at all our Lodges where the children can be cared for by qualified staff until 5.30 pm.

Curriculum

We aim to provide a wide and stimulating range of subjects, which fully embraces the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage from Nursery to Reception, and of the National Curriculum Key Stage 1 at Year 1, and introduces the fundamentals of literacy and numeracy from an early age.

The younger children are encouraged to develop co-ordination of mind and bodies through play activities. This enables them to acquire pre-reading, pre-writing and pre-number skills, so that they naturally follow on to reading writing and arithmetic when they are ready to do so. They also enjoy Music, Art, Technology, Physical Education and Movement.

The full-time children progress individually in English, Mathematics and Science, incorporating written and practical tests, through traditional and modern methods. In addition, they are introduced to History, Geography, French, Religious Studies, Computing and Drama. All Year 1 children learn to play a simple wind instrument. On the sporting front, the children develop physical and ball skills that lead on to basic instruction in a wide variety of games. Reception and Year 1 children also attend weekly swimming lessons at the main school site.